I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 
To amend title VII of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 3, 2009 
Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself and Mr. BAIRD) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend title VII of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 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 ‘‘Federal Oil Spill Re-
search Program Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 
Title VII of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
2761) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 7002 as section 
7007; and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:31 Jun 04, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2693.IH
H2693
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(2) by amending section 7001 to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘SEC. 7001. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall estab-
lish an interagency committee to be known as the 
Federal oil spill research committee (in this title re-
ferred to as the ‘Committee’). 
‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The President shall designate a 
representative of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration to serve as chairperson. 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The members of the Committee 
shall include representatives from the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Coast 
Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, and such 
other Federal agencies as the President may designate. 
‘‘(c) FUNCTION
OF
THE COMMITTEE.—The Com-
mittee shall— 
‘‘(1) coordinate a comprehensive Federal oil 
spill research program (in this title referred to as 
the ‘program’) in accordance with section 7002 to 
coordinate oil pollution research, technology develop-
ment, and demonstration among the Federal agen-
cies, in cooperation and coordination with industry, 
institutions of higher education, research institu-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:31 Jun 04, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2693.IH
H2693
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
tions, State and tribal governments, and other rel-
evant stakeholders; 
‘‘(2) complete a research assessment (in this 
title referred to as the ‘assessment’) on the status of 
the oil spill prevention and response capabilities in 
accordance with section 7003; and 
‘‘(3) develop a Federal oil spill research plan (in 
this title referred to as the ‘plan’) in accordance 
with section 7004.’’. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
Title VII of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2761) is further 
amended by inserting after section 7001 (as amended by 
section 2 of this Act) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 7002. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall establish a 
program for conducting oil pollution research, develop-
ment, and demonstration. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program estab-
lished under subsection (a) shall provide for research, de-
velopment, and demonstration technologies, practices, and 
procedures that provide for effective and direct response 
to prevent, detect, recover, or mitigate oil discharges and 
include— 
‘‘(1) new technologies to detect accidental or in-
tentional overboard oil discharges; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:31 Jun 04, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2693.IH
H2693
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
‘‘(2) transport and fate of oil, including trajec-
tory and behavior predictions due to location, weath-
er patterns, hydrographic data, and water condi-
tions; 
‘‘(3) response capabilities, such as improved 
booms, oil skimmers, and storage capacity; 
‘‘(4) research and training, in coordination with 
the National Response Team, to improve the re-
moval of oil discharge quickly and effectively; 
‘‘(5) decision support systems for contingency 
planning and response; and 
‘‘(6) improvement of options for oily/oiled waste 
dispersal.’’. 
SEC. 4. FEDERAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT. 
Title VII of such Act (33 U.S.C. 2761) is further 
amended by inserting after section 7002 (as added by sec-
tion 3 of this Act) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 7003. FEDERAL RESEARCH ASSESSMENT. 
‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Committee shall submit to Congress 
an assessment of the status of oil spill prevention and re-
sponse capabilities that— 
‘‘(1) identifies research programs conducted 
and technologies developed by governments, institu-
tions of higher education, and industry; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:31 Jun 04, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2693.IH
H2693
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS