II 

Calendar No. 713 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3597 

To improve the ability of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard, and coastal States to sustain healthy ocean 

and coastal ecosystems by maintaining and sustaining their capabilities 

relating to oil spill preparedness, prevention, response, restoration, and 

research, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 15, 2010 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 17, 2010 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

[Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve the ability of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard, and coastal 

States to sustain healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems 

by maintaining and sustaining their capabilities relating 

to oil spill preparedness, prevention, response, restoration, and research, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Securing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment 

4 Act’’ or the ‘‘SHORE Act’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RESPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND PREVENTION 

Sec. 101. Improvements to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

oil spill response, containment, and prevention. 

Sec. 102. Use of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for expenses of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Sec. 103. Investment of amounts in Damage Assessment and Restoration Revolving Fund in interest-bearing obligations. 

Sec. 104. Strengthening coastal State oil spill planning and response. 

Sec. 105. Gulf of Mexico long-term marine environmental monitoring and research program. 

Sec. 106. Arctic research and action to conduct oil spill prevention. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING COAST GUARD RESPONSE AND 

INSPECTION CAPACITY 

Sec. 201. Secretary defined. 

Sec. 202. Arctic maritime readiness and oil spill prevention. 

Sec. 203. Response plan update requirement. 

Sec. 204. Advance planning and prompt decisionmaking in closing and reopening fishing grounds. 

Sec. 205. Oil spill technology evaluation. 

Sec. 206. Coast Guard inspections. 

Sec. 207. Certificate of inspection requirements. 

Sec. 208. Navigational measures for protection of natural resources. 

Sec. 209. Notice to States of bulk oil transfers. 

Sec. 210. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens Advisory Council. 

Sec. 211. Vessel liability. 

Sec. 212. Coast Guard research and development. 

Sec. 213. Prompt intergovernmental notice of marine casualties. 

Sec. 214. Prompt publication of oil spill information. 

TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO OIL SPILLS 

Sec. 301. Coordination of Federal and State activities with respect to oil spill 

surveys. 

Sec. 302. Coordination between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coast Guard, and Department of Interior on oil spill matters. 

Sec. 303. Federal Oil Spill Research Committee. 


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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL OCEANIC 

2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS3 TRATION OIL SPILL RE4 SPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND 

5 PREVENTION 

6 SEC. 101. IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT7 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RE8 SPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND PREVENTION. 

9 (a) REVIEW OF ABILITY OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

10 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO RESPOND TO OIL

11 SPILLS.— 

12 (1) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not 

13 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act, the Under Secretary for Oceans and At15 mosphere shall conduct a comprehensive review of 

16 the current capacity of the National Oceanic and At17 mospheric Administration to respond to oil spills. 

18 (2) ELEMENTS.—The review conducted under 

19 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

20 (A) A comparison of oil spill modeling re21 quirements with the state-of-the-art oil spill 

22 modeling with respect to near shore and off23 shore areas. 


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1 (B) Development of recommendations on 

2 priorities for improving forecasting of oil spill, 

3 trajectories, and impacts. 

4 (C) An inventory of the products and tools 

5 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad6 ministration that can aid in assessment of the 

7 potential risk and impacts of oil spills. Such 

8 products and tools may include environmental 

9 sensitivity index maps, the United States Inte10 grated Ocean Observing System, and oil spill 

11 trajectory models. 

12 (D) An identification of the baseline ocean13 ographic and climate data required to support 

14 state of the art modeling. 

15 (E) An assessment of the Administration’s 

16 ability to respond to the effects of an oil spill 

17 on its trust resources, including— 

18 (i) marine sanctuaries, monuments, 

19 and other protected areas; and 

20 (ii) marine mammals, sea turtles, and 

21 other protected species, and efforts to re22 habilitate such species. 

23 (3) REPORT.—Upon completion of the review 

24 required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 

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1 cluding the findings of the Under Secretary with re2 spect to such review. 

3 (b) OIL SPILL TRAJECTORY MODELING.—The Under 

4 Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall be responsible 

5 for developing and maintaining oil spill trajectory mod6 eling capabilities for the United States, including taking 

7 such actions as may be required by subsections (c) 

8 through (g). 

9 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX.— 

10 (1) UPDATE.—Beginning not later than 180 

11 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

12 not less frequently than once every 7 years there13 after, the Under Secretary shall update the environ14 mental sensitivity index products of the National 

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each 

16 coastal area of the United States and for each off17 shore area of the United States that is leased or 

18 under consideration for leasing for offshore energy 

19 production. 

20 (2) EXPANDED COVERAGE.—Not later than 270 

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 Under Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable, create an environmental sensitivity index 

24 product for each area described in paragraph (1) for 

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1 ministration did not have an environmental sensi2 tivity index product on the day before the date of 

3 the enactment of this Act. 

4 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX

5 PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 

6 ‘‘environmental sensitivity index product’’ means a 

7 map or similar tool that is utilized to identify sen8 sitive shoreline, coastal or offshore, resources prior 

9 to an oil spill event in order to set baseline priorities 

10 for protection and plan cleanup strategies, typically 

11 including information relating to shoreline type, bio12 logical resources, and human use resources. 

13 (d) SUBSEA HYDROCARBON REVIEW.—Not later 

14 than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Under Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive review 

16 of the current state of the National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration to monitor, map, and track subsea 

18 hydrocarbons, including a review of the effect of subsea 

19 hydrocarbons and dispersants at varying concentrations 

20 on living marine resources. 

21 (e) NATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER ON OIL

22 SPILLS.—The Under Secretary shall establish a national 

23 information center on oil spills that— 

24 (1) includes scientific information and research 

25 on oil spill preparedness, response, and restoration; 


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1 (2) serves as a single access point for emer2 gency responders for such scientific data; and 

3 (3) provides outreach and utilizes communica4 tion mechanisms to inform partners, the public, and 

5 local communities about the availability of oil spill 

6 preparedness, prevention, response, and restoration 

7 information and services and otherwise improves 

8 public understanding and minimizes impacts of oil 

9 spills. 

10 (f) INITIATIVE ON OIL SPILLS FROM AGING AND

11 ABANDONED OIL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Not later than 270 

12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

13 Secretary shall establish an initiative— 

14 (1) to determine the significance, response, fre15 quency, size, potential fate, and potential effects, in16 cluding those on sensitive habitats, of oil spills re17 sulting from aging and abandoned oil infrastructure; 

18 and 

19 (2) to formulate recommendations on how best 

20 to address such spills. 

21 (g) INVENTORY OF OFFSHORE ABANDONED OR

22 SUNKEN VESSELS.—Not later than 270 days after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

24 shall develop an inventory of offshore abandoned or sunk25 en vessels in the exclusive economic zone of the United 


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1 States and identify priorities (based on amount of oil, fea2 sibility of oil recovery, fate and effects of oil if released, 

3 and cost-benefit of preemptive action) for potential pre4 emptive removal of oil or other actions that may be effec5 tive to mitigate the risk of oil spills from offshore aban6 doned or sunken vessels. 

7 SEC. 102. USE OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND FOR 

8 EXPENSES OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT9 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

10 Section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

11 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

13 (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(B) not more than $25,000,000 in each 

17 fiscal year shall be available to the Under Sec18 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere without fur19 ther appropriation for expenses incurred by, 

20 and activities related to, preparedness, re21 sponse, restoration, and damage assessment ca22 pabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration; 

24 ‘‘(C) not more than $20,000,000 in each 

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1 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere for the re2 search and development of technologies identi3 fied by the Office of Response and Restoration 

4 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration as beneficial for prevention, re6 moval, and enforcement related to oil dis7 charges;’’. 

8 SEC. 103. INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN DAMAGE ASSESS9 MENT AND RESTORATION REVOLVING FUND 

10 IN INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS. 

11 The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such a 

12 portion of the amounts in the Damage Assessment and 

13 Restoration Revolving Fund described in title I of the De14 partments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 

15 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1991 (33 

16 U.S.C. 2706 note) as is not required to meet current with17 drawals, as determined by the Secretary, in interest-bear18 ing obligations of the United States in accordance with 

19 section 9602 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

20 SEC. 104. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL 

21 PLANNING AND RESPONSE. 

22 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

23 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended adding at the end the 

24 following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 320. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL RE2 SPONSE AND PLANNING. 

3 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make 

4 grants to eligible coastal states— 

5 ‘‘(1) to revise management programs approved 

6 under section 306 and National Estuarine Research 

7 Reserves approved under section 315 to identify and 

8 implement new enforceable policies and procedures 

9 to ensure sufficient response capabilities at the State 

10 level to address the environmental, economic and so11 cial impacts of oil spills or other accidents resulting 

12 from Outer Continental Shelf energy activities with 

13 the potential to affect and land or water use or nat14 ural resource of the coastal zone; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to review and revise where necessary appli16 cable enforceable policies within approved coastal 

17 State management programs affecting coastal en18 ergy activities and energy to ensure that these poli19 cies are consistent with— 

20 ‘‘(A) other emergency response plans and 

21 policies developed under Federal or State law; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) new policies and procedures developed 

24 under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—New enforceable policies and pro2 cedures developed by coastal states with grants awarded 

3 under this section shall consider, but not be limited to— 

4 ‘‘(1) other existing emergency response plans, 

5 procedures and enforceable policies developed under 

6 other Federal or State law that affect the coastal 

7 zone; 

8 ‘‘(2) identification of critical infrastructure es9 sential to facilitate spill or accident response activi10 ties; 

11 ‘‘(3) identification of coordination, logistics and 

12 communication networks between Federal and State 

13 government agencies, and between State agencies 

14 and affected local communities, to ensure the effi15 cient and timely dissemination of data and other in16 formation; 

17 ‘‘(4) inventories of shore locations and infra18 structure and equipment necessary to respond to oil 

19 spills or other accidents resulting from Outer Conti20 nental Shelf energy activities; 

21 ‘‘(5) identification and characterization of sig22 nificant or sensitive marine ecosystems or other 

23 areas possessing important conservation, rec24 reational, ecological, historic, or aesthetic values; 


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1 ‘‘(6) inventories and surveys of shore locations 

2 and infrastructure capable of supporting alternative 

3 energy development; and 

4 ‘‘(7) other information or actions as may be 

5 necessary. 

6 ‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall, within 180 

7 days after the date of enactment of this section and after 

8 consultation with the coastal states, publish guidelines for 

9 the application for and use of grants under this section. 

10 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—Coastal states shall provide 

11 opportunity for public participation in developing new en12 forceable policies and procedures under this section pursu13 ant to subsections (d)(1) of (e) of section 306, especially 

14 by relevant Federal agencies, other coastal state agencies, 

15 local governments, regional organizations, port authori16 ties, and other interested parties and stakeholders, public 

17 and private, that are related to, or affected by Outer Con18 tinental Shelf energy activities. 

19 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

21 2011 through 2015, the Secretary may make a 

22 grant to a coastal state to develop new enforceable 

23 policies and procedures as required under this sec24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS AND LIMIT ON

2 AWARDS.—The amount of any grant to any one 

3 coastal state under this section shall not exceed 

4 $750,000 for any fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(3) NO STATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTION RE6 QUIRED.—A coastal state shall not be required to 

7 contribute any portion of the cost of a grant award8 ed under this section. 

9 ‘‘(4) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND LIMIT ON

10 AWARDS.—After an initial grant is made to a coastal 

11 state under this section, no subsequent grant may be 

12 made to that coastal state under this section unless 

13 the Secretary finds that the coastal state is satisfac14 torily developing revisions to address offshore energy 

15 impacts. No coastal state is eligible to receive grants 

16 under this section for more than 2 fiscal years. 

17 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec18 tion shall only apply if appropriations are provided to the 

19 Secretary to make grants under this section to enable 

20 States to develop new or revised enforceable policies and 

21 procedures. Further, this section shall not be construed 

22 to convey any new authority to any coastal state, or repeal 

23 or supersede any existing authority of any coastal state, 

24 to regulate the siting, licensing, leasing, or permitting of 

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1 nental Shelf under the administration of the Federal Gov2 ernment. Nothing in this section repeals or supersedes any 

3 existing coastal state authority. 

4 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec5 retary shall, as authorized under section 310(a) and to 

6 the extent practicable, make available to coastal states the 

7 resources and capabilities of the National Oceanic and At8 mospheric Administration to provide technical assistance 

9 to the coastal states to prepare revisions to approved man10 agement programs to meet the requirements under this 

11 section.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. GULF OF MEXICO LONG-TERM MARINE ENVIRON13 MENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH PRO14 GRAM. 

15 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH

16 PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act and subject to 

19 the availability of appropriations or other sources of 

20 funding, the Secretary shall, acting through the 

21 Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, estab22 lish and carry out a long-term marine environmental 

23 monitoring and research program for the marine 

24 and coastal environment of the Gulf of Mexico to en25 sure that the Federal Government has independent, 


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1 peer-reviewed scientific data and information to as2 sess long-term direct and indirect impacts on trust 

3 resources located in the Gulf of Mexico and South4 east region resulting from the oil spill caused by the 

5 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

6 (2) PERIOD OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 

7 carry out the program required by paragraph (1) 

8 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

9 the commencement of the program. The Secretary 

10 may extend such period upon a determination by the 

11 Secretary that additional monitoring and research is 

12 warranted. 

13 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The program established 

14 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

15 (1) Monitoring and research of the physical, 

16 chemical, and biological characteristics of the af17 fected marine, coastal, and estuarine areas of the 

18 Gulf of Mexico and other regions of the exclusive 

19 economic zone of the United States and adjacent re20 gions affected by the oil spill caused by the mobile 

21 offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

22 (2) The fate, transport, and persistence of oil 

23 released during the spill and spatial distribution 

24 throughout the water column, including in-situ burn 

25 residues. 


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1 (3) The fate, transport, and persistence of 

2 chemical dispersants applied in-situ or on surface 

3 waters. 

4 (4) Identification of lethal and sub-lethal im5 pacts to shellfish, fish, and wildlife resources that 

6 utilize habitats located within the affected region. 

7 (5) Impacts to regional, State, and local econo8 mies that depend on the natural resources of the af9 fected area, including commercial and recreational 

10 fisheries, tourism, and other wildlife-dependent 

11 recreation. 

12 (6) Other elements considered necessary by the 

13 Secretary to ensure a comprehensive marine re14 search and monitoring program to comprehend and 

15 understand the implications to trust resources 

16 caused by the oil spill from the mobile offshore drill17 ing unit Deepwater Horizon. 

18 (c) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—In devel19 oping the research and monitoring program established 

20 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

21 (1) coordinate with the United States Geologi22 cal Survey; and 

23 (2) consult with— 


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1 (A) the National Ocean Research Leader2 ship Council established under section 7902 of 

3 title 10, United States Code; 

4 (B) such representatives from the Gulf 

5 coast States and affected countries as the Sec6 retary considers appropriate; 

7 (C) academic institutions and other re8 search organizations; and 

9 (D) such other experts with expertise in 

10 long-term environmental monitoring and re11 search of the marine environment as the Sec12 retary considers appropriate. 

13 (d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Upon review by and 

14 approval of the Attorney General regarding impacts on 

15 legal claims or litigation involving the United States, data 

16 and information generated through the program estab17 lished under subsection (a) shall be managed and archived 

18 to ensure that it is accessible and available to govern19 mental and non-governmental personnel and to the gen20 eral public for their use and information. 

21 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of the commencement of the program under subsection (a) 

23 and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 

24 Congress a comprehensive report— 


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1 (1) summarizing the activities and findings of 

2 the program; and 

3 (2) detailing areas and issues requiring future 

4 monitoring and research. 

5 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) GULF COAST STATE.—The term ‘‘Gulf coast 

7 State’’ means each of the States of Texas, Lou8 isiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. 

9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Commerce. 

11 (3) TRUST RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘trust re12 sources’’ means the living and non-living natural re13 sources belonging to, managed by, held in trust by, 

14 appertaining to, or otherwise controlled by the 

15 United States, any State, an Indian Tribe, or a local 

16 government. 

17 SEC. 106. ARCTIC RESEARCH AND ACTION TO CONDUCT OIL 

18 SPILL PREVENTION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall, 

20 acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and At21 mosphere and in collaboration with the heads of other 

22 agencies or departments of the United States with appro23 priate Arctic science expertise, direct research and take 

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1 duct oil spill prevention, response, and recovery in Arctic 

2 waters. 

3 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Research and action under this 

4 section shall include the prioritization of resources— 

5 (1) to address— 

6 (A) ecological baselines and environmental 

7 sensitivity indexes, including stock assessments 

8 of marine mammals and other protected species 

9 in the Arctic; 

10 (B) identification of ecological important 

11 areas, sensitive habitats, and migratory behav12 iors; 

13 (C) the development of oil spill trajectory 

14 models in Arctic marine conditions; 

15 (D) the collection of observational data es16 sential for response strategies in the event of an 

17 oil spill during both open water and ice-covered 

18 seasons, including data relating to oil spill tra19 jectory models that include data on— 

20 (i) currents; 

21 (ii) winds; 

22 (iii) weather; 

23 (iv) waves; and 

24 (v) ice forecasting; 


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1 (E) the development of a robust oper2 ational monitoring program during the open 

3 water and ice-covered seasons; 

4 (F) improvements in technologies and un5 derstanding of cold water oil recovery planning 

6 and restoration implementation; and 

7 (G) the integration of local and traditional 

8 knowledge into oil recovery research studies; 

9 and 

10 (2) to establish a robust geospatial framework 

11 for safe navigation and oil spill response through in12 creased— 

13 (A) hydrographic and bathymetric sur14 veying, mapping, and navigational charting; 

15 (B) geodetic positioning; and 

16 (C) monitoring of tides, sea levels, and cur17 rents in the Arctic. 

18 TITLE II—IMPROVING COAST 

19 GUARD RESPONSE AND IN20 SPECTION CAPACITY 

21 SEC. 201. SECRETARY DEFINED. 

22 In this title, except as otherwise specifically provided, 

23 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Sec24 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op25 erating. 


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1 SEC. 202. ARCTIC MARITIME READINESS AND OIL SPILL 

2 PREVENTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 

4 Guard shall assess and take action to reduce the risk and 

5 improve the capability of the United States to respond to 

6 a maritime disaster in the United States Beaufort and 

7 Chukchi Seas. 

8 (b) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The assessment 

9 and actions referred to in subsection (a) shall include the 

10 prioritization of resources to address the following: 

11 (1) Oil spill prevention and response capabilities 

12 and infrastructure. 

13 (2) The coordination of contingency plans and 

14 agreements with other agencies and departments of 

15 the United States, industry, and foreign govern16 ments to respond to an Arctic oil spill. 

17 (3) The expansion of search and rescue capa18 bilities, infrastructure, and logistics, including im19 provements of the Search and Rescue Optimal Plan20 ning System. 

21 (4) The provisional designation of places of ref22 uge. 

23 (5) The evaluation and enhancement of naviga24 tional infrastructure. 

25 (6) The evaluation and enhancement of vessel 

26 monitoring, tracking, and automated identification 


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1 systems and navigational aids and communications 

2 infrastructure for safe navigation and marine acci3 dent prevention in the Arctic. 

4 (7) Shipping traffic risk assessments for the 

5 Bering Strait and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. 

6 (8) The integration of local and traditional 

7 knowledge and concerns into prevention and re8 sponse strategies. 

9 SEC. 203. RESPONSE PLAN UPDATE REQUIREMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require all re11 sponse plans approved by the Coast Guard under section 

12 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

13 U.S.C. 1321(j)) to be updated not less often than once 

14 every five years. 

15 (b) BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY.—Each response 

16 plan update required by subsection (a) shall utilize the 

17 best commercially available technology and methods to 

18 contain and remove to the maximum extent practicable a 

19 worst case discharge (including a discharge resulting from 

20 fire or explosion), and to mitigate or prevent a substantial 

21 threat of such a discharge. 

22 (c) TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS.—The Coast Guard 

23 may establish requirements and guidance for utilizing the 

24 best commercially available technology and methods, 


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1 which shall be based on performance metrics and stand2 ards whenever practicable. 

3 (d) RESUBMISSION.—Each update required by sub4 section (a) shall be considered a significant change requir5 ing it to be resubmitted for approval by the Coast Guard. 

6 SEC. 204. ADVANCE PLANNING AND PROMPT DECISION7 MAKING IN CLOSING AND REOPENING FISH8 ING GROUNDS. 

9 (a) REQUIREMENT THAT AREA CONTINGENCY

10 PLANS CONTAIN AREA-SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS AND

11 STANDARDS.— 

12 (1) COOPERATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL OF13 FICIALS.—Section 311(j)(4)(B)(ii) of the Federal 

14 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1321(j)(4)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking the semi16 colon after ‘‘wildlife’’ and inserting a comma and 

17 ‘‘including advance planning with respect to the clos18 ing and reopening of fishing grounds following an oil 

19 spill;’’. 

20 (2) FRAMEWORK.—Section 311(j)(4)(C) of the 

21 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

22 1321(j)(4)(C)) is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) 

24 as clauses (viii) and (ix), respectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after clause (vi) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(vii) develop a framework for ad4 vance planning and decisionmaking with 

5 respect to the closing and reopening of 

6 fishing grounds following an oil spill, in7 cluding protocols and standards for the 

8 closing and reopening of fishing areas;’’. 

