SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Securing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment 
Act’’ or the ‘‘SHORE Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRA-
TION OIL SPILL RESPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND PREVENTION 
Sec. 101. Improvements to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
oil spill response, containment, and prevention. 
Sec. 102. Use of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for expenses of National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration. 
Sec. 103. Investment of amounts in Damage Assessment and Restoration Re-
volving Fund in interest-bearing obligations. 
Sec. 104. Strengthening coastal State oil spill planning and response. 
Sec. 105. Gulf of Mexico long-term marine environmental monitoring and re-
search program. 
Sec. 106. Arctic research and action to conduct oil spill prevention. 
TITLE II—IMPROVING COAST GUARD RESPONSE AND 
INSPECTION CAPACITY 
Sec. 201. Secretary defined. 
Sec. 202. Arctic maritime readiness and oil spill prevention. 
Sec. 203. Response plan update requirement. 
Sec. 204. Advance planning and prompt decisionmaking in closing and reopen-
ing fishing grounds. 
Sec. 205. Oil spill technology evaluation. 
Sec. 206. Coast Guard inspections. 
Sec. 207. Certificate of inspection requirements. 
Sec. 208. Navigational measures for protection of natural resources. 
Sec. 209. Notice to States of bulk oil transfers. 
Sec. 210. Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens Advisory Council. 
Sec. 211. Vessel liability. 
Sec. 212. Coast Guard research and development. 
Sec. 213. Prompt intergovernmental notice of marine casualties. 
Sec. 214. Prompt publication of oil spill information. 
TITLE III—OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO OIL SPILLS 
Sec. 301. Coordination of Federal and State activities with respect to oil spill 
surveys. 
Sec. 302. Coordination between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, Coast Guard, and Department of Interior on oil spill mat-
ters. 
Sec. 303. Federal Oil Spill Research Committee. 
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TITLE 
I—NATIONAL 
OCEANIC 
AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS-
TRATION 
OIL 
SPILL 
RE-
SPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND 
PREVENTION 
SEC. 101. IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT-
MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RE-
SPONSE, CONTAINMENT, AND PREVENTION. 
(a) REVIEW OF ABILITY OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO RESPOND TO OIL 
SPILLS.— 
(1) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Under Secretary for Oceans and At-
mosphere shall conduct a comprehensive review of 
the current capacity of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration to respond to oil spills. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The review conducted under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A comparison of oil spill modeling re-
quirements with the state-of-the-art oil spill 
modeling with respect to near shore and off-
shore areas. 
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(B) Development of recommendations on 
priorities for improving forecasting of oil spill, 
trajectories, and impacts. 
(C) An inventory of the products and tools 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration that can aid in assessment of the 
potential risk and impacts of oil spills. Such 
products and tools may include environmental 
sensitivity index maps, the United States Inte-
grated Ocean Observing System, and oil spill 
trajectory models. 
(D) An identification of the baseline ocean-
ographic and climate data required to support 
state of the art modeling. 
(E) An assessment of the Administration’s 
ability to respond to the effects of an oil spill 
on its trust resources, including— 
(i) marine sanctuaries, monuments, 
and other protected areas; and 
(ii) marine mammals, sea turtles, and 
other protected species, and efforts to re-
habilitate such species. 
(3) REPORT.—Upon completion of the review 
required by paragraph (1), the Under Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on such review, in-
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cluding the findings of the Under Secretary with re-
spect to such review. 
(b) OIL SPILL TRAJECTORY MODELING.—The Under 
Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall be responsible 
for developing and maintaining oil spill trajectory mod-
eling capabilities for the United States, including taking 
such actions as may be required by subsections (c) 
through (g). 
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX.— 
(1) UPDATE.—Beginning not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
not less frequently than once every 7 years there-
after, the Under Secretary shall update the environ-
mental sensitivity index products of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each 
coastal area of the United States and for each off-
shore area of the United States that is leased or 
under consideration for leasing for offshore energy 
production. 
(2) EXPANDED COVERAGE.—Not later than 270 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Under Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, create an environmental sensitivity index 
product for each area described in paragraph (1) for 
which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
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ministration did not have an environmental sensi-
tivity index product on the day before the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(3) 
ENVIRONMENTAL
SENSITIVITY
INDEX 
PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘environmental sensitivity index product’’ means a 
map or similar tool that is utilized to identify sen-
sitive shoreline, coastal or offshore, resources prior 
to an oil spill event in order to set baseline priorities 
for protection and plan cleanup strategies, typically 
including information relating to shoreline type, bio-
logical resources, and human use resources. 
(d) SUBSEA HYDROCARBON REVIEW.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Under Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive review 
of the current state of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration to monitor, map, and track subsea 
hydrocarbons, including a review of the effect of subsea 
hydrocarbons and dispersants at varying concentrations 
on living marine resources. 
