disregard, authorized, ordered, or carried out the pro-
scribed activity shall be subject to the same fines or im-
prisonment, or both, as provided for under subsection (c). 
(e) CONCURRENT
AND CUMULATIVE NATURE
OF 
PENALTIES.—The remedies and penalties prescribed in 
this Act shall be concurrent and cumulative and the exer-
cise of one shall not preclude the exercise of the others. 
Further, the remedies and penalties prescribed in this Act 
shall be in addition to any other remedies and penalties 
afforded by any other law or regulation. 
SEC. 13. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—No person or employer may dis-
charge any employee or otherwise discriminate against any 
employee with respect to the employee’s compensation, 
terms, conditions, or other privileges of employment be-
cause the employee (or any person acting pursuant to a 
request of the employee)— 
(1) notified the appropriate Federal official, a 
Federal or State law enforcement or regulatory 
agency, or the employee’s employer of an alleged vio-
lation of this Act, or any regulation or order under 
this Act, including notification of such an alleged 
violation through communications related to carrying 
out the employee’s job duties; 
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(2) refused to participate in any conduct that 
the employee reasonably believes is in noncompliance 
with a requirement of this Act, or any regulation or 
order under this Act, if the employee has identified 
the alleged noncompliance to the employer; 
(3) testified before or otherwise provided infor-
mation relevant for Congress or for any Federal or 
State proceeding regarding any provision (or pro-
posed provision) of this Act; 
(4) commenced, caused to be commenced, or is 
about to commence or cause to be commenced a pro-
ceeding under this Act; 
(5) testified or is about to testify in any such 
proceeding; or 
(6) assisted or participated or is about to assist 
or participate in any manner in such a proceeding 
or in any other action to carry out the purposes of 
this Act. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—Any employee covered 
by this section who alleges discrimination by an employer 
in violation of subsection (a) may bring an action governed 
by the rules and procedures, legal burdens of proof, and 
remedies applicable under subsections (d) through (h) of 
section 20109 of title 49, United States Code. A party 
may seek district court review as set forth in subsection 
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(d)(3) of such section not later than 90 days after receiv-
ing a written final determination by the Secretary of 
Labor. 
SEC. 14. CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATION. 
Section 112(r)(6) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7412(r)(6)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(T) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of enactment of this sub-
paragraph, the Chemical Safety and Hazard In-
vestigation Board, the Coast Guard, and the 
Department of the Interior shall enter into an 
agreement in order to facilitate the Board’s in-
vestigation of the facts, circumstances, and 
causes of an accidental fire, explosion, or re-
lease involving an offshore oil or gas exploration 
or production facility (regardless of whether 
there is a resulting marine oil spill). Such 
agreement shall provide the Board with the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) Unrestricted access to any per-
sonnel, records, witness statements, re-
corded witness interviews, and physical or 
documentary evidence related to an off-
shore oil or gas exploration or production 
facility under investigation collected or pos-
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sessed by the Coast Guard or the Depart-
ment of the Interior. 
‘‘(ii) The ability to conduct recorded 
interviews of all agency personnel and con-
tractors and the right to obtain records re-
lated to Federal regulatory, inspection, en-
forcement, and safety programs for off-
shore oil or gas exploration and produc-
tion. 
‘‘(iii) The right to participate equally 
in planning and executing any testing of 
relevant items of physical evidence related 
to the cause of the accident. 
‘‘(iv) Such support and facilities as 
may be necessary for the Board’s inves-
tigation, including transportation to the 
accident site, coastal waters and affected 
areas, and other offshore oil or gas explo-
ration and production facilities without 
cost to the Board. 
‘‘(U) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on an 
investigation of an accidental fire, explosion, or 
release involving an offshore oil or gas explo-
ration or production facility, the Board shall 
make recommendations with respect to pre-
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venting subsequent accidental fires, explosions, 
or releases to the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Commandant of the Coast Guard. The Sec-
retary of the Interior and the Commandant of 
the Coast Guard shall respond formally and in 
writing to any recommendation of the Board 
within 90 days of the receipt of such rec-
ommendations.’’. 