9 (b) NATIONAL GUIDANCE.—Section 311(j)(4)(D) of 

10 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

11 1321(j)(4)(D)) is amended— 

12 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (2) in clause (ii) by striking the period and in14 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) acting through the Commandant 

17 of the Coast Guard and in consultation 

18 with the Under Secretary for Oceans and 

19 Atmosphere and any other government en20 tities deemed appropriate, issue guidance 

21 for Area Committees to use in developing 

22 a framework for advance planning and de23 cisionmaking with respect to the closing 

24 and reopening of fishing grounds following 

25 an oil spill, which guidance shall include 


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1 model protocols and standards for the clos2 ing and reopening of fishing areas.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

5 program for the formal evaluation and validation of oil 

6 pollution containment and removal methods and tech7 nologies. 

8 (b) APPROVAL.—The program required by subsection 

9 (a) shall establish a process for new methods and tech10 nologies to be submitted, evaluated, and gain validation 

11 for use in spill responses and inclusion in response plans. 

12 Following each validation, the Secretary shall consider 

13 whether the method or technology meets a performance 

14 capability warranting designation of a new standard for 

15 best available technology or methods. 

16 (c) TECHNOLOGY CLEARINGHOUSE.—All tech17 nologies and methods validated under this section shall be 

18 included in the comprehensive list of spill removal re19 sources maintained by the Coast Guard through the Na20 tional Response Unit. 

21 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

22 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Under Secretary 

23 for Oceans and Atmosphere, the Administrator of the En24 vironmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of 

25 Transportation in carrying out this section. 


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1 SEC. 206. COAST GUARD INSPECTIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall increase the 

3 frequency and comprehensiveness of safety inspections of 

4 all United States and foreign-flag tank vessels that enter 

5 a United States port or place, including increasing the fre6 quency and comprehensiveness of inspections of vessel age, 

7 hull configuration, and past violations of any applicable 

8 discharge and safety regulations under United States and 

9 international law that may indicate that the class societies 

10 inspecting such vessels may be substandard, and other fac11 tors relevant to the potential risk of an oil spill. 

12 (b) ENHANCED VERIFICATION OF STRUCTURAL CON13 DITION.—The Secretary shall adopt, as part of the Sec14 retary’s inspection requirements for tank vessels, addi15 tional procedures for enhancing the verification of the re16 ported structural condition of such vessels, taking into ac17 count the Condition Assessment Scheme adopted by the 

18 International Maritime Organization by Resolution 94(46) 

19 on April 27, 2001. 

20 SEC. 207. CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS. 

21 Chapter 33 of title 46, United States Code, is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in section 3301, by adding at the end the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(16) vessels and other structures, fixed or 

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1 sition or are attached to the seabed or subsoil, which 

2 are capable of exploring for, drilling for, developing, 

3 or producing oil or gas.’’; and 

4 (2) in section 3305(a)(1)— 

5 (A) by amending subparagraph (E) to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(E) is in a condition to be operated with 

8 safety to life and property, which including the 

9 operation of systems used for the capabilities 

10 described in paragraph (16) of section 3301, in11 cluding— 

12 ‘‘(i) drilling systems, including risers 

13 and blow out preventers; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) production systems, if so 

15 equipped;’’; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

17 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (C) by adding the following: 

19 ‘‘(G) for vessels and other structures de20 scribed in paragraph (16) of section 3301 (in21 cluding the systems used for the capabilities de22 scribed in paragraph (16) of section 3301), 

23 complies with the highest classification, certifi24 cation, rating, and inspection standards for vesVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 sels or structures of the same age and type im2 posed by— 

3 ‘‘(i) the American Bureau of Ship4 ping; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) another classification society ap6 proved by the Secretary as meeting accept7 able standards for such a society, except 

8 that the classification of vessels or struc9 tures under this section by a foreign classi10 fication society may be accepted by the 

11 Secretary only— 

12 ‘‘(I) to the extent that the gov13 ernment of the foreign country in 

14 which the society is headquartered ac15 cepts classification by the American 

16 Bureau of Shipping of vessels and 

17 structures used in the offshore explo18 ration, development, and production 

19 of oil and gas in that country; and 

20 ‘‘(II) if the foreign classification 

21 society has offices and maintains 

22 records in the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. NAVIGATIONAL MEASURES FOR PROTECTION OF 

2 NATURAL RESOURCES. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION OF AT-RISK AREAS.—The Com4 mandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation the Under 

5 Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall identify areas 

6 in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States 

7 in which routing or other navigational measures are war8 ranted to reduce the risk of oil spills and potential damage 

9 to natural resources. In identifying such areas, the Com10 mandant shall give priority consideration to natural re11 sources of particular ecological importance or economic 

12 importance, including— 

13 (1) commercial fisheries; 

14 (2) aquaculture facilities; 

15 (3) marine sanctuaries designated by the Sec16 retary of Commerce pursuant to the National Ma17 rine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

18 (4) estuaries of national significance designated 

19 under section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution 

20 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330); 

21 (5) critical habitat, as defined in section 3(5) of 

22 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

23 1532(5)); 

24 (6) estuarine research reserves within the Na25 tional Estuarine Research Reserve System estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 lished by section 315 of the Coastal Zone Manage2 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461); and 

3 (7) national parks and national seashores ad4 ministered by the National Park Service under the 

5 National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et 

6 seq.). 

7 (b) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining whether 

8 navigational measures are warranted for an area under 

9 subsection (a), the Commandant and the Under Secretary 

10 for Oceans and Atmosphere shall consider, at a min11 imum— 

12 (1) the frequency of transits of vessels which 

13 are required to prepare a response plan under sec14 tion 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

15 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)); 

16 (2) the type and quantity of oil transported as 

17 cargo or fuel; 

18 (3) the expected benefits of routing measures in 

19 reducing risks of spills; 

20 (4) the costs of such measures; 

21 (5) the safety implications of such measures; 

22 and 

23 (6) the nature and value of the resources to be 

24 protected by such measures. 


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1 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ROUTING AND OTHER NAVI2 GATIONAL MEASURES.—The Commandant shall establish 

3 such routing or other navigational measures for areas 

4 identified under subsection (a). 

5 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF AREAS TO BE AVOIDED.— 

6 To the extent that the Commandant and the Under Sec7 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere identify areas in which 

8 navigational measures are warranted for an area under 

9 subsection (a), the Secretary and the Under Secretary 

10 shall seek to establish such areas through the Inter11 national Maritime Organization or establish comparable 

12 areas pursuant to regulations and in a manner that is con13 sistent with international law. 

14 (e) OIL SHIPMENT DATA AND REPORT.— 

15 (1) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commandant of 

16 the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Chief of 

17 Engineers, shall analyze data on oil transported as 

18 cargo on vessels in the navigable waters of the 

19 United States, including information on— 

20 (A) the quantity and type of oil being 

21 transported; 

22 (B) the vessels used for such transpor23 tation; 

24 (C) the frequency with which each type of 

25 oil is being transported; and 


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1 (D) the point of origin, transit route, and 

2 destination of each such shipment of oil. 

3 (2) QUARTERLY REPORT.— 

4 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR QUARTERLY RE5 PORT.—The Secretary shall, not less frequently 

6 than once each calendar quarter, submit to the 

7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans8 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

9 Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report on the data collected and 

11 analyzed under paragraph (1). 

12 (B) FORMAT.—Each report submitted 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in 

14 a format that does not disclose information ex15 empted from disclosure. 

16 SEC. 209. NOTICE TO STATES OF BULK OIL TRANSFERS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State may, by law, require a 

18 person to provide notice of 24 hours or more to the State 

19 and to the Coast Guard prior to transferring oil in bulk 

20 as cargo in an amount equivalent to 250 barrels or more 

21 to, from, or within a vessel in State waters. 

22 (b) COAST GUARD ASSISTANCE.—The Commandant 

23 of the Coast Guard may assist a State in developing ap24 propriate methodologies for joint Federal and State notifiVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 cation of an oil transfer described in subsection (a) to min2 imize any potential burden to vessels. 

3 SEC. 210. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS ADVISORY 

4 COUNCIL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil 

6 Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by inserting after sec7 tion 4118 (33 U.S.C. 1203 note) the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4119. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVI9 SORY COUNCIL. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Gulf 

11 of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (referred to 

12 in this section as the ‘Council’). 

13 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed 

14 of voting members and nonvoting members, as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—Each of the States of 

16 Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas 

17 shall each have 6 voting members on the Council 

18 who shall be residents of the State and appointed by 

19 the Governor of the State from a list of nominees 

20 provided by each of the following interests in the 

21 State, such that each interest in each State is rep22 resented by a voting member: 

23 ‘‘(A) Commercial fin fish and shellfish in24 dustry. 

25 ‘‘(B) Charter fishing industry. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Restaurant, hotel, and tourism indus2 tries. 

3 ‘‘(D) Indigenous peoples communities. 

4 ‘‘(E) Marine and coastal conservation com5 munity. 

6 ‘‘(F) Incorporated and unincorporated mu7 nicipalities. 

8 ‘‘(2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—One ex-officio, 

9 nonvoting representative shall be designated by, and 

10 represent, each of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The Coast Guard. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agen13 cy. 

14 ‘‘(C) The National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Man17 agement, Regulation and Enforcement. 

18 ‘‘(E) The lead maritime environmental and 

19 natural resources management and enforcement 

20 agency from each of the States of Alabama, 

21 Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 

22 ‘‘(c) TERMS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The voting members of the 

24 Council shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—For the terms 

2 of the group of first appointments of voting mem3 bers to the Council, a drawing of lots among the ap4 pointees shall be conducted under which— 

‘‘(A) 1 5 ⁄3 of that group shall serve for 3 

6 years; 

‘‘(B) 1 7 ⁄3 of that group shall serve for 2 

8 years; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the remainder of that group shall 

10 serve for 1 year. 

11 ‘‘(3) DURATION OF COUNCIL.—The duration of 

12 the Council shall be throughout the lifetime of en13 ergy development, transportation, and facility re14 moval activities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

15 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) elect a chairperson; 

18 ‘‘(B) select staff; and 

19 ‘‘(C) make policies with regard to internal 

20 operating procedures. 

21 ‘‘(2) SELF-GOVERNANCE.—After the initial or22 ganizational meeting hosted by the Secretary of the 

23 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, 

24 the Council shall be self-governing. 

25 ‘‘(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Council shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) conduct the operations of the Council 

2 in public, to the maximum extent practicable; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) make the work products the Council 

5 adopts available to the public. 

6 ‘‘(4) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—An individual 

7 selected as a voting member of the Council may not 

8 engage in any activity that may conflict with the 

9 execution of the functions or duties of the individual 

10 as a Council member. 

11 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall, with re13 gard to facilities and tank vessels in, and on the 

14 coast of, the Gulf of Mexico— 

15 ‘‘(A) with regard to facilities and tank ves16 sels in, and on the coast of, the Gulf of Mex17 ico— 

18 ‘‘(i) provide comprehensive oversight 

19 and monitoring of policies, permits, and 

20 regulations relating to the activities, oper21 ation, and maintenance of the facilities and 

22 tank vessels; 

23 ‘‘(ii) monitor the environmental im24 pacts of the operation of the facilities and 

25 tank vessels; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) monitor oil spill prevention and 

2 response plans, including plans relating to 

3 blowout prevention and response, for the 

4 facilities and tank vessels; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) recommend standards and condi6 tions for regulations intended to ensure the 

7 safe and environmentally sound operation 

8 and maintenance of the facilities and tank 

9 vessels; 

10 ‘‘(B) provide recommendations for, and 

11 otherwise assist, any oil spill recovery or spill 

12 research institute established for the Gulf of 

13 Mexico; and 

14 ‘‘(C) conduct such other activities within 

15 the authority and scope of the Council as the 

16 Council considers appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—The Council shall 

18 carry out the duties described in paragraph (1) in a 

19 manner that, to the maximum extent practicable, 

20 covers all activities of facilities and tank vessels oc21 curring in the Gulf of Mexico. 

22 ‘‘(f) STANDING COMMITTEES.—The Council may cre23 ate standing committees as necessary to carry out the du24 ties described in subsection (e), including— 

25 ‘‘(1) a scientific and technical committee; 


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1 ‘‘(2) an environmental monitoring committee; 

2 ‘‘(3) an oil spill prevention and response com3 mittee; 

4 ‘‘(4) an offshore committee for monitoring ac5 tivities in water that is more than 500 feet in depth; 

6 ‘‘(5) a near-shore committee for monitoring ac7 tivities in water that is 500 feet or less in depth; 

8 ‘‘(6) an information and education committee; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(7) a committee on social impact assessments: 

11 prevention, mitigation and response. 

12 ‘‘(g) TEMPORARY COMMITTEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the standing 

14 committees authorized to be created in subsection 

15 (f), the Council may create temporary committees as 

16 necessary to carry out the duties of the Council re17 lating to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the blowout and explosion of the mo19 bile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon 

20 that occurred on April 20, 2010; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the resulting hydrocarbon releases 

22 into the environment, including temporary com23 mittees relating to— 

24 ‘‘(i) public and occupational health; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) assessment and monitoring of en2 vironmental, social and economic impacts. 

‘‘(2) DISSOLUTION.—If a 2 3 ⁄3 majority of the 

4 Council votes to discontinue activities relating to the 

5 incidents described in paragraph (1), any temporary 

6 committee established under paragraph (1) shall dis7 solve within 60 days after the date of the vote. 

8 ‘‘(h) ESTOPPEL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall not be 

10 liable under Federal or State law for costs or dam11 ages as a result of rendering recommendations under 

12 this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADVICE.—Any advice given by a voting 

14 member of the Council, or by a program representa15 tive or agent, shall not be grounds for estopping 

16 those interests represented by the voting Council 

17 members from seeking damages or other appropriate 

18 relief. 

19 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES AND

20 INDUSTRY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may request 

22 directly from any Federal agency (as defined in sec23 tion 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 6903)) (referred to in this section as a ‘FedVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 eral agency’) information, suggestions, estimates, 

2 and statistics for the purposes of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) AGENCY COOPERATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning 

5 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

6 section, each Federal agency shall, with respect 

7 to all permits, site-specific regulations, and 

8 other matters governing the activities and ac9 tions within the purview of the Council, consult 

10 with the Council prior to taking substantive ac11 tion with respect to the permit, site-specific reg12 ulation, or other matter. 

13 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—The consultation shall be 

14 carried out in a manner that enables the Coun15 cil— 

16 ‘‘(i) to review the permit, site-specific 

17 regulation, or other matters; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) to make appropriate recommen19 dations regarding operations, policy, or 

20 agency actions. 

21 ‘‘(C) EMERGENCIES.—Prior consultation 

22 shall not be required under this paragraph if an 

23 authorized Federal agency representative rea24 sonably believes that an emergency exists re25 quiring action without delay. 


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1 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION.—Each Federal agen2 cy shall, on the request of the Council, to the 

3 extent authorized by law, furnish information, 

4 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to 

5 the Council. 

6 ‘‘(3) ACCESS.—The Council shall have access to 

7 oil and gas industry facilities and records that are 

8 relevant to the proper execution of the duties of the 

9 Council under this section. 

10 ‘‘(j) COUNCIL RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec11 tion, the Council— 

12 ‘‘(1) may conduct applicable scientific research; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(2) shall review applicable scientific work un15 dertaken by or on behalf of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the energy industry; 

17 ‘‘(B) the conservation community; or 

18 ‘‘(C) government agencies. 

19 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All recommendations of the 

21 Council shall be advisory only. 

22 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If a government 

23 agency, responsible party, or other owner or oper24 ator, lessee, or permittee (referred to in this para25 graph as the ‘covered individual or entity’) decides 


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1 not to accept, or decides to substantially modify be2 fore adoption, a recommendation of the Council, the 

3 covered individual or entity shall provide to the 

4 Council, not later than 10 days after the date of the 

5 decision of the covered individual or entity, a written 

6 notice of the decision and a summary of reasons for 

7 the rejection or substantial modification of the rec8 ommendation by the covered individual or entity. 

9 ‘‘(l) LOCATION AND COMPENSATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) OFFICE LOCATIONS.—The Council shall 

11 establish offices in 1 or more Gulf States, as the 

12 Council determines to be necessary and appropriate 

13 to the operations of the Council. 

14 ‘‘(2) PER DIEM AUTHORIZATION.—A member of 

15 the Council may not be compensated for service on 

16 the Council, but shall be allowed travel expenses, in17 cluding per diem, at a rate established by the Coun18 cil, not to exceed the rates authorized for employees 

19 of agencies under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, 

20 United States Code (except by express authorization 

21 of the Council in any case in which the rates are in22 adequate to reimburse a member not eligible for 

23 travel rates of the Federal Government). 

24 ‘‘(m) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) GAO REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of establishment of the Council and 

3 every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 

4 the United States shall submit to the President and 

5 Congress a report covering the operations and ex6 penditures of the Council in carrying out this sec7 tion, including any recommendations. 

8 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Every 

9 2 years, the Council shall submit a report to Con10 gress on— 

11 ‘‘(A) the achievement of safe operations in 

12 the Gulf of oil and gas activities; and 

13 ‘‘(B) on the operations and expenditures, 

14 needs, problems, issues, and recommendations 

15 of the Council. 

16 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL AUDITS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) commission an annual inde19 pendent financial statement audit by an 

20 independent accounting firm; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) publish the results of the audits 

22 in a publicly available annual report. 

23 ‘‘(B) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—The audits 

24 shall be incorporated into the reports to Con25 gress required by paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(n) SUITS BARRED.—No program, association, 

2 council, committee, or other organization created by this 

3 section may sue any public or private person or entity con4 cerning any matter arising under this section other than 

5 the performance of a contracts. 

6 ‘‘(o) OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUND7 ING.—Owners or operators of tank vessels, onshore facili8 ties, or offshore facilities, lessees, and permittees in the 

9 Gulf of Mexico shall provide, on an annual basis, an aggre10 gate amount of not more than $10,000,000, as determined 

11 by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

12 Guard is operating, that shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) provide for the establishment and oper14 ation of the Council (including standing committees 

15 and any temporary committees); and 

16 ‘‘(2) be adjusted annually to reflect changes in 

17 the Consumer Price Index in the Gulf of Mexico re18 gion.’’. 

19 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

20 section 2 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. prec. 

21 2701) is amended by adding at the end of the items relat22 ing to title IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 4119. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.’’. 


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1 SEC. 211. VESSEL LIABILITY. 

2 Section 1004(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

3 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) for a vessel that is— 

6 ‘‘(A) a tank ship that is a single-hull ves7 sel, including a single-hull vessel fitted with 

8 double sides only or a double bottom only, 

9 $3,300 per gross ton or $93,600,000, whichever 

10 is greater; 

11 ‘‘(B) a tank ship that is a double-hull ves12 sel, $1,900 per gross ton or $16,000,000, 

13 whichever is greater; 

14 ‘‘(C) a tank barge that is a single-hull ves15 sel, including a single-hull vessel fitted with 

16 double sides only or a double bottom only, 

17 $7,000 per gross ton or $29,100,000, whichever 

18 is greater; or 

19 ‘‘(D) a tank barge that is a double-hull 

20 vessel, $7,000 per gross ton or $36,900,000, 

21 whichever is greater;’’. 

22 SEC. 212. COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

23 Section 1012(a)(5)(A) of the Oil Pollution Act of 

24 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)(A)) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting 

26 ‘‘$50,000,000’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end and in2 serting ‘‘, of which amount not less than 40 percent 

3 shall be used to conduct research, development, and 

4 evaluation of oil spill response and removal tech5 nologies and methods;’’. 

6 SEC. 213. PROMPT INTERGOVERNMENTAL NOTICE OF MA7 RINE CASUALTIES. 

8 Section 6101 of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(j) NOTICE TO STATES AND TRIBAL GOVERN11 MENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY.—Not later 

13 than 1 hour after receiving a report of a marine cas14 ualty under this section, the Secretary shall forward 

15 the report to each appropriate State agency and 

16 tribal government of an Indian tribe (as defined in 

17 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) that has ju19 risdiction concurrent with the United States or adja20 cent to waters in which the marine casualty oc21 curred. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—Each 

23 State shall identify for the Secretary the appropriate 

24 State agency to receive a report under paragraph 

25 (1). Such agency shall be responsible for forwarding 


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1 appropriate information related to such report to 

2 local and tribal governments within the State.’’. 

3 SEC. 214. PROMPT PUBLICATION OF OIL SPILL INFORMA4 TION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any response to an oil spill in 

6 which the Commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the 

7 Federal On-Scene Coordinator leading a Unified Com8 mand, the Commandant, on a publicly accessible Web site, 

9 all written Incident Action Plans prepared and approved 

10 as a part of the response to such oil spill. 

11 (b) TIMELINESS AND DURATION.—The Commandant 

12 shall— 

13 (1) publish each Incident Action Plan pursuant 

14 to subsection (a) promptly after such Plan is ap15 proved for implementation by the Unified Command, 

16 and in no event later than 12 hours into the oper17 ational period for which such Plan is prepared; and 

18 (2) ensure that such plan remains remain pub19 licly accessible by Web site for the duration of the 

20 response to oil spill. 

21 (c) REDACTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The 

22 Commandant may redact information from an Incident 

23 Action Plans published pursuant to subsection (a) to the 

24 extent necessary to comply with applicable privacy laws 

25 and other requirements regarding personal information. 


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1 TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS 

2 RELATING TO OIL SPILLS 

3 SEC. 301. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE ACTIVI4 TIES WITH RESPECT TO OIL SPILL SURVEYS. 

5 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL PROTOCOLS FOR

6 OIL SPILL SURVEYS.—Not later than 270 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

8 for Oceans and Atmosphere shall, in coordination with the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the 

10 Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of such 

11 departments and agencies of State governments as the 

12 Under Secretary considers appropriate, develop standard 

13 national protocols for oil spill response and clean up as14 sessments to promote consistent procedures for collecting 

15 shoreline characterization data. 

16 (b) GUIDANCE AND TOOLS FOR APPLICATION OF NA17 TIONAL PROTOCOLS FOR OIL SPILL SURVEYS.—The 

18 Under Secretary shall develop guidance and tools for oil 

19 spill responders and offer instructional courses to ensure 

20 that the protocols developed under subsection (a) are used 

21 during oil spill responses in the waters of the United 

22 States. 


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1 SEC. 302. COORDINATION BETWEEN NATIONAL OCEANIC 

2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, COAST 

3 GUARD, AND DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR ON 

4 OIL SPILL MATTERS. 

5 (a) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO6 GRAM.—Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

7 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘the Sec9 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of the depart10 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, and’’ 

11 before ‘‘the Attorney General,’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro14 gram,’’ in the first sentence and all that follows 

15 through the end of the paragraph and inserting 

16 ‘‘program— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General may, after con18 sultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 

19 submit comments on the anticipated effects of 

20 the proposed program on competition; 

21 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Commerce may sub22 mit comments on the anticipated effects of the 

23 proposed program on the human, marine, and 

24 coastal environments, including the likelihood of 

25 occurrence and potential severity of spills and 

26 chronic pollution; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of the department in 

2 which the Coast Guard is operating may submit 

3 comments on the adequacy of the response ca4 pabilities of the Federal Government for spills 

5 and chronic pollution that may occur as a result 

6 of the proposed program; and 

7 ‘‘(D) any State, local government, or other 

8 person may submit comments and recommenda9 tions as to any aspect of the proposed pro10 gram.’’; and 

11 (B) in the second sentence in paragraph 

12 (2), by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘Attorney General, the Secretary of Com14 merce, the Secretary of the department in 

15 which the Coast Guard is operating,’’. 

16 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.—Section 20(f) of the 

17 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346(f)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘(f) In executing’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In executing’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC

24 ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

2 other requirement under law, the Secretary 

3 shall, prior to the approval of any program, 

4 lease, exploration plan, or development and pro5 duction plan, consult with the Administrator of 

6 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin7 istration (referred to in this paragraph as the 

8 ‘Administrator’) on the reasonably foreseeable 

9 adverse effects of the proposed action to ocean 

10 and coastal resources, including oil spills. 

11 ‘‘(B) INITIATION OF CONSULTATION.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

13 shall initiate consultation under subpara14 graph (A) at the earliest practicable time, 

15 but in no case later than 90 days before 

16 the date of approval of the proposed ac17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

19 On the initiation of consultation, the Sec20 retary shall provide the Administrator with 

21 information describing the nature, location, 

22 and duration of the proposed action, and a 

23 description of all reasonably foreseeable 

24 adverse effects to ocean and coastal re25 sources. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVES.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At any time prior 

3 to the date that is 45 days before the ap4 proval of the proposed action, the Adminis5 trator may recommend alternatives to any 

6 proposed action, including measures that 

7 will prevent or minimize reasonably fore8 seeable adverse effects to ocean and coastal 

9 resources. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SECRETARIAL ACTION.—The 

11 Secretary shall incorporate into the ap12 proval for the proposed action the alter13 natives or mitigation measures rec14 ommended under clause (i), unless the Sec15 retary— 

16 ‘‘(I) determines that the alter17 natives or mitigation measures are not 

18 necessary to prevent or minimize rea19 sonably foreseeable adverse effects to 

20 marine and coastal resources; and 

21 ‘‘(II) notifies the Administrator 

22 in writing of the reasons for that deci23 sion.’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com3 mittee to be known as the Federal Oil Spill Research Com4 mittee (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 

7 composed of members selected by the Under Sec8 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere to represent the 

9 following: 

10 (A) The National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration. 

12 (B) The Coast Guard. 

13 (C) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

14 (D) Such other Federal agencies as the 

15 Under Secretary considers appropriate. 

16 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary shall 

17 designate a Chairperson from among members of 

18 the Committee who represent the National Oceanic 

19 and Atmospheric Administration. 

20 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.— 

21 (1) RESEARCH.—The Committee shall— 

22 (A) coordinate a comprehensive program of 

23 oil pollution research, technology development, 

24 and demonstration among the Federal agencies, 

25 in cooperation and coordination with industry, 

26 universities, research institutions, State and 


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1 local governments, tribal governments, and 

2 other nations, as the Committee considers ap3 propriate; and 

4 (B) foster cost-effective research mecha5 nisms, including the joint funding of research. 

6 (2) REPORTS ON CURRENT STATE OF OIL SPILL

7 PREVENTION AND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act, the Committee shall submit to Congress a 

11 report on the current state of oil spill preven12 tion and response capabilities that— 

13 (i) identifies current research pro14 grams conducted by governments, univer15 sities, and corporate entities; 

16 (ii) assesses the current status of 

17 knowledge on oil pollution prevention, re18 sponse, and mitigation technologies; 

19 (iii) establishes national research pri20 orities and goals for oil pollution tech21 nology development related to prevention, 

22 response, mitigation, and environmental ef23 fects; 

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1 nated program of research at the regional 

2 level developed in consultation with State 

3 and local governments and tribes; 

4 (v) assesses the current state of spill 

5 response equipment, and determines areas 

6 in need of improvement including amount, 

7 age, quality, effectiveness, or necessary 

8 technological improvements; 

9 (vi) assesses the current state of real 

10 time data available to mariners, including 

11 water level, currents and weather informa12 tion and predictions, and assesses whether 

13 lack of timely information increases the 

14 risk of oil spills; 

15 (vii) assesses the capacity of the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis17 tration to respond to, and restore, and re18 habilitate marine sanctuaries, monuments, 

19 sea turtles, and other protected species; 

20 (viii) establishes goals for improved oil 

21 spill prevention and response upon which 

22 to target research for the following 5-year 

23 period before the next report is submitted 

24 under subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (ix) includes such recommendations as 

2 the Committee considers appropriate. 

3 (B) QUINQUENNIAL UPDATES.—The Com4 mittee shall submit a report every fifth year 

5 after its first report under subparagraph (A) 

6 updating the information contained in its pre7 vious report under this paragraph. 

8 (d) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out its duties 

10 under subsection (c)(1), the Committee shall estab11 lish a program for conducting oil pollution research 

12 and development. 

13 (2) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program estab14 lished under paragraph (1) shall provide for re15 search, development, and demonstration of new or 

16 improved technologies which are effective in pre17 venting, detecting, or mitigating oil discharges and 

18 which protect the environment, and include the fol19 lowing: 

20 (A) High-priority research areas described 

21 in the report. 

22 (B) Direct and indirect environmental ef23 fects of acute and chronic oil spills on marine 

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1 rine mammals, sea turtles, and other protected 

2 species. 

3 (C) Monitoring, modeling, and under4 standing the near- and long-term effects of 

5 major spills and long-term cumulative effects of 

6 smaller endemic spills. 

7 (D) New technologies to detect accidental 

8 or intentional overboard discharges. 

9 (E) Mechanical response capabilities, such 

10 as improved booms, oil skimmers, and storage 

11 capacity. 

12 (F) Methods to respond to, restore, and re13 habilitate natural resources and ecosystem 

14 health and services damaged by oil discharges, 

15 including impacts on marine sanctuaries, monu16 ments, other protected areas, marine mammals, 

17 sea turtles, and other protected species.. 

18 (G) Research and training, in consultation 

19 with the National Response Team, to improve 

20 industry’s and Government’s ability to remove 

21 an oil discharge quickly and effectively. 

22 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

24 days after submitting the report to Congress 

25 under subsection (c)(2)(A), the Committee shall 


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1 submit to Congress a plan for the implementa2 tion of the program required by paragraph (1). 

3 (B) ASSESSMENT BY NATIONAL ACADEMY

4 OF SCIENCES.—The Chairperson shall, acting 

5 through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

6 Administration, contract with the National 

7 Academy of Sciences to— 

8 (i) provide advice and guidance in the 

9 preparation and development of the plan 

10 required by subparagraph (A); and 

11 (ii) assess the adequacy of the plan as 

12 submitted, and submit a report to Con13 gress on the conclusions of such assess14 ment. 

15 (e) GRANT PROGRAM IN SUPPORT OF RESEARCH

16 AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, 

18 in consultation with the National Science Founda19 tion, manage a program of competitive grants to 

20 universities or other research institutions, or groups 

21 of universities or research institutions, for the pur22 poses of conducting the program established under 

23 subsection (d). 

24 (2) APPLICATIONS AND CONDITIONS.—In con25 ducting the program, the Under Secretary— 


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1 (A) shall establish a notification and appli2 cation procedure; 

3 (B) may establish such conditions and re4 quire such assurances as may be appropriate to 

5 ensure the efficiency and integrity of the grant 

6 program; and 

7 (C) may make grants under the program 

8 on a matching or nonmatching basis. 

9 (f) ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.—The Committee shall 

10 accept comments and input from State and local govern11 ments, Indian tribes, industry representatives, and other 

12 stakeholders in carrying out its duties under subsection 

13 (c). 

14 (g) FACILITATION.—The Committee may develop 

15 memoranda of agreement or memoranda of understanding 

16 with universities, State and local governments, or other 

17 entities to facilitate the research program required by sub18 section (d). 

19 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Chairperson of the 

20 Committee shall submit an annual report to Congress on 

21 the activities carried out under this section in the pre22 ceding fiscal year, and on activities proposed to be carried 

23 out under this section in the current fiscal year. 

24 (i) COMMITTEE REPLACES EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 

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1 thority provided by section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act 

2 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) for the establishment of the 

3 Interagency Committee on Oil Pollution Research under 

4 subsection (a) of that section, and that Committee shall 

5 cease operations and terminate on the date of the enact6 ment of this Act. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Se9 curing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment Act’’ 

10 or the ‘‘SHORE Act’’. 

11 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

12 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RESPONSE, PREVENTION, AND RESTORATION CAPACITY 

Sec. 101. Improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oil spill 

response, prevention, and restoration capacity. 

Sec. 102. Use of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for expenses of National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration. 

Sec. 103. Investment of amounts in Damage Assessment and Restoration Revolving Fund in interest-bearing obligations. 

Sec. 104. Strengthening coastal State oil spill planning and response. 

Sec. 105. Gulf of Mexico long-term marine environmental monitoring and research program. 

Sec. 106. Arctic research and action to conduct oil spill prevention. 

Sec. 107. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration subsea hydrocarbon 

monitoring and assessment. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING COAST GUARD RESPONSE AND INSPECTION 

CAPACITY 

Sec. 201. Secretary defined. 

Sec. 202. Arctic maritime readiness and oil spill prevention. 

Sec. 203. Coast Guard response plan requirements. 

Sec. 204. Advance planning and prompt decisionmaking in closing and reopening fishing grounds. 

Sec. 205. Oil spill technology evaluation. 

Sec. 206. Coast Guard inspections. 

Sec. 207. Certificate of inspection requirements. 


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Sec. 208. Navigational measures for protection of natural resources. 

Sec. 209. Notice to States of bulk oil transfers. 

Sec. 210. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. 

Sec. 211. Arctic Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. 

Sec. 212. Vessel liability. 

Sec. 213. Coast Guard research and development. 

Sec. 214. Prompt intergovernmental notice of marine casualties. 

Sec. 215. Prompt publication of oil spill information. 

TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO OIL SPILLS 

Sec. 301. Coordination of Federal and State activities with respect to oil spill 

surveys. 

Sec. 302. Coordination between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coast Guard, and Department of Interior on oil spill matters. 

Sec. 303. Federal Oil Spill Research Committee. 

Sec. 304. Authority of Secretary of Transportation. 

Sec. 305. Increased funding for environmental oversight and monitoring by the 

Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound regional citizens’ advisory 

councils. 

TITLE IV—CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 401. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 402. Amendment of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

Sec. 403. Agreements; redesignations. 

Sec. 404. Emergency assistance. 

Sec. 405. Emergency response, stabilization, and restoration. 

Sec. 406. Prohibited activities. 

Sec. 407. Destruction of coral reefs. 

Sec. 408. Enforcement. 

Sec. 409. Permits. 

Sec. 410. Regulations. 

Sec. 411. Judicial review. 

Sec. 412. Definitions. 


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1 TITLE I—IMPROVING NATIONAL 

2 OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

3 ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL 

4 RESPONSE, PREVENTION, 

5 AND RESTORATION CAPACITY 

6 SEC. 101. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS7 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RE8 SPONSE, PREVENTION, AND RESTORATION 

9 CAPACITY. 

10 (a) REVIEW OF ABILITY OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

11 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO RESPOND TO OIL

12 SPILLS.— 

13 (1) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not 

14 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmos16 phere shall conduct a comprehensive review of the cur17 rent capacity of the National Oceanic and Atmos18 pheric Administration to respond to oil spills. 

19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The review conducted under 

20 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

21 (A) A comparison of oil spill modeling re22 quirements with the state-of-the-art oil spill mod23 eling with respect to near shore and offshore 

24 areas. 


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1 (B) Development of recommendations on 

2 priorities for improving forecasting of oil spill 

3 trajectories and impacts, including the identi4 fication of gaps in ocean observing infrastruc5 ture. 

6 (C) An inventory of the products and tools 

7 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad8 ministration that can aid in assessment of the 

9 potential risk and impacts of oil spills. Such 

10 products and tools may include environmental 

11 sensitivity index maps, the United States Inte12 grated Ocean Observing System, and regional 

13 information coordinating entities established as 

14 part of such System, high frequency radar, and 

15 oil spill trajectory models. 

16 (D) An identification of the baseline oceano17 graphic and climate data required to support 

18 state-of-the-art modeling. 

19 (E) An assessment of the Administration’s 

20 ability to respond to the effects of an oil spill on 

21 its trust resources, including— 

22 (i) marine sanctuaries, monuments, 

23 and other protected areas; and 


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1 (ii) marine mammals, sea turtles, and 

2 other protected species, and efforts to rescue 

3 and rehabilitate such species. 

4 (F) An assessment of the capacity of the Ad5 ministration to monitor and test effectively and 

6 efficiently seafood for oil contamination resulting 

7 from an oil spill, including the extent to which 

8 all available resources of the Administration in 

9 the affected spill region can be utilized. 

10 (G) An identification of resources available 

11 to the Administration through partnerships with 

12 the private sector and academic institutions that 

13 can aid in risk assessment and impacts of oil 

14 spills. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Upon completion of the review re16 quired by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

17 submit to Congress a report on such review, including 

18 the findings of the Under Secretary with respect to 

19 such review. 

20 (b) OIL SPILL TRAJECTORY MODELING.—The Under 

21 Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall be responsible 

22 for developing and maintaining oil spill trajectory mod23 eling capabilities for the United States, including taking 

24 such actions as may be required by subsections (c) through 

25 (g). In carrying out such actions, the Under Secretary shall 


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1 coordinate with national laboratories with established oil 

2 spill modeling expertise. 

3 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX.— 

4 (1) UPDATE.—Beginning not later than 180 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

6 not less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter, 

7 the Under Secretary shall update the environmental 

8 sensitivity index products of the National Oceanic 

9 and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal 

10 area of the United States and for each offshore area 

11 of the United States that is leased or under consider12 ation for leasing for offshore energy production. 

13 (2) EXPANDED COVERAGE.—Not later than 270 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Under Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, create an environmental sensitivity index 

17 product for each area described in paragraph (1) for 

18 which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin19 istration did not have an environmental sensitivity 

20 index product on the day before the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PROD23 UCT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environ24 mental sensitivity index product’’ means a map or 

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1 line, coastal or offshore, resources prior to an oil spill 

2 event in order to set baseline priorities for protection 

3 and plan cleanup strategies, typically including in4 formation relating to shoreline type, biological re5 sources, and human use resources. 

6 (d) QUINQUENNIAL REPORT ON ECOLOGICAL BASE7 LINES, IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL AREAS, AND ECONOMIC

8 RISKS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act and not less fre11 quently than once every 5 years thereafter, the Under 

12 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that, with 

13 respect to regions that are leased or are under consid14 eration for leasing for offshore energy production— 

15 (A) characterizes ecological baselines; 

16 (B) identifies important ecological areas, 

17 critical habitats, and migratory behaviors; and 

18 (C) identifies potential risks posed by hy19 drocarbon develolpment on regional, State, and 

20 local economies. 

21 (2) IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL AREA DEFINED.—In 

22 this subsection, the term ‘‘important ecological area’’ 

23 means an area that— 

24 (A) contributes significantly to local or 

25 larger marine ecosystem health; or 


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1 (B) is a unique or especially sensitive ma2 rine ecosystem. 

3 (e) SUBSEA HYDROCARBON REVIEW.—Not later than 

4 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 Under Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive review of 

6 the current state of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration to observe, monitor, map, and track subsea 

8 hydrocarbons, including a review of the effect of subsea hy9 drocarbons and dispersants at varying concentrations on 

10 living marine resources. 

11 (f) NATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER ON OIL

12 SPILLS.—The Under Secretary shall establish a national 

13 information center on oil spills that— 

14 (1) includes scientific information and research 

15 on oil spill preparedness, response, and restoration; 

16 (2) serves as a single access point for emergency 

17 responders for such scientific data; 

18 (3) provides outreach and utilizes communica19 tion mechanisms to inform partners, the public, and 

20 local communities about the availability of oil spill 

21 preparedness, prevention, response, and restoration 

22 information and services and otherwise improves pub23 lic understanding and minimizes impacts of oil spills; 

24 and 


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1 (4) applies the data interoperability standards 

2 developed by the Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing 

3 System to allow for free and open access to all rel4 evant Federal and non-federal data using, to the ex5 tent practicable, the existing infrastructure of the re6 gional information coordinating entities developed as 

7 part of the Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing Sys8 tem as a portal for accessing non-federal data. 

9 (g) INITIATIVE ON OIL SPILLS FROM AGING AND

10 ABANDONED OIL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Not later than 270 

11 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

12 Secretary shall establish an initiative— 

13 (1) to determine the significance, response, fre14 quency, size, potential fate, and potential effects, in15 cluding those on sensitive habitats, of oil spills result16 ing from aging and abandoned oil infrastructure; and 

17 (2) to formulate recommendations on how best to 

18 address such spills. 

19 (h) INVENTORY OF OFFSHORE ABANDONED OR SUNK20 EN VESSELS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall develop 

22 an inventory of offshore abandoned or sunken vessels in the 

23 exclusive economic zone of the United States and identify 

24 priorities (based on amount of oil, feasibility of oil recovery, 

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1 tive action) for potential preemptive removal of oil or other 

2 actions that may be effective to mitigate the risk of oil spills 

3 from offshore abandoned or sunken vessels. 

4 SEC. 102. USE OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND FOR 

5 EXPENSES OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT6 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

7 Section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

8 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) 

10 as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(B) not more than $25,000,000 in each fis14 cal year shall be available to the Under Sec15 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere without fur16 ther appropriation for expenses incurred by, and 

17 activities related to, preparedness, response, res18 toration, and damage assessment capabilities of 

19 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis20 tration and to the rescue and rehabilitation of 

21 injured marine species; 

22 ‘‘(C) not more than $20,000,000 in each fis23 cal year shall be available to the Under Sec24 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere for collection 

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1 opment of technologies identified by the Office of 

2 Response and Restoration of the National Oce3 anic and Atmospheric Administration as bene4 ficial for prevention, removal, wildlife rehabilita5 tion, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and en6 forcement related to oil discharges;’’. 

7 SEC. 103. INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN DAMAGE ASSESS8 MENT AND RESTORATION REVOLVING FUND 

9 IN INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS. 

10 The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such a por11 tion of the amounts in the Damage Assessment and Restora12 tion Revolving Fund described in title I of the Departments 

13 of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Re14 lated Agencies Appropriations Act of 1991 (33 U.S.C. 2706 

15 note) as is not required to meet current withdrawals, as 

16 determined by the Secretary, in interest-bearing obligations 

17 of the United States in accordance with section 9602 of the 

18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

19 SEC. 104. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL 

20 PLANNING AND RESPONSE. 

21 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

22 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 320. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL RE2 SPONSE AND PLANNING. 

