II 

Calendar No. 697 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3614 

To authorize the establishment of a Maritime Center of Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release Response, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2010 

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself and Mr. LEMIEUX) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 14, 2010 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To authorize the establishment of a Maritime Center of 

Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release Response, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Spill Response 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MARITIME CENTER OF EXPERTISE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall establish 

3 a Maritime Center of Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and 

4 Hazardous Substance Release Response. The Center 

5 shall— 

6 (1) serve as the primary Federal facility for 

7 Coast Guard personnel to obtain qualifications to 

8 perform the duties of a regional response team co9 chair, a Federal on-scene coordinator, or a Federal 

10 on-scene coordinator representative; 

11 (2) train Federal, State, and local first respond12 ers in the incident command system structure, mari13 time oil spill and hazardous substance release re14 sponse techniques and strategies, and public affairs; 

15 (3) work with academic and private sector re16 sponse training centers to develop and standardize 

17 maritime oil spill and hazardous substance release 

18 response training and techniques; 

19 (4) conduct research, development, testing, 

20 modeling, simulation, and demonstration for mari21 time oil spill and hazardous substance release re22 sponse equipment, technologies, and techniques to 

23 prevent or mitigate maritime oil discharges and haz24 ardous substance releases; 

25 (5) maintain not less than 2 incident manage26 ment and assistance teams, one of which shall be 


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1 ready to deploy anywhere in the continental United 

2 States within 24 hours after an incident or event; 

3 (6) conduct marine environmental response 

4 standardization visits with Coast Guard federal on5 scene coordinators; 

6 (7) administer and coordinate Coast Guard par7 ticipation in the National Preparedness for Response 

8 Exercise Program; and 

9 (8) establish and maintain Coast Guard marine 

10 environmental response doctrine. 

11 SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall maintain 

13 a National Strike Force to facilitate preparedness for and 

14 response to maritime oil spill and hazardous substance re15 lease incidents. 

16 (b) COMPOSITION.—The National Strike Force— 

17 (1) shall consist of— 

18 (A) a National Strike Force Coordination 

19 Center; 

20 (B) strike force teams, including— 

21 (i) 1 team for the Atlantic Ocean; 

22 (ii) 1 team for the Pacific Ocean; and 

23 (iii) 1 team for the Gulf of Mexico; 

24 and 

25 (C) a public information assist team; and 


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1 (2) may include, if the Commandant so directs, 

2 1 or more teams for the northwest Pacific Ocean 

3 and the Arctic Ocean. 

4 (c) NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE COORDINATION CEN5 TER DUTIES.—The National Strike Force Coordination 

6 Center shall— 

7 (1) provide support and standardization guid8 ance to the regional strike teams; 

9 (2) maintain a response resource inventory of 

10 maritime oil spill and hazardous substance release 

11 response, marine salvage, and marine fire fighting 

12 equipment maintained by certified oil spill response 

13 organizations as well as equipment listed in a vessel 

14 or facility oil spill response plan, as required by sec15 tion 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

17 (3) oversee the maintenance and adequacy of 

18 Coast Guard environmental response equipment; 

19 (4) certify and inspect maritime oil spill re20 sponse organizations; and 

21 (5) maintain the National Area Contingency 

22 Plan library. 

23 (d) STRIKE FORCE TEAM DUTIES.—The Strike 

24 Force Response Teams shall— 


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1 (1) provide rapid response support in incident 

2 management, site safety, contractor performance 

3 monitoring, resource documentation, response strate4 gies, hazard assessment, oil spill dispersant, in-situ 

5 burn and other technologies, prefabrication of con6 tainment technology, operational effectiveness moni7 toring, and high-capacity lightering and offshore 

8 skimming capabilities; 

9 (2) train Coast Guard units in environmental 

10 pollution response and incident command systems, 

11 test and evaluate pollution response equipment, and 

12 operate as liaisons with response agencies within 

13 their areas of responsibility; 

14 (3) maintain sufficient maritime oil spill and 

15 hazardous substance release assets to ensure the 

16 protection of human health and the environment in 

17 the event of an oil spill or hazardous –substance re18 lease including the –prefabrication of oil spill con19 tainment equipment; and 

20 (4) maintain the capability to mobilize per21 sonnel and equipment to respond to an oil spill or 

22 hazardous substance release anywhere in the conti23 nental United States within 24 hours of such event. 


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1 (e) PUBLIC INFORMATION ASSIST TEAM DUTIES.— 

2 The Public Information Assist Team shall maintain the 

3 capability— 

4 (1) to provide crisis communication during oil 

5 spills, hazardous material releases, marine accidents, 

6 and other disasters, including staffing and managing 

7 public affairs and intergovernmental communication; 

8 (2) provide public information and communica9 tions training to Federal, State, and local agencies 

10 and industry personnel; and 

11 (3) maintain the capability to mobilize per12 sonnel and equipment to respond to an oil spill or 

13 hazardous substance release anywhere in the conti14 nental United States within 24 hours after such an 

15 event. 