SEC. 15. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt 
regulation by any State or local government of oil and gas 
exploration and production wells drilled in State waters, 
on State lands, or on private lands within that State pur-
suant to the laws of that State or local government. 
SEC. 16. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi-
sory Committee’’ means the Well Control Technical 
Advisory Committee established pursuant to section 
6(a). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
FEDERAL
OFFICIAL.—The 
term ‘‘appropriate Federal official’’ means the Sec-
retary of Energy, Secretary of the Interior, or Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 
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as designated for specific responsibilities provided in 
this Act by the President of the United States. 
(3) BLIND SHEAR RAM.—The term ‘‘blind shear 
ram’’ means a device capable of cutting through a 
drill pipe and sealing a well. 
(4) BLOWOUT.—The term ‘‘blowout’’ means the 
uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons or other mate-
rials from a well. 
(5) BLOWOUT PREVENTER.—The term ‘‘blow-
out preventer’’ means a wellhead device or combina-
tion of devices designed and intended to prevent a 
blowout. 
(6) CASING.—The term ‘‘casing’’ means any 
pipe permanently installed, or intended to be perma-
nently installed, in a well. 
(7) CASING
SHEAR
RAM.—The term ‘‘casing 
shear ram’’ means a device capable of cutting 
through casing. 
(8) 
CEMENTING.—The 
term 
‘‘cementing’’ 
means the practice of forcing cement into the annu-
lar space between the casing and the bore-hole or be-
tween any two pipes within the bore-hole to seal the 
well against the possibility of fluids or gases finding 
a flow path through that space. 
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(9) CEMENT BOND LOG.—The term ‘‘cement 
bond log’’ means a test conducted to determine the 
integrity and completeness of a cementing job for a 
given well or segment of a well by determining the 
extent to which the cement has filled annular spaces 
and bonded to pipes and surrounding formations. 
(10) EXPLORATION WELL.—The term ‘‘explo-
ration well’’ means a well intended to determine 
whether economically recoverable oil, natural gas, 
natural gas liquids, or other hydrocarbons exist in 
the geological deposits or strata to or through which 
the well is drilled. 
(11) FLOW
PATH.—The term ‘‘flow path’’ 
means a potential route by which hydrocarbons or 
other materials could migrate within a well. 
(12) HIGH-RISK WELL.—The term ‘‘high-risk 
well’’ means— 
(A) an offshore oil or gas exploration or 
production well within 200 nautical miles of the 
coast of the United States; or 
(B) an onshore oil or gas exploration or 
production well in the United States, identified 
pursuant to criteria established by the appro-
priate Federal official, that, in the event of a 
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blowout, could lead to substantial harm to pub-
lic health and safety or the environment. 
(13) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ means, 
with respect to a high-risk well, the owner or lessee 
of the rights to explore for, or produce oil or gas 
through such well. 
(14) PRESSURE TESTING.—The term ‘‘pressure 
testing’’ means testing under conditions of elevated 
hydrostatic pressure generated by natural or artifi-
cial means to determine well integrity, the effective-
ness of cementing, or the effectiveness of equipment 
used in the well or to drill the well. 
(15) PRODUCTION WELL.—The term ‘‘produc-
tion well’’ means a well intended to allow the pro-
duction of oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, or 
other hydrocarbons. 
(16) REMEDIAL CEMENTING.—The term ‘‘reme-
dial cementing’’ means repairs to a cementing job 
that has been revealed to be incomplete, channeled, 
insufficiently bonded, or otherwise flawed. 
(17) ROV.—The term ‘‘ROV’’ is an acronym 
for Remotely Operated Vehicle, and means an un-
manned, remotely operated, submersible device that 
is capable of relaying images or information, manip-
ulating or operating various elements of a blowout 
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preventer or other equipment on the seabed, or per-
forming other subsea functions. 
(18) SYSTEM INTEGRATION TEST.—The term 
‘‘system integration test’’ means a test of the var-
ious elements of a blowout preventer, equipment as-
sociated with the use of such preventer, and the con-
trols of the blowout preventer, as combined and con-
figured for operation. 
(19) WELL CONTROL EVENT.—The term ‘‘well 
control event’’ means a blowout or any event that 
threatens, if not controlled, to result in a blowout. 
Æ 
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