3 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make 

4 grants to eligible coastal states— 

5 ‘‘(1) to revise management programs approved 

6 under section 306 and National Estuarine Research 

7 Reserves approved under section 315 to identify and 

8 implement new enforceable policies and procedures to 

9 ensure sufficient response capabilities at the State 

10 level to address the environmental, economic, and so11 cial impacts of oil spills or other accidents resulting 

12 from Outer Continental Shelf energy activities with 

13 the potential to affect land or water use or natural 

14 resources of the coastal zone; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to review and revise where necessary appli16 cable enforceable policies within approved coastal 

17 State management programs affecting coastal energy 

18 activities and energy to ensure that these policies are 

19 consistent with— 

20 ‘‘(A) other emergency response plans and 

21 policies developed under Federal or State law; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) new policies and procedures developed 

24 under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—New enforceable policies and proce2 dures developed by coastal states with grants awarded 

3 under this section shall consider, but not be limited to— 

4 ‘‘(1) other existing emergency response plans, 

5 procedures, and enforceable policies developed under 

6 other Federal or State law that affect the coastal zone; 

7 ‘‘(2) identification of critical infrastructure es8 sential to facilitate spill or accident response activi9 ties; 

10 ‘‘(3) identification of coordination, logistics and 

11 communication networks between Federal and State 

12 government agencies, and between State agencies and 

13 affected local communities, to ensure the efficient and 

14 timely dissemination of data and other information; 

15 ‘‘(4) inventories of shore locations and infra16 structure and equipment necessary to respond, or 

17 monitor environmental impacts of, oil spills or other 

18 accidents resulting from Outer Continental Shelf en19 ergy activities; 

20 ‘‘(5) identification and characterization of sig21 nificant or sensitive marine ecosystems or other areas 

22 possessing important conservation, recreational, eco23 logical, historic, economic, or aesthetic values; 


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1 ‘‘(6) inventories and surveys of shore locations 

2 and infrastructure capable of supporting alternative 

3 energy development; 

4 ‘‘(7) observing capabilities necessary to assess 

5 ocean conditions before, during, and after a spill; and 

6 ‘‘(8) other information or actions as may be nec7 essary; 

8 ‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall, within 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this section and after 

10 consultation with the coastal states, publish guidelines for 

11 the application for and use of grants under this section. 

12 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—Coastal states shall provide op13 portunity for public participation in developing new en14 forceable policies and procedures under this section pursu15 ant to subsection (d)(1) or (e) of section 306, especially by 

16 relevant Federal agencies, other coastal state agencies, local 

17 governments, regional organizations, port authorities, and 

18 other interested parties and stakeholders, public and pri19 vate, that are related to, or affected by Outer Continental 

20 Shelf energy activities. 

21 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2011 

23 through 2015, the Secretary may make a grant to a 

24 coastal state to develop new enforceable policies and 

25 procedures as required under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT AMOUNTS AND LIMIT ON AWARDS.— 

2 The amount of any grant to any one coastal state 

3 under this section shall not exceed $750,000 for any 

4 fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(3) NO STATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTION RE6 QUIRED.—A coastal state shall not be required to con7 tribute any portion of the cost of a grant awarded 

8 under this section. 

9 ‘‘(4) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—A coastal state that 

10 receives a grant under this section may transfer grant 

11 funds to an appropriate agency of the coastal state. 

12 ‘‘(5) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND LIMIT ON

13 AWARDS.—After an initial grant is made to a coastal 

14 state under this section, no subsequent grant may be 

15 made to that coastal state under this section unless 

16 the Secretary finds that the coastal state is satisfac17 torily developing revisions to address offshore energy 

18 impacts. No coastal state is eligible to receive grants 

19 under this section for more than 2 fiscal years. 

20 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this section 

21 shall only apply if appropriations are provided to the Sec22 retary to make grants under this section to enable States 

23 to develop new or revised enforceable policies and proce24 dures. Further, this section shall not be construed to convey 

25 any new authority to any coastal state, or repeal or superVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 sede any existing authority of any coastal state, to regulate 

2 the siting, licensing, leasing, or permitting of alternative 

3 energy facilities in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf 

4 under the administration of the Federal Government. Noth5 ing in this section repeals or supersedes any existing coastal 

6 state authority. 

7 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE BY THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

8 shall, as authorized under section 310(a) and to the extent 

9 practicable, make available to coastal states the resources 

10 and capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration to provide technical assistance to the coast12 al states to prepare revisions to approved management pro13 grams to meet the requirements under this section.’’. 

14 SEC. 105. GULF OF MEXICO LONG-TERM MARINE ENVIRON15 MENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH PRO16 GRAM. 

17 (a) ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH

18 PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act and subject to 

21 the availability of appropriations or other sources of 

22 funding, the Secretary shall, acting through the 

23 Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, estab24 lish and carry out a long-term marine environmental 

25 monitoring and research program for the marine and 


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1 coastal environment of the Gulf of Mexico to ensure 

2 that the Federal Government has independent, peer3 reviewed scientific data and information to assess 

4 long-term direct and indirect impacts on trust re5 sources located in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast 

6 region resulting from the oil spill caused by the mo7 bile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

8 (2) PERIOD OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 

9 carry out the program required by paragraph (1) 

10 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

11 the commencement of the program. The Secretary 

12 may extend such period upon a determination by the 

13 Secretary that additional monitoring and research is 

14 warranted. 

15 (b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The program established 

16 under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

17 (1) Monitoring and research of the physical, 

18 chemical, and biological characteristics of the affected 

19 marine, coastal, and estuarine areas of the Gulf of 

20 Mexico and other regions of the exclusive economic 

21 zone of the United States and adjacent regions af22 fected by the oil spill caused by the mobile offshore 

23 drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

24 (2) The fate, transport, and persistence of oil re25 leased during the spill and spatial distribution 


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1 throughout the water column, including in-situ burn 

2 residues. 

3 (3) The fate, transport, and persistence of chem4 ical dispersants applied in-situ or on surface waters. 

5 (4) Identification of lethal and sub-lethal im6 pacts to shellfish, fish, and wildlife resources that uti7 lize habitats located within the affected region. 

8 (5) Impacts to regional, State, and local econo9 mies that depend on the natural resources of the af10 fected area, including commercial and recreational 

11 fisheries, tourism, and other wildlife-dependent recre12 ation. 

13 (6) Other elements considered necessary by the 

14 Secretary to ensure a comprehensive marine research 

15 and monitoring program to comprehend and under16 stand the implications to trust resources caused by the 

17 oil spill from the mobile offshore drilling unit Deep18 water Horizon. 

19 (c) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—In developing 

20 the research and monitoring program established under sub21 section (a), the Secretary shall— 

22 (1) coordinate with the United States Geological 

23 Survey; and 

24 (2) consult with— 


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1 (A) the National Ocean Research Leader2 ship Council established under section 7902 of 

3 title 10, United States Code; 

4 (B) the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

5 Council established under section 302(a)(1) of 

6 the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

7 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)); 

8 (C) such representatives from the Gulf coast 

9 States, including fishermen and the related sea10 food industry, and affected countries as the Sec11 retary considers appropriate; 

12 (D) academic institutions and other re13 search organizations; 

14 (E) regional information coordination enti15 ties (as defined in section 12303(6) of the Inte16 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System 

17 Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3602(6); and 

18 (F) such other experts with expertise in 

19 long-term environmental monitoring and re20 search of the marine environment as the Sec21 retary considers appropriate. 

22 (d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Upon review by and ap23 proval of the Attorney General regarding impacts on legal 

24 claims or litigation involving the United States, data and 

25 information generated through the program established 


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1 under subsection (a) shall be managed and archived accord2 ing to the standards developed under section 12304 of the 

3 Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

4 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603) to ensure that it is accessible and 

5 available to governmental and nongovernmental personnel 

6 and to the general public for their use and information. 

7 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

8 the commencement of the program under subsection (a) and 

9 biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

10 a comprehensive report— 

11 (1) summarizing the activities and findings of 

12 the program; and 

13 (2) detailing areas and issues requiring future 

14 monitoring and research. 

15 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) GULF COAST STATE.—The term ‘‘Gulf coast 

17 State’’ means each of the States of Texas, Louisiana, 

18 Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. 

19 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Commerce. 

21 (3) TRUST RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘trust re22 sources’’ means the living and non-living natural re23 sources belonging to, managed by, held in trust by, 

24 appertaining to, or otherwise controlled by the United 


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1 States, any State, an Indian tribe, or a local govern2 ment. 

3 SEC. 106. ARCTIC RESEARCH AND ACTION TO CONDUCT OIL 

4 SPILL PREVENTION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall, 

6 acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmos7 phere and in collaboration with the heads of other agencies 

8 or departments of the United States with appropriate Arc9 tic science expertise, and by building on existing regional 

10 ocean observing systems, direct research to improve the abil11 ity of the United States to conduct oil spill prevention, re12 sponse, observing, and recovery in Arctic waters. 

13 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Research, observation, and action 

14 under this section shall include the prioritization of re15 sources— 

16 (1) to address— 

17 (A) ecological baselines and environmental 

18 sensitivity indexes, including stock assessments 

19 of marine mammals and other protected species 

20 in the Arctic; 

21 (B) identification of ecological important 

22 areas, sensitive habitats, and migratory behav23 iors; 

24 (C) the development of oil spill trajectory 

25 models in Arctic marine conditions; 


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1 (D) the collection of observational data es2 sential for response strategies in the event of an 

3 oil spill during both open water and ice-covered 

4 seasons, including data relating to oil spill tra5 jectory models that include data on— 

6 (i) currents; 

7 (ii) winds; 

8 (iii) weather; 

9 (iv) waves; and 

10 (v) ice forecasting; 

11 (E) the development of a robust operational 

12 monitoring program during the open water and 

13 ice-covered seasons; 

14 (F) improvements in technologies and un15 derstanding of cold water oil recovery planning 

16 and restoration implementation; and 

17 (G) the integration of local and traditional 

18 knowledge into oil recovery research studies; and 

19 (2) to establish a robust geospatial framework for 

20 safe navigation and oil spill response through in21 creased— 

22 (A) hydrographic and bathymetric sur23 veying, mapping, and navigational charting; 

24 (B) geodetic positioning; and 


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1 (C) monitoring of tides, sea levels, and cur2 rents in the Arctic. 

3 SEC. 107. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS4 TRATION SUBSEA HYDROCARBON MONI5 TORING AND ASSESSMENT. 

6 (a) SUBSEA HYDROCARBON REVIEW.—Not later than 

7 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall conduct 

9 a comprehensive review of the current state of the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the capacity 

11 of the Administration to monitor, map, and track subsea 

12 hydrocarbons. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The review conducted under sub14 section (a) shall include the following: 

15 (1) A review of protocol for application of 

16 dispersants that contemplates the variables of tem17 perature, pressure, and depth of the site of release of 

18 hydrocarbons. 

19 (2) A review of technological capabilities to de20 tect the presence of subsea hydrocarbons at various 

21 concentrations and at various depths within a water 

22 column resulting from releases of oil and natural gas 

23 after a spill. 


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1 (3) A review of technological capabilities for ex2 peditiously identifying the source (known as 

3 ‘‘fingerprinting’’) of subsea hydrocarbons. 

4 (4) A review of coastal and ocean current mod5 eling as it relates to predicting the trajectory of oil 

6 and natural gas. 

7 (5) A review of the effect of subsea hydrocarbons 

8 (all concentrations including down to hydrocarbon 

9 chains in solution) on all levels of the food web, in10 cluding evaluations of seafood safety, toxicity to indi11 viduals, negative impacts to reproduction, bioaccumu12 lation, growth, and such other matters as the Under 

13 Secretary considers appropriate. 

14 (6) Development of recommendations on prior15 ities for improving forecasting of movement of subsea 

16 hydrocarbons. 

17 (7) Development of recommendations for long18 term remote monitoring of subsea hydrocarbons after 

19 a spill, including dissolved oxygen impacts. 

20 (8) Development of recommendations for imple21 mentation of a Subsea Hydrocarbon Monitoring and 

22 Assessment program within the Office of Response 

23 and Restoration. 

24 (c) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 


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1 shall establish a hydrocarbon monitoring and assessment 

2 program. Such program shall be based on the recommenda3 tions developed under the comprehensive review required by 

4 subsection (a). 

5 (d) FUNDING.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, out of any funds in the Oil 

7 Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of 

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 not otherwise appro9 priated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 

10 Secretary of Commerce to carry out the provisions of this 

11 section $15,000,000 to remain available until expended. 

12 TITLE II—IMPROVING COAST 

13 GUARD RESPONSE AND IN14 SPECTION CAPACITY 

15 SEC. 201. SECRETARY DEFINED. 

16 In this title, except as otherwise specifically provided, 

17 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Depart18 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating. 

19 SEC. 202. ARCTIC MARITIME READINESS AND OIL SPILL 

20 PREVENTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 

22 Guard shall assess and take action to reduce the risk and 

23 improve the capability of the United States to respond to 

24 a maritime disaster in the United States Beaufort and 

25 Chukchi Seas. 


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1 (b) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The assessment 

2 and actions referred to in subsection (a) shall include the 

3 prioritization of resources to address the following: 

4 (1) Oil spill prevention and response capabilities 

5 and infrastructure. 

6 (2) The coordination of contingency plans and 

7 agreements with other agencies and departments of 

8 the United States, industry, and foreign governments 

9 to respond to an Arctic oil spill. 

10 (3) The expansion of search and rescue capabili11 ties, infrastructure, and logistics, including improve12 ments of the Search and Rescue Optimal Planning 

13 System. 

14 (4) The provisional designation of places of ref15 uge. 

16 (5) The evaluation and enhancement of naviga17 tional infrastructure. 

18 (6) The evaluation and enhancement of vessel 

19 monitoring, tracking, and automated identification 

20 systems and navigational aids and communications 

21 infrastructure for safe navigation and marine acci22 dent prevention in the Arctic. 

23 (7) Shipping traffic risk assessments for the Ber24 ing Strait and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. 


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1 (8) The integration of local and traditional 

2 knowledge and concerns into prevention and response 

3 strategies. 

4 SEC. 203. COAST GUARD RESPONSE PLAN REQUIREMENTS. 

5 (a) RESPONSE PLAN UPDATES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

7 all response plans approved by the Coast Guard 

8 under section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) to be updated not less 

10 often than once every five years. 

11 (2) BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY.—Each re12 sponse plan update required by paragraph (1) shall 

13 utilize the best commercially available technology and 

14 methods to contain and remove to the maximum ex15 tent practicable a worst case discharge (including a 

16 discharge resulting from fire or explosion), and to 

17 mitigate or prevent a substantial threat of such a dis18 charge. 

19 (3) TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS.—The Coast 

20 Guard may establish requirements and guidance for 

21 utilizing the best commercially available technology 

22 and methods, which shall be based on performance 

23 metrics and standards whenever practicable. 

24 (4) RESUBMISSION.—Each update required by 

25 paragraph (1) shall be considered a significant 


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1 change requiring it to be resubmitted for approval by 

2 the Coast Guard. 

3 (b) VESSEL RESPONSE PLANS.—The Secretary shall 

4 require that all vessel response plans prepared pursuant to 

5 section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

6 (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) for vessels described in section 3301(16) 

7 of title 46, United States Code, as amended by section 207 

8 of this Act, include plans for responding to a worst case 

9 discharge (as described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

10 section 311(a)(24) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

11 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(24))), and to a threat of such a dis12 charge. 

13 SEC. 204. ADVANCE PLANNING AND PROMPT DECISION14 MAKING IN CLOSING AND REOPENING FISH15 ING GROUNDS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT THAT AREA CONTINGENCY PLANS

17 CONTAIN AREA-SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS.— 

18 (1) COOPERATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL OFFI19 CIALS.—Section 311(j)(4)(B)(ii) of the Federal Water 

20 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)(B)(ii)) is 

21 amended by striking the semicolon after ‘‘wildlife’’ 

22 and inserting a comma and ‘‘including advance plan23 ning with respect to the closing and reopening of fish24 ing grounds following an oil spill;’’. 


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1 (2) FRAMEWORK.—Section 311(j)(4)(C) of the 

2 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

3 1321(j)(4)(C)) is amended— 

4 (A) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) 

5 as clauses (viii) and (ix), respectively; and 

6 (B) by inserting after clause (vi) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(vii) develop a framework for advance 

9 planning and decisionmaking with respect 

10 to the closing and reopening of fishing 

11 grounds following an oil spill, including 

12 protocols and standards for the closing and 

13 reopening of fishing areas;’’. 

14 (b) NATIONAL GUIDANCE.—Section 311(j)(4)(D) of the 

15 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

16 1321(j)(4)(D)) is amended— 

17 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in19 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(iii) acting through the Commandant 

22 of the Coast Guard and in consultation 

23 with the Under Secretary for Oceans and 

24 Atmosphere and any other government enti25 ties deemed appropriate, issue guidance for 


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1 Area Committees to use in developing a 

2 framework for advance planning and deci3 sionmaking with respect to the closing and 

4 reopening of fishing grounds following an 

5 oil spill, which guidance shall include model 

6 protocols and standards for the closing and 

7 reopening of fishing areas.’’. 

8 SEC. 205. OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a pro10 gram for the formal evaluation and validation of oil pollu11 tion containment and removal methods and technologies. 

12 (b) APPROVAL.—The program required by subsection 

13 (a) shall establish a process for new methods and tech14 nologies to be submitted and evaluated and to gain valida15 tion for use in spill responses and inclusion in response 

16 plans. Following each validation, the Secretary shall con17 sider whether the method or technology meets a performance 

18 capability warranting designation of a new standard for 

19 best available technology or methods. 

20 (c) TECHNOLOGY CLEARINGHOUSE.—All technologies 

21 and methods validated under this section shall be included 

22 in the comprehensive list of spill removal resources main23 tained by the Coast Guard through the National Response 

24 Unit. 


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1 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult with 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, the Under Secretary for 

3 Oceans and Atmosphere, the Administrator of the Environ4 mental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Transportation, 

5 and the Secretary of Energy in carrying out this section. 

6 SEC. 206. COAST GUARD INSPECTIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall increase the 

8 frequency and comprehensiveness of safety inspections of all 

9 United States and foreign-flag tank vessels that enter a 

10 United States port or place, including increasing the fre11 quency and comprehensiveness of inspections of vessel age, 

12 hull configuration, and past violations of any applicable 

13 discharge and safety regulations under United States and 

14 international law that may indicate that the class societies 

15 inspecting such vessels may be substandard, and other fac16 tors relevant to the potential risk of an oil spill. 

17 (b) ENHANCED VERIFICATION OF STRUCTURAL CONDI18 TION.—The Secretary shall adopt, as part of the Secretary’s 

19 inspection requirements for tank vessels, additional proce20 dures for enhancing the verification of the reported struc21 tural condition of such vessels, taking into account the Con22 dition Assessment Scheme adopted by the International 

23 Maritime Organization by Resolution 94(46) on April 27, 

24 2001. 


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1 SEC. 207. CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Chapter 33 of title 46, United States Code, is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) in section 3301, by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(16) vessels and other structures, fixed or float7 ing, including those which dynamically hold position 

8 or are attached to the seabed or subsoil, which are ca9 pable of exploring for, drilling for, developing, or pro10 ducing oil or gas.’’; and 

11 (2) in section 3305(a)(1)— 

12 (A) by amending subparagraph (E) to read 

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘(E) is in a condition to be operated with 

15 safety to life and property, including the oper16 ation of systems used for the capabilities de17 scribed in paragraph (16) of section 3301, in18 cluding— 

19 ‘‘(i) drilling systems, including risers 

20 and blow out preventers; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) production systems, if so 

22 equipped;’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

24 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

25 (C) by adding the following: 


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1 ‘‘(G) for vessels and other structures de2 scribed in paragraph (16) of section 3301 (in3 cluding the systems used for the capabilities de4 scribed in paragraph (16) of section 3301), com5 plies with the highest classification, certification, 

6 rating, and inspection standards for vessels or 

7 structures of the same age and type imposed 

8 by— 

9 ‘‘(i) the American Bureau of Shipping; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(ii) another classification society ap12 proved by the Secretary as meeting accept13 able standards for such a society, except 

14 that the classification of vessels or structures 

15 under this section by a foreign classification 

16 society may be accepted by the Secretary 

17 only— 

18 ‘‘(I) to the extent that the govern19 ment of the foreign country in which 

20 the society is headquartered accepts 

21 classification by the American Bureau 

22 of Shipping of vessels and structures 

23 used in the offshore exploration, devel24 opment, and production of oil and gas 

25 in that country; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) if the foreign classification 

2 society has offices and maintains 

3 records in the United States.’’. 