16 SEC. 4. DISTRICT PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TEAMS. 

17 The Commandant shall maintain district prepared18 ness response teams to— 

19 (1) maintain Coast Guard environmental re20 sponse equipment; 

21 (2) administer area contingency plans; 

22 (3) administer the National Preparedness for 

23 Response Exercise Program; 

24 (4) conduct responder incident command sys25 tem training and health and safety training; 


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1 (5) provide federal on-scene coordinator tech2 nical advice; 

3 (6) coordinate district pollution response oper4 ations; 

5 (7) support regional response team co-chairs; 

6 (8) coordinate district participation with the 

7 Federal Emergency Management Agency’s regional 

8 interagency steering committee; and 

9 (9) conduct response public affairs and joint in10 formation center training. 

11 SEC. 5. OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each maritime oil spill response 

13 organization that is listed under an oil spill response plan 

14 of a vessel or facility regulated by the Coast Guard, as 

15 required by section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution 

16 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j))— 

17 (1) shall be certified by the Coast Guard; and 

18 (2) inspected at least once per year to ensure 

19 that it has the capabilities to meet the requirements 

20 delegated to it under applicable oil spill response 

21 plans. 

22 (b) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA AND REQUIRE23 MENTS.—Within 180 days after the date of enactment of 

24 this Act, the Commandant shall develop criteria and reVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:37 Dec 15, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3614.RS S3614

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1 quirements for certifying and classifying maritime oil spill 

2 response organizations. 

3 (c) INVENTORY OF MARITIME OIL SPILL RESPONSE

4 EQUIPMENT.—Each certified maritime oil spill response 

5 organization and any facility regulated by the Coast 

6 Guard that is not using a maritime oil spill response orga7 nization to meet the facility oil spill response plan require8 ments of section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution 

9 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) shall maintain a current 

10 list of its maritime oil spill response equipment and submit 

11 a copy of the current list to the National Strike Force 

12 Coordination Center. 

13 (d) DECREASED CAPACITY REPORTS.—If a maritime 

14 oil spill response organization experiences a decrease in 

15 its maritime oil spill response assets, the organization 

16 shall report the decrease to the National Strike Force Co17 ordination Center and the Captain of the Port in which 

18 that organization operates. 

19 SEC. 6. PROGRAM FOR OIL SPILL AND HAZARDOUS SUB20 STANCE RELEASE RESPONSE. 

21 (a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH PROGRAM.—The 

22 Commandant shall establish a program for oil spill and 

23 hazardous substance release response, within the Maritime 

24 Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Response, to conduct re25 search, development, testing, modeling, simulation, and 


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1 demonstration for oil spill and hazardous substance re2 lease response equipment, technologies, and techniques to 

3 prevent or mitigate oil discharges and hazardous sub4 stance releases. 

5 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program required by 

6 subsection (a) shall include the following elements: 

7 (1) Research, development, testing, modeling, 

8 simulation, and demonstration of new or improved 

9 methods (including the use of dispersants and bio10 logical treatment methods) for the containment, re11 covery, removal, and disposal of oil and hazardous 

12 substances. 

13 (2) Assist in the development of improved de14 signs for vessel operations (including vessel oper15 ations in Arctic waters) and facilities that are regu16 lated by the Coast Guard, and improved operational 

17 practices. 

18 (3) Research and training, in consultation with 

19 the National Response Team, to improve the ability 

20 of private industry and the United States Govern21 ment to respond to an oil discharge or a hazardous 

22 substance release. 

23 (4) A list of oil spill and hazardous substance 

24 containment, recovery, removal, and disposal tech25 nology that is approved for use by the Commandant 


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1 and is made publicly available, in such manner as 

2 determined appropriate by the Commandant. 

3 (5) A process for private industry, academic in4 stitutions, non-governmental organizations, national 

5 laboratories, and Federal, State, and local govern6 ments to submit systems, equipment, and tech7 nologies for testing and evaluation. 

8 (c) GRANTS FOR OIL SPILL RESPONSE.—The Com9 mandant shall have the authority to make grants to or 

10 enter into cooperative agreements with academic institu11 tions to conduct research and development for oil spill re12 sponse equipment, technology, and techniques. 

13 (d) COORDINATION.—The Commandant shall carry 

14 out the program in coordination with the Interagency Co15 ordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research estab16 lished pursuant to section 7001(a) of the Oil Pollution Act 

17 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)). 

18 (e) FUNDING.—The Commandant shall use such 

19 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section for 

20 fiscal years 2010 through 2015 from funds appropriated 

21 to the research, development, and testing program account 

22 of the Coast Guard for those years. 

