I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5431 

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to prevent oil spills and increase 

liability limits, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 7, 2004 

Mr. PALLONE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to prevent oil 

spills and increase liability limits, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Liability Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY. 

7 Section 1001(32) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

8 (33 U.S.C. 2701(32)) is amended by striking subpara9 graph (A) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) VESSELS.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

2 vessel other than a single-hull tank vessel, 

3 any person that owns, operates, or demise 

4 charters the vessel. 

5 ‘‘(ii) SINGLE-HULL TANK VESSELS.— 

6 In the case of a single-hull tank vessel, any 

7 person that— 

8 ‘‘(I) owns, operates, or demise 

9 charters the vessel; or 

10 ‘‘(II) by contract or agreement, 

11 through an agent, or otherwise, ar12 ranges for the shipment in a single13 hull tank vessel of oil owned or pos14 sessed by the person or any other per15 son.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. LIMITS ON LIABILITY. 

17 (a) INCREASE IN LIABILITY LIMITS.—Section 

18 1004(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

19 2704(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘for a tank vessel, the 

22 greater of—’’ and inserting ‘‘for a double-hull 

23 tank vessel, after December 31, 2004, the 

24 greater of—’’; 
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1 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘$1,200’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,400’’; and 

3 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (i) in clause (i), by striking 

5 ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$20,000,000’’; and 

7 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking 

8 ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,000,000’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

10 (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) for a single-hull tank vessel— 

14 ‘‘(A) during the period beginning January 

15 1, 2005, and ending December 31, 2005, the 

16 greater of— 

17 ‘‘(i) $2,400 per gross ton; or 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 

19 greater than 3,000 gross tons, 

20 $20,000,000; or 

21 ‘‘(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 

22 gross tons or less, $4,000,000; 

23 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning January 

24 1, 2006, and ending December 31, 2006, the 

25 greater of— 
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1 ‘‘(i) $3,600 per gross ton; or 

2 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 

3 greater than 3,000 gross tons, 

4 $30,000,000; or 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 

6 gross tons or less, $6,000,000; 

7 ‘‘(C) during the period beginning January 

8 1, 2007, and ending December 31, 2007, the 

9 greater of— 

10 ‘‘(i) $4,800 per gross ton; or 

11 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 

12 greater than 3,000 gross tons, 

13 $40,000,000; or 

14 ‘‘(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 

15 gross tons or less, $8,000,000; 

16 ‘‘(D) during the period beginning January 

17 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2008, the 

18 greater of— 

19 ‘‘(i) $6,000 per gross ton; or 

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 

21 greater than 3,000 gross tons, 

22 $50,000,000; or 

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 

24 gross tons or less, $10,000,000; 
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1 ‘‘(E) during the period beginning January 

2 1, 2009, and ending December 31, 2009, the 

3 greater of— 

4 ‘‘(i) $7,200 per gross ton; or 

5 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 

6 greater than 3,000 gross tons, 

7 $60,000,000; or 

8 ‘‘(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 

9 gross tons or less, $12,000,000; and 

10 ‘‘(F) after December 31, 2009, the max11 imum amount permitted under the Constitu12 tion;’’; 

13 (4) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by para14 graph (2))— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘$600’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘$1,200’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘$1,000,000’’; 

19 (5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para20 graph (2)), by striking ‘‘$75,000,000’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$150,000,000’’; and 

22 (6) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by para23 graph (2)), by striking ‘‘$350,000,000’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘$700,000,000’’. 
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1 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF LIABILITY LIMITS.—Section 

2 1004(d) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

3 2704(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) DEEPWATER PORTS AND ASSOCIATED VES7 SELS.—The Secretary may establish a limit of liabil8 ity of less than $700,000,000, but not less than 

9 $100,000,000, for the transportation of oil by vessel 

10 to deepwater ports (as defined in section 3 of the 

11 Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1502).’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

14 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

15 (c) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Paragraph (2) 

16 of section 1004(d) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

17 U.S.C. 2704(d)) (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘The Secretary of the department in which the 

21 Coast Guard is located, in consultation with the Ad22 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

23 and the Secretary of the Interior,’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘significant’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. CARRIAGE OF LIQUID BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES. 

2 (a) CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY TO PORTS IN THE

3 UNITED STATES.—Section 9 of the Ports and Waterways 

4 Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1228) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) RISK OF SEVERE HARM.—Not later than Janu7 ary 1, 2006, the Secretary of the department in which the 

8 Coast Guard is located shall promulgate regulations under 

9 which the owner or operator of a port on the navigable 

10 waters of the United States may, after December 31, 

11 2009, place restrictions on the entry into port of a tank 

12 vessel shipment presenting a risk of severe harm to the 

13 port or port region.’’. 

14 (b) INSPECTION AND EXAMINATION.—Section 

15 3714(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(6) In addition to the inspections required 

18 under paragraphs (1) and (2), each single-hull tank 

19 vessel that is more than 15 years of age shall under20 go an annual inspection in accordance with the Con21 dition Assessment Scheme of the Marine Environ22 ment Protection Committee of the International 

23 Maritime Organization, adopted by Resolution 

24 94(46) on April 27, 2001, as determined in accord25 ance with regulations promulgated by the Sec26 retary.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. STUDY. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Commandant of the 

3 Coast Guard shall offer to enter into a contract with the 

4 National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to assess 

5 the total economic cost of oil spills, and the types of costs 

6 resulting from oil spills, in the United States. 

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

8 of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

9 Guard shall submit to Congress a report describing the 

10 results of the study. 

11 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 This Act and the amendments made by this Act take 

13 effect on January 1, 2005. 

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