4 SEC. 208. NAVIGATIONAL MEASURES FOR PROTECTION OF 

5 NATURAL RESOURCES. 

6 (a) DESIGNATION OF AT-RISK AREAS.—The Com7 mandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the 

8 Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall identify 

9 areas in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

10 States in which routing or other navigational measures are 

11 warranted to reduce the risk of oil spills and potential dam12 age to natural resources. In identifying such areas, the 

13 Commandant shall give priority consideration to natural 

14 resources of particular ecological importance or economic 

15 importance, including— 

16 (1) commercial fisheries; 

17 (2) aquaculture facilities; 

18 (3) marine sanctuaries designated by the Sec19 retary of Commerce pursuant to the National Marine 

20 Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); 

21 (4) estuaries of national significance designated 

22 under section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Con23 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1330); 


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1 (5) critical habitat, as defined in section 3(5) of 

2 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

3 1532(5)); 

4 (6) estuarine research reserves within the Na5 tional Estuarine Research Reserve System established 

6 by section 315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

7 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461); and 

8 (7) national parks and national seashores ad9 ministered by the National Park Service under the 

10 National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et 

11 seq.). 

12 (b) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In determining whether 

13 navigational measures are warranted for an area under 

14 subsection (a), the Commandant and the Under Secretary 

15 for Oceans and Atmosphere shall consider, at a minimum— 

16 (1) the frequency of transits of vessels which are 

17 required to prepare a response plan under section 

18 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

19 U.S.C. 1321(j)); 

20 (2) the type and quantity of oil transported as 

21 cargo or fuel; 

22 (3) the expected benefits of routing measures in 

23 reducing risks of spills; 

24 (4) the costs of such measures; 

25 (5) the safety implications of such measures; and 


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1 (6) the nature and value of the resources to be 

2 protected by such measures. 

3 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ROUTING AND OTHER NAVI4 GATIONAL MEASURES.—The Commandant shall establish 

5 such routing or other navigational measures for areas iden6 tified under subsection (a). 

7 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF AREAS TO BE AVOIDED.—To 

8 the extent that the Commandant and the Under Secretary 

9 for Oceans and Atmosphere identify areas in which naviga10 tional measures are warranted for an area under subsection 

11 (a), the Commandant and the Under Secretary shall seek 

12 to establish such areas through the International Maritime 

13 Organization or establish comparable areas pursuant to 

14 regulations and in a manner that is consistent with inter15 national law. 

16 (e) OIL SHIPMENT DATA AND REPORT.— 

17 (1) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commandant of the 

18 Coast Guard, in consultation with the Chief of Engi19 neers, shall analyze data on oil transported as cargo 

20 on vessels in the navigable waters of the United 

21 States, including information on— 

22 (A) the quantity and type of oil being 

23 transported; 

24 (B) the vessels used for such transportation; 


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1 (C) the frequency with which each type of 

2 oil is being transported; and 

3 (D) the point of origin, transit route, and 

4 destination of each such shipment of oil. 

5 (2) QUARTERLY REPORT.— 

6 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR QUARTERLY RE7 PORT.—The Secretary shall, not less frequently 

8 than once each calendar quarter, submit to the 

9 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor10 tation of the Senate and the Committee on En11 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representa12 tives a report on the data collected and analyzed 

13 under paragraph (1). 

14 (B) FORMAT.—Each report submitted under 

15 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in a format 

16 that does not disclose information exempted from 

17 disclosure. 

18 SEC. 209. NOTICE TO STATES OF BULK OIL TRANSFERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State may, by law, require a per20 son to provide notice of 24 hours or more to the State and 

21 to the Coast Guard prior to transferring oil in bulk as cargo 

22 in an amount equivalent to 250 barrels or more to, from, 

23 or within a vessel in State waters. 

24 (b) COAST GUARD ASSISTANCE.—The Commandant of 

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1 priate methodologies for joint Federal and State notifica2 tion of an oil transfer described in subsection (a) to mini3 mize any potential burden to vessels. 

4 SEC. 210. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY 

5 COUNCIL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil Pol7 lution Act of 1990 is amended by inserting after section 

8 4118 (33 U.S.C. 1203 note) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4119. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVI10 SORY COUNCIL. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Gulf of 

12 Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (referred to in 

13 this section as the ‘Council’). 

14 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of 

15 voting members and nonvoting members, as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—Each of the States of 

17 Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas 

18 shall each have 6 voting members on the Council who 

19 shall be residents of the State and appointed from 

20 and by the following interests in the State, such that 

21 each interest in each State is represented by a voting 

22 member: 

23 ‘‘(A) Commercial fin fish and shellfish in24 dustry. 

25 ‘‘(B) Charter fishing industry. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Restaurant, hotel, and tourism indus2 tries. 

3 ‘‘(D) Indigenous peoples communities. 

4 ‘‘(E) Marine and coastal conservation com5 munity. 

6 ‘‘(F) Incorporated and unincorporated mu7 nicipalities. 

8 ‘‘(2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—One ex officio, non9 voting representative shall be designated by, and rep10 resent, each of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The Coast Guard. 

12 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

13 ‘‘(C) The National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration. 

15 ‘‘(D) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage16 ment, Regulation and Enforcement. 

17 ‘‘(E) The lead maritime environmental and 

18 natural resources management and enforcement 

19 agency from each of the States of Alabama, Flor20 ida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 

21 ‘‘(F) The maritime or shipping industry in 

22 the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mis23 sissippi, and Texas. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The offshore energy industry in the 

2 States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mis3 sissippi, and Texas. 

4 ‘‘(H) Researchers in the physical sciences, 

5 the social sciences, and engineering at univer6 sities in the States of Alabama, Florida, Lou7 isiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 

8 ‘‘(3) GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE.—Voting and non9 voting members shall be drawn equally from the State 

10 represented on the Council. 

11 ‘‘(c) TERMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The voting members of the 

13 Council shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

14 ‘‘(2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—For the terms of 

15 the group of first appointments of voting members to 

16 the Council, a drawing of lots among the appointees 

17 shall be conducted under which— 

‘‘(A) 1 18 ⁄3 of that group shall serve for 3 

19 years; 

‘‘(B) 1 20 ⁄3 of that group shall serve for 2 

21 years; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the remainder of that group shall serve 

23 for 1 year. 

24 ‘‘(3) DURATION OF COUNCIL.—The duration of 

25 the Council shall be throughout the lifetime of energy 


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1 development, transportation, and facility removal ac2 tivities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

3 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) elect a chairperson; 

6 ‘‘(B) select staff; and 

7 ‘‘(C) make policies with regard to internal 

8 operating procedures. 

9 ‘‘(2) SELF-GOVERNANCE.—After the initial orga10 nizational meeting hosted by the Secretary of the de11 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, the 

12 Council shall be self-governing. The Council shall hold 

13 its first meeting not later than 60 days after the date 

14 on which all members of the Council have been ap15 pointed, and shall hold meetings thereafter no less fre16 quently than once each year. 

17 ‘‘(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Council shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) conduct the operations of the Council 

19 in public, to the maximum extent practicable; 

20 ‘‘(B) make the work products the Council 

21 adopts available to the public; 

22 ‘‘(C) hold at least 1 meeting each year that 

23 is open to the public, for which notice has been 

24 provided at least 30 days before the date of the 

25 meeting; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) maintain a public website containing, 

2 at a minimum— 

3 ‘‘(i) recommendations made by the 

4 Council, and information as to whether or 

5 not the recommendations were adopted, and, 

6 if not, an explanation of why they were not 

7 adopted; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a description of plans under re9 view, without disclosing any confidential or 

10 privileged information; 

11 ‘‘(iii) a statement of industry stand12 ards; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) an interactive component that 

14 permits the public to submit questions and 

15 comments and to report problems. 

16 ‘‘(4) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—An individual 

17 selected as a voting member of the Council may not 

18 engage in any activity that may conflict with the exe19 cution of the functions or duties of the individual as 

20 a Council member. 

21 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall, with re23 gard to facilities and tank vessels in, and on the coast 

24 of, the Gulf of Mexico— 


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1 ‘‘(A) with regard to facilities and tank ves2 sels in, and on the coast of, the Gulf of Mexico— 

3 ‘‘(i) provide comprehensive oversight 

4 and monitoring of policies, permits, oper5 ations, and regulations relating to the ac6 tivities, operation, and maintenance of the 

7 facilities and tank vessels; 

8 ‘‘(ii) monitor the environmental im9 pacts of the operation of the facilities and 

10 tank vessels; 

11 ‘‘(iii) monitor oil spill prevention and 

12 response plans, including plans relating to 

13 blowout prevention and response, for the fa14 cilities and tank vessels; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) recommend standards and condi16 tions for regulations intended to ensure the 

17 safe and environmentally sound operation 

18 and maintenance of the facilities and tank 

19 vessels; 

20 ‘‘(B) provide recommendations for, and oth21 erwise assist, any oil spill recovery or spill re22 search institute established for the Gulf of Mex23 ico; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) conduct such other activities within 

2 the authority and scope of the Council as the 

3 Council considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—The Council shall 

5 carry out the duties described in paragraph (1) in a 

6 manner that, to the maximum extent practicable, cov7 ers all activities of facilities and tank vessels occur8 ring in the Gulf of Mexico. 

9 ‘‘(f) STANDING COMMITTEES.—The Council may cre10 ate standing committees as necessary to carry out the duties 

11 described in subsection (e), including— 

12 ‘‘(1) a scientific and technical committee; 

13 ‘‘(2) an environmental monitoring committee; 

14 ‘‘(3) an oil spill prevention and response com15 mittee; 

16 ‘‘(4) an offshore committee for monitoring activi17 ties in water that is more than 500 feet in depth; 

18 ‘‘(5) a near-shore committee for monitoring ac19 tivities in water that is 500 feet or less in depth; 

20 ‘‘(6) an information and education committee; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(7) a committee on social impact assessments 

23 with respect to prevention, mitigation, and response. 

24 ‘‘(g) TEMPORARY COMMITTEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the standing 

2 committees authorized to be created in subsection (f), 

3 the Council may create temporary committees as nec4 essary to carry out the duties of the Council relating 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(A) the blowout and explosion of the mo7 bile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon 

8 that occurred on April 20, 2010; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the resulting hydrocarbon releases into 

10 the environment, including temporary commit11 tees relating to— 

12 ‘‘(i) public and occupational health; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) assessment and monitoring of en15 vironmental, social, and economic impacts. 

‘‘(2) DISSOLUTION.—If a 5 16 ⁄6 majority of the 

17 Council votes to discontinue activities relating to the 

18 incidents described in paragraph (1), any temporary 

19 committee established under paragraph (1) shall dis20 solve within 60 days after the date of the vote. 

21 ‘‘(h) ESTOPPEL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall not be lia23 ble under Federal or State law for costs or damages 

24 as a result of rendering recommendations under this 

25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADVICE.—Any advice given by a voting 

2 member of the Council, or by a program representa3 tive or agent, shall not be grounds for estopping those 

4 interests represented by the voting Council members 

5 from seeking damages or other appropriate relief. 

6 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES AND IN7 DUSTRY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may request di9 rectly from any Federal agency (as defined in section 

10 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 6903)) (referred to in this section as a ‘Federal agen12 cy’) information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 

13 for the purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) AGENCY COOPERATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning 180 

16 days after the date of the enactment of this sec17 tion, each Federal agency shall, with respect to 

18 all permits, site-specific regulations, and other 

19 matters governing the activities and actions 

20 within the purview of the Council, consult with 

21 the Council prior to taking substantive action 

22 with respect to the permit, site-specific regula23 tion, or other matter. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—The consultation shall be 

2 carried out in a manner that enables the Coun3 cil— 

4 ‘‘(i) to review the permit, site-specific 

5 regulation, or other matters; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to make appropriate rec7 ommendations regarding operations, policy, 

8 or agency actions. 

9 ‘‘(C) EMERGENCIES.—Prior consultation 

10 shall not be required under this paragraph if an 

11 authorized Federal agency representative reason12 ably believes that an emergency exists requiring 

13 action without delay. 

14 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION.—Each Federal agency 

15 shall, on the request of the Council and to the ex16 tent authorized by law— 

17 ‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

18 furnish information, suggestions, estimates, 

19 and statistics directly to the Council; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of sensitive security 

21 information, furnish such information to 

22 members of the Council authorized to receive 

23 such information. 

24 ‘‘(3) ACCESS.—The Council shall have access 

25 to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) facilities and nonproprietary records 

2 of the oil and gas industry that are relevant to 

3 the proper execution of the duties of the Council 

4 under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(B) records containing proprietary infor6 mation if— 

7 ‘‘(i) the records are relevant to the 

8 proper execution of the duties of the Council 

9 under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the proprietary information is re11 dacted to the extent necessary and appro12 priate. 

13 ‘‘(j) COUNCIL RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec14 tion, the Council— 

15 ‘‘(1) may conduct applicable scientific research; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) shall review applicable scientific work un18 dertaken by or on behalf of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the energy industry; 

20 ‘‘(B) the conservation community; or 

21 ‘‘(C) government agencies. 

22 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All recommendations of the 

24 Council shall be advisory only. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If a government 

2 agency, responsible party, or other owner or operator, 

3 lessee, or permittee (referred to in this paragraph as 

4 the ‘covered individual or entity’) decides not to ac5 cept, or decides to substantially modify before adop6 tion, a recommendation of the Council, the covered in7 dividual or entity shall provide to the Council, not 

8 later than 10 days after the date of the decision of the 

9 covered individual or entity, a written notice of the 

10 decision and a summary of reasons for the rejection 

11 or substantial modification of the recommendation by 

12 the covered individual or entity. 

13 ‘‘(l) LOCATION AND COMPENSATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) OFFICE LOCATIONS.—The Council shall es15 tablish offices in 1 or more Gulf States, as the Coun16 cil determines to be necessary and appropriate to the 

17 operations of the Council. 

18 ‘‘(2) PER DIEM AUTHORIZATION.—A member of 

19 the Council may not be compensated for service on the 

20 Council, but shall be allowed travel expenses, includ21 ing per diem, at a rate established by the Council, not 

22 to exceed the rates authorized for employees of agen23 cies under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 

24 States Code (except by express authorization of the 

25 Council in any case in which the rates are inadequate 


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1 to reimburse a member not eligible for travel rates of 

2 the Federal Government). 

3 ‘‘(m) REPORTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) GAO REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years 

5 after the date of establishment of the Council and 

6 every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 

7 the United States shall submit to the President and 

8 Congress a report covering the operations and expend9 itures of the Council in carrying out this section, in10 cluding any recommendations. 

11 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Every 

12 2 years, the Council shall submit a report to Congress 

13 on— 

14 ‘‘(A) the achievement of safe operations in 

15 the Gulf of oil and gas activities; 

16 ‘‘(B) unresolved problems and concerns with 

17 operations, activities, and plans; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the operations and expenditures, needs, 

19 issues, and recommendations of the Council. 

20 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL AUDITS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) commission an annual inde23 pendent financial statement audit by an 

24 independent accounting firm; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) publish the results of the audits 

2 in a publicly available annual report. 

3 ‘‘(B) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—The audits shall 

4 be incorporated into the reports to Congress re5 quired by paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(n) SUITS BARRED.—No program, association, coun7 cil, committee, or other organization created by this section 

8 may sue any public or private person or entity concerning 

9 any matter arising under this section other than the per10 formance of a contract. 

11 ‘‘(o) OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDING.— 

12 Owners or operators of tank vessels, onshore facilities, or 

13 offshore facilities, lessees, and permittees in the Gulf of Mex14 ico shall provide, on an annual basis, an aggregate amount 

15 of not more than $10,000,000, as determined by the Sec16 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is oper17 ating, that shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) provide for the establishment and operation 

19 of the Council (including standing committees and 

20 any temporary committees); and 

21 ‘‘(2) be adjusted annually to reflect changes in 

22 the Consumer Price Index in the Gulf of Mexico re23 gion.’’. 

24 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

25 section 2 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. prec. 


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1 2701) is amended by adding at the end of the items relating 

2 to subtitle A of title IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 4119. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.’’. 

3 SEC. 211. ARCTIC REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil Pol5 lution Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–380), as amended by 

6 section 210 of this Act, is further amended by adding at 

7 the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4120. ARCTIC REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COUN9 CIL. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Arctic 

11 Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. 

12 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the Council is— 

13 ‘‘(1) to advise the Administrator of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency, the Commandant of the 

15 Coast Guard, the Secretary of Commerce, and the 

16 Secretary of the Interior; and 

17 ‘‘(2) to represent the citizens that live in the 

18 coastal areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in pro19 moting environmentally safe exploration, develop20 ment, and production of oil and gas and to mitigate 

21 impacts to subsistence activities and resources. 

22 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of 

23 voting members and nonvoting members, as follows: 

24 ‘‘(1) VOTING MEMBERS.—There shall be 7 voting 

25 members of the Council as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The mayor of the North Slope Bor2 ough. 

3 ‘‘(B) The president of Arctic Slope Regional 

4 Corporation. 

5 ‘‘(C) The mayor of the Northwest Arctic 

6 Borough. 

7 ‘‘(D) The president of NANA Regional Cor8 poration. 

9 ‘‘(E) The chairman of the Alaska Eskimo 

10 Whaling Commission. 

11 ‘‘(F) The chairman of the Nanuuq Commis12 sion. 

13 ‘‘(G) The chairman of the Beluga Commis14 sion. 

15 ‘‘(2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—One ex-officio, non16 voting representative shall be designated by, and rep17 resent, each of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) The United States Coast Guard. 

19 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agency. 

20 ‘‘(C) The National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(D) The United States Fish and Wildlife 

23 Service. 

24 ‘‘(E) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Manage25 ment, Regulation and Enforcement. 


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1 ‘‘(F) The Alaska Department of Natural Re2 sources. 

3 ‘‘(G) The Alaska Department of Environ4 mental Conservation. 

5 ‘‘(H) The Alaska Department of Fish and 

6 Game. 

7 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATES.—The vice-chairman, vice 

8 president, or acting mayor, as applicable, of each or9 ganization listed in paragraph (1) may act as a vot10 ing member of the Council at any meeting if the 

11 chairman, president, or mayor, as applicable, from 

12 such organization is unable to attend. 

13 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF COUNCIL.—The Council’s duration 

14 shall be throughout the lifetime of energy exploration, devel15 opment, production and transportation and decommis16 sioning in the waters adjacent to Alaska’s North Slope. 

17 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) elect a chairperson; 

20 ‘‘(B) select staff; and 

21 ‘‘(C) make policies with regard to its inter22 nal operating procedures. 

23 ‘‘(2) SELF-GOVERNANCE.—After the initial orga24 nizational meeting hosted by the Secretary of the deVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating, the 

2 Council shall be self-governing. 

3 ‘‘(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Council shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) conduct its operations in public, to the 

5 extent practicable; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shall make the work products it adopts 

7 available to the public. 

8 ‘‘(f) DUTIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall, with re10 gard to facilities, including vessels and pipelines, and 

11 other infrastructure related to oil and gas exploration, 

12 development, and production in the Chukchi and 

13 Beaufort Seas— 

14 ‘‘(A) provide comprehensive oversight and 

15 monitoring of policies, permits, and regulations 

16 relating to oil and gas exploration, development, 

17 and production— 

18 ‘‘(i) to monitor the environmental im19 pacts of the operation of such activities; 

20 ‘‘(ii) to monitor oil spill prevention 

21 and response plans, including plans relat22 ing to blowout prevention and response; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) to recommend standards and 

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1 eration and maintenance of such activities; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) advise Federal agencies on the impact 

4 of exploration, development, and production on 

5 subsistence activities and species, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) the appropriate location and tim7 ing of development activities in relation to 

8 the various species’ migrations; 

9 ‘‘(ii) modifications to specific develop10 ment proposals to enable compliance with 

11 the subsistence standards in the Marine 

12 Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

13 1361 et seq.); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) marine mammal research needs 

15 in relation to development and marine im16 pacts; and 

17 ‘‘(C) conduct such other activities within 

18 the Council’s authority and scope as it deems ap19 propriate. 

20 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—The Council shall 

21 carry out the duties described in paragraph (1) in a 

22 manner that, to the maximum extent practicable, cov23 ers all potential impacts from oil and gas activities 

24 in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, including impacts 

25 from pipelines and shore-based facilities, except to the 


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1 extent that such activities are already subject to the 

2 permitting authority of the North Slope Borough or 

3 Northwest Arctic Borough. 

4 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) PARTICIPATION BY OWNERS AND OPER6 ATORS.—At the request of the Council, an owner 

7 or operator of an energy development facility, 

8 operation, or activity in the Arctic shall partici9 pate in good faith in a meeting of the Council. 

10 ‘‘(B) OPEN MEETINGS.—All meetings of the 

11 Council shall be open to the public. 

12 ‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Timely public notice of each 

13 regular meeting of the Council (including the 

14 time, place, and agenda of the meeting) shall 

15 be— 

16 ‘‘(i) published in— 

17 ‘‘(I) local newspapers in the re18 gion; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the Federal Register; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) provided by such other means as 

21 would sufficiently publicize the meeting, as 

22 determined by the Council. 

23 ‘‘(g) COMMITTEES AND SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY

24 PANEL.—The Council may create standing or temporary 


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1 committees, or appoint a scientific advisory panel, as nec2 essary to carry out the duties described in subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(h) ESTOPPEL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council is not liable 

5 under State or Federal law for costs or damages as 

6 a result of rendering recommendations under this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(2) ADVICE.—Any advice given by a voting 

9 member of the Council, or by a program representa10 tive or agent, be grounds for estopping those interests 

11 represented by the voting Council members from seek12 ing damages or other appropriate relief. 

