II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3542 

To create a fair and efficient system to resolve claims of victims for economic 

injury caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident, to establish a Commission to investigate and report on corrective measures to prevent similar 

incidents, to improve the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and Federal 

oil spill research, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 28, 2010 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To create a fair and efficient system to resolve claims of 

victims for economic injury caused by the Deepwater 

Horizon incident, to establish a Commission to investigate and report on corrective measures to prevent similar incidents, to improve the Oil Spill Liability Trust 

Fund and Federal oil spill 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Oil Spill Compensation Act of 2010’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—DEEPWATER HORIZON CLAIMS RESOLUTION 

Sec. 101. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Subtitle A—Office of Deepwater Horizon Claims Compensation 

Sec. 111. Establishment of Office of Deepwater Horizon Claims Compensation. 

Sec. 112. Claimant assistance. 

Sec. 113. Compensation program startup. 

Sec. 114. Authority of Administrator. 

Sec. 115. Advisory Committee on Deepwater Horizon Compensation. 

Subtitle B—Deepwater Horizon Compensation Procedures 

Sec. 121. Essential elements of eligible claim. 

Sec. 122. General rule concerning no-fault compensation. 

Sec. 123. Filing of claims. 

Sec. 124. Eligibility determinations and claim awards. 

Subtitle C—Awards 

Sec. 131. Amount. 

Sec. 132. Payment. 

Sec. 133. Setoffs for collateral source compensation and prior awards. 

Sec. 134. Subrogation. 

Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

Sec. 141. Judicial review of rules and regulations. 

Sec. 142. Judicial review of award decisions. 

Sec. 143. Other judicial challenges. 

Subtitle E—Effect on Other Laws 

Sec. 151. Effect on other laws. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL COMMISSION ON OUTER CONTINENTAL 

SHELF OIL SPILL PREVENTION 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of Commission. 

Sec. 203. Purposes. 

Sec. 204. Composition of Commission. 

Sec. 205. Functions of Commission. 

Sec. 206. Powers of Commission. 

Sec. 207. Public meetings and hearings. 

Sec. 208. Staff of Commission. 

Sec. 209. Compensation and travel expenses. 

Sec. 210. Security clearances for Commission members and staff. 

Sec. 211. Reports of Commission; adjournment. 

Sec. 212. Funding. 


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Sec. 213. Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

TITLE III—OIL SPILL LIABILITY 

Subtitle A—Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

Sec. 301. Liability limits. 

Sec. 302. Advance payment. 

Subtitle B—Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 

Sec. 311. Rate of tax for Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. 

Sec. 312. Limitations on expenditures and borrowing authority. 

TITLE IV—FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH 

Sec. 401. Federal oil spill research. 

Sec. 402. National Academy of Science participation. 

Sec. 403. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Sec. 404. Oil spill response authority. 

TITLE V—OIL AND GAS LEASING 

Sec. 501. Revenue sharing from outer Continental Shelf areas in certain coastal 

States. 

Sec. 502. Revenue sharing from areas in Alaska Adjacent zone. 

Sec. 503. Accelerated revenue sharing to promote coastal resiliency among Gulf 

producing States. 

Sec. 504. Production of oil from certain Arctic offshore leases. 

Sec. 505. Use of stimulus funds to offset spending. 

TITLE VI—GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY 

COUNCIL 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Findings. 

Sec. 603. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. 

1 TITLE I—DEEPWATER HORIZON 

2 CLAIMS RESOLUTION 

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the oil spill resulting from the Deepwater 

6 Horizon incident has caused major economic damage 

7 to the residents of the States bordering the Gulf of 

8 Mexico; 


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1 (2) the limits on strict liability imposed by the 

2 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) 

3 will be exceeded by the claims resulting from the 

4 Deepwater Horizon incident; and 

5 (3) while the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

6 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) places no restrictions on liabil7 ity for damages from the accident under State law, 

8 litigation of such cases may take decades, and con9 sume in litigation expenses and contingent fees, 

10 funds that could otherwise be used to quickly and ef11 ficiently compensate the citizens of the Gulf States 

12 for damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon 

13 incident. 

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to create 

15 a fair and efficient system for the payment of legitimate 

16 present and future claims for damages resulting from the 

17 Deepwater Horizon incident. 

18 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Office. 

22 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi23 sory Committee’’ means the Advisory Committee on 

24 Deepwater Horizon Compensation established under 

25 section 115(a). 


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1 (3) CLAIM.—The term ‘‘claim’’ means any 

2 claim, based on any theory, allegation, or cause of 

3 action, for damages presented in a civil action or 

4 bankruptcy proceeding, directly, indirectly, or deriva5 tively arising out of, based on, or related to, in whole 

6 or in part, the effects of the Deepwater Horizon in7 cident. 

8 (4) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means a 

9 person or State who files a claim under section 123. 

10 (5) CIVIL ACTION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘civil action’’ 

12 means a civil action filed in Federal or State 

13 court, whether cognizable as a case at law, in 

14 equity, or in admiralty. 

15 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘civil action’’ 

16 does not include an action relating to any work17 ers’ compensation law. 

18 (6) COLLATERAL SOURCE COMPENSATION.— 

19 The term ‘‘collateral source compensation’’ means 

20 the compensation that a claimant received, or is en21 titled to receive, from a responsible party as a result 

22 of a final judgment, settlement, or other payment 

23 for damages that are the source of a claim under 

24 section 123, including payments made under the Oil 

25 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 


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1 (7) COMPENSATION PROGRAM.—The term 

2 ‘‘compensation program’’ means the compensation 

3 program established under this title. 

4 (8) DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘damages’’ means 

5 damages specified in section 131(b), including the 

6 cost of assessing those damages. 

7 (9) DEEPWATER HORIZON INCIDENT.—The 

8 term ‘‘Deepwater Horizon incident’’ means the blow9 out and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit 

10 Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, 

11 and resulting hydrocarbon releases into the environ12 ment. 

13 (10) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

14 means the Department of the Interior. 

15 (11) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Oil 

16 Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 

17 9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 (12) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes all law, 

19 judicial or administrative decisions, rules, regula20 tions, or any other principle or action having the ef21 fect of law. 

22 (13) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

23 Office of Deepwater Horizon Claims Compensation 

24 established under section 111. 


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1 (14) PARTIES.—The term ‘‘parties’’ means, 

2 with respect to an individual claim, the claimant and 

3 the responsible party. 

4 (15) PERSON.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘person’’ 

6 means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock 

7 company, partnership, association, insurance 

8 company, reinsurance company, or corporation. 

9 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘person’’ 

10 does not include— 

11 (i) the United States; 

12 (ii) a State; or 

13 (iii) a political subdivision of a State. 

14 (16) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—The term ‘‘respon15 sible party’’ means a responsible party (as defined in 

16 section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

17 U.S.C. 2701)) for the Deepwater Horizon incident. 

18 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

19 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

21 (A) each of the several States of the 

22 United States; 

23 (B) the District of Columbia; 

24 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

25 (D) Guam; 


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1 (E) American Samoa; 

2 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

3 Mariana Islands; 

4 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

5 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

6 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

7 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

8 (19) SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST.—The term 

9 ‘‘successor in interest’’ means any person that ac10 quires assets, and substantially continues the busi11 ness operations, of a responsible party, considering 

12 factors that include— 

13 (A) retention of the same facilities or loca14 tion; 

15 (B) retention of the same employees; 

16 (C) maintaining the same job under the 

17 same working conditions; 

18 (D) retention of the same supervisory per19 sonnel; 

20 (E) continuity of assets; 

21 (F) production of the same product or 

22 offer of the same service; 

23 (G) retention of the same name; 

24 (H) maintenance of the same customer 

25 base; 


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1 (I) identity of stocks, stockholders, and di2 rectors between the asset seller and the pur3 chaser; or 

4 (J) whether the successor holds itself out 

5 as continuation of previous enterprise, but ex6 pressly does not include whether the person ac7 tually knew of the liability of the responsible 

8 party under this title. 

9 Subtitle A—Office of Deepwater 

10 Horizon Claims Compensation 

11 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF DEEPWATER HO12 RIZON CLAIMS COMPENSATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

15 within the Department the Office of Deepwater Ho16 rizon Claims Compensation, which shall be headed 

17 by the Administrator. 

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Office shall 

19 be to provide timely, fair compensation, under the 

20 terms specified in this title, on a no-fault basis and 

21 in a nonadversarial manner, to persons and State or 

22 local governments that have incurred economic dam23 ages as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. 

24 (3) TERMINATION OF THE OFFICE.—The Office 

25 shall terminate effective not later than 1 year folVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 lowing the date of certification by the Administrator 

2 that the Fund has neither paid a claim in the pre3 vious 1-year period nor has debt obligations remain4 ing to pay. 

5 (4) EXPENSES.—The Fund shall be available to 

6 the Secretary for expenditure, without further ap7 propriation and without fiscal year limitation, as 

8 necessary for any and all expenses associated with 

9 the Office, including— 

10 (A) personnel salaries and expenses, in11 cluding retirement and similar benefits; and 

12 (B) all administrative and legal expenses. 

13 (b) APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATOR.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

15 Office shall be appointed by the President, by and 

16 with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

17 (2) TERM.—The term of the Administrator 

18 shall be 5 years. 

19 (3) REPORTING.—The Administrator shall re20 port directly to the Assistant Secretary for Policy, 

21 Management, and Budget of the Department. 

22 (c) DUTIES OF ADMINISTRATOR.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall be 

24 responsible for— 


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1 (A) processing claims for compensation for 

2 damages to eligible claimants in accordance 

3 with the criteria and procedures established 

4 under subtitle B; 

5 (B) appointing or contracting for the serv6 ices of such personnel, making such expendi7 tures, and taking any other actions as may be 

8 necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the 

9 Office, including entering into cooperative 

10 agreements with other Federal or State agen11 cies and entering into contracts with nongovern12 mental entities; 

13 (C) conducting such audits and additional 

14 oversight as necessary to assure the integrity of 

15 the compensation program; 

16 (D) promulgating such rules, regulations, 

17 and procedures as may be necessary to carry 

18 out this title; 

19 (E) making such expenditures as may be 

20 necessary in carrying out this title; 

21 (F) excluding evidence and disqualifying or 

22 debarring any attorney or other individual or 

23 entity who provide evidence in support of the 

24 application of the claimant for compensation if 

25 the Administrator determines that materially 


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1 false, fraudulent, or fictitious statements or 

2 practices have been submitted or engaged in by 

3 the individual or entity; and 

4 (G) having all other powers incidental, nec5 essary, or appropriate to carrying out the func6 tions of the Office. 

7 (2) CERTAIN ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 (A) FALSE STATEMENTS.—For each in9 fraction described in paragraph (1)(F), the Ad10 ministrator may impose a civil penalty not to 

11 exceed $10,000 on any individual or entity 

12 found to have submitted or engaged in a mate13 rially false, fraudulent, or fictitious statement 

14 or practice under this title. 

15 (B) OTHER POWERS.—The Administrator 

16 shall issue appropriate regulations to carry out 

17 paragraph (1)(G). 

18 (d) AUDIT AND PERSONNEL REVIEW PROCE19 DURES.—The Administrator shall establish audit and per20 sonnel review procedures for evaluating the accuracy of 

21 eligibility recommendations of agency and contract per22 sonnel. 


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1 SEC. 112. CLAIMANT ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

4 establish a comprehensive claimant assistance program— 

5 (1) to publicize and provide information to po6 tential claimants about— 

7 (A) the availability of benefits for eligible 

8 claimants under this title; and 

9 (B) the procedures for filing claims and for 

10 obtaining assistance in filing claims; 

11 (2) to provide assistance to potential claimants 

12 in preparing, substantiating, and submitting claims, 

13 including assistance in obtaining the documentation 

14 necessary to support a claim; 

15 (3) to respond to inquiries from claimants and 

16 potential claimants; 

17 (4) to provide translation services to claimants 

18 and potential claimants; 

19 (5) to provide training with respect to the appli20 cable procedures for the preparation and filing of 

21 claims to persons who provide assistance or rep22 resentation to claimants, including nonprofit organi23 zations and State and local government entities; and 

24 (6) to provide for the establishment of a website 

25 on which claimants may access all relevant forms 

26 and information. 