23 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

2 means the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

3 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

4 the program for oil spill response established pursu5 ant to section 6. 

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Spill Response Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. MARITIME CENTER OF EXPERTISE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall establish a 

10 Maritime Center of Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and 

11 Hazardous Substance Release Response. The Center shall— 

12 (1) serve as the primary Federal facility for 

13 Coast Guard personnel to obtain qualifications to per14 form the duties of a regional response team co-chair, 

15 a Federal on-scene coordinator, or a Federal on-scene 

16 coordinator representative; 

17 (2) train Federal, State, and local first respond18 ers in the incident command system structure, mari19 time oil spill and hazardous substance release re20 sponse techniques and strategies, and public affairs; 

21 (3) work with academic and private sector re22 sponse training centers to develop and standardize 

23 maritime oil spill and hazardous substance release re24 sponse training and techniques; 


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1 (4) conduct research, development, testing, and 

2 demonstration for maritime oil spill and hazardous 

3 substance release response equipment, technologies, 

4 and techniques to prevent or mitigate maritime oil 

5 discharges and hazardous substance releases; 

6 (5) maintain not less than 2 incident manage7 ment and assistance teams, one of which shall be 

8 ready to deploy anywhere in the continental United 

9 States within 24 hours after an incident or event; 

10 (6) conduct marine environmental response 

11 standardization visits with Coast Guard federal on12 scene coordinators; 

13 (7) administer and coordinate Coast Guard par14 ticipation in the National Preparedness for Response 

15 Exercise Program; and 

16 (8) establish and maintain Coast Guard marine 

17 environmental response doctrine. 

18 SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant shall maintain 

20 a National Strike Force to facilitate preparedness for and 

21 response to maritime oil spill and hazardous substance re22 lease incidents. 

23 (b) COMPOSITION.—The National Strike Force— 

24 (1) shall consist of— 


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1 (A) a National Strike Force Coordination 

2 Center; 

3 (B) strike force teams, including— 

4 (i) 1 team for the Atlantic Ocean; 

5 (ii) 1 team for the Pacific Ocean; and 

6 (iii) 1 team for the Gulf of Mexico; and 

7 (C) a public information assist team; and 

8 (2) may include, if the Commandant so directs, 

9 1 or more teams for the northwest Pacific Ocean and 

10 the Arctic Ocean. 

11 (c) NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE COORDINATION CENTER

12 DUTIES.—The National Strike Force Coordination Center 

13 shall— 

14 (1) provide support and standardization guid15 ance to the regional strike teams; 

16 (2) maintain a response resource inventory of 

17 maritime oil spill and hazardous substance release re18 sponse, marine salvage, and marine fire fighting 

19 equipment maintained by certified oil spill response 

20 organizations as well as equipment listed in a vessel 

21 or facility oil spill response plan, as required by sec22 tion 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

23 (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)); 

24 (3) oversee the maintenance and adequacy of 

25 Coast Guard environmental response equipment; 


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1 (4) certify and inspect maritime oil spill re2 sponse organizations; and 

3 (5) maintain the National Area Contingency 

4 Plan library. 

5 (d) STRIKE FORCE TEAM DUTIES.—The Strike Force 

6 Response Teams shall— 

7 (1) provide rapid response support in incident 

8 management, site safety, contractor performance mon9 itoring, resource documentation, response strategies, 

10 hazard assessment, oil spill dispersant, in-situ burn 

11 and other technologies, prefabrication of containment 

12 technology, operational effectiveness monitoring, and 

13 high-capacity lightering and offshore skimming capa14 bilities; 

15 (2) train Coast Guard units in environmental 

16 pollution response and incident command systems, 

17 test and evaluate pollution response equipment, and 

18 operate as liaisons with response agencies within 

19 their areas of responsibility; 

20 (3) maintain sufficient maritime oil spill and 

21 hazardous substance release assets to ensure the pro22 tection of human health and the environment in the 

23 event of an oil spill or hazardous –substance release 

24 including the –prefabrication of oil spill containment 

25 equipment; and 


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1 (4) maintain the capability to mobilize per2 sonnel and equipment to respond to an oil spill or 

3 hazardous substance release anywhere in the conti4 nental United States within 24 hours of such event. 

5 (e) PUBLIC INFORMATION ASSIST TEAM DUTIES.—The 

6 Public Information Assist Team shall maintain the capa7 bility— 

8 (1) to provide crisis communication during oil 

9 spills, hazardous material releases, marine accidents, 

10 and other disasters, including staffing and managing 

11 public affairs and intergovernmental communication; 

12 (2) provide public information and communica13 tions training to Federal, State, and local agencies 

14 and industry personnel; and 

15 (3) maintain the capability to mobilize per16 sonnel and equipment to respond to an oil spill or 

17 hazardous substance release anywhere in the conti18 nental United States within 24 hours after such an 

19 event. 