13 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES AND IN14 DUSTRY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may request di16 rectly from any Federal agency (as defined in section 

17 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 6903)) (referred to in this section as a ‘Federal agen19 cy’) information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics 

20 for the purposes of this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) AGENCY COOPERATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (C), effective beginning 180 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of the SHORE 

25 Act, each Federal agency shall, with respect to 


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1 all permits, site-specific regulations, and other 

2 matters governing the activities and actions fall3 ing within the purview of the Council, consult 

4 with the Council prior to taking substantive ac5 tion with respect to the permit, site-specific regu6 lation, or other matter. 

7 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—Such consultation shall be 

8 carried out with a view to enabling the Coun9 cil— 

10 ‘‘(i) to review the permit, site-specific 

11 regulation, or other matters; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) to make appropriate rec13 ommendations regarding operations, policy 

14 or agency actions. 

15 ‘‘(C) EMERGENCIES.—No prior consultation 

16 shall be required under this paragraph if an au17 thorized Federal agency representative reason18 ably believes that an emergency exists requiring 

19 action without delay. 

20 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION.—Each Federal agency 

21 shall, upon the request of the Council, to the ex22 tent authorized by law, furnish information, sug23 gestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the 

24 Council. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ACCESS.—The Council and any staff of the 

2 Council shall have access to oil and gas industry fa3 cilities and records that are necessary to the proper 

4 execution of the Council’s duties under this section. 

5 The Council’s right of access to industry records and 

6 facilities shall be the same as that enjoyed by the non7 voting members of the Council or other agencies hav8 ing regulatory authority over the activities or facili9 ties at issue. Any confidential or proprietary infor10 mation provided to the Council under this paragraph 

11 shall be held in the strictest confidence and subject to 

12 a reasonable written confidentiality agreement fur13 nished by the party providing the information. 

14 ‘‘(j) COUNCIL RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec15 tion, the Council or a scientific advisory panel appointed 

16 by the Council, at the Council’s request— 

17 ‘‘(1) may conduct applicable scientific research; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) shall review applicable scientific work un20 dertaken by or on behalf of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the energy industry; 

22 ‘‘(B) the conservation community; or 

23 ‘‘(C) government agencies. 

24 ‘‘(k) COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All recommendations of the 

2 Council shall be advisory only. 

3 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If a government 

4 agency, responsible party, or other owner or operator, 

5 lessee, or permittee (referred to in ths paragraph as 

6 a ‘covered individual or entity’) decides not to accept, 

7 or decides to substantially modify prior to adoption, 

8 a recommendation of the Council, the covered indi9 vidual or entity shall provide to the Council, not later 

10 than 30 days after the date of the decision of the cov11 ered individual or entity, written notice of the deci12 sion and a summary of reasons for the rejection or 

13 substantial modification of the recommendation by 

14 the covered individual or entity. 

15 ‘‘(l) LOCATION AND COMPENSATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) OFFICE LOCATIONS.—The Council shall es17 tablish offices within a coastal community located on 

18 the North Slope of Alaska. 

19 ‘‘(2) PER DIEM AUTHORIZATION.—A member of 

20 the Council may not be compensated for service on the 

21 Council, but shall be allowed travel expenses, includ22 ing per diem, at a rate established by the Council, not 

23 to exceed the rates authorized for employees of agen24 cies under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 

25 States Code (except by express authorization of the 


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1 Council in any case in which such rates are inad2 equate to reimburse a member not eligible for travel 

3 rates of the Federal Government). 

4 ‘‘(m) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GAO REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years 

6 after the date of the establishment of the Council and 

7 every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall submit to the President and 

9 Congress a report covering the operations and expend10 itures of the Council in carrying out this section, in11 cluding any recommendations of the Comptroller Gen12 eral. 

13 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not 

14 later than 2 years after the date of the establishment 

15 of the Council and every 2 years thereafter, the Coun16 cil shall submit to Congress a report on— 

17 ‘‘(A) the achievement of safe operations of 

18 oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the operations, expenditures, needs, 

20 problems, issues, and recommendations of the 

21 Council. 

22 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL AUDITS.—The Council shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) commission an annual independent fi24 nancial statement audit by an independent ac25 counting firm; 


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1 ‘‘(B) publish the results of such audits in a 

2 publicly available annual report; and 

3 ‘‘(C) include each such audit in the reports 

4 to Congress required by paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(n) SUITS BARRED.—No program, association, coun6 cil, committee, or other organization created by this section 

7 may sue any person or entity, public or private, concerning 

8 any matter arising under this section, except for the per9 formance of contracts. 

10 ‘‘(o) OPERATIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Owners or operators of off12 shore facilities, lessees, and permittees in the Beaufort 

13 and Chukchi Seas shall provide, on an annual basis, 

14 an aggregate amount of not less than $5,000,000, as 

15 determined by the Secretary of the department in 

16 which the Coast Guard is operating, which shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) provide for the establishment and oper18 ation of the Council, its standing committees, 

19 and any temporary committees it may establish; 

20 ‘‘(B) be adjusted annually by the Consumer 

21 Price Index in Alaska; and 

22 ‘‘(C) be reduced, by not more than a total 

23 of $2,000,000 annually, for such owners or oper24 ators that partner with organizations established 


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1 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

2 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES.—The provi4 sion of funding under paragraph 1 shall not preclude 

5 the Council from obtaining funding from other 

6 sources and using such funds for any purpose not ex7 pressly prohibited by the bylaws of the Council or this 

8 section.’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

10 section 2 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by 

11 adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle A of title 

12 IV the following: 

‘‘Sec. 4120. Arctic Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.’’. 

13 SEC. 212. VESSEL LIABILITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1004(a) of the Oil Pollu15 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amended by striking 

16 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) for a vessel that is— 

18 ‘‘(A) a tank ship that is a single-hull vessel, 

19 including a single-hull vessel fitted with double 

20 sides only or a double bottom only, $3,300 per 

21 gross ton or $93,600,000, whichever is greater; 

22 ‘‘(B) a tank ship that is a double-hull ves23 sel, $1,900 per gross ton or $16,000,000, which24 ever is greater; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a tank barge that is a single-hull ves2 sel, including a single-hull vessel fitted with dou3 ble sides only or a double bottom only, $7,000 

4 per gross ton or $29,100,000, whichever is great5 er; or 

6 ‘‘(D) a tank barge that is a double-hull ves7 sel, $7,000 per gross ton or $10,000,000, which8 ever is greater;’’. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1001(34) of the Oil Pollu10 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701(34)) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), 

12 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘ ‘tank vessel’ means’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘(A) ‘tank vessel’ means’’; and 

15 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) ‘tank barge’ means a non-self-propelled 

17 tank vessel; and 

18 ‘‘(C) ‘tank ship’ means a self-propelled tank ves19 sel;’’. 

20 SEC. 213. COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

21 Section 1012(a)(5)(A) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

22 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)(A)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$50,000,000’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end and in2 serting ‘‘, of which amount not less than 40 percent 

3 shall be used to conduct research, development, and 

4 evaluation of oil spill response and removal tech5 nologies and methods;’’. 

6 SEC. 214. PROMPT INTERGOVERNMENTAL NOTICE OF MA7 RINE CASUALTIES. 

8 Section 6101 of title 46, United States Code, is amend9 ed by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(j) NOTICE TO STATES AND TRIBAL GOVERN11 MENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY.—Not later than 

13 1 hour after receiving a report of a marine casualty 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall forward the re15 port to each appropriate State agency and tribal gov16 ernment of an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 

17 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education As18 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) that has jurisdiction 

19 concurrent with the United States or adjacent to wa20 ters in which the marine casualty occurred. 

21 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—Each State 

22 shall identify for the Secretary the appropriate State 

23 agency to receive a report under paragraph (1). Such 

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1 priate information related to such report to local and 

2 tribal governments within the State.’’. 

3 SEC. 215. PROMPT PUBLICATION OF OIL SPILL INFORMA4 TION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any response to an oil spill in 

6 which the Commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the 

7 Federal On-Scene Coordinator leading a Unified Com8 mand, the Commandant shall, on a publicly accessible 

9 website, publish all written Incident Action Plans prepared 

10 and approved as a part of the response to such oil spill. 

11 (b) TIMELINESS AND DURATION.—The Commandant 

12 shall— 

13 (1) publish each Incident Action Plan pursuant 

14 to subsection (a) promptly after such Plan is ap15 proved for implementation by the Unified Command, 

16 and in no event later than 12 hours into the oper17 ational period for which such Plan is prepared; and 

18 (2) ensure that such plan remains publicly acces19 sible by website for the duration of the response to the 

20 oil spill. 

21 (c) REDACTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The 

22 Commandant may redact information from an Incident Ac23 tion Plans published pursuant to subsection (a) to the ex24 tent necessary to comply with applicable privacy laws and 

25 other requirements regarding personal information. 


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1 TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS 

2 RELATING TO OIL SPILLS 

3 SEC. 301. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE ACTIVI4 TIES WITH RESPECT TO OIL SPILL SURVEYS. 

5 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL PROTOCOLS FOR OIL

6 SPILL SURVEYS.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Oceans 

8 and Atmosphere shall, in coordination with the Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency, and the heads of such depart11 ments and agencies of State governments as the Under Sec12 retary considers appropriate, develop standard national 

13 protocols for oil spill response and clean up assessments to 

14 promote consistent procedures for collecting shoreline char15 acterization data and to ensure that the format and resolu16 tion of such data are consistent with the needs of coastal 

17 states. Such protocols shall, to the extent practicable, en18 courage the use of electronic methods of data collection. 

19 (b) GUIDANCE AND TOOLS FOR APPLICATION OF NA20 TIONAL PROTOCOLS FOR OIL SPILL SURVEYS.—The Under 

21 Secretary shall develop guidance and tools for oil spill re22 sponders and offer instructional courses to ensure that the 

23 protocols developed under subsection (a) are used during oil 

24 spill responses in the waters of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 302. COORDINATION BETWEEN NATIONAL OCEANIC 

2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, COAST 

3 GUARD, AND DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR ON 

4 OIL SPILL MATTERS. 

5 (a) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASING PRO6 GRAM.—Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

7 Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘the Sec9 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of the department 

10 in which the Coast Guard is operating, and’’ before 

11 ‘‘the Attorney General,’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘pro14 gram,’’ in the first sentence and all that follows 

15 through the end of the paragraph and inserting 

16 ‘‘program— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General may, after con18 sultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 

19 submit comments on the anticipated effects of the 

20 proposed program on competition; 

21 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Commerce may sub22 mit comments on the anticipated effects of the 

23 proposed program on the human, marine, and 

24 coastal environments, including the likelihood of 

25 occurrence and potential severity of spills and 

26 chronic pollution; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of the department in 

2 which the Coast Guard is operating may submit 

3 comments on the adequacy of the response capa4 bilities of the Federal Government for spills and 

5 chronic pollution that may occur as a result of 

6 the proposed program; and 

7 ‘‘(D) any State, local government, or other 

8 person may submit comments and recommenda9 tions as to any aspect of the proposed program.’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) in the second sentence in paragraph 

12 (2), by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘Attorney General, the Secretary of Com14 merce, the Secretary of the department in which 

15 the Coast Guard is operating,’’. 

16 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.—Section 20(f) of the 

17 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1346(f)) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(f) UTILIZATION OF CAPABILITIES OF DEPARTMENT

20 OF COMMERCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In executing the Secretary’s 

22 responsibilities under this section, the Secretary shall, 

23 to the maximum extent practicable, enter into appro24 priate arrangements to utilize on a reimbursable 

25 basis the capabilities of the Department of Commerce. 


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1 In carrying out such arrangements, the Secretary of 

2 Commerce is authorized to enter into contracts or 

3 grants with any person, organization, or entity with 

4 funds appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior 

5 pursuant to this Act. 

6 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD7 MINISTRATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

9 other requirement under law, the Secretary shall, 

10 prior to the approval of any program, lease, ex11 ploration plan, or development and production 

12 plan, consult with the Administrator of the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

14 (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘Adminis15 trator’) on the reasonably foreseeable adverse ef16 fects of the proposed action to ocean and coastal 

17 resources, including oil spills. 

18 ‘‘(B) INITIATION OF CONSULTATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

20 initiate consultation under subparagraph 

21 (A) at the earliest practicable time, but in 

22 no case later than 90 days before the date 

23 of approval of the proposed action. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

25 On the initiation of consultation, the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 retary shall provide the Administrator with 

2 information describing the nature, location, 

3 and duration of the proposed action, and a 

4 description of all reasonably foreseeable ad5 verse effects to ocean and coastal resources. 

6 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At any time prior 

8 to the date that is 45 days before the ap9 proval of the proposed action, the Adminis10 trator may recommend alternatives to any 

11 proposed action, including measures that 

12 will prevent or minimize reasonably foresee13 able adverse effects to ocean and coastal re14 sources. 

15 ‘‘(ii) SECRETARIAL ACTION.—The Sec16 retary shall incorporate into the approval 

17 for the proposed action the alternatives or 

18 mitigation measures recommended under 

19 clause (i), unless the Secretary— 

20 ‘‘(I) determines that the alter21 natives or mitigation measures are not 

22 necessary to prevent or minimize rea23 sonably foreseeable adverse effects to 

24 marine and coastal resources; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) notifies the Administrator 

2 in writing of the reasons for that deci3 sion.’’. 

4 SEC. 303. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mittee to be known as the Federal Oil Spill Research Com7 mittee. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be com10 posed of members selected by the Under Secretary for 

11 Oceans and Atmosphere to represent— 

12 (A) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration; 

14 (B) the Coast Guard; 

15 (C) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

16 (D) the national laboratories; and 

17 (E) such other Federal agencies as the 

18 Under Secretary considers appropriate. 

19 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary shall 

20 designate a Chairperson from among members of the 

21 Committee who represent the National Oceanic and 

22 Atmospheric Administration. 

23 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.— 

24 (1) RESEARCH.—The Committee shall— 


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1 (A) coordinate a comprehensive program of 

2 oil pollution research, technology development, 

3 and demonstration among the Federal agencies, 

4 in cooperation and coordination with industry, 

5 universities, research institutions, national lab6 oratories, State and local governments, tribal 

7 governments, and other nations, as the Com8 mittee considers appropriate; and 

9 (B) foster cost-effective research mecha10 nisms, including the joint funding of research. 

11 (2) REPORTS ON CURRENT STATE OF OIL SPILL

12 PREVENTION AND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Committee shall submit to Congress a report on 

16 the current state of oil spill prevention and re17 sponse capabilities that— 

18 (i) identifies current research programs 

19 and ocean observation activities and ocean 

20 observation activities conducted by govern21 ments, regional information coordination 

22 entities and other non-Federal assets, re23 gional information coordination entities 

24 and other non-Federal assets, universities, 

25 and corporate entities; 


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1 (ii) assesses the current status of 

2 knowledge on oil pollution prevention, re3 sponse, and mitigation technologies; 

4 (iii) establishes national research pri5 orities and goals for oil pollution technology 

6 development related to prevention, response, 

7 mitigation, and environmental effects; 

8 (iv) identifies regional oil pollution re9 search and observing needs and priorities 

10 for a coordinated program of research at the 

11 regional level developed in consultation with 

12 State and local governments and tribes; 

13 (v) assesses the current state of spill re14 sponse equipment, and determines areas in 

15 need of improvement including amount, 

16 age, quality, effectiveness, or necessary tech17 nological improvements; 

18 (vi) assesses the current state of real 

19 time data available to mariners, including 

20 water level, currents and weather informa21 tion and predictions, and assesses whether 

22 lack of timely information increases the risk 

23 of oil spills; 

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1 tration to respond to, and restore, and reha2 bilitate marine sanctuaries, monuments, sea 

3 turtles, and other protected species; 

4 (viii) establishes goals for improved oil 

5 spill prevention and response upon which to 

6 target research for the following 5-year pe7 riod before the next report is submitted 

8 under subparagraph (B); and 

9 (ix) includes such recommendations as 

10 the Committee considers appropriate. 

11 (B) QUINQUENNIAL UPDATES.—The Com12 mittee shall submit a report every fifth year after 

13 its first report under subparagraph (A) updating 

14 the information contained in its previous report 

15 under this paragraph. 

16 (d) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out its duties 

18 under subsection (c)(1), the Committee shall establish 

19 a program for conducting oil pollution research and 

20 development. 

21 (2) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program estab22 lished under paragraph (1) shall provide for research, 

23 development, and demonstration of new or improved 

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1 ing, or mitigating oil discharges and which protect 

2 the environment, and include the following: 

3 (A) High priority research areas described 

4 in the report. 

5 (B) Direct and indirect environmental ef6 fects of acute and chronic oil spills on marine re7 sources, including impacts on marine sanc8 tuaries, monuments, other protected areas, ma9 rine mammals, sea turtles, and other protected 

10 species. 

11 (C) Monitoring, modeling, and under12 standing the near and long-term effects of major 

13 spills and long-term cumulative effects of smaller 

14 endemic spills. 

15 (D) New technologies to detect accidental or 

16 intentional overboard discharges. 

17 (E) Mechanical response capabilities, such 

18 as improved booms, oil skimmers, and storage 

19 capacity. 

20 (F) Methods to respond to, restore, and re21 habilitate natural resources and ecosystem health 

22 and services damaged by oil discharges, includ23 ing impacts on marine sanctuaries, monuments, 

24 other protected areas, marine mammals, sea tur25 tles, and other protected species. 


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1 (G) Research and training, in consultation 

2 with the National Response Team, to improve 

3 industry’s and Government’s ability to remove 

4 an oil discharge quickly and effectively. 

5 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after submitting the report to Congress under 

8 subsection (c)(2)(A), the Committee shall submit 

9 to Congress a plan for the implementation of the 

10 program required by paragraph (1). 

11 (B) ASSESSMENT BY NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

12 SCIENCES.—The Chairperson shall, acting 

13 through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

14 Administration, contract with the National 

15 Academy of Sciences to— 

16 (i) provide advice and guidance in the 

17 preparation and development of the plan re18 quired by subparagraph (A); and 

19 (ii) assess the adequacy of the plan as 

20 submitted, and submit a report to Congress 

21 on the conclusions of such assessment. 

22 (e) GRANT PROGRAM IN SUPPORT OF RESEARCH AND

23 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, in 

25 consultation with the National Science Foundation, 


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1 manage a program of competitive grants to univer2 sities or other research institutions, or groups of uni3 versities or research institutions (including national 

4 laboratories), for the purposes of conducting the pro5 gram established under subsection (d). 

6 (2) APPLICATIONS AND CONDITIONS.—In con7 ducting the program, the Under Secretary— 

8 (A) shall establish a notification and appli9 cation procedure; 

10 (B) may establish such conditions and re11 quire such assurances as may be appropriate to 

12 ensure the efficiency and integrity of the grant 

13 program; and 

14 (C) may make grants under the program on 

15 a matching or nonmatching basis. 

16 (f) ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.—The Committee shall ac17 cept comments and input from State and local governments, 

18 Indian tribes, industry representatives, and other stake19 holders in carrying out its duties under subsection (c). 

20 (g) FACILITATION.—The Committee may develop 

21 memoranda of agreement or memoranda of understanding 

22 with universities, national laboratories, State and local 

23 governments, or other entities to facilitate the research pro24 gram required by subsection (d). 


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1 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Chairperson of the Com2 mittee shall submit an annual report to Congress on the 

3 activities carried out under this section in the preceding 

4 fiscal year, and on activities proposed to be carried out 

5 under this section in the current fiscal year. 

6 (i) COMMITTEE REPLACES EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 

7 The authority provided by this section supersedes the au8 thority provided by section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act 

9 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) for the establishment of the Inter10 agency Committee on Oil Pollution Research under sub11 section (a) of that section, and that Committee shall cease 

12 operations and terminate on the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act. 

14 SEC. 304. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF TRANSPOR15 TATION. 

16 Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

17 (33 U.S.C. 1321) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘operating’’ in subsection 

19 (b)(6)(A) and inserting ‘‘operating, the Secretary of 

20 Transportation,’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (m)(2)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ in sub23 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘Administrator, 

24 the Secretary of Transportation,’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ in sub2 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘Administrator, 

3 the Secretary of Transportation,’’. 

4 SEC. 305. INCREASED FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 

5 OVERSIGHT AND MONITORING BY THE COOK 

6 INLET AND PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND RE7 GIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COUNCILS. 

8 Section 5002(k) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

9 U.S.C. 2732(k)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘$3,500,000’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘not more than 

13 $1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $2,000,000’’. 

14 TITLE IV—CORAL REEF CON15 SERVATION ACT AMEND16 MENTS 

17 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

18 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

19 ‘‘Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2010’’. 

20 SEC. 402. AMENDMENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

21 ACT OF 2000. 

22 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

23 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

24 an amendment to or repeal of a section or other provision, 

25 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 


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1 other provision of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

2 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 403. AGREEMENTS; REDESIGNATIONS. 