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1 (b) RESOURCE CENTERS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The claimant assistance pro3 gram shall provide for the establishment of resource 

4 centers in areas in which there are determined to be 

5 large concentrations of potential claimants, including 

6 at least 1 resource center in each affected State. 

7 (2) LOCATION.—The centers shall be located, to 

8 the maximum extent practicable, in facilities of the 

9 Department or other Federal agencies. 

10 (c) ATTORNEY’S FEES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, the representative of an individual 

13 may not receive, for services rendered in connection 

14 with the claim of an individual under this title, more 

15 than 5 percent of a final award made (whether by 

16 the Administrator initially or as a result of adminis17 trative review) on the claim. 

18 (2) PENALTY.—Any representative of a claim19 ant who violates this subsection shall be fined not 

20 more than the greater of— 

21 (A) $5,000; or 

22 (B) twice the amount received by the rep23 resentative for services rendered in connection 

24 with each violation. 


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1 SEC. 113. COMPENSATION PROGRAM STARTUP. 

2 (a) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

4 shall issue interim regulations and procedures for the 

5 processing of claims under this title. 

6 (b) INTERIM PERSONNEL.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the As8 sistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and 

9 Budget of the Department may make available to 

10 the Administrator on a temporary basis such per11 sonnel and other resources as may be necessary to 

12 facilitate the expeditious startup of the compensa13 tion program. 

14 (2) CONTRACTS.—The Administrator may con15 tract with individuals or entities having relevant ex16 perience to assist in the expeditious startup of the 

17 compensation program. 

18 (c) EXTREME FINANCIAL HARDSHIP CLAIMS.—In 

19 the final regulations promulgated under section 111(c), 

20 the Administrator shall designate categories of claims to 

21 be handled on an expedited basis as a result of extreme 

22 financial hardship. 

23 (d) INTERIM ADMINISTRATOR.—Until an Adminis24 trator is appointed and confirmed under section 111(b), 

25 the responsibilities of the Administrator under this title 

26 shall be performed by the Assistant Secretary for Policy, 


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1 Management, and Budget of the Department, who shall 

2 have all the authority conferred by this title on the Admin3 istrator and who shall be considered to be the Adminis4 trator for purposes of this title. 

5 (e) STAY OF CLAIMS; RETURN TO TORT SYSTEM.— 

6 (1) STAY OF CLAIMS.— 

7 (A) PENDING ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

8 any other provision of this title, any claim for 

9 damages pending in any Federal or State court 

10 for monetary damages related to the Deepwater 

11 Horizon incident as of the date of enactment of 

12 this Act shall be subject to a stay. 

13 (B) FUTURE ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

14 any other provision of this title, any claim for 

15 damages filed in any Federal or State court for 

16 monetary damages related to the Deepwater 

17 Horizon incident after the date of enactment of 

18 this Act shall be subject to a stay 60 days after 

19 the date of the filing of the claim, unless the 

20 claimant has filed an election to pursue the 

21 claim for damages in the Federal or State court 

22 under paragraph (2). 

23 (2) CLAIMS.—To be eligible for a claim, any 

24 person or State that has filed a timely claim seeking 

25 a judgment or order for monetary damages related 


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1 to the Deepwater Horizon incident in any Federal or 

2 State court before, on, or after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, shall file with the Administrator 

4 and serve on all defendants in the pending court ac5 tion an election to pursue the claim for damages 

6 under this title or continue to pursue the claim in 

7 the Federal or State court— 

8 (A) not later than 60 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, if the claim was filed 

10 in a Federal or State court before the date of 

11 enactment of this Act; and 

12 (B) not later than 60 days after the date 

13 of the filing of the claim, if the claim is filed 

14 in a Federal or State court on or after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act. 

16 (3) STAY.—Until the claimant files an election 

17 under paragraph (2) to continue to pursue the claim 

18 in the Federal or State court, the stay under para19 graph (1) shall remain in effect. 

20 (4) EFFECT OF ELECTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any claimant that has 

22 elected to pursue a claim for damages in Fed23 eral or State court under paragraph (2) shall 

24 not be eligible for an award for those damages 

25 under section 131. 


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1 (B) SECTION 131 CLAIMS.—Any claimant 

2 that has been awarded damages for a claim 

3 under section 131 shall not be eligible for an 

4 award of damages for the same claim in Fed5 eral or State court. 

6 (C) OSLTF CLAIMS.—Any claimant that 

7 has received payment for damages from a re8 sponsible party or through the Oil Spill Liabil9 ity Trust Fund pursuant to chapter 40 of title 

10 33, Code of Federal Regulations, (or a suc11 cessor regulation) shall not be eligible for an 

12 award for those damages under section 131. 

13 (5) EFFECT OF OPERATIONAL OR NON14 OPERATIONAL FUND.— 

15 (A) REINSTATEMENT OF CLAIMS.—If, 

16 after 270 days after the date of enactment of 

17 this Act, the Administrator cannot certify to 

18 Congress that the Office is operational and 

19 awarding claims at a reasonable rate, each per20 son or State that has filed a claim stayed under 

21 this subsection may continue the claims of the 

22 person or State in the court in which the case 

23 was pending prior to the stay. 

24 (B) OPERATIONAL OFFICE.—If the Admin25 istrator subsequently certifies to Congress that 


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1 the Office has become operational and awarding 

2 all valid claims at a reasonable rate, any claim 

3 in a civil action in Federal or State court that 

4 is not actually on trial before a jury that has 

5 been impaneled and presentation of evidence 

6 has commenced, but before deliberation, or be7 fore a judge and is at the presentation of evi8 dence, may, at the option of the claimant, be 

9 considered a reinstated claim before the Admin10 istrator and the civil action before the Federal 

11 or State court shall be null and void. 

12 (C) NONOPERATIONAL OFFICE.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of this title, if the 

14 Administrator certifies to Congress that the Of15 fice cannot become operational and awarding all 

16 valid claims at a reasonable rate, all claims that 

17 have a stay may be filed or reinstated. 

18 SEC. 114. AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR. 

19 On any matter within the jurisdiction of the Adminis20 trator under this title, the Administrator may— 

21 (1) issue subpoenas for and compel the attend22 ance of witnesses within a radius of 200 miles; 

23 (2) administer oaths; 

24 (3) examine witnesses; 


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1 (4) require the production of books, papers, 

2 documents, and other potential evidence; and 

3 (5) request assistance from other Federal agen4 cies with the performance of the duties of the Ad5 ministrator under this title. 

6 SEC. 115. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DEEPWATER HORIZON 

7 COMPENSATION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis11 trator shall establish an Advisory Committee on 

12 Deepwater Horizon Compensation. 

13 (2) COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com15 mittee shall be composed of 24 members, ap16 pointed in accordance with this paragraph. 

17 (B) LEGISLATIVE APPOINTMENTS.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The majority leader 

19 of the Senate, the minority leader of the 

20 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Rep21 resentatives, and the minority leader of the 

22 House of Representatives shall each ap23 point 4 members to the Advisory Com24 mittee. 


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1 (ii) REPRESENTATION.—Of the 4 

2 members appointed by each Member under 

3 clause (i)— 

4 (I) 2 members shall represent the 

5 interests of claimants; and 

6 (II) 2 members shall represent 

7 the interests of responsible parties. 

8 (C) APPOINTMENTS BY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

9 The Administrator shall appoint 8 members to 

10 the Advisory Committee, who shall be individ11 uals with qualifications and expertise relevant 

12 to the compensation program, including experi13 ence or expertise in marine or coastal ecology, 

14 oil spill remediation, fisheries management, ad15 ministering compensation programs, or audits. 

16 (b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall advise 

17 the Administrator on— 

18 (1) claims filing and claims processing proce19 dures; 

20 (2) claimant assistance programs; 

21 (3) audit procedures and programs to ensure 

22 the quality and integrity of the compensation pro23 gram; 


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1 (4) analyses or research that should be con2 ducted to evaluate past claims and to project future 

3 claims under the compensation program; and 

4 (5) such other matters related to the implemen5 tation of this title as the Administrator considers ap6 propriate. 

7 (c) OPERATION OF COMMITTEE.— 

8 (1) TERM.—The term of a member of the Advi9 sory Committee shall be 3 years. 

10 (2) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

11 The Administrator shall designate a Chairperson 

12 and Vice Chairperson of the Advisory Committee 

13 from among the members appointed under sub14 section (a)(2)(C). 

15 (3) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

16 meet— 

17 (A) at the call of the Chairperson or a ma18 jority of the members of the Advisory Com19 mittee; and 

20 (B) at least— 

21 (i) 4 times per year during the first 3 

22 years of the compensation program; and 

23 (ii) 2 times per year thereafter. 

24 (4) INFORMATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

2 shall provide to the Advisory Committee such 

3 information as is necessary and appropriate for 

4 the Advisory Committee to carry out this sec5 tion. 

6 (B) OTHER AGENCIES.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—On request of the 

8 Advisory Committee, the Administrator 

9 may secure directly from any Federal, 

10 State, or local department or agency such 

11 information as may be necessary to enable 

12 the Advisory Committee to carry out this 

13 section. 

14 (ii) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

15 On request of the Administrator, the head 

16 of the department or agency described in 

17 clause (i) shall furnish such information to 

18 the Advisory Committee. 

19 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Adminis20 trator shall provide the Advisory Committee with 

21 such administrative support as is reasonably nec22 essary to enable the Advisory Committee to carry 

23 out this section. 

24 (d) EXPENSES.—A member of the Advisory Com25 mittee, other than a full-time Federal employee, while atVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 tending a meeting of the Advisory Committee or while oth2 erwise serving at the request of the Administrator, and 

3 while serving away from the home or regular place of busi4 ness of the member, shall be allowed travel and meal ex5 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as au6 thorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, 

7 for individuals in the Federal Government serving without 

8 pay. 

9 Subtitle B—Deepwater Horizon 

10 Compensation Procedures 

11 SEC. 121. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF ELIGIBLE CLAIM. 

12 To be eligible for an award under this title for dam13 ages, a claimant shall— 

14 (1) file a claim in a timely manner in accord15 ance with section 123; and 

16 (2) prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

17 that the claimant has suffered damages as a result 

18 of the Deepwater Horizon incident. 

19 SEC. 122. GENERAL RULE CONCERNING NO-FAULT COM20 PENSATION. 

21 To be eligible for an award under this title for dam22 ages, a claimant shall not be required to demonstrate that 

23 the damages for which the claim is being made resulted 

24 from the negligence or other fault of any other person. 


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1 SEC. 123. FILING OF CLAIMS. 

2 (a) ELIGIBLE CLAIMANTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person or State that 

4 has suffered monetary damage as a result of the 

5 Deepwater Horizon incident may file a claim with 

6 the Office for an award with respect to the damage. 

7 (2) LIMITATION.—A claim may not be filed by 

8 any person or State under this title for contribution 

9 or indemnity. 

10 (b) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Except as otherwise 

11 provided in this subsection, if a person or State fails to 

12 file a claim with the Office under this section during the 

13 5-year period beginning on the date on which the person 

14 or State first discovered facts that would have led a rea15 sonable person to conclude that damage had occurred, any 

16 claim relating to the damage, and any other claim related 

17 to that damage, shall be extinguished, and any recovery 

18 on the damage shall be prohibited. 

19 (c) FUTURE CLAIMS NOT PRECLUDED.—Filing of a 

20 claim under subsection (a) shall not preclude the filing of 

21 additional claims for damages arising from the Deepwater 

22 Horizon incident that are manifested at a later date. 

23 (d) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A claim filed under 

24 subsection (a) shall be in such form, and contain such in25 formation in such detail, as the Administrator shall by 

26 regulation prescribe. 


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1 (e) DATE OF FILING.—A claim shall be considered 

2 to be filed on the date that the claimant mails the claim 

3 to the Office, as determined by postmark, or on the date 

4 that the claim is received by the Office, whichever is the 

5 earliest determinable date. 