(e) NATIONAL
INFORMATION
CENTER
ON
OIL 
SPILLS.—The Under Secretary shall establish a national 
information center on oil spills that— 
(1) includes scientific information and research 
on oil spill preparedness, response, and restoration; 
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(2) serves as a single access point for emer-
gency responders for such scientific data; and 
(3) provides outreach and utilizes communica-
tion mechanisms to inform partners, the public, and 
local communities about the availability of oil spill 
preparedness, prevention, response, and restoration 
information and services and otherwise improves 
public understanding and minimizes impacts of oil 
spills. 
(f) INITIATIVE ON OIL SPILLS FROM AGING AND 
ABANDONED OIL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Not later than 270 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 
Secretary shall establish an initiative— 
(1) to determine the significance, response, fre-
quency, size, potential fate, and potential effects, in-
cluding those on sensitive habitats, of oil spills re-
sulting from aging and abandoned oil infrastructure; 
and 
(2) to formulate recommendations on how best 
to address such spills. 
(g) INVENTORY
OF OFFSHORE ABANDONED
OR 
SUNKEN VESSELS.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 
shall develop an inventory of offshore abandoned or sunk-
en vessels in the exclusive economic zone of the United 
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States and identify priorities (based on amount of oil, fea-
sibility of oil recovery, fate and effects of oil if released, 
and cost-benefit of preemptive action) for potential pre-
emptive removal of oil or other actions that may be effec-
tive to mitigate the risk of oil spills from offshore aban-
doned or sunken vessels. 
SEC. 102. USE OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND FOR 
EXPENSES OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT-
MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 
Section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 
(33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)) is amended— 
(1) 
by 
redesignating 
subparagraphs 
(B) 
through (D) as subparagraphs (D) through (F), re-
spectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) not more than $25,000,000 in each 
fiscal year shall be available to the Under Sec-
retary for Oceans and Atmosphere without fur-
ther appropriation for expenses incurred by, 
and activities related to, preparedness, re-
sponse, restoration, and damage assessment ca-
pabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration; 
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‘‘(C) not more than $20,000,000 in each 
fiscal year shall be available to the Under Sec-
retary for Oceans and Atmosphere for the re-
search and development of technologies identi-
fied by the Office of Response and Restoration 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration as beneficial for prevention, re-
moval, and enforcement related to oil dis-
charges;’’. 
SEC. 103. INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN DAMAGE ASSESS-
MENT AND RESTORATION REVOLVING FUND 
IN INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS. 
The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such a 
portion of the amounts in the Damage Assessment and 
Restoration Revolving Fund described in title I of the De-
partments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1991 (33 
U.S.C. 2706 note) as is not required to meet current with-
drawals, as determined by the Secretary, in interest-bear-
ing obligations of the United States in accordance with 
section 9602 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
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SEC. 104. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL 
PLANNING AND RESPONSE. 
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 320. STRENGTHENING COASTAL STATE OIL SPILL RE-
SPONSE AND PLANNING. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make 
grants to eligible coastal states— 
‘‘(1) to revise management programs approved 
under section 306 and National Estuarine Research 
Reserves approved under section 315 to identify and 
implement new enforceable policies and procedures 
to ensure sufficient response capabilities at the State 
level to address the environmental, economic and so-
cial impacts of oil spills or other accidents resulting 
from Outer Continental Shelf energy activities with 
the potential to affect and land or water use or nat-
ural resource of the coastal zone; and 
‘‘(2) to review and revise where necessary appli-
cable enforceable policies within approved coastal 
State management programs affecting coastal en-
ergy activities and energy to ensure that these poli-
cies are consistent with— 
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‘‘(A) other emergency response plans and 
policies developed under Federal or State law; 
and 
‘‘(B) new policies and procedures developed 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—New enforceable policies and pro-
cedures developed by coastal states with grants awarded 
under this section shall consider, but not be limited to— 
‘‘(1) other existing emergency response plans, 
procedures and enforceable policies developed under 
other Federal or State law that affect the coastal 
zone; 
‘‘(2) identification of critical infrastructure es-
sential to facilitate spill or accident response activi-
ties; 
‘‘(3) identification of coordination, logistics and 
communication networks between Federal and State 
government agencies, and between State agencies 
and affected local communities, to ensure the effi-
cient and timely dissemination of data and other in-
formation; 
‘‘(4) inventories of shore locations and infra-
structure and equipment necessary to respond to oil 
spills or other accidents resulting from Outer Conti-
nental Shelf energy activities; 
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‘‘(5) identification and characterization of sig-
nificant or sensitive marine ecosystems or other 
areas 
possessing 
important 
conservation, 
rec-
reational, ecological, historic, or aesthetic values; 
‘‘(6) inventories and surveys of shore locations 
and infrastructure capable of supporting alternative 
energy development; and 
‘‘(7) other information or actions as may be 
necessary. 
‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall, within 180 
days after the date of enactment of this section and after 
consultation with the coastal states, publish guidelines for 
the application for and use of grants under this section. 
‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION.—Coastal states shall provide 
opportunity for public participation in developing new en-
forceable policies and procedures under this section pursu-
ant to subsections (d)(1) of (e) of section 306, especially 
by relevant Federal agencies, other coastal state agencies, 
local governments, regional organizations, port authori-
ties, and other interested parties and stakeholders, public 
and private, that are related to, or affected by Outer Con-
tinental Shelf energy activities. 
‘‘(e) ANNUAL GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 
2012 through 2016, the Secretary may make a 
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grant to a coastal state to develop new enforceable 
policies and procedures as required under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) 
GRANT
AMOUNTS
AND
LIMIT
ON 
AWARDS.—The amount of any grant to any one 
coastal state under this section shall not exceed 
$750,000 for any fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) NO STATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTION RE-
QUIRED.—A coastal state shall not be required to 
contribute any portion of the cost of a grant award-
ed under this section. 
‘‘(4) SECRETARIAL
REVIEW
AND
LIMIT
ON 
AWARDS.—After an initial grant is made to a coastal 
state under this section, no subsequent grant may be 
made to that coastal state under this section unless 
the Secretary finds that the coastal state is satisfac-
torily developing revisions to address offshore energy 
impacts. No coastal state is eligible to receive grants 
under this section for more than 2 fiscal years. 
‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec-
tion shall only apply if appropriations are provided to the 
Secretary to make grants under this section to enable 
States to develop new or revised enforceable policies and 
procedures. Further, this section shall not be construed 
to convey any new authority to any coastal state, or repeal 
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or supersede any existing authority of any coastal state, 
to regulate the siting, licensing, leasing, or permitting of 
alternative energy facilities in areas of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf under the administration of the Federal Gov-
ernment. Nothing in this section repeals or supersedes any 
existing coastal state authority. 
‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall, as authorized under section 310(a) and to 
the extent practicable, make available to coastal states the 
resources and capabilities of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration to provide technical assistance 
to the coastal states to prepare revisions to approved man-
agement programs to meet the requirements under this 
section.’’. 
SEC. 105. GULF OF MEXICO LONG-TERM MARINE ENVIRON-
MENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND RESEARCH 
PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 
the date of the enactment of this Act and subject to 
the availability of appropriations or other sources of 
funding, the Secretary shall, acting through the 
Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, estab-
lish and carry out a long-term marine environmental 
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monitoring and research program for the marine 
and coastal environment of the Gulf of Mexico to en-
sure that the Federal Government has independent, 
peer-reviewed scientific data and information to as-
sess long-term direct and indirect impacts on trust 
resources located in the Gulf of Mexico and South-
east region resulting from the oil spill caused by the 
mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 
(2) PERIOD OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 
carry out the program required by paragraph (1) 
during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
the commencement of the program. The Secretary 
may extend such period upon a determination by the 
Secretary that additional monitoring and research is 
warranted. 
(b) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The program established 
under subsection (a) shall include the following: 
(1) Monitoring and research of the physical, 
chemical, and biological characteristics of the af-
fected marine, coastal, and estuarine areas of the 
Gulf of Mexico and other regions of the exclusive 
economic zone of the United States and adjacent re-
gions affected by the oil spill caused by the mobile 
offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 
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(2) The fate, transport, and persistence of oil 
released during the spill and spatial distribution 
throughout the water column, including in-situ burn 
residues. 
(3) The fate, transport, and persistence of 
chemical dispersants applied in-situ or on surface 
waters. 
(4) Identification of lethal and sub-lethal im-
pacts to shellfish, fish, and wildlife resources that 
utilize habitats located within the affected region. 
(5) Impacts to regional, State, and local econo-
mies that depend on the natural resources of the af-
fected area, including commercial and recreational 
fisheries, tourism, and other wildlife-dependent 
recreation. 
(6) Other elements considered necessary by the 
Secretary to ensure a comprehensive marine re-
search and monitoring program to comprehend and 
understand the implications to trust resources 
caused by the oil spill from the mobile offshore drill-
ing unit Deepwater Horizon. 
(c) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—In devel-
oping the research and monitoring program established 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 
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(1) coordinate with the United States Geologi-
cal Survey; and 
(2) consult with— 
(A) the National Ocean Research Leader-
ship Council established under section 7902 of 
title 10, United States Code; 
(B) such representatives from the Gulf 
coast States and affected countries as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate; 
(C) academic institutions and other re-
search organizations; and 
(D) such other experts with expertise in 
long-term environmental monitoring and re-
search of the marine environment as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
(d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Upon review by and 
approval of the Attorney General regarding impacts on 
legal claims or litigation involving the United States, data 
and information generated through the program estab-
lished under subsection (a) shall be managed and archived 
to ensure that it is accessible and available to govern-
mental and non-governmental personnel and to the gen-
eral public for their use and information. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the commencement of the program under subsection (a) 
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