4 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 208 (16 U.S.C. 

6 6407) as section 214; 

7 (2) by redesignating section 209 (16 U.S.C. 

8 6408) as section 215; and 

9 (3) by redesignating section 210 (16 U.S.C. 

10 6409) as section 216. 

11 SEC. 404. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 206 (16 U.S.C. 6405) is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 206. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

15 ‘‘The Secretary, in cooperation with the Federal Emer16 gency Management Agency, as appropriate, may provide 

17 assistance to any State, local, or territorial government 

18 agency with jurisdiction over coral reef ecosystems to ad19 dress any unforeseen or disaster-related circumstance per20 taining to coral reef ecosystems.’’. 

21 SEC. 405. EMERGENCY RESPONSE, STABILIZATION, AND 

22 RESTORATION. 

23 Section 207 (16 U.S.C. 6406) is amended to read as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 207. EMERGENCY RESPONSE, STABILIZATION, AND 

2 RESTORATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The Secretary 

4 shall establish an account (to be called the Emergency Re5 sponse, Stabilization, and Restoration Account) in the 

6 Damage Assessment Restoration Revolving Fund estab7 lished by the Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 

8 1991 (33 U.S.C. 2706 note), for implementation of this sub9 section for emergency actions. Amounts appropriated for 

10 the Account under section 219, and funds authorized by sec11 tions 213(d)(1)(C)(ii) and 214(f)(3)(B), shall be deposited 

12 into the Account and made available for use by the Sec13 retary as specified in sections 213 and 214. 

14 ‘‘(b) DEPOSIT AND INVESTMENT OF CERTAIN

15 FUNDS.—Any amounts received by the United States pur16 suant to sections 213(d)(1)(C)(ii) and 212(f)(3)(B) shall be 

17 deposited into the Emergency Response, Stabilization and 

18 Restoration Account established under subsection (a). The 

19 Secretary of Commerce may request the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury to invest such portion of the Damage Assessment 

21 Restoration Revolving Fund as is not, in the judgment of 

22 the Secretary of Commerce, required to meet the current 

23 needs of the fund. Such investments shall be made by the 

24 Secretary of the Treasury in public debt securities, with 

25 maturities suitable to the needs of the fund, as determined 

26 by the Secretary of Commerce and bearing interest at rates 


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1 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 

2 consideration current market yields on outstanding market3 able obligations of the United States of comparable matu4 rity. Interest earned by such investments shall be available 

5 for use by the Secretary without further appropriation and 

6 remain available until expended.’’. 

7 SEC. 406. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) 

9 is amended by inserting after section 207 the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 208. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND SCOPE OF PROHI11 BITIONS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS AS COMPLEMENTARY.—The provi13 sions of this section are in addition to, and shall not affect 

14 the operation of, other Federal, State, or local laws or regu15 lations providing protection to coral reef ecosystems. 

16 ‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION, LOSS, TAKING, OR INJURY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), it is unlawful for any person to destroy, 

19 take, cause the loss of, or injure any coral reef or any 

20 component thereof. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The destruction, loss, taking, 

22 or injury of a coral reef or any component thereof is 

23 not unlawful if it— 

24 ‘‘(A) was caused by the use of fishing gear 

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1 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage2 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or other Fed3 eral or State law; 

4 ‘‘(B) was caused by an activity that is au5 thorized or allowed by Federal or State law (in6 cluding lawful discharges from vessels, such as 

7 graywater, cooling water, engine exhaust, ballast 

8 water, or sewage from marine sanitation de9 vices), unless the destruction, loss, or injury re10 sulted from actions such as vessel groundings, 

11 vessel scrapings, anchor damage, excavation not 

12 authorized by Federal or State permit, or other 

13 similar activities; 

14 ‘‘(C) was the necessary result of bona fide 

15 marine scientific research (including marine sci16 entific research activities approved by Federal, 

17 State, or local permits), other than excessive 

18 sampling or collecting, or actions such as vessel 

19 groundings, vessel scrapings, anchor damage, ex20 cavation, or other similar activities; 

21 ‘‘(D) was caused by a Federal Government 

22 agency— 

23 ‘‘(i) during— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an emergency that posed an 

2 unacceptable threat to human health or 

3 safety or to the marine environment; 

4 ‘‘(II) an emergency that posed a 

5 threat to national security; or 

6 ‘‘(III) an activity necessary for 

7 law enforcement or search and rescue; 

8 and 

9 could not reasonably be avoided; or 

10 ‘‘(E) was caused by an action taken by the 

11 master of the vessel in an emergency situation to 

12 ensure the safety of the vessel or to save a life at 

13 sea. 

14 ‘‘(c) INTERFERENCE WITH ENFORCEMENT.—It is un15 lawful for any person to interfere with the enforcement of 

16 this title by— 

17 ‘‘(1) refusing to permit any officer authorized to 

18 enforce this title to board a vessel (other than a vessel 

19 operated by the Department of Defense or United 

20 States Coast Guard) subject to such person’s control 

21 for the purposes of conducting any search or inspec22 tion in connection with the enforcement of this title; 

23 ‘‘(2) resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, 

24 harassing, bribing, interfering with, or forcibly as25 saulting any person authorized by the Secretary to 


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1 implement this title or any such authorized officer in 

2 the conduct of any search or inspection performed 

3 under this title; or 

4 ‘‘(3) submitting false information to the Sec5 retary or any officer authorized to enforce this title in 

6 connection with any search or inspection conducted 

7 under this title. 

8 ‘‘(d) VIOLATIONS OF TITLE, PERMIT, OR REGULA9 TION.—It is unlawful for any person to violate any provi10 sion of this title, any permit issued pursuant to this title, 

11 or any regulation promulgated pursuant to this title. 

12 ‘‘(e) POSSESSION AND DISTRIBUTION.—It is unlawful 

13 for any person to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or 

14 ship by any means any coral taken in violation of this 

15 title.’’. 

16 (b) EMERGENCY ACTION REGULATIONS.—The Sec17 retary of Commerce shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding 

18 to prescribe the circumstances and conditions under which 

19 the exception in section 208(b)(2)(E) of the Coral Reef Con20 servation Act of 2000, as amended by subsection (a), applies 

21 and shall issue a final rule pursuant to that rulemaking 

22 as soon as practicable but not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act. Nothing in this subsection 

24 shall be construed to require the issuance of such regulations 

25 before the exception provided by that section is in effect. 


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1 SEC. 407. DESTRUCTION OF CORAL REEFS. 

2 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by insert3 ing after section 208, as added by section 406 of this title, 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 209. DESTRUCTION, LOSS, OR TAKING OF, OR INJURY 

6 TO, CORAL REEFS. 

7 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY TO THE UNITED STATES.—Ex9 cept as provided in subsection (f), all persons who en10 gage in an activity that is prohibited under sub11 sections (b) or (d) of section 208, or create an immi12 nent risk thereof, are liable, jointly and severally, to 

13 the United States for an amount equal to the sum 

14 of— 

15 ‘‘(A) response costs and damages resulting 

16 from the destruction, loss, taking, or injury, or 

17 imminent risk thereof, including damages result18 ing from the response actions; 

19 ‘‘(B) costs of seizure, forfeiture, storage, and 

20 disposal arising from liability under this section; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) interest on that amount calculated in 

23 the manner described in section 1005 of the Oil 

24 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2705). 

25 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY IN REM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) Any vessel used in an activity that is 

2 prohibited under subsection (b) or (d) of section 

3 208, or creates an imminent risk thereof, shall be 

4 liable in rem to the United States for an amount 

5 equal to the sum of— 

6 ‘‘(i) response costs and damages result7 ing from such destruction, loss, or injury, or 

8 imminent risk thereof, including damages 

9 resulting from the response actions; 

10 ‘‘(ii) costs of seizure, forfeiture, storage, 

11 and disposal arising from liability under 

12 this section; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) interest on that amount cal14 culated in the manner described in section 

15 1005 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

16 U.S.C. 2705). 

17 ‘‘(B) The amount of liability shall con18 stitute a maritime lien on the vessel and may be 

19 recovered in an action in rem in any district 

20 court of the United States that has jurisdiction 

21 over the vessel. 

22 ‘‘(3) DEFENSES.—A person or vessel is not liable 

23 under this subsection if that person or vessel estab24 lishes that the destruction, loss, taking, or injury was 

25 caused solely by an act of God, an act of war, or an 


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1 act or omission of a third party (other than an em2 ployee or agent of the defendant or one whose act or 

3 omission occurs in connection with a contractual re4 lationship, existing directly or indirectly with the de5 fendant), and the person or master of the vessel acted 

6 with due care. 

7 ‘‘(4) NO LIMIT TO LIABILITY.—Nothing in sec8 tions 30501 through 30512 or section 30706 of title 

9 46, United States Code, shall limit liability to any 

10 person under this title. 

11 ‘‘(b) RESPONSE ACTIONS AND DAMAGE ASSESS12 MENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The Secretary may 

14 undertake or authorize all necessary actions to pre15 vent or minimize the destruction, loss, or taking of, 

16 or injury to, coral reefs, or components thereof, or to 

17 minimize the risk or imminent risk of such destruc18 tion, loss, or injury. 

19 ‘‘(2) DAMAGE ASSESSMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall assess damages (as 

21 defined in section 216(8)) to coral reefs and shall 

22 consult with State officials regarding response 

23 and damage assessment actions undertaken for 

24 coral reefs within State waters. 


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1 ‘‘(B) There shall be no double recovery 

2 under this chapter for coral reef damages, in3 cluding the cost of damage assessment, for the 

4 same incident. 

5 ‘‘(c) COMMENCEMENT OF CIVIL ACTION FOR RE6 SPONSE COSTS AND DAMAGES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT.—The Attorney General, 

8 upon the request of the Secretary, may commence a 

9 civil action against any person or vessel that may be 

10 liable under subsection (a) of this section for response 

11 costs, seizure, forfeiture, storage, or disposal costs, and 

12 damages, and interest on that amount calculated in 

13 the manner described in section 1005 of the Oil Pollu14 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2705). The Secretary, 

15 acting as trustee for coral reefs for the United States, 

16 shall submit a request for such an action to the Attor17 ney General whenever a person or vessel may be liable 

18 for such costs or damages. 

19 ‘‘(2) VENUE IN CIVIL ACTIONS.—A civil action 

20 under this title may be brought in the United States 

21 district court for any district in which— 

22 ‘‘(A) the defendant is located, resides, or is 

23 doing business, in the case of an action against 

24 a person; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the vessel is located, in the case of an 

2 action against a vessel; 

3 ‘‘(C) the destruction, loss, or taking of, or 

4 injury to a coral reef, or component thereof, oc5 curred or in which there is an imminent risk of 

6 such destruction, loss, or injury; or 

7 ‘‘(D) where some or all of the coral reef or 

8 component thereof that is the subject of the ac9 tion is not within the territory covered by any 

10 United States district court, such action may be 

11 brought either in the United States district court 

12 for the district closest to the location where the 

13 destruction, loss, injury, or risk of injury oc14 curred, or in the United States District Court for 

15 the District of Columbia. 

16 ‘‘(d) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any costs, including re18 sponse costs and damages recovered by the Secretary 

19 under this section shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) be deposited into an account or ac21 counts in the Damage Assessment Restoration 

22 Revolving Fund established by the Department of 

23 Commerce Appropriations Act, 1991 (33 U.S.C. 

24 2706 note), or the Natural Resource Damage As25 sessment and Restoration Fund established by 


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1 the Department of the Interior and Related 

2 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992 (43 U.S.C. 

3 1474b), as appropriate given the location of the 

4 violation; 

5 ‘‘(B) be available for use by the Secretary 

6 without further appropriation and remain avail7 able until expended; and 

8 ‘‘(C) be for use, as the Secretary considers 

9 appropriate— 

10 ‘‘(i) to reimburse the Secretary or any 

11 other Federal or State agency that con12 ducted activities under subsection (a) or (b) 

13 of this section for costs incurred in con14 ducting the activity; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to be transferred to the Emer16 gency Response, Stabilization and Restora17 tion Account established under section 

18 208(d) to reimburse that account for 

19 amounts used for authorized emergency ac20 tions; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) after reimbursement of such 

22 costs, to restore, replace, or acquire the 

23 equivalent of any coral reefs, or components 

24 thereof, including the reasonable costs of 

25 monitoring, or to minimize or prevent 


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1 threats of equivalent injury to, or destruc2 tion of coral reefs, or components thereof. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESTORATION CONSIDERATIONS.—In devel4 opment of restoration alternatives under paragraph 

5 (1)(C), the Secretary shall consider State and terri6 torial preferences and, if appropriate, shall prioritize 

7 restoration projects with geographic and ecological 

8 linkages to the injured resources. 

9 ‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action for re10 sponse costs or damages under subsection (c) shall be barred 

11 unless the complaint is filed within 3 years after the date 

12 on which the Secretary completes a damage assessment and 

13 restoration plan for the coral reefs, or components thereof, 

14 to which the action relates. 

15 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.—In the 

16 event of threatened or actual destruction of, loss of, or in17 jury to a coral reef or component thereof resulting from an 

18 incident caused by a component of any Department or 

19 agency of the United States Government, the cognizant De20 partment or agency shall satisfy its obligations under this 

21 section by promptly, in coordination with the Secretary, 

22 taking appropriate actions to respond to and mitigate the 

23 harm and restoring or replacing the coral reef or compo24 nents thereof and reimbursing the Secretary for all assess25 ment costs. 


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1 ‘‘(g) UNIFORMED SERVICE OFFICERS AND EMPLOY2 EES.—No officer or employee of a uniformed service (as de3 fined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) shall 

4 be held liable under this section, either in such officer’s or 

5 employee’s personal or official capacity, for any violation 

6 of section 208 occurring during the performance of the offi7 cer’s or employee’s official governmental duties. 

8 ‘‘(h) CONTRACT EMPLOYEES.—No contract employee of 

9 a uniformed service (as so defined), serving as vessel master 

10 or crew member, shall be liable under this section for any 

11 violation of section 208 if that contract employee— 

12 ‘‘(1) is acting as a contract employee of a uni13 formed service under the terms of an operating con14 tract for a vessel owned by a uniformed service, or a 

15 time charter for pre-positioned vessels, special mission 

16 vessels, or vessels exclusively transporting military 

17 supplies and materials; and 

18 ‘‘(2) is engaged in an action or actions over 

19 which such employee has been given no discretion 

20 (e.g., anchoring or mooring at one or more designated 

21 anchorages or buoys, or executing specific operational 

22 elements of a special mission activity), as determined 

23 by the uniformed service controlling the contract.’’. 


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1 SEC. 408. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by insert3 ing after section 209, as added by section 407 of this title, 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 210. ENFORCEMENT. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct en7 forcement activities to carry out this title. 

8 ‘‘(b) POWERS OF AUTHORIZED OFFICERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is author10 ized to enforce this title may— 

11 ‘‘(A) board, search, inspect, and seize any 

12 vessel or other conveyance suspected of being used 

13 to violate this title, any regulation promulgated 

14 under this title, or any permit issued under this 

15 title, and any equipment, stores, and cargo of 

16 such vessel, except that such authority shall not 

17 exist with respect to vessels owned or time char18 tered by a uniformed service (as defined in sec19 tion 101 of title 10, United States Code) as war20 ships or naval auxiliaries; 

21 ‘‘(B) seize wherever found any component of 

22 coral reef taken or retained in violation of this 

23 title, any regulation promulgated under this 

24 title, or any permit issued under this title; 


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1 ‘‘(C) seize any evidence of a violation of this 

2 title, any regulation promulgated under this 

3 title, or any permit issued under this title; 

4 ‘‘(D) execute any warrant or other process 

5 issued by any court of competent jurisdiction; 

6 ‘‘(E) exercise any other lawful authority; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(F) arrest any person, if there is reason9 able cause to believe that such person has com10 mitted an act prohibited by section 208. 

11 ‘‘(2) NAVAL AUXILIARY DEFINED.—In this sub12 section, the term ‘naval auxiliary’ means a vessel, 

13 other than a warship, that is owned by or under the 

14 exclusive control of a uniformed service and used at 

15 the time of the destruction, take, loss or injury for 

16 government, non-commercial service, including com17 bat logistics force vessels, pre-positioned vessels, spe18 cial mission vessels, or vessels exclusively used to 

19 transport military supplies and materials. 

20 ‘‘(c) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT AND PERMIT SANCTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.—Any per22 son subject to the jurisdiction of the United States 

23 who violates this title or any regulation promulgated 

24 or permit issued hereunder, shall be liable to the 

25 United States for a civil administrative penalty of 


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1 not more than $200,000 for each such violation, to be 

2 assessed by the Secretary. Each day of a continuing 

3 violation shall constitute a separate violation. In de4 termining the amount of civil administrative penalty, 

5 the Secretary shall take into account the nature, cir6 cumstances, extent, and gravity of the prohibited acts 

7 committed and, with respect to the violator, the degree 

8 of culpability, and any history of prior violations, 

9 and such other matters as justice may require. In as10 sessing such penalty, the Secretary may also consider 

11 information related to the ability of the violator to 

12 pay. 

13 ‘‘(2) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—For any person sub14 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States who has 

15 been issued or has applied for a permit under this 

16 title, and who violates this title or any regulation or 

17 permit issued under this title, the Secretary may 

18 deny, suspend, amend, or revoke in whole or in part 

19 any such permit. For any person who has failed to 

20 pay or defaulted on a payment agreement of any civil 

21 penalty or criminal fine or liability assessed pursu22 ant to any natural resource law administered by the 

23 Secretary, the Secretary may deny, suspend, amend 

24 or revoke in whole or in part any permit issued or 

25 applied for under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(3) IMPOSITION OF CIVIL JUDICIAL PEN2 ALTIES.—Any person who violates any provision of 

3 this title, any regulation promulgated or permit 

4 issued thereunder, shall be subject to a civil judicial 

5 penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each such viola6 tion. Each day of a continuing violation shall con7 stitute a separate violation. The Attorney General, 

8 upon the request of the Secretary, may commence a 

9 civil action in an appropriate district court of the 

10 United States, and such court shall have jurisdiction 

11 to award civil penalties and such other relief as jus12 tice may require. In determining the amount of a 

13 civil penalty, the court shall take into account the na14 ture, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the prohib15 ited acts committed and, with respect to the violator, 

16 the degree of culpability, any history of prior viola17 tions, and such other matters as justice may require. 

18 In imposing such penalty, the district court may also 

19 consider information related to the ability of the vio20 lator to pay. 

21 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—No penalty or permit sanction 

22 shall be assessed under this subsection until after the 

23 person charged has been given notice and an oppor24 tunity for a hearing. 


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1 ‘‘(5) IN REM JURISDICTION.—A vessel used in 

2 violating this title, any regulation promulgated under 

3 this title, or any permit issued under this title, shall 

4 be liable in rem for any civil penalty assessed for 

5 such violation. Such penalty shall constitute a mari6 time lien on the vessel and may be recovered in an 

7 action in rem in the district court of the United 

8 States having jurisdiction over the vessel. 

9 ‘‘(6) COLLECTION OF PENALTIES.—If any person 

10 fails to pay an assessment of a civil penalty under 

11 this section after it has become a final and 

12 unappealable order, or after the appropriate court has 

13 entered final judgment in favor of the Secretary, the 

14 Secretary shall refer the matter to the Attorney Gen15 eral, who shall recover the amount assessed in any 

16 appropriate district court of the United States (plus 

17 interest at current prevailing rates from the date of 

18 the final order). In such action, the validity and ap19 propriateness of the final order imposing the civil 

20 penalty shall not be subject to review. Any person who 

21 fails to pay, on a timely basis, the amount of an as22 sessment of a civil penalty shall be required to pay, 

23 in addition to such amount and interest, attorney’s 

24 fees and costs for collection proceedings and a quar25 terly nonpayment penalty for each quarter during 


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1 which such failure to pay persists. Such nonpayment 

2 penalty shall be in an amount equal to 20 percent of 

3 the aggregate amount of such person’s penalties and 

4 nonpayment penalties that are unpaid as of the be5 ginning of such quarter. 

6 ‘‘(7) COMPROMISE OR OTHER ACTION BY SEC7 RETARY.—The Secretary may compromise, modify, or 

8 remit, with or without conditions, any civil adminis9 trative penalty or permit sanction which is or may 

10 be imposed under this section and that has not been 

11 referred to the Attorney General for further enforce12 ment action. 

13 ‘‘(8) JURISIDICTION.—The several district courts 

14 of the United States shall have jurisdiction over any 

15 actions brought by the United States arising under 

16 this section. For the purpose of this section, American 

17 Samoa shall be included within the judicial district 

18 of the District Court of the United States for the Dis19 trict of Hawaii. Each violation shall be a separate of20 fense and the offense shall be deemed to have been 

21 committed not only in the district where the violation 

22 first occurred, but also in any other district as au23 thorized by law. 