6 (f) INCOMPLETE CLAIMS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a claim filed under sub8 section (a) is incomplete, the Administrator shall, 

9 not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of 

10 the incomplete claim, notify the claimant of the in11 formation necessary to complete the claim and in12 form the claimant of such services as may be avail13 able through the claimant assistance program estab14 lished under section 112 to assist the claimant in 

15 completing the claim. 

16 (2) TIME PERIODS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), any time period for the proc19 essing of the claim shall be suspended until 

20 such time as the claimant submits the informa21 tion necessary to complete the claim. 

22 (B) DEADLINE.—If the information de23 scribed in subparagraph (A) is not received dur24 ing the 1-year period beginning on the date of 

25 the notification, the claim shall be dismissed. 


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1 SEC. 124. ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS AND CLAIM 

2 AWARDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) REVIEW OF CLAIMS.—The Administrator 

5 shall, in accordance with this section, determine 

6 whether each claim filed satisfies the requirements 

7 for eligibility for an award under this title and, if so, 

8 the value of the award. 

9 (2) FACTORS.—In making a determination 

10 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall con11 sider— 

12 (A) the claim presented by the claimant; 

13 (B) the factual evidence submitted by the 

14 claimant in support of the claim; and 

15 (C) the results of such investigation as the 

16 Administrator may consider necessary to deter17 mine whether the claim satisfies the criteria for 

18 eligibility established by this title. 

19 (3) ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

21 request the submission of evidence in addition 

22 to the minimum requirements of section 123 if 

23 necessary to make a determination of eligibility 

24 for an award. 

25 (B) COST.—If the Administrator requests 

26 additional evidence under subparagraph (A), 


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1 the cost of obtaining the additional evidence 

2 shall be borne by the Office. 

3 (b) PROPOSED DECISIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

5 the date of the filing of a claim, the Administrator 

6 shall provide to the parties a proposed decision— 

7 (A) accepting or rejecting the claim in 

8 whole or in part; and 

9 (B) specifying the amount of any proposed 

10 award. 

11 (2) FORM.—The proposed decision shall— 

12 (A) be in writing; 

13 (B) contain findings of fact and conclu14 sions of law; and 

15 (C) contain an explanation of the proce16 dure for obtaining review of the proposed deci17 sion. 

18 (c) REVIEW OF PROPOSED DECISIONS.— 

19 (1) RIGHT TO HEARING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any party not satisfied 

21 with a proposed decision of the Administrator 

22 under subsection (b) shall be entitled, on writ23 ten request made not later than 90 days after 

24 the date of the issuance of the decision, to a 


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1 hearing on the claim of the claimant before a 

2 representative of the Administrator. 

3 (B) TESTIMONY.—At the hearing, the 

4 party shall be entitled to present oral evidence 

5 and written testimony in further support of the 

6 claim. 

7 (C) CONDUCT OF HEARING.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The hearing shall, 

9 to the maximum extent practicable, be con10 ducted at a time and place convenient for 

11 the claimant. 

12 (ii) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as 

13 otherwise provided in this title, in con14 ducting the hearing, the representative of 

15 the Administrator shall conduct the hear16 ing in a manner that best determines the 

17 rights of the parties and shall not be 

18 bound by— 

19 (I) common law or statutory 

20 rules of evidence; 

21 (II) technical or formal rules of 

22 procedure; or 

23 (III) section 554 of title 5, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 (iii) EVIDENCE.—For purposes of 

2 clause (ii), the representative of the Ad3 ministrator shall receive such relevant evi4 dence as the claimant adduces and such 

5 other evidence as the representative deter6 mines necessary or useful in evaluating the 

7 claim. 

8 (D) REQUEST FOR SUBPOENAS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

10 (iv), a party may request a representative 

11 of the Administrator to issue a subpoena 

12 but the decision to grant or deny the re13 quest is within the discretion of the rep14 resentative. 

15 (ii) SUBPOENAS.—Subject to clause 

16 (iii), the representative may issue sub17 poenas for— 

18 (I) the attendance and testimony 

19 of witnesses; and 

20 (II) the production of books, 

21 records, correspondence, papers, or 

22 other relevant documents. 

23 (iii) PREREQUISITES.—Subpoenas 

24 may be issued for documents under this 

25 subparagraph only if— 


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1 (I) in the case of documents, the 

2 documents are relevant and cannot be 

3 obtained by other means; and 

4 (II) in the case of witnesses, oral 

5 testimony is the best way to ascertain 

6 the facts. 

7 (iv) REQUEST.— 

8 (I) HEARING PROCESS.—A party 

9 may request a subpoena under this 

10 subparagraph only as part of the 

11 hearing process. 

12 (II) FORM.—To request a sub13 poena, the requester shall— 

14 (aa) submit the request in 

15 writing and send the request to 

16 the representative as early as 

17 practicable, but not later than 30 

18 days, after the date of the origi19 nal hearing request; and 

20 (bb) explain why the testi21 mony or evidence is directly rel22 evant to the issues at hand, and 

23 a subpoena is the best method or 

24 opportunity to obtain the evi25 dence because there are no other 


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1 means by which the documents 

2 or testimony could have been ob3 tained. 

4 (v) FEES AND MILEAGE.— 

5 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any person re6 quired by a subpoena to attend as a 

7 witness shall be allowed and paid the 

8 same fees and mileage as are paid 

9 witnesses in the district courts of the 

10 United States. 

11 (II) FUND.—The fees and mile12 age shall be paid from the Fund. 

13 (2) REVIEW OF WRITTEN RECORD.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Instead of a hearing 

15 under paragraph (1), any party not satisfied 

16 with a proposed decision of the Administrator 

17 shall have the option, on written request made 

18 not later than 90 days after the date of the 

19 issuance of the decision, of obtaining a review 

20 of the written record by a representative of the 

21 Administrator. 

22 (B) OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.—If a re23 view is requested under subparagraph (A), the 

24 parties shall be afforded an opportunity to subVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 mit any written evidence or argument that the 

2 claimant believes relevant. 

3 (d) FINAL DECISIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the period of time for re5 questing review of the proposed decision expires and 

6 no request has been filed, or if the parties waive any 

7 objections to the proposed decision, the Adminis8 trator shall issue a final decision. 

9 (2) VARIANCE FROM PROPOSED DECISION.—If 

10 the decision materially differs from the proposed de11 cision, the parties shall be entitled to review of the 

12 decision under subsection (c). 

13 (3) TIMING.—If the parties request review of 

14 all or part of the proposed decision the Adminis15 trator shall issue a final decision on the claim not 

16 later than— 

17 (A) 180 days after the date the request for 

18 review is received, if a party requests a hearing; 

19 or 

20 (B) 90 days after the date the request for 

21 review is received, if the claimant requests re22 view of the written record. 

23 (4) CONTENT.—The decision shall be in writing 

24 and contain findings of fact and conclusions of law. 


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1 (e) REPRESENTATION.—A party may authorize an 

2 attorney or other individual to represent the party in any 

3 proceeding under this title. 

4 Subtitle C—Awards 

5 SEC. 131. AMOUNT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—A claimant that meets the re7 quirements of section 121 shall be entitled to an award 

8 in an amount equal to the damages specified in subsection 

9 (b) sustained as a result of Deepwater Horizon incident. 

10 (b) COVERED DAMAGES.—For purposes of subsection 

11 (a), covered damages shall be 1 or more of the following 

12 types of damages (if applicable): 

13 (1) REAL OR PERSONAL PROPERTY.—Damages 

14 for injury to, or economic losses resulting from de15 struction of, real or personal property, which shall 

16 be recoverable by a claimant who owns or leases that 

17 property. 

18 (2) SUBSISTENCE USE.—Damages for loss of 

19 subsistence use of natural resources, which shall be 

20 recoverable by any claimant who so uses natural re21 sources that have been injured, destroyed, or lost, 

22 without regard to the ownership or management of 

23 the resources. 

24 (3) REVENUES.—Damages equal to the net loss 

25 of taxes, royalties, rents, fees, or net profit shares 


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1 due to the injury, destruction, or loss of real prop2 erty, personal property, or natural resources, which 

3 shall be recoverable by a State or a political subdivi4 sion of a State. 

5 (4) PROFITS AND EARNING CAPACITY.—Dam6 ages equal to the loss of profits or impairment of 

7 earning capacity due to the injury, destruction, or 

8 loss of real property, personal property, or natural 

9 resources, which shall be recoverable by any claim10 ant. 

11 (5) PUBLIC SERVICES.—Damages for net costs 

12 of providing increased or additional public services 

13 during or after removal activities, including protec14 tion from fire, safety, or health hazards, caused by 

15 a discharge of oil, which shall be recoverable by a 

16 State or a political subdivision of a State. 

17 SEC. 132. PAYMENT. 

18 (a) PAYMENTS.—Not later than 30 days after a final 

19 determination of an award under this title, a claimant that 

20 is entitled to an award under this title shall receive the 

21 amount of the award through payments from the respon22 sible parties. 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON TRANSFERABILITY.—A claim 

24 filed under this title shall not be assignable or otherwise 

25 transferable under this title. 


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1 (c) PAYMENT FROM FUND.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the responsible parties fail 

3 to pay an award within the time period for payment 

4 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall pay 

5 any such award from the Fund not later than 15 

6 days after the date of expiration of that time period. 

7 (2) SUBROGATION OF CLAIMS.—Payment of 

8 any claim from the Fund under this section shall be 

9 subject to the acquisition, by the Federal Govern10 ment, of subrogation of rights of the claimant to re11 cover those damages for which the Federal Govern12 ment has compensated the claimant from the re13 sponsible parties. 

14 (3) JUDICIAL ACTION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the 

16 Administrator, the Attorney General shall bring 

17 a civil action on behalf of the Fund to recover 

18 any compensation paid to any claimant pursu19 ant to this title, and, without regard to any lim20 itation of liability, all interest, administrative 

21 and adjudicative costs, and attorney’s fees in22 curred by the Fund by reason of the claim. 

23 (B) LIABILITY.—A civil action may be 

24 brought under subparagraph (A) against any 

25 responsible party that is liable, pursuant to any 


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1 law, to the compensated claimant, for the dam2 ages or costs for which compensation was paid. 

3 SEC. 133. SETOFFS FOR COLLATERAL SOURCE COMPENSA4 TION AND PRIOR AWARDS. 

5 The amount of an award otherwise available to a 

6 claimant under this title shall be reduced by the amount 

7 of collateral source compensation. 

8 SEC. 134. SUBROGATION. 

9 Any person that pays compensation pursuant to this 

10 title to any claimant for damages shall be subrogated to 

11 all rights, claims, and causes of action the claimant has 

12 under any other law. 

13 Subtitle D—Judicial Review 

14 SEC. 141. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

15 (a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—The United States 

16 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall 

17 have exclusive jurisdiction over any action to review rules 

18 or regulations promulgated by the Administrator under 

19 this title. 

20 (b) PERIOD FOR FILING PETITION.—A petition for 

21 review under this section shall be filed not later than 60 

22 days after the date notice of the promulgation of the rules 

23 or regulations appears in the Federal Register. 

24 (c) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The United States 

25 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall 


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1 provide for expedited procedures for reviews under this 

2 section. 

3 SEC. 142. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AWARD DECISIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any claimant or responsible party 

5 adversely affected or aggrieved by a final decision of the 

6 Administrator awarding or denying compensation under 

7 this title may petition for judicial review of the decision. 

8 (b) PERIOD FOR FILING PETITION.—Any petition for 

9 review under this section shall be filed not later than 90 

10 days after the date of issuance of a final decision of the 

11 Administrator. 

12 (c) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—A petition for review 

13 may only be filed in the United States Court of Appeals 

14 for the circuit in which the claimant resides at the time 

15 of the issuance of the final order. 

16 (d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The court shall uphold 

17 the decision of the Administrator unless the court deter18 mines, on review of the record as a whole, that the decision 

19 is not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to 

20 law, or is not in accordance with procedure required by 

21 law. 

22 (e) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The United States 

23 Court of Appeals shall provide for expedited procedures 

24 for reviews under this section. 


