I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5634 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to contracts 
for oil spill response, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 19, 2021 
Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with 
respect to contracts for oil spill response, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Spill Response En-
hancement Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE REMOVAL. 
Section 311(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)— 
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(A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iv) enter into a contract with a person to 
carry out the removal actions under this sub-
paragraph and shall indemnify that person with 
whom the President has entered into a contract 
under this clause for liabilities arising out of 
the performance of the contract, and expenses, 
incidental thereto, that are not compensated by 
any insurance required under the contract.’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS
ON
INDEMNITY.—Indem-
nification provided under paragraph (1)(B)(iv) shall 
be made solely from funds that are available in the 
Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 
9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and may 
not include indemnification for any liability of the 
person— 
‘‘(A) who is a responsible party for the dis-
charge; 
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‘‘(B) arising from the gross negligence or 
willful misconduct of the person; 
‘‘(C) arising from the gross negligence or 
willful misconduct of a person in the violation 
of paragraph (3); 
‘‘(D) arising from the gross negligence or 
willful misconduct of a person in the breach of 
an express term of the contract; 
‘‘(E) for which the contractor has failed to 
maintain any insurance required by the con-
tract; or 
‘‘(F) that exceeds the per incident limit de-
scribed in section 9509(c)(2)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 
SEC. 3. USES OF THE OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1012(a) of the Oil Pollu-
tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (5)(D), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) the indemnification of persons with whom 
the President has entered into a contract pursuant 
to paragraph (1)(B)(i) of section 311(c) of the Fed-
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eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1321(c)) for liabilities arising out of the perform-
ance of the contract, and litigation costs and attor-
neys’ fees incidental thereto, that are not com-
pensated by any insurance required under the con-
tract.’’. 
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollu-
tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2752(b)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘1012(a)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘1012(a)(4) and (6)’’. 
Æ 
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