24 ‘‘(d) FORFEITURE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—A person who is 

2 convicted of an offense in violation of this title shall 

3 forfeit to the United States— 

4 ‘‘(A) any property, real or personal, consti5 tuting or traceable to the gross proceeds taken, 

6 obtained, or retained, in connection with or as 

7 a result of the offense, including, without limita8 tion, any coral reef or coral reef component (or 

9 the fair market value thereof); and 

10 ‘‘(B) any property, real or personal, used or 

11 intended to be used, in any manner, to commit 

12 or facilitate the commission of the offense, in13 cluding, without limitation, any vessel (includ14 ing the vessel’s equipment, stores, catch and 

15 cargo), vehicle, aircraft, or other means of trans16 portation. 

17 Pursuant to section 2461(c) of title 28, United States 

18 Code, the provisions of section 413 of the Controlled 

19 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) other than subsection 

20 (d) thereof shall apply to criminal forfeitures under 

21 this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—The property set forth 

23 below shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States 

24 in accordance with the provisions of chapter 46 of 


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1 title 18, United States Code, and no property right 

2 shall exist in it: 

3 ‘‘(A) Any property, real or personal, consti4 tuting or traceable to the gross proceeds taken, 

5 obtained, or retained, in connection with or as 

6 a result of a violation of this title, including, 

7 without limitation, any coral reef or coral reef 

8 component (or the fair market value thereof). 

9 ‘‘(B) Any property, real or personal, used 

10 or intended to be used, in any manner, to com11 mit or facilitate the commission of a violation of 

12 this title, including, without limitation, any ves13 sel (including the vessel’s equipment, stores, catch 

14 and cargo), vehicle, aircraft, or other means of 

15 transportation. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF THE CUSTOMS LAWS.—All 

17 provisions of law relating to seizure, summary judg18 ment, and judicial forfeiture and condemnation for 

19 violation of the customs laws, the disposition of the 

20 property forfeited or condemned or the proceeds from 

21 the sale thereof, the remission or mitigation of such 

22 forfeitures, and the compromise of claims shall apply 

23 to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have 

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1 sions hereof. For seizures and forfeitures of property 

2 under this section by the Secretary, such duties as are 

3 imposed upon the customs officer or any other person 

4 with respect to the seizure and forfeiture of property 

5 under the customs law may be performed by such offi6 cers as are designated by the Secretary or, upon re7 quest of the Secretary, by any other agency that has 

8 authority to manage and dispose of seized property. 

9 ‘‘(4) PRESUMPTION.—For the purposes of this 

10 section there is a rebuttable presumption that all 

11 coral reefs, or components thereof, found on board a 

12 vessel that is used or seized in connection with a vio13 lation of this title or of any regulation promulgated 

14 under this title were taken, obtained, or retained in 

15 violation of this title or of a regulation promulgated 

16 under this title. 

17 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT OF STORAGE, CARE, AND OTHER

18 COSTS.—Any person assessed a civil penalty for a violation 

19 of this title or of any regulation promulgated under this 

20 title and any claimant in a forfeiture action brought for 

21 such a violation, shall be liable for the reasonable costs in22 curred by the Secretary in storage, care, and maintenance 

23 of any property seized in connection with the violation. 

24 ‘‘(f) EXPENDITURES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, 

2 United States Code, or section 311 of the Magnuson3 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1861), amounts received by the United 

5 States as civil penalties under subsection (c) of this 

6 section, forfeitures of property under subsection (d) of 

7 this section, and costs imposed under subsection (e) of 

8 this section, shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) be placed into an account; 

10 ‘‘(B) be available for use by the Secretary 

11 without further appropriation; and 

12 ‘‘(C) remain available until expended. 

13 ‘‘(2) Amounts received under this section for for14 feitures under subsection (d) and costs imposed under 

15 subsection (e) shall be used to pay the reasonable and 

16 necessary costs incurred by the Secretary to provide 

17 temporary storage, care, maintenance, and disposal of 

18 any property seized in connection with a violation of 

19 this title or any regulation promulgated under this 

20 title. 

21 ‘‘(3) Amounts received under this section as civil 

22 penalties under subsection (c) of this section and any 

23 amounts remaining after the operation of paragraph 

24 (2) of this subsection shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) be used to stabilize, restore, or other2 wise manage the coral reef with respect to which 

3 the violation occurred that resulted in the pen4 alty or forfeiture; 

5 ‘‘(B) be transferred to the Emergency Re6 sponse, Stabilization, and Restoration Account 

7 established under section 208(d) or an account 

8 described in section 209(d)(1) of this title, to re9 imburse such account for amounts used for au10 thorized emergency actions; 

11 ‘‘(C) be used to conduct monitoring and en12 forcement activities; 

13 ‘‘(D) be used to conduct research on tech14 niques to stabilize and restore coral reefs; 

15 ‘‘(E) be used to conduct activities that pre16 vent or reduce the likelihood of future damage to 

17 coral reefs; 

18 ‘‘(F) be used to stabilize, restore or other19 wise manage any other coral reef; or 

20 ‘‘(G) be used to pay a reward to any person 

21 who furnishes information leading to an assess22 ment of a civil penalty, or to a forfeiture of 

23 property, for a violation of this title or any regu24 lation promulgated under this title. 

25 ‘‘(g) CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) Any person (other than a foreign govern2 ment or any entity of such government) who know3 ingly commits any act prohibited by section 208(c) of 

4 this title shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 

5 years and shall be fined not more than $500,000 for 

6 individuals or $1,000,000 for an organization; except 

7 that if in the commission of any such offense the indi8 vidual uses a dangerous weapon, engages in conduct 

9 that causes bodily injury to any officer authorized to 

10 enforce the provisions of this title, or places any such 

11 officer in fear of imminent bodily injury, the max12 imum term of imprisonment is not more than 10 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(2) Any person (other than a foreign govern15 ment or any entity of such government) who know16 ingly violates subsection (b), (d), or (e) of section 208 

17 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or 

18 imprisoned not more than 5 years or both. 

19 ‘‘(3) Any person (other than a foreign govern20 ment or any entity of such government) who violates 

21 subsection (b), (d), or (e) of section 208, and who, in 

22 the exercise of due care should know that such per23 son’s conduct violates subsection (b), (d), or (e) of sec24 tion 208, shall be fined under title 18, United States 

25 Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The several district courts of the United 

2 States shall have jurisdiction over any actions 

3 brought by the United States arising under this sub4 section. For the purpose of this subsection, American 

5 Samoa shall be included within the judicial district 

6 of the District Court of the United States for the Dis7 trict of Hawaii. Each violation shall be a separate of8 fense and the offense shall be deemed to have been 

9 committed not only in the district where the violation 

10 first occurred, but also in any other district as au11 thorized by law. Any offenses not committed in any 

12 district are subject to the venue provisions of section 

13 3238 of title 18, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(h) SUBPOENAS.—In the case of any investigation or 

15 hearing under this section or any other natural resource 

16 statute administered by the National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration which is determined on the record 

18 in accordance with the procedures provided for under sec19 tion 554 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary may 

20 issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of wit21 nesses and the production of relevant papers, books, elec22 tronic files, and documents, and may administer oaths. 

23 ‘‘(i) COAST GUARD AUTHORITY NOT LIMITED.—Noth24 ing in this section shall be considered to limit the authority 


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1 of the Coast Guard to enforce this or any other Federal law 

2 under section 89 of title 14, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(j) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

4 ‘‘(1) If the Secretary determines that there is an 

5 imminent risk of destruction or loss of or injury to 

6 a coral reef, or that there has been actual destruction 

7 or loss of, or injury to, a coral reef which may give 

8 rise to liability under section 209 of this title, the At9 torney General, upon request of the Secretary, shall 

10 seek to obtain such relief as may be necessary to abate 

11 such risk or actual destruction, loss, or injury, or to 

12 restore or replace the coral reef, or both. The district 

13 courts of the Unites States shall have jurisdiction in 

14 such a case to order such relief as the public interest 

15 and the equities of the case may require. 

16 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of the Secretary, the Attor17 ney General may seek to enjoin any person who is al18 leged to be in violation of any provision of this title, 

19 or any regulation or permit issued under this title, 

20 and the district courts shall have jurisdiction to grant 

21 such relief. 

22 ‘‘(k) AREA OF APPLICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY.— 

23 The area of application and enforceability of this title in24 cludes the internal waters of the United States, the terri25 torial sea of the United States, as described in Presidential 


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1 Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, the Exclusive 

2 Economic Zone of the United States as described in Presi3 dential Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 1983, and the con4 tinental shelf, consistent with international law. 

5 ‘‘(l) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In any ac6 tion by the United States under this title, process may be 

7 served in any district where the defendant is found, resides, 

8 transacts business, or has appointed an agent for the service 

9 of process, and for civil cases may also be served in a place 

10 not within the United States in accordance with rule 4 of 

11 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

12 ‘‘(m) VENUE IN CIVIL ACTIONS.—A civil action under 

13 this title may be brought in the United States district court 

14 for any district in which— 

15 ‘‘(1) the defendant is located, resides, or is doing 

16 business, in the case of an action against a person; 

17 ‘‘(2) the vessel is located, in the case of an action 

18 against a vessel; 

19 ‘‘(3) the destruction of, loss of, or injury to a 

20 coral reef, or component thereof, occurred or in which 

21 there is an imminent risk of such destruction, loss, or 

22 injury; or 

23 ‘‘(4) where some or all of the coral reef or compo24 nent thereof that is the subject of the action is not 

25 within the territory covered by any United States disVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:18 Dec 19, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3597.RS S3597

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1 trict court, such action may be brought either in the 

2 United States district court for the district closest to 

3 the location where the destruction, loss, injury, or risk 

4 of injury occurred, or in the United States District 

5 Court for the District of Columbia. 

6 ‘‘(n) UNIFORMED SERVICE OFFICERS AND EMPLOY7 EES.—No officer or employee of a uniformed service (as de8 fined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) shall 

9 be held liable under this section, either in such officer’s or 

10 employee’s personal or official capacity, for any violation 

11 of section 208 occurring during the performance of the offi12 cer’s or employee’s official governmental duties. 

13 ‘‘(o) CONTRACT EMPLOYEES.—No contract employee of 

14 a uniformed service (as so defined), serving as vessel master 

15 or crew member, shall be liable under this section for any 

16 violation of section 208 if that contract employee— 

17 ‘‘(1) is acting as a contract employee of a uni18 formed service under the terms of an operating con19 tract for a vessel owned by a uniformed service, or a 

20 time charter for pre-positioned vessels, special mission 

21 vessels, or vessels exclusively transporting military 

22 supplies and materials; and 

23 ‘‘(2) is engaged in an action or actions over 

24 which such employee has been given no discretion 

25 (e.g., anchoring or mooring at one or more designated 


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1 anchorages or buoys, or executing specific operational 

2 elements of a special mission activity), as determined 

3 by the uniformed service controlling the contract.’’. 

4 SEC. 409. PERMITS. 

5 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by insert6 ing after section 210, as added by section 408 of this title, 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 211. PERMITS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may allow for the 

10 conduct of— 

11 ‘‘(1) bona fide research, and 

12 ‘‘(2) activities that would otherwise be prohibited 

13 by this title or regulations issued thereunder, 

14 through issuance of coral reef conservation permits in ac15 cordance with regulations issued under this title. 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION OF NON-RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.— 

17 The Secretary may not issue a permit for activities other 

18 than for bona fide research unless the Secretary finds— 

19 ‘‘(1) the activity proposed to be conducted is 

20 compatible with one or more of the purposes in sec21 tion 202(b) of this title; 

22 ‘‘(2) the activity conforms to the provisions of all 

23 other laws and regulations applicable to the area for 

24 which such permit is to be issued; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) there is no practicable alternative to con2 ducting the activity in a manner that destroys, causes 

3 the loss of, or injures any coral reef or any component 

4 thereof. 

5 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may 

6 place any terms and conditions on a permit issued under 

7 this section that the Secretary deems reasonable. 

8 ‘‘(d) FEES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—Subject to 

10 regulations issued under this title, the Secretary may 

11 assess and collect fees as specified in this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Any fee assessed shall be equal to 

13 the sum of— 

14 ‘‘(A) all costs incurred, or expected to be in15 curred, by the Secretary in processing the permit 

16 application, including indirect costs; and 

17 ‘‘(B) if the permit is approved, all costs in18 curred, or expected to be incurred, by the Sec19 retary as a direct result of the conduct of the ac20 tivity for which the permit is issued, including 

21 costs of monitoring the conduct of the activity 

22 and educating the public about the activity and 

23 coral reef resources related to the activity. 

24 ‘‘(3) USE OF FEES.—Amounts collected by the 

25 Secretary in the form of fees under this section shall 


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1 be collected and available for use only to the extent 

2 provided in advance in appropriations Acts and may 

3 be used by the Secretary for issuing and admin4 istering permits under this section. 

5 ‘‘(4) WAIVER OR REDUCTION OF FEES.—For any 

6 fee assessed under paragraph (2) of this subsection, 

7 the Secretary may— 

8 ‘‘(A) accept in-kind contributions in lieu of 

9 a fee; or 

10 ‘‘(B) waive or reduce the fee. 

11 ‘‘(e) FISHING.—Nothing in this section shall be consid12 ered to require a person to obtain a permit under this sec13 tion for the conduct of any fishing activities not prohibited 

14 by this title or regulations issued thereunder.’’. 

15 SEC. 410. REGULATIONS. 

16 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by insert17 ing after section 211, as added by section 409 of this title, 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 212. REGULATIONS. 

20 ‘‘The Secretary may issue such regulations as are nec21 essary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this 

22 title. This title and any regulations promulgated under this 

23 title shall be applied in accordance with international law. 

24 No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced against a per25 son who is not a citizen, national, or resident alien of the 


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1 United States (including foreign flag vessels) unless in ac2 cordance with international law.’’. 

3 SEC. 411. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

4 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by insert5 ing after section 212, as added by section 410 of this title, 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 213. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 5, United States 

9 Code, is not applicable to any action taken by the Secretary 

10 under this title, except that— 

11 ‘‘(1) review of any final agency action of the 

12 Secretary taken pursuant to sections 210(c)(1) and 

13 210(c)(2) may be had only by the filing of a com14 plaint by an interested person in the United States 

15 District Court for the appropriate district; any such 

16 complaint must be filed within 30 days of the date 

17 such final agency action is taken; and 

18 ‘‘(2) review of any final agency action of the 

19 Secretary taken pursuant to section 215 may be had 

20 by the filing of a petition for review by an interested 

21 person in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the United 

22 States for the federal judicial district in which such 

23 person resides or transact business which is directly 

24 affected by the action taken; such petition shall be 


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1 filed within 120 days from the date such final agency 

2 action is taken. 

3 ‘‘(b) NO REVIEW IN ENFORCEMENT PROCEEDINGS.— 

4 Final agency action with respect to which review could have 

5 been obtained under subsection (a)(2) shall not be subject 

6 to judicial review in any civil or criminal proceeding for 

7 enforcement. 

8 ‘‘(c) COST OF LITIGATION.—In any judicial pro9 ceeding under subsection (a), the court may award costs of 

10 litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness 

11 fees) to any prevailing party whenever it determines that 

12 such award is appropriate.’’. 

13 SEC. 412. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 216 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6409), as redesignated 

15 by section 403 of this title, is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 216. DEFINITIONS. 

17 ‘‘In this title: 

18 ‘‘(1) BIODIVERSITY.—The term ‘biodiversity’ 

19 means the variability among living organisms from 

20 all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, 

21 and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological com22 plexes of which they are part, including diversity 

23 within species, between species, and of ecosystems. 


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1 ‘‘(2) BONA FIDE RESEARCH.—The term ‘bona 

2 fide research’ means scientific research on corals, the 

3 results of which are likely— 

4 ‘‘(A) to be eligible for publication in a re5 ferred scientific journal; 

6 ‘‘(B) to contribute to the basic knowledge of 

7 coral biology or ecology; or 

8 ‘‘(C) to identify, evaluate, or resolve con9 servation problems. 

10 ‘‘(3) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species of 

11 the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

13 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

14 Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera 

15 (organpipe corals and others), Alcyonacea (soft 

16 corals), and Helioporacea (blue coral) of the class 

17 Anthozoa; and 

18 ‘‘(B) all species of the families Milleporidea 

19 (fire corals) and Stylasteridae (stylasterid 

20 hydrocorals) of the class Hydrozoa. 

21 ‘‘(4) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ means 

22 limestone structures composed in whole or in part of 

23 living corals, as described in paragraph (3), their 

24 skeletal remains, or both, and including other corals, 


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1 associated sessile invertebrates and plants, and associ2 ated seagrasses. 

3 ‘‘(5) CORAL REEF COMPONENT.—The term ‘coral 

4 reef component’ means any part of a coral reef, in5 cluding individual living or dead corals, associated 

6 sessile invertebrates and plants, and any adjacent or 

7 associated seagrasses. 

8 ‘‘(6) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘coral 

9 reef ecosystem’ means the system of coral reefs and 

10 geographically associated species, habitats, and envi11 ronment, including any adjacent or associated 

12 mangroves and seagrass habitats, and the processes 

13 that control its dynamics. 

14 ‘‘(7) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod15 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

16 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

17 parts, or derivatives, of any species referred to in 

18 paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(8) DAMAGES.—The term ‘damages’ includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) compensation for— 

21 ‘‘(i) the cost of replacing, restoring, or 

22 acquiring the equivalent of the coral reef, or 

23 component thereof; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the lost services of, or the value of 

25 the lost use of, the coral reef or component 


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1 thereof, or the cost of activities to minimize 

2 or prevent threats of, equivalent injury to, 

3 or destruction of coral reefs or components 

4 thereof, pending restoration or replacement 

5 or the acquisition of an equivalent coral reef 

6 or component thereof; 

7 ‘‘(B) the reasonable cost of damage assess8 ments under section 209; 

9 ‘‘(C) the reasonable costs incurred by the 

10 Secretary in implementing section 208(d); 

11 ‘‘(D) the reasonable cost of monitoring ap12 propriate to the injured, restored, or replaced re13 sources; 

14 ‘‘(E) the reasonable cost of curation, con15 servation and loss of contextual information of 

16 any coral encrusted archaeological, historical, 

17 and cultural resource; 

18 ‘‘(F) the cost of legal actions under section 

19 209, undertaken by the United States, associated 

20 with the destruction or loss of, or injury to, a 

21 coral reef or component thereof, including the 

22 costs of attorney time and expert witness fees; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(G) the indirect costs associated with the 

2 costs listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 

3 this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(9) EMERGENCY ACTIONS.—The term ‘emer5 gency actions’ means all necessary actions to prevent 

6 or minimize the additional destruction or loss of, or 

7 injury to, coral reefs or components thereof, or to 

8 minimize the risk of such additional destruction, loss, 

9 or injury. 

10 ‘‘(10) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

11 ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ means the waters of the 

12 Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States under 

13 Presidential Proclamation 5030, dated March 10, 

14 1983. 

15 ‘‘(11) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

16 individual, private or public corporation, partner17 ship, trust, institution, association, or any other pub18 lic or private entity, whether foreign or domestic, pri19 vate person or entity, or any officer, employee, agent, 

20 Department, agency, or instrumentality of the Fed21 eral Government, of any State or local unit of govern22 ment, or of any foreign government. 

23 ‘‘(12) RESPONSE COSTS.—The term ‘response 

24 costs’ means the costs of actions taken or authorized 

25 by the Secretary to minimize destruction or loss of, 


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1 or injury to, a coral reef, or component thereof, or to 

2 minimize the imminent risks of such destruction, loss, 

3 or injury, including costs related to seizure, forfeiture, 

4 storage, or disposal arising from liability under sec5 tion 209. 

6 ‘‘(13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(A) for purposes of sections 201 through 

9 211, and section 213 (except as otherwise pro10 vided in subparagraph (B)), and the other para11 graphs of this section, the Secretary of Com12 merce, acting through the Administrator of the 

13 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(B) for purposes of sections 208 through 

16 213— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of the Interior for 

18 any coral reef or component thereof located 

19 in (I) the National Wildlife Refuge System, 

20 (II) the National Park System, and (III) 

21 the waters surrounding Wake Island under 

22 the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Inte23 rior, as set forth in Executive Order 11048 

24 (27 Fed. Reg. 8851 (September 4, 1962)); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Commerce for 

2 any coral reef or component thereof located 

3 in any area not described in clause (i). 

4 ‘‘(14) SERVICE.—The term ‘service’ means func5 tions, ecological or otherwise, performed by a coral 

6 reef or component thereof. 

7 ‘‘(15) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

8 State of the United States that contains a coral reef 

9 ecosystem within its seaward boundaries, American 

10 Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

11 Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and any other territory 

12 or possession of the United States, or separate sov13 ereign in free association with the United States, that 

14 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward 

15 boundaries. 

16 ‘‘(16) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘Territorial 

17 Sea’ means the waters of the Territorial Sea of the 

18 United States under Presidential Proclamation 5928, 

19 dated December 27, 1988.’’. 


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Calendar No. 713 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3597 

A BILL 

To improve the ability of the National Oceanic and 

search, and for other purposes. ness, prevention, response, restoration, and retheir capabilities relating to oil spill preparedcoastal ecosystems by maintaining and sustaining and coastal States to sustain healthy ocean and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard, 

DECEMBER 17, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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