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1 SEC. 143. OTHER JUDICIAL CHALLENGES. 

2 (a) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.—The United States 

3 District Court for the District of Columbia shall have ex4 clusive jurisdiction over any action for declaratory or in5 junctive relief challenging any provision of this title. 

6 (b) PERIOD FOR FILING PETITIONS.—An action 

7 under this section shall be filed not later than the later 

8 of— 

9 (1) the date that is 60 days after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act; or 

11 (2) the date that is 60 days after the final ac12 tion by the Administrator or the Office giving rise 

13 to the action. 

14 (c) DIRECT APPEAL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A final decision in the action 

16 shall be reviewable on appeal directly to the Su17 preme Court. 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The appeal shall be 

19 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal not later 

20 than 30 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional state21 ment not later than 60 days, after the date of the 

22 entry of the final decision. 

23 (d) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—It is the sense of 

24 Congress that the Supreme Court and the United States 

25 District Court for the District of Columbia are urged to 

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1 imum extent practicable, the disposition of an action cov2 ered by this section. 

3 Subtitle E—Effect on Other Laws 

4 SEC. 151. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

5 This title shall supersede any Federal or State law 

6 to the extent that the law relates to any claim for damages 

7 compensated under this title. 

8 TITLE II—NATIONAL COMMIS9 SION ON OUTER CONTI10 NENTAL SHELF OIL SPILL 

11 PREVENTION 

12 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission 

14 on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill Prevention Act of 

15 2010’’. 

16 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

17 There is established in the Legislative branch the Na18 tional Commission on Outer Continental Shelf Oil Spill 

19 Prevention (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

20 SEC. 203. PURPOSES. 

21 The purposes of the Commission are— 

22 (1) to examine and report on the facts and 

23 causes relating to the Deepwater Horizon explosion 

24 and oil spill of 2010; 


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1 (2) to ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi2 dence developed by all relevant governmental agen3 cies regarding the facts and circumstances sur4 rounding the incident; 

5 (3) to build upon the investigations of other en6 tities, and avoid unnecessary duplication, by review7 ing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

8 of— 

9 (A) the Committees on Energy and Nat10 ural Resources and Commerce, Science, and 

11 Transportation of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

13 and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Inves14 tigations of the House of Representatives; and 

15 (C) other Executive branch, congressional, 

16 or independent commission investigations into 

17 the Deepwater Horizon incident of 2010, other 

18 fatal oil platform accidents and major spills, 

19 and major oil spills generally; 

20 (4) to make a full and complete accounting of 

21 the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the 

22 extent of the preparedness of the United States for, 

23 and immediate response of the United States to, the 

24 incident; and 


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1 (5) to investigate and report to the President 

2 and Congress findings, conclusions, and rec3 ommendations for corrective measures that may be 

4 taken to prevent similar incidents. 

5 SEC. 204. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

6 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 

7 of 10 members, of whom— 

8 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi9 dent, who shall serve as Chairperson of the Commis10 sion; 

11 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the major12 ity or minority (as the case may be) leader of the 

13 Senate from the Democratic Party, in consultation 

14 with the majority or minority (as the case may be) 

15 leader of the House of Representatives from the 

16 Democratic Party, who shall serve as Vice Chair17 person of the Commission; 

18 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

19 member of the leadership of the Senate from the 

20 Democratic Party; 

21 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

22 member of the leadership of the House of Represent23 atives from the Republican Party; 


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1 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

2 member of the leadership of the Senate from the Re3 publican Party; and 

4 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 

5 member of the leadership of the House of Represent6 atives from the Democratic Party. 

7 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 

8 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not more 

9 than 5 members of the Commission shall be from 

10 the same political party. 

11 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in12 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be a 

13 current officer or employee of the Federal Govern14 ment or any State or local government. 

15 (3) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

16 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis17 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 

18 with national recognition and significant depth of ex19 perience and expertise in such areas as— 

20 (A) engineering; 

21 (B) environmental compliance; 

22 (C) health and safety law (particularly oil 

23 spill legislation); 

24 (D) oil spill insurance policies; 

25 (E) public administration; 


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1 (F) oil and gas exploration and production; 

2 (G) environmental cleanup; and 

3 (H) fisheries and wildlife management. 

4 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem5 bers of the Commission shall be appointed on or be6 fore September 15, 2010. 

7 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

8 meet and begin the operations of the Commission as 

9 soon as practicable after the date of enactment of 

10 this Act. 

11 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the initial meeting of 

13 the Commission, the Commission shall meet upon 

14 the call of the Chairperson or a majority of the 

15 members of the Commission. 

16 (2) QUORUM.—6 members of the Commission 

17 shall constitute a quorum. 

18 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis19 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission, 

20 but shall be filled in the same manner in which the 

21 original appointment was made. 

22 SEC. 205. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The functions of the Commission 

24 are— 

25 (1) to conduct an investigation that— 


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1 (A) investigates relevant facts and cir2 cumstances relating to the Deepwater Horizon 

3 incident of April 20, 2010, and the associated 

4 oil spill thereafter, including any relevant legis5 lation, Executive order, regulation, plan, policy, 

6 practice, or procedure; and 

7 (B) may include relevant facts and cir8 cumstances relating to— 

9 (i) permitting agencies; 

10 (ii) environmental and worker safety 

11 law enforcement agencies; 

12 (iii) national energy requirements; 

13 (iv) deepwater and ultradeepwater oil 

14 and gas exploration and development; 

15 (v) regulatory specifications, testing, 

16 and requirements for offshore oil and gas 

17 well explosion prevention; 

18 (vi) regulatory specifications, testing, 

19 and requirements offshore oil and gas well 

20 casing and cementing regulation; 

21 (vii) the role of congressional over22 sight and resource allocation; and 

23 (viii) other areas of the public and 

24 private sectors determined to be relevant to 


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1 the Deepwater Horizon incident by the 

2 Commission; 

3 (2) to identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 

4 learned from the Deepwater Horizon incident of 

5 April 20, 2010, regarding the structure, coordina6 tion, management policies, and procedures of the 

7 Federal Government, and, if appropriate, State and 

8 local governments and nongovernmental entities, and 

9 the private sector, relative to detecting, preventing, 

10 and responding to those incidents; and 

11 (3) to submit to the President and Congress 

12 such reports as are required under this title con13 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommenda14 tions as the Commission determines to be appro15 priate, including proposals for organization, coordi16 nation, planning, management arrangements, proce17 dures, rules, and regulations. 

18 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO INQUIRY BY CONGRESSIONAL

19 COMMITTEES.—In investigating facts and circumstances 

20 relating to energy policy, the Commission shall— 

21 (1) first review the information compiled by, 

22 and any findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

23 of, the committees identified in subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (B) of section 203(3); and 


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1 (2) after completion of that review, pursue any 

2 appropriate area of inquiry, if the Commission deter3 mines that— 

4 (A) those committees have not investigated 

5 that area; 

6 (B) the investigation of that area by those 

7 committees has not been completed; or 

8 (C) new information not reviewed by the 

9 committees has become available with respect to 

10 that area. 

11 SEC. 206. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

12 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission or, 

13 on the authority of the Commission, any subcommittee or 

14 member of the Commission, may, for the purpose of car15 rying out this title— 

16 (1) hold such hearings, meet and act at such 

17 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

18 evidence, and administer such oaths; and 

19 (2) require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at20 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the 

21 production of such books, records, correspondence, 

22 memoranda, papers, documents, tapes, and mate23 rials; 

24 as the Commission or such subcommittee or member con25 siders to be advisable. 


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1

2 (b) SUBPOENAS.— 

3 (1) ISSUANCE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

5 issued under this subsection only— 

6 (i) by the agreement of the Chair7 person and the Vice Chairperson; or 

8 (ii) by the affirmative vote of 6 mem9 bers of the Commission. 

10 (B) SIGNATURE.—Subject to subparagraph 

11 (A), a subpoena issued under this subsection— 

12 (i) shall bear the signature of the 

13 Chairperson or any member designated by 

14 a majority of the Commission; 

15 (ii) and may be served by any person 

16 or class of persons designated by the 

17 Chairperson or by a member designated by 

18 a majority of the Commission for that pur19 pose. 

20 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of contu22 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

23 under paragraph (1), the United States district 

24 court for the district in which the subpoenaed 

25 person resides, is served, or may be found, or 


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1 where the subpoena is returnable, may issue an 

2 order requiring the person to appear at any 

3 designated place to testify or to produce docu4 mentary or other evidence. 

5 (B) JUDICIAL ACTION FOR NONCOMPLI6 ANCE.—Any failure to obey the order of the 

7 court may be punished by the court as a con8 tempt of that court. 

9 (C) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT.—In the 

10 case of any failure of any witness to comply 

11 with any subpoena or to testify when sum12 moned under authority of this section, the Com13 mission may, by majority vote, certify a state14 ment of fact constituting such failure to the ap15 propriate United States attorney, who may 

16 bring the matter before the grand jury for ac17 tion, under the same statutory authority and 

18 procedures as if the United States attorney had 

19 received a certification under sections 102 

20 through 104 of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 

21 192 through 194). 

22 (c) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

23 extent and in such amounts as are provided in appropria24 tion Acts, enter into contracts to enable the Commission 

25 to discharge the duties of the Commission under this title. 


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1 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

3 directly from any Executive department, bureau, 

4 agency, board, commission, office, independent es5 tablishment, or instrumentality of the Federal Gov6 ernment, information, suggestions, estimates, and 

7 statistics for the purposes of this title. 

8 (2) COOPERATION.—Each Federal department, 

9 bureau, agency, board, commission, office, inde10 pendent establishment, or instrumentality shall, to 

11 the extent authorized by law, furnish information, 

12 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the 

13 Commission, upon request made by the Chairperson, 

14 the Chairperson of any subcommittee created by a 

15 majority of the Commission, or any member des16 ignated by a majority of the Commission. 

17 (3) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS18 SEMINATION.—Information shall be received, han19 dled, stored, and disseminated only by members of 

20 the Commission and the staff of the Commission in 

21 accordance with all applicable laws (including regu22 lations and Executive orders). 

23 (e) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

24 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

25 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 


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1 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis2 trative support and other services for the perform3 ance of the functions of the Commission. 

4 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

5 addition to the assistance prescribed in paragraph 

6 (1), departments and agencies of the United States 

7 may provide to the Commission such services, funds, 

8 facilities, staff, and other support services as are de9 termined to be advisable and authorized by law. 

10 (f) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

11 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property, in12 cluding travel, for the direct advancement of the functions 

13 of the Commission. 

14 (g) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

15 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

16 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

17 United States. 

18 SEC. 207. PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEARINGS. 

19 (a) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

20 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

21 (1) hold public hearings and meetings, to the 

22 extent appropriate; and 

23 (2) release public versions of the reports re24 quired under subsections (a) and (b) of section 211. 


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1 (b) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

2 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

3 with the protection of proprietary or sensitive information 

4 provided to or developed for or by the Commission as re5 quired by any applicable law (including a regulation or Ex6 ecutive order). 

7 SEC. 208. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson, in 

11 consultation with the Vice Chairperson and in 

12 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Com13 mission, may, without regard to the civil service 

14 laws (including regulations), appoint and fix the 

15 compensation of a staff director and such other 

16 personnel as are necessary to enable the Com17 mission to carry out the functions of the Com18 mission. 

19 (B) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—No rate of 

20 pay fixed under this paragraph may exceed the 

21 equivalent of that payable for a position at level 

22 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

23 of title 5, United States Code. 

24 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The staff director and 

2 any personnel of the Commission who are em3 ployees shall be considered to be employees 

4 under section 2105 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 

6 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

7 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara8 graph (A) shall not apply to members of the 

9 Commission. 

10 (b) DETAILEES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

12 Government may be detailed to the Commission 

13 without reimbursement. 

14 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of the 

15 employee shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

16 service status or privilege. 

17 (c) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT18 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

19 may procure temporary and intermittent services in ac20 cordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

21 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

22 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

23 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

24 that title. 


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1 SEC. 209. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES. 