20 SEC. 4. DISTRICT PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TEAMS. 

21 The Commandant shall maintain district prepared22 ness response teams to— 

23 (1) maintain Coast Guard environmental re24 sponse equipment; 

25 (2) administer area contingency plans; 


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1 (3) administer the National Preparedness for Re2 sponse Exercise Program; 

3 (4) conduct responder incident command system 

4 training and health and safety training; 

5 (5) provide federal on-scene coordinator technical 

6 advice; 

7 (6) coordinate district pollution response oper8 ations; 

9 (7) support regional response team co-chairs; 

10 (8) coordinate district participation with the 

11 Federal Emergency Management Agency’s regional 

12 interagency steering committee; and 

13 (9) conduct response public affairs and joint in14 formation center training. 

15 SEC. 5. OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each maritime oil spill response 

17 organization that is listed under an oil spill response plan 

18 of a vessel or facility regulated by the Coast Guard, as re19 quired by section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Con20 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j))— 

21 (1) shall be certified by the Coast Guard; and 

22 (2) inspected at least once per year to ensure 

23 that it has the capabilities to meet the requirements 

24 delegated to it under applicable oil spill response 

25 plans. 


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1 (b) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Commandant shall develop criteria and requirements 

4 for certifying and classifying maritime oil spill response 

5 organizations. 

6 (c) INVENTORY OF MARITIME OIL SPILL RESPONSE

7 EQUIPMENT.—Each certified maritime oil spill response or8 ganization and any facility regulated by the Coast Guard 

9 that is not using a maritime oil spill response organization 

10 to meet the facility oil spill response plan requirements of 

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

12 (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) shall maintain a current list of its mar13 itime oil spill response equipment and submit a copy of 

14 the current list to the National Strike Force Coordination 

15 Center. 

16 (d) DECREASED CAPACITY REPORTS.—If a maritime 

17 oil spill response organization experiences a decrease in its 

18 maritime oil spill response assets, the organization shall re19 port the decrease to the National Strike Force Coordination 

20 Center and the Captain of the Port in which that organiza21 tion operates. 

22 SEC. 6. PROGRAM FOR OIL SPILL AND HAZARDOUS SUB23 STANCE RELEASE RESPONSE. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH PROGRAM.—The 

25 Commandant shall establish a program for oil spill and 


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1 hazardous substance release response, within the Maritime 

2 Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Response, to conduct re3 search, development, testing, and demonstration for oil spill 

4 and hazardous substance release response equipment, tech5 nologies, and techniques to prevent or mitigate oil dis6 charges and hazardous substance releases. 

7 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program required by 

8 subsection (a) shall include the following elements: 

9 (1) Research, development, testing, and dem10 onstration of new or improved methods (including the 

11 use of dispersants and biological treatment methods) 

12 for the containment, recovery, removal, and disposal 

13 of oil and hazardous substances. 

14 (2) Assist in the development of improved de15 signs for vessel operations (including vessel operations 

16 in Arctic waters) and facilities that are regulated by 

17 the Coast Guard, and improved operational practices. 

18 (3) Research and training, in consultation with 

19 the National Response Team, to improve the ability 

20 of private industry and the United States Govern21 ment to respond to an oil discharge or a hazardous 

22 substance release. 

23 (4) A list of oil spill and hazardous substance 

24 containment, recovery, removal, and disposal tech25 nology that is approved for use by the Commandant 


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1 and is made publicly available, in such manner as 

2 determined appropriate by the Commandant. 

3 (5) A process for private industry, academic in4 stitutions, non-governmental organizations, and Fed5 eral, State, and local governments to submit systems, 

6 equipment, and technologies for testing and evalua7 tion. 

8 (c) GRANTS FOR OIL SPILL RESPONSE.—The Com9 mandant shall have the authority to make grants to or enter 

10 into cooperative agreements with academic institutions to 

11 conduct research and development for oil spill response 

12 equipment, technology, and techniques. 

13 (d) COORDINATION.—The Commandant shall carry 

14 out the program in coordination with the Interagency Co15 ordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research established 

16 pursuant to section 7001(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

17 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)). 

18 (e) FUNDING.—The Commandant shall use such sums 

19 as may be necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 

20 2010 through 2015 from funds appropriated to the research, 

21 development, and testing program account of the Coast 

22 Guard for those years. 

23 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

2 means the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

3 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 

4 program for oil spill response established pursuant to 

5 section 6. 


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Calendar No. 697 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3614 

A BILL 

To authorize the establishment of a Maritime Cenother purposes. ardous Substance Release Response, and for ter of Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and HazDECEMBER 14, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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