2 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

3 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

4 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of 

5 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a 

6 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

7 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

8 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

10 during which the member is engaged in the perform11 ance of the duties of the Commission. 

12 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

13 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

14 Federal Government shall serve without compensa15 tion in addition to the compensation received for the 

16 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

17 the Federal Government. 

18 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis19 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

20 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

21 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

22 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg23 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

24 of the duties of the Commission. 


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1 SEC. 210. SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR COMMISSION MEM2 BERS AND STAFF. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the ap4 propriate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperate 

5 with the Commission in expeditiously providing to the 

6 members and staff of the Commission appropriate security 

7 clearances, to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant 

8 to existing procedures and requirements. 

9 (b) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—No person shall 

10 be provided with access to proprietary information under 

11 this title without the appropriate security clearances. 

12 SEC. 211. REPORTS OF COMMISSION; ADJOURNMENT. 

13 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub14 mit to the President and Congress interim reports con15 taining such findings, conclusions, and recommendations 

16 for corrective measures as have been agreed to by a major17 ity of members of the Commission. 

18 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

20 shall submit to the President and Congress a final report 

21 containing such findings, conclusions, and recommenda22 tions for corrective measures as have been agreed to by 

23 a majority of members of the Commission. 

24 (c) TEMPORARY ADJOURNMENT.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the 

26 authority provided under this title, shall adjourn and 


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1 be suspended, respectively, on the date that is 60 

2 days after the date on which the final report is sub3 mitted under subsection (b). 

4 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TER5 MINATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day 

6 period referred to in paragraph (1) for the purpose 

7 of concluding activities of the Commission, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) providing testimony to committees of 

10 Congress concerning reports of the Commission; 

11 and 

12 (B) disseminating the final report sub13 mitted under subsection (b). 

14 (3) RECONVENING OF COMMISSION.—The Com15 mission shall stand adjourned until such time as the 

16 President or the Secretary of Homeland Security de17 clares an oil spill of national significance to have oc18 curred, at which time— 

19 (A) the Commission shall reconvene in ac20 cordance with section 204(c); and 

21 (B) the authority of the Commission under 

22 this title shall be of full force and effect. 

23 SEC. 212. FUNDING. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title— 


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1 (1) $10,000,000 for the first fiscal year in 

2 which the Commission convenes; and 

3 (2) $3,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter in 

4 which the Commission convenes. 

5 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available to carry 

6 out this title shall be available— 

7 (1) for transfer to the Commission for use in 

8 carrying out the functions and activities of the Com9 mission under this title; and 

10 (2) until the date on which the Commission ad11 journs for the fiscal year under section 211(c). 

12 SEC. 213. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM13 MITTEE ACT. 

14 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

15 shall not apply to the Commission. 

16 TITLE III—OIL SPILL LIABILITY 

17 Subtitle A—Oil Pollution Act of 

18 1990 

19 SEC. 301. LIABILITY LIMITS. 

20 (a) PRESIDENTIAL ESTABLISHMENT OF LIMITS.— 

21 Section 1004 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

22 2704) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(e) LIMITS FOR STRICT LIABILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of sub25 section (a)(3), after a 60-day period of public notice 


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1 and comment beginning on the date of enactment of 

2 this subsection, and from time to time thereafter, 

3 the President shall establish a set of limits for strict 

4 liability for damages for incidents occurring from 

5 offshore facilities (other than deepwater ports) cov6 ered by Outer Continental Shelf leases issued after 

7 the date of enactment of the Oil Spill Compensation 

8 Act of 2010. 

9 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The limits for strict li10 ability established under paragraph (1) shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) take into account the availability of 

12 insurance products for offshore facilities; and 

13 ‘‘(B) be otherwise based equally on and 

14 categorized by— 

15 ‘‘(i) the water depth of the lease; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the minimum projected well 

17 depth of the lease; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the proximity of the lease to oil 

19 and gas emergency response equipment 

20 and infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the likelihood of the offshore fa22 cility covered by the lease to encounter 

23 broken sea ice; 

24 ‘‘(v) the record and historical number 

25 of regulatory violations of the leaseholder 


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1 under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

2 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or the Fed3 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 

4 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (or the absence of 

5 such a record or violations); 

6 ‘‘(vi) the estimated hydrocarbon re7 serves of the lease; 

8 ‘‘(vii) the estimated well pressure, ex9 pressed in pounds per square inch, of the 

10 reservoir associated with the lease; 

11 ‘‘(viii) the availability and projected 

12 availability of funds in the Oil Spill Liabil13 ity Trust Fund established by section 9509 

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

15 ‘‘(ix) other available remedies under 

16 law; 

17 ‘‘(x) the estimated economic value of 

18 nonenergy coastal resources that may be 

19 impacted by a spill of national significance 

20 involving the offshore facility covered by 

21 the lease; 

22 ‘‘(xi) whether the offshore facility cov23 ered by the lease employs a subsea or sur24 face blowout preventer stack; and 


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1 ‘‘(xii) the availability of industry pay2 ments under subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(f) LIABILITY OF INDUSTRY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an incident on the Outer 

5 Continental Shelf results in claims exceeding the 

6 maximum amount for strict liability for damages to 

7 be paid by the responsible party under subsection 

8 (a)(3), the claims in excess of the maximum amount 

9 for strict liability for damages under subsection 

10 (a)(3) shall be paid initially with not more than 50 

11 percent of the funds available in the Fund, with any 

12 remaining liability to be paid in full by all other en13 tities operating offshore facilities on the Outer Con14 tinental Shelf on the date of the incident, as deter15 mined by the Secretary of the Interior, in accord16 ance with paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROPORTIONAL PAYMENT.—The amount 

18 of liability claims to be paid under paragraph (1) by 

19 an entity described in that paragraph shall be deter20 mined by the Secretary of the Interior based on the 

21 proportion that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the number of offshore facilities oper23 ated by the entity on the Outer Continental 

24 Shelf; bears to 


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1 ‘‘(B) the total number of offshore facilities 

2 operated by all entities on the Outer Conti3 nental Shelf.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) LIMIT FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES.—Section 

6 1004(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

7 2704(a)) is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘,,’’ and 

9 inserting a comma; and 

10 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) for an offshore facility (except a deepwater 

13 port) covered by an Outer Continental Shelf lease— 

14 ‘‘(A) if the lease was issued prior to the 

15 date of enactment of the Oil Spill Compensation 

16 Act of 2010, the total of all removal costs plus 

17 $75,000,000; and 

18 ‘‘(B) if the lease was issued on or after the 

19 date of enactment of the Oil Spill Compensation 

20 Act of 2010, the total of all removal costs plus 

21 the limit for strict liability for damages for that 

22 offshore facility established by the President 

23 under subsection (e); and’’. 

24 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Section 6002(b) of the Oil 

25 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2752(b)) is 


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1 amended in the first sentence by inserting 

2 ‘‘1004(f),’’ after ‘‘sections’’. 

3 SEC. 302. ADVANCE PAYMENT. 

4 Section 1012 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

5 U.S.C. 2712) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(l) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—The President shall pro8 mulgate regulations that allow advance payments to be 

9 made from the Fund to States and political subdivisions 

10 of States for actions taken to prepare for and mitigate 

11 substantial threats from the discharge of oil.’’. 

12 Subtitle B—Oil Spill Liability Trust 

13 Fund 

14 SEC. 311. RATE OF TAX FOR OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST 

15 FUND. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4611 of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 (relating to the imposition of tax) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara21 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (3), 

23 the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing 

24 rate is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of any petroleum 

2 product entered into the United States for 

3 consumption, use, or warehousing from 

4 any country which is not a WTO member 

5 country (as defined in section 2(10) of the 

6 Uruguay Round Agreements Act), 60 cents 

7 a barrel, and 

8 ‘‘(ii) in any other case, 20 cents a 

9 barrel.’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPORARY SUSPEN13 SION OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND FINANC14 ING RATE.—In the case of any calendar quarter in 

15 which the Secretary estimates that, as of the close 

16 of the previous quarter, the unobligated balance in 

17 the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is greater than 

18 $10,000,000,000, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 

19 financing shall be 0 cents a barrel.’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subsection (f). 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall apply on and after the first day of the 

23 first calendar quarter after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 


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1 (c) NEW REVENUES TO THE OIL SPILL LIABILITY

2 TRUST FUND.—Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, 

3 United States Code, the revenue resulting from any in4 crease in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate 

5 under this section or the amendments made by this section 

6 shall— 

7 (1) be credited only as offsetting collections for 

8 the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund; 

9 (2) be available for expenditure only for pur10 poses of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund; and 

11 (3) remain available until expended. 

12 SEC. 312. LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES AND BOR13 ROWING AUTHORITY. 

14 (a) LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES.—Section 

15 9509(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 

16 to expenditures from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘EXPENDITURES’’ in the sub20 section heading and all that follows through 

21 ‘‘Amounts in’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘EX22 PENDITURES.—Amounts in’’; and 

23 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

24 (F) as paragraphs (1) through (6), respectively, and 

25 indenting appropriately. 


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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO BORROW.—Section 9509(d) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to authority 

3 to borrow from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking 

6 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

9 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

10 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

11 subparagraph (B). 

12 TITLE IV—FEDERAL OIL SPILL 

13 RESEARCH 

14 SEC. 401. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Oil Pollution Act 

16 of 1990 is amended— 

17 (1) by inserting before section 7001 (33 U.S.C. 

18 2761) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 7000. DEFINITIONS. 

20 ‘‘In this title: 

21 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘assessment’ 

22 means the research assessment on the status of the 

23 oil spill prevention and response capabilities con24 ducted under section 7004. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Committee’ 

2 means the Interagency Committee established under 

3 section 7001. 

4 ‘‘(3) PLAN.—The term ‘plan’ means the Fed5 eral oil spill research plan developed under section 

6 7005. 

7 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

8 the Federal oil spill research program established 

9 under section 7003.’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating section 7002 (33 U.S.C. 

11 2762) as section 7009; 

12 (3) in section 7001 (33 U.S.C. 2761), by strik13 ing subsections (b) through (e) and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(b) REGIONAL SUBCOMMITTEES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall estab17 lish— 

18 ‘‘(A) a regional subcommittee for each of 

19 the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic regions of the 

20 United States; and 

21 ‘‘(B) such other regional subcommittees as 

22 the Committee determines to be necessary. 

23 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In accordance with the 

24 program, each regional subcommittee established 

25 under this subsection shall coordinate with the ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 mittee and other relevant State, national, and inter2 national bodies with expertise in the region to re3 search and develop technologies for use in the pre4 vention, detection, recovery, mitigation, and evalua5 tion of effects of incidents in the regional environ6 ment.’’; and 

7 (4) by inserting after section 7001 (33 U.S.C. 

8 2761) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 7002. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE. 

10 ‘‘The Committee shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) coordinate a comprehensive Federal oil 

12 spill research and development program in accord13 ance with section 7003 to coordinate oil pollution re14 search, technology development, and demonstration 

15 among the Federal agencies, in cooperation and co16 ordination with industry, institutions of higher edu17 cation, research institutions, State and tribal govern18 ments, and other relevant stakeholders; 

19 ‘‘(2) conduct a research assessment on the sta20 tus of the oil spill prevention and response capabili21 ties in accordance with section 7004; and 

22 ‘‘(3) develop a Federal oil spill research plan in 

23 accordance with section 7005. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 7003. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall establish a 

3 program for conducting oil pollution research, develop4 ment, and demonstration. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program estab6 lished under subsection (a) shall provide for research, de7 velopment, and demonstration technologies, practices, and 

8 procedures that provide for effective and direct response 

9 to prevent, detect, recover, or mitigate oil discharges, in10 cluding— 

11 ‘‘(1) new technologies to detect accidental or in12 tentional overboard oil discharges; 

13 ‘‘(2) models and monitoring capabilities to pre14 dict the transport and fate of oil, including trajec15 tory and behavior predictions due to location, weath16 er patterns, hydrographic data, and water condi17 tions, including Arctic sea ice environments; 

18 ‘‘(3) containment and well-control capabilities, 

19 including drilling of relief wells, containment struc20 tures, and injection technologies; 

21 ‘‘(4) response capabilities, such as improved 

22 dispersants, biological treatment methods, booms, oil 

23 skimmers, containment vessels, and offshore and on24 shore storage capacity; 


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1 ‘‘(5) research and training, in coordination with 

2 the National Response Team, to improve the re3 moval of oil discharge quickly and effectively; 

4 ‘‘(6) decision support systems for contingency 

5 planning and response; 

6 ‘‘(7) improvement of options for oily or oiled 

7 waste dispersal; 

8 ‘‘(8) technologies, methods, and standards for 

9 use in protecting personnel and for volunteers that 

10 may participate in incident responses, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) training; 

12 ‘‘(B) adequate supervision; 

13 ‘‘(C) protective equipment; 

14 ‘‘(D) maximum exposure limits; and 

15 ‘‘(E) decontamination procedures; and 

16 ‘‘(9) technologies and methods to prevent, de17 tect, recover, and mitigate oil discharges in polar en18 vironments. 

19 ‘‘(c) STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF RE20 SPONSE TECHNIQUES.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law, the Coast Guard shall conduct reasonable en22 vironmental studies of oil discharge prevention or mitiga23 tion technologies, including the use of small quantities of 

24 oil for testing of in situ burning, chemical dispersants, and 

25 herding agents, upon and within navigable waters of the 


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1 United States, if the Coast Guard, in consultation with 

2 the Committee, determines that the information to be ob3 tained cannot be adequately obtained through a laboratory 

4 or simulated experiment. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 7004. FEDERAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT. 

6 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of the Oil Spill Compensation Act of 2010, the Committee 

8 shall submit to Congress an assessment of the status of 

9 oil spill prevention and response capabilities that— 

10 ‘‘(1) identifies research programs conducted 

11 and technologies developed by governments, institu12 tions of higher education, and industry; 

13 ‘‘(2) assesses the status of knowledge on oil pol14 lution prevention, response, and mitigation tech15 nologies; 

16 ‘‘(3) identifies regional oil pollution research 

17 needs and priorities for a coordinated program of re18 search at the regional level developed in consultation 

19 with State, local, and tribal governments; 

20 ‘‘(4) assesses the status of spill response equip21 ment and determines areas in need of improvement, 

22 including quantity, age, quality, effectiveness, or 

23 necessary technological improvements; 

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1 cluding weather, hydrographic, and water condition 

2 data, and the impact of incomplete and inaccessible 

3 data on preventing, detecting, or mitigating oil dis4 charges; and 

5 ‘‘(6) is subject to a 90-day public comment pe6 riod and addresses suggestions received and incor7 porates public input received, as appropriate. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 7005. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY RESEARCH PLAN. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after the 

11 date on which the President submits to Congress, 

12 pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States 

13 Code, a budget for fiscal year 2012, and for each 

14 fiscal year thereafter, the Committee shall submit to 

15 Congress a plan that establishes the priorities for 

16 Federal oil spill research and development. 

17 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In the development 

18 of the plan, the Committee shall consider rec19 ommendations by the National Academy of Sciences 

20 and information from State, local, and tribal govern21 ments. 

22 ‘‘(b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) make recommendations to improve tech24 nologies and practices to prevent oil spills; 


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1 ‘‘(2) suggest changes to the program to improve 

2 the rates of oil recovery and spill mitigation; 

3 ‘‘(3) make recommendations to improve tech4 nologies, practices, and procedures to provide for ef5 fective and direct response to oil spills; 

6 ‘‘(4) make recommendations to improve the 

7 quality of real-time data available to mariners, re8 searchers, and responders; and 

9 ‘‘(5) be subject to a 90-day public comment pe10 riod and address suggestions received and incor11 porate public input received, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 7006. EXTRAMURAL GRANTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, the 

14 Committee shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) award competitive grants to institutions of 

16 higher education or other research institutions to 

17 carry out projects— 

18 ‘‘(A) to advance research and development; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) to demonstrate technologies for pre21 venting, detecting, or mitigating oil discharges 

22 that are relevant to the goals and priorities of 

23 the plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) incorporate a competitive, merit-based 

2 process for awarding grants that may be conducted 

3 jointly with other participating agencies. 

4 ‘‘(b) REGIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF REGION.—In this sub6 section, the term ‘region’ means a Coast Guard dis7 trict as described in part 3 of subchapter A of chap8 ter I of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations 

9 (1989). 

10 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—Consistent with the program, 

11 the Committee shall coordinate the provision of com12 petitive grants to institutions of higher education or 

13 other research institutions (or groups of those insti14 tutions) for the purpose of conducting a coordinated 

15 research program relating to the aspects of oil pollu16 tion with respect to each region, including research 

17 on such matters as— 

18 ‘‘(A) prevention; 

19 ‘‘(B) removal mitigation; and 

20 ‘‘(C) the effects of discharged oil on re21 gional environments. 

22 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

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1 resented on the Committee of a solicitation for 

2 grants under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) FORM AND CONTENT.—The applica4 tion for a grant under this subsection shall be 

5 in such form and contain such information as 

6 shall be required in the published solicitation. 

7 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—Each 

8 application for a grant under this subsection 

9 shall be— 

10 ‘‘(i) reviewed by the Committee; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the Committee, 

12 included among applications recommended 

13 by the Committee for approval in accord14 ance with paragraph (5). 

15 ‘‘(D) PROVISION OF GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A granting agency 

17 represented on the Committee shall provide 

18 the grants recommended by the Committee 

19 unless the granting agency— 

20 ‘‘(I) decides not to provide the 

21 grant due to budgetary or other com22 pelling considerations; and 

23 ‘‘(II) publishes in the Federal 

24 Register the reasons for such a deter25 mination. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) FUNDS FOR GRANTS.—No grants 

2 may be provided by any agency under this 

3 subsection from any funds authorized to 

4 carry out this paragraph unless the grant 

5 award has first been recommended by the 

6 Committee under subparagraph (C)(ii). 

7 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any institution of 

9 higher education or other research institution 

10 (or a group of those institutions) may apply for 

11 a grant for the regional research program es12 tablished under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(B) LOCATION OF APPLICANT.—An appli14 cant described in subparagraph (A) shall be lo15 cated in the region, or in a State a part of 

16 which is in the region, for which the project 

17 covered by the grant application is proposed to 

18 be carried out as part of the regional research 

19 program. 

20 ‘‘(C) GROUP APPLICATIONS.—With respect 

21 to an application described in subparagraph (A) 

22 from a group of institutions referred to in that 

23 subparagraph, the 1 or more entities that will 

24 carry out the substantial portion of the pro25 posed project covered by the grant shall be loVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 cated in the region, or in a State a part of 

2 which is in the region, for which the project is 

3 proposed as part of the regional research pro4 gram. 

5 ‘‘(5) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

7 make recommendations on grants in such a 

8 manner as to ensure an appropriate balance 

9 within a region among the various aspects of oil 

10 pollution research, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) prevention; 

12 ‘‘(ii) removal; 

13 ‘‘(iii) mitigation; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) the effects of discharged oil on 

15 regional environments. 

16 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—In addition 

17 to the requirements described in subparagraph 

18 (A), the Committee shall make recommenda19 tions for the approval of grants based on 

20 whether— 

21 ‘‘(i) there are available to the appli22 cant for use in carrying out this paragraph 

23 demonstrated research resources; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the applicant demonstrates the 

2 capability of making a significant contribu3 tion to regional research needs; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the projects that the applicant 

5 proposes to carry out under the grant— 

6 ‘‘(I) are consistent with the plan 

7 under section 7005; and 

8 ‘‘(II) would further the objectives 

9 of the program established under sec10 tion 7003. 

11 ‘‘(6) TERM OF GRANTS; REVIEW; COST-SHAR12 ING.—A grant provided under this subsection 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) be for a period of up to 3 years; 

15 ‘‘(B) be subject to annual review by the 

16 granting agency; and 

17 ‘‘(C) provide not more than 80 percent of 

18 the costs of the research activities carried out 

19 in connection with the grant. 

20 ‘‘(7) PROHIBITION ON USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

21 No funds made available to carry out this subsection 

22 may be used for— 

23 ‘‘(A) the acquisition of real property (in24 cluding buildings); or 

25 ‘‘(B) the construction of any building. 


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1 ‘‘(8) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

2 in this paragraph alters or abridges the authority 

3 under existing law of any Federal agency to provide 

4 grants, or enter into contracts or cooperative agree5 ments, using funds other than those authorized in 

6 this Act for the purpose of carrying out this sub7 section. 

8 ‘‘(9) FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), for each of fiscal years 2011 

11 through 2015, not less than $32,000,000 of 

12 amounts in the Fund shall be available to carry 

13 out the regional research program under this 

14 subsection, to be available in equal amounts for 

15 the regional research program in each region. 

16 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL GRANTS.—If the agen17 cies represented on the Committee determine 

18 that regional research needs exist that cannot 

19 be addressed by the amount of funds made 

20 available under subparagraph (A), the agencies 

21 may use authority under subsection (a) to make 

22 additional grants to meet those needs. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 7007. ANNUAL REPORT. 

24 ‘‘Concurrent with the submission of the Federal 

25 interagency research plan pursuant to section 7005, the 


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1 Committee shall submit to Congress an annual report that 

2 describes the activities and results of the program during 

3 the previous fiscal year and described the objectives of the 

4 program for the next fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 7008. FUNDING. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts in the Fund for 

7 each fiscal year, not more than $50,000,000 shall be avail8 able to carry out this section (other than section 7006(b)) 

9 for the fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATIONS.—All activities authorized 

11 under this title, including under section 7006(b), shall be 

12 subject to the availability of appropriations.’’. 

13 SEC. 402. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE PARTICIPA14 TION. 

15 The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall enter into 

16 an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 

17 under which the Academy shall— 

18 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en19 actment of this Act, assess and evaluate the status 

20 of Federal oil spill research and development as of 

21 the day before the date of enactment of this Act; 

22 (2) submit to Congress and the Federal Oil 

23 Spill Research Committee established under section 

24 7002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 a report eval25 uating the conclusions and recommendations from 


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1 the Federal research assessment under section 7004 

2 of that Act to be used in the development of the 

3 Federal oil spill research plan under section 7005 of 

4 that Act; and 

5 (3) not later than 1 year after the Federal 

6 interagency research plan is submitted to Congress 

7 under section 7005 of that Act, evaluate, and report 

8 to Congress on, the plan. 

9 SEC. 403. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

10 (a) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 1012(a)(5)(A) of the 

11 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)(A)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$50,000,000’’. 

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

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

16 2701) is amended by striking the items relating to sections 

17 7001 and 7002 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 7000. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 7001. Oil pollution research and development program. 

‘‘Sec. 7002. Functions of the Committee. 

‘‘Sec. 7003. Federal oil spill research program. 

‘‘Sec. 7004. Federal research assessment. 

‘‘Sec. 7005. Federal interagency research plan. 

‘‘Sec. 7006. Extramural grants. 

‘‘Sec. 7007. Annual report. 

‘‘Sec. 7008. Funding. 

‘‘Sec. 7009. Submerged oil program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. OIL SPILL RESPONSE AUTHORITY. 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Inci3 dent Commander of the Coast Guard may authorize the 

4 use of dispersants in response to a spill of oil from— 

5 (1) any facility or vessel located in, on, or under 

6 any of the navigable waters of the United States; 

7 and 

8 (2) any facility of any kind that is subject to 

9 the jurisdiction of the United States and that is lo10 cated in, on, or under any other waters. 

11 TITLE V—OIL AND GAS LEASING 

12 SEC. 501. REVENUE SHARING FROM OUTER CONTINENTAL 

13 SHELF AREAS IN CERTAIN COASTAL STATES. 

14 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

15 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(i) REVENUE SHARING FROM OUTER CONTI18 NENTAL SHELF AREAS IN CERTAIN COASTAL STATES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection through 

20 subsection (j): 

21 ‘‘(A) COASTAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.— 

22 The term ‘coastal political subdivision’ of a 

23 coastal State means a county-equivalent sub24 division of a coastal State all or part of which— 

25 ‘‘(i) lies within the coastal zone (as 

26 defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone 


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1 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1453)); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the closest point of which is not 

4 more than 300 statute miles from the geo5 graphic center of any leased tract. 

6 ‘‘(B) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘coastal 

7 State’ means a State with a coastal seaward 

8 boundary within 300 statute miles distance of 

9 the geographic center of a leased tract in an 

10 outer Continental Shelf planning area that— 

11 ‘‘(i) as of January 1, 2000, had no oil 

12 or natural gas production; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is not a Gulf producing State (as 

14 defined in section 102 of the Gulf of Mex15 ico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 

16 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432)). 

17 ‘‘(C) DISTANCE.—The terms ‘distance’ and 

18 ‘distances’ mean minimum great circle distance 

19 and distances, respectively. 

20 ‘‘(D) LEASED TRACT.—The term ‘leased 

21 tract’ means a tract leased under this Act for 

22 the purpose of drilling for, developing, and pro23 ducing oil or natural gas resources. 


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1 ‘‘(E) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

2 AREA.—The term ‘outer Continental Shelf area’ 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(i) any area withdrawn from disposi5 tion by leasing by the ‘Memorandum on 

6 Withdrawal of Certain Areas of the United 

7 States Outer Continental Shelf from Leas8 ing Disposition’, from 34 Weekly Comp. 

9 Pres. Doc. 1111, dated June 12, 1998; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) any area of the outer Continental 

11 Shelf as to which Congress has denied the 

12 use of appropriated funds or other means 

13 for preleasing, leasing, or related activities. 

14 ‘‘(2) POST LEASING REVENUES.—If the Gov15 ernor or the Legislature of a coastal State requests 

16 the Secretary to allow leasing in an outer Conti17 nental Shelf area and the Secretary allows the leas18 ing, in addition to any bonus bids, the coastal State 

19 shall, without further appropriation or action, re20 ceive, from leasing of the area, 37.5 percent of— 

21 ‘‘(A) any lease rental payments; 

22 ‘‘(B) any lease royalty payments; 

23 ‘‘(C) any royalty proceeds from a sale of 

24 royalties taken in kind by the Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) any other revenues from a bidding 

2 system under section 8. 

3 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION AMONG COASTAL POLITICAL

4 SUBDIVISIONS OF STATES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 pay 20 percent of the allocable share of each 

7 coastal State, as determined under this sub8 section, directly to certain coastal political sub9 divisions of the coastal State. 

10 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each leased 

12 tract used to calculate the allocation of a 

13 coastal State, the Secretary shall pay the 

14 coastal political subdivisions within 300 

15 miles of the geographic center of the leased 

16 tract based on the relative distance of such 

17 coastal political subdivisions from the 

18 leased tract in accordance with this sub19 paragraph. 

20 ‘‘(ii) DISTANCES.—For each coastal 

21 political subdivision described in clause (i), 

22 the Secretary shall determine the distance 

23 between the point on the coastal political 

24 subdivision coastline closest to the geoVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 graphic center of the leased tract and the 

2 geographic center of the tract. 

3 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

4 shall divide and allocate the qualified outer 

5 Continental Shelf revenues derived from 

6 the leased tract among coastal political 

7 subdivisions described in clause (i) in 

8 amounts that are inversely proportional to 

9 the applicable distances determined under 

10 clause (ii). 

11 ‘‘(4) CONSERVATION ROYALTY.—After making 

12 distributions under paragraphs (1) and (2) and sec13 tion 31, the Secretary shall, without further appro14 priation or action, distribute a conservation royalty 

15 equal to 12.5 percent of Federal royalty revenues de16 rived from an area leased under this section from all 

17 areas leased under this section for any year, into the 

18 land and water conservation fund established under 

19 section 2 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 

20 Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–5) to provide financial 

21 assistance to States under section 6 of that Act (16 

22 U.S.C. 460l–8). 

23 ‘‘(5) DEFICIT REDUCTION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After making distribu25 tions in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) 


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1 and in accordance with section 31, the Sec2 retary shall, without further appropriation or 

3 action, distribute an amount equal to 50 per4 cent of Federal royalty revenues derived from 

5 all areas leased under this section for any year, 

6 into direct Federal deficit reduction. 

7 ‘‘(B) BUDGETARY TREATMENT.—Any 

8 amounts distributed into direct Federal deficit 

9 reduction under this paragraph shall not be in10 cluded for purposes determining budget levels 

11 under section 201 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th 

12 Congress).’’. 

13 SEC. 502. REVENUE SHARING FROM AREAS IN ALASKA AD14 JACENT ZONE. 

15 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

16 (43 U.S.C. 1344) (as amended by section 601) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) REVENUE SHARING FROM AREAS IN ALASKA

19 ADJACENT ZONE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), effective beginning on the date that is 5 

22 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

23 revenues from production that derives from an area 

24 in the Alaska Adjacent Zone shall be distributed in 


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1 the same proportion and for the same uses as pro2 vided in subsection (i). 

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION AMONG REGIONAL CORPORA4 TIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 pay 33 percent of any allocable share of the 

7 State of Alaska, as determined under this sec8 tion, directly to certain Regional Corporations 

9 established under section 7(a) of the Alaska 

10 Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

11 1606(a)). 

12 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each leased 

14 tract used to calculate the allocation of the 

15 State of Alaska, the Secretary shall pay 

16 the Regional Corporations, after deter17 mining those Native villages within the re18 gion of the Regional Corporation which are 

19 within 300 miles of the geographic center 

20 of the leased tract based on the relative 

21 distance of such villages from the leased 

22 tract, in accordance with this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DISTANCES.—For each such vil24 lage, the Secretary shall determine the dis25 tance between the point in the village closVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 est to the geographic center of the leased 

2 tract and the geographic center of the 

3 tract. 

4 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

5 shall divide and allocate the qualified outer 

6 Continental Shelf revenues derived from 

7 the leased tract among the qualifying Re8 gional Corporations in amounts that are 

9 inversely proportional to the distances of 

10 all of the Native villages within each quali11 fying region. 

12 ‘‘(iv) REVENUES.—All revenues re13 ceived by each Regional Corporation shall 

14 be— 

15 ‘‘(I) treated by the Regional Cor16 poration as revenue subject to the dis17 tribution requirements of section 

18 7(i)(1)(A) of the Alaska Native 

19 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

20 1606(i)(1)(A)); and 

21 ‘‘(II) divided annually by the Re22 gional Corporation among all 12 Re23 gional Corporations in accordance 

24 with section 7(i) of that Act. 


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1 ‘‘(v) FURTHER DISTRIBUTION.—A Re2 gional Corporation receiving revenues 

3 under clause (iv)(II) shall further dis4 tribute 50 percent of the revenues received 

5 in accordance with section 7(j) of the Alas6 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

7 U.S.C. 1606(j)).’’. 

8 SEC. 503. ACCELERATED REVENUE SHARING TO PROMOTE 

9 COASTAL RESILIENCY AMONG GULF PRO10 DUCING STATES. 

11 Section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

12 Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION AMONG GULF PRODUCING STATES

17 FOR FISCAL YEARS 2010 AND THEREAFTER.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of 

19 this subsection, for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal 

20 year thereafter, the amount made available under 

21 subsection (a)(2)(A) from a covered lease described 

22 in paragraph (2) shall be allocated to each Gulf pro23 ducing State in amounts that are inversely propor24 tional to the respective distances between the point 

25 on the coastline of each Gulf producing State that 


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1 is closest to the geographic center of each historical 

2 lease site and the geographic center of the historical 

3 lease site, as determined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) COVERED LEASE.—A covered lease re5 ferred to in paragraph (1) means a lease entered 

6 into for— 

7 ‘‘(A) the 2002–2007 planning area; 

8 ‘‘(B) the 181 Area; or 

9 ‘‘(C) the 180 South Area. 

10 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—The amount allo11 cated to a Gulf producing State each fiscal year 

12 under paragraph (1) shall be at least 10 percent of 

13 the amounts available under subsection (a)(2)(A). 

14 ‘‘(4) HISTORICAL LEASE SITES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara16 graph (B), for purposes of this subsection, the 

17 historical lease sites in the 2002–2007 planning 

18 area shall include all leases entered into by the 

19 Secretary for an area in the Gulf of Mexico 

20 during the period beginning on October 1, 1982 

21 (or an earlier date if practicable, as determined 

22 by the Secretary), and ending on December 31, 

23 2015. 

24 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT.—Effective January 1, 

25 2022, and every 5 years thereafter, the ending 


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1 date described in subparagraph (A) shall be ex2 tended for an additional 5 calendar years. 

3 ‘‘(5) PAYMENTS TO COASTAL POLITICAL SUB4 DIVISIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 pay 20 percent of the allocable share of each 

7 Gulf producing State, as determined under 

8 paragraphs (1) and (3), to the coastal political 

9 subdivisions of the Gulf producing State. 

10 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION.—The amount paid by 

11 the Secretary to coastal political subdivisions 

12 shall be allocated to each coastal political sub13 division in accordance with subparagraphs (B), 

14 (C), and (E) of section 31(b)(4) of the Outer 

15 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1356a(b)(4)).’’; and 

17 (2) by striking subsection (f). 

18 SEC. 504. PRODUCTION OF OIL FROM CERTAIN ARCTIC 

19 OFFSHORE LEASES. 

20 Section 5 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 1334) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(k) OIL TRANSPORTATION IN ARCTIC WATERS.— 

24 The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) require that oil produced from Federal 

2 leases in Arctic waters in the Chukchi Sea planning 

3 area, Beaufort Sea planning area, or Hope Basin 

4 planning area be transported by pipeline to the 

5 Trans-Alaska Pipeline System; and 

6 ‘‘(2) provide for, and issue appropriate permits 

7 for, the transportation of oil from Federal leases in 

8 Arctic waters in preproduction phases (including ex9 ploration) by means other than pipeline.’’. 

10 SEC. 505. USE OF STIMULUS FUNDS TO OFFSET SPENDING. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The unobligated balance of each 

12 amount appropriated or made available under the Amer13 ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

14 111–5; 123 Stat. 115) (other than under title X of division 

15 A of that Act) is rescinded, on a pro rata basis, by an 

16 aggregate amount that equals the amounts necessary to 

17 offset any net increase in spending or foregone revenues 

18 resulting from this title and the amendments made by this 

19 title. 

20 (b) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Manage21 ment and Budget shall submit to each congressional com22 mittee the amounts rescinded under subsection (a) that 

23 are within the jurisdiction of the committee. 


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1 TITLE VI—GULF OF MEXICO RE2 GIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY 

3 COUNCIL 

4 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico Re6 gional Citizens’ Advisory Council Act of 2010’’. 

7 SEC. 602. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 

9 (1) the Gulf of Mexico— 

10 (A) is a productive and sensitive marine 

11 and coastal ecological habitat that is of funda12 mental importance to the national interest of 

13 the United States; and 

14 (B) contains a significant quantity of the 

15 oil and natural gas reserves of the United 

16 States and produces a substantial quantity of 

17 the annual production of oil and gas by the 

18 United States, and it is therefore in the na19 tional interest that the production be carried 

20 out in a thoroughly safe manner; 

21 (2) oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico 

22 have created significant environmental and social im23 pacts, including the blowout and explosion of the 

24 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that 


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1 occurred on April 20, 2010, and resulting hydro2 carbon releases into the environment; 

3 (3) the safety and integrity of continued energy 

4 development in the Gulf of Mexico is vital to the na5 tional energy security of the United States; 

6 (4) citizen engagement and oversight of mari7 time oil transportation activities in concert with the 

8 regulatory functions of the Federal and State gov9 ernments in the State of Alaska have been found to 

10 be highly effective in attaining safer operations by 

11 the oil and maritime transportation industries; 

12 (5) the Regional Citizens Advisory Councils es13 tablished for Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet 

14 in the State of Alaska by section 5002(d) of the Oil 

15 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2732(d)) have— 

16 (A) increased trust and communication be17 tween citizens, the oil industry, and govern18 ment; and 

19 (B) resulted in improved environmental 

20 safeguards and substantially safer, lower-impact 

21 performance of petroleum operations within the 

22 scope of responsibility of the Councils; 

23 (6) the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

24 2701 et seq.) calls for the establishment of other Re25 gional Citizens Advisory Councils across the United 


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1 States to provide more effective citizen oversight of 

2 oil and gas operations; and 

3 (7) it is in the national interest to establish a 

4 Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council 

5 to provide more effective citizen engagement with 

6 the offshore energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico. 

7 SEC. 603. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVISORY 

8 COUNCIL. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Oil Pollution Act 

10 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761 et seq.) (as amended by section 

11 401(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 7010. GULF OF MEXICO REGIONAL CITIZENS’ ADVI13 SORY COUNCIL. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Gulf 

16 of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (re17 ferred to in this section as the ‘Council’). 

18 ‘‘(2) LOCAL ADVISORY COUNCILS.—A voting 

19 member of the Council may develop a local advisory 

20 council that is similar to the Council to represent a 

21 coastal political subdivision of the member. 

22 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com24 posed of 21 voting members and 17 nonvoting mem25 bers appointed in accordance with this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) VOTING MEMBERS.—Each voting member 

2 of the Council shall be appointed by, and serve ex3 clusively at the pleasure of, 1 representative organi4 zation or trade association of the following stake5 holder groups, as determined by the Secretary of the 

6 Interior: 

7 ‘‘(A) Gulf of Mexico commercial fishing, 

8 shrimping, and oyster industry, 3 members. 

9 ‘‘(B) Gulf of Mexico charter fishing indus10 try, 2 members. 

11 ‘‘(C) Gulf of Mexico tourism, hotel, and 

12 restaurant industries, 2 members. 

13 ‘‘(D) Gulf of Mexico socially vulnerable in14 digenous and nonindigenous communities, 2 

15 members. 

16 ‘‘(E) Gulf of Mexico political subdivisions, 

17 10 members, including 2 members from each 

18 coastal State of the Gulf of Mexico. 

19 ‘‘(F) Gulf of Mexico recreational boating 

20 organizations, 2 members. 

21 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE BOARD.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The operational 

23 framework of the Council for day-to-day oper24 ations and administration of the Council shall 

25 be conducted by a 10-member Executive Board 


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1 comprised of 2 members from each Gulf State, 

2 as nominated and elected by the voting mem3 bers of the Council. 

4 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Executive Board shall 

5 interact with Federal agencies and industry on 

6 policy and operational matters on behalf of the 

7 entire Council. 

8 ‘‘(4) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—In the case of 

9 nonvoting members of the Council, 1 ex-officio, non10 voting representative of the Council shall be ap11 pointed to represent each of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Gulf of Mexico marine and coastal 

13 conservation community. 

14 ‘‘(B) Gulf of Mexico maritime and ship15 ping industry. 

16 ‘‘(C) Gulf of Mexico offshore energy indus17 try. 

18 ‘‘(D) The Executive Office of the Presi19 dent. 

20 ‘‘(E) The National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(F) The Bureau of Ocean Energy Man23 agement, Regulation and Enforcement. 

24 ‘‘(G) The United States Fish and Wildlife 

25 Service. 


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1 ‘‘(H) The Small Business Administration. 

2 ‘‘(I) The Coast Guard. 

3 ‘‘(J) The Department of Defense. 

4 ‘‘(K) The Environmental Protection Agen5 cy 

6 ‘‘(L) The State of Alabama. 

7 ‘‘(M) The State of Florida. 

8 ‘‘(N) The State of Louisiana. 

9 ‘‘(O) The State of Mississippi. 

10 ‘‘(P) The State of Texas. 

11 ‘‘(c) TERMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF COUNCIL.—The term of the 

13 Council shall continue throughout the lifetime of en14 ergy development, transportation, and facility re15 moval activities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

16 ‘‘(2) TERM OF APPOINTMENT.—The voting 

17 members of the Council shall be appointed by, and 

18 serve at the sole discretion of, the respective stake19 holder group, for one term of 3 years. 

20 ‘‘(3) GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE.—The Council shall 

21 carry out the duties of the Council under subsection 

22 (f) in a manner that, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable, covers all energy development, transpor24 tation, and facility removal activities carried out in 

25 the Gulf of Mexico. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall elect the 

3 officers of the Council, select the staff of the Coun4 cil, and establish policies for the internal operating 

5 procedures of the Council. 

6 ‘‘(2) SELF-GOVERNANCE.—After the initial or7 ganizational meeting hosted by the Secretary of the 

8 Interior, the Council shall be self-governing. 

9 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide oversight and monitoring on all as11 pects of offshore energy exploration, development, 

12 and transportation (including pipeline distribution 

13 systems) in the Gulf of Mexico (including environ14 mental assessment, permitting, exploration, develop15 ment, production, and transportation) and any ap16 propriate recommendations; 

17 ‘‘(2) monitor environmental impacts of offshore 

18 energy development related to oil spills, ballast 

19 water, aquatic nuisance species, and other direct im20 pacts and recommend mitigation efforts to minimize 

21 the impacts, as appropriate; 

22 ‘‘(3) monitor oil spill prevention and response 

23 plans for the Gulf of Mexico region, onshore and off24 shore, including considering economic and social conVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:00 Jun 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3542.IS S3542

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1 tingency plans for maritime industries and coastal 

2 communities; 

3 ‘‘(4) recommend standards and conditions for 

4 regulations intended to ensure that oil, gas, and en5 ergy activities in the Gulf of Mexico are conducted 

6 in a safe and environmentally sound manner; 

7 ‘‘(5) provide recommendations for and other8 wise assist any oil spill recovery and community 

9 science consortium institute established for the Gulf 

10 of Mexico; and 

11 ‘‘(6) conduct such other activities within the au12 thority and scope of the Council as the Council con13 siders appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(f) STANDING COMMITTEES.—The Council may cre15 ate standing committees as necessary to carry out the du16 ties of the Council, including— 

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

18 ‘‘(2) an environmental monitoring committee; 

19 ‘‘(3) an oil spill prevention and response com20 mittee; 

21 ‘‘(4) an offshore committee for energy develop22 ment in water that is more than 500 feet in depth; 

23 ‘‘(5) a near-shore committee for energy develop24 ment in water that is 500 feet or less in depth; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) an information, health, and education com2 mittee. 

3 ‘‘(g) TEMPORARY COMMITTEES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may create 

5 temporary committees as necessary to carry out the 

6 duties of the Council relating to the blowout and ex7 plosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deep8 water Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, and 

9 resulting hydrocarbon releases into the environment 

10 (referred to in this section as the ‘Deepwater Hori11 zon incident’), including temporary committees relat12 ing to— 

13 ‘‘(A) public health; and 

14 ‘‘(B) research and monitoring of impacts. 

‘‘(2) DISSOLUTION.—If a 2 15 ⁄3 majority vote of 

16 the Council votes to discontinue activities responding 

17 to the direct impacts of the Deepwater Horizon inci18 dent, any temporary committee established under 

19 paragraph (1) shall dissolve on the date that is 60 

20 days after the date of the vote. 

21 ‘‘(h) EFFECT OF RECOMMENDATION.— 

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

23 held liable under Federal or State law for costs or 

24 damages as a result of rendering recommendations 

25 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RELIEF.—Any recommendation given by a 

2 voting member of the Council or program represent3 ative or agent shall not be grounds for estopping the 

4 interests represented by the voting member from 

5 seeking damages or other appropriate relief. 

6 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

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

8 directly from any Federal agency (as defined in sec9 tion 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 6903)) (referred to in this section as a ‘Fed11 eral agency’) information, suggestions, estimates, 

12 and statistics for the purposes of this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) AGENCY COOPERATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (C), effective beginning on the 

16 date that 180 days after the date of the enact17 ment of this section, each Federal agency shall, 

18 with respect to each proposed major action in19 volving an activity or action under the jurisdic20 tion of the Council, notify the Council prior to 

21 taking the action. 

22 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

23 The notice of an action under subparagraph (A) 

24 shall be provided in a manner that permits the 

25 Council— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to review the action; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) to make appropriate rec3 ommendations regarding operations, policy, 

4 or agency actions. 

5 ‘‘(C) EMERGENCIES.—Prior notification 

6 shall not be required under subparagraph (A) if 

7 an authorized Federal agency representative 

8 reasonably believes that an emergency exists re9 quiring action without delay. 

10 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION.—On the request of 

11 the Council, each Federal agency shall, to the 

12 extent authorized by law, furnish information, 

13 suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to 

14 the Council. 

15 ‘‘(j) COUNCIL RESEARCH.—In carrying out this sec16 tion, the Council— 

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) the Federal Government. 

24 ‘‘(k) RECOMMENDATIONS OF COUNCIL.— 


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

2 Council shall be nonbinding and advisory only. 

3 ‘‘(2) NONACCEPTANCE OF RECOMMENDA4 TIONS.—If a government agency, industry, or a re5 sponsible party decides not to accept, or to substan6 tially modify before adoption, a recommendation of 

7 the Council, the respective entity shall provide to the 

8 Council, not later than 30 days after the date of the 

9 decision, a written notice of the decision and a sum10 mary of reasons for the rejection or modification of 

11 the recommendation. 

12 ‘‘(l) LOCATION AND COMPENSATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LOCATION.—The Council shall establish 

14 the offices in 1 or more Gulf States as determined 

15 to be necessary and appropriate to the operations of 

16 the Council. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Coun18 cil shall not be compensated for service on the Coun19 cil, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including 

20 per diem, at a rate established by the Council not 

21 to exceed the rates authorized for employees of agen22 cies under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 

23 States Code except by express authorization of the 

24 Council in any case where such rates are inadequate 


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1 to reimburse a member of the Council not eligible 

2 for government travel rates. 

3 ‘‘(m) REPORT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

5 after the date of the establishment of the Council, 

6 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

7 submit to the President and Congress a report that 

8 assesses the effectiveness of the Council in carrying 

9 out this section, including any recommendations. 

10 ‘‘(2) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Every 2 years, the 

11 Council shall submit to Congress a report on— 

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

13 the Gulf of Mexico of oil and gas activities; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the operations, expenditures, needs, 

15 problems, issues, and recommendations of the 

16 Council. 

17 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL AUDITS.—The Council shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) commission an annual independent fi19 nancial statement audit by an independent ac20 counting firm; 

21 ‘‘(B) publish the results of the audits in a 

22 publicly available annual report; and 

23 ‘‘(C) incorporate the results of the audits 

24 into the reports required by paragraph (2). 


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

2 council, committee, or other organization created or fund3 ed by this section may sue any public or private person 

4 or entity concerning any matter arising under this section, 

5 other than the performance of a contract. 

6 ‘‘(o) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, a permit or contingency plan 

9 for an energy development activity in the Gulf of 

10 Mexico shall be effective only if the Council is fund11 ed in accordance with paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY PAYMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funding for the oper14 ations and administration of the Council (in15 cluding standing and temporary committees) 

16 shall be available and paid to the Council quar17 terly by the Administrator of the Oil Spill Li18 ability Trust Fund. 

19 ‘‘(B) INTERIM FUNDING.—Notwith20 standing any provision of law, until collections 

21 under this subsection are equivalent to the 

22 amount authorized to be paid to the Council by 

23 this title, the quarterly payments to the Council 

24 shall be paid from the Oil Spill Liability Trust 

25 Fund. 


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1 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), the amount of funding provided to 

4 the Council for each fiscal year under this sub5 section shall be $10,000,000. 

6 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS.—The amount of 

7 funding provided to the Council for a fiscal year 

8 under this subsection shall be adjusted annually 

9 to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index 

10 for the Gulf of Mexico region, as determined by 

11 the Council. 

12 ‘‘(4) USE.—The Council shall use funding re13 ceived for a fiscal year under this subsection to carry 

14 out this section.’’. 

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

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

17 2701) (as amended by section 403(b)) is amended by add18 ing at the end of the items relating to title VII the fol19 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 7010. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.’’. 

Æ 


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