Title: Spill Response and Prevention Surety Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Spill Response and Prevention Surety Act
This bill provides support for responding to oil spills.
Specifically, it makes permanent and modifies the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which provides funds to pay removal costs and claims for damages resulting from oil spills into navigable waters of the United States. Under current law, the fund is financed primarily by an excise tax on domestic crude oil and imported petroleum products. The bill expands the definition of crude oil for purposes of such tax to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture as well as any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture.
The bill revises requirements governing the use of the funds. For example, the bill doubles the limit placed on expenditures from the fund that may be used for (1) any single incident, or (2) natural resource damages.
In addition, the bill allows the fund to be used for carrying out grant programs established by this bill. The Department of Homeland Security must biennially award grants to eligible institutions of higher education for oil spill response research and technology development activities and programs as well as oil spill prevention activities and programs. Grants may also be given to states for oil spill prevention activities and programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 865 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 865

   To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to establish an oil spill 
response and prevention grant program and provide for advances from the 
 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
 1986 to extend and modify the application of the Oil Spill Liability 
           Trust Fund financing rate, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 25, 2019

 Mr. Sullivan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to establish an oil spill 
response and prevention grant program and provide for advances from the 
 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
 1986 to extend and modify the application of the Oil Spill Liability 
           Trust Fund financing rate, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Spill Response and Prevention Surety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND PREVENTION.

    (a) Oil Spill Response and Prevention Grant Program.--
            (1) In general.--Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil 
        Pollution Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-380; 104 Stat. 509) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 4119. OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Committee.--The term `Committee' means the 
        Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research 
        established by section 7001(a)(1).
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an 
        institution of higher education that--
                    ``(A) is located in an eligible State in which oil 
                spills present a real and constant threat;
                    ``(B) has a broad base of competence in fields 
                relating to--
                            ``(i) ocean, coastal, river, or Great Lakes 
                        resources; or
                            ``(ii) the modeling of, efficacy of 
                        responses to, and fates and effects of oil 
                        spills;
                    ``(C) is located in an area in which--
                            ``(i) academic, engineering, and 
                        infrastructure resources exist to adequately 
                        address ongoing and future threats of oil 
                        spills;
                            ``(ii) Federal, State, industry, and 
                        academic resources are being directed to 
                        address threats of oil spills;
                            ``(iii) planned future developments would 
                        intensify or exacerbate threats of oil spills; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) research and development efforts 
                        would have the greatest impact on oil spill 
                        response and prevention;
                    ``(D) if proposing to conduct research on oil spill 
                response and prevention in an ice-impacted environment, 
                has significant demonstrable experience in the conduct 
                of research in ice-impacted environments; and
                    ``(E) if proposing to conduct research in 
                partnership with, or to subcontract work to, a foreign 
                or private entity, is partnering with, or 
                subcontracting to, a foreign or private entity that is 
                uniquely equipped to support the research being 
                proposed.
            ``(3) Eligible state.--The term `eligible State' means a 
        State--
                    ``(A)(i) in which a marine oil terminal or 
                transportation facility is located; or
                    ``(ii) that the Secretary determines has a 
                substantial risk of oil spills through any other means 
                of transportation; and
                    ``(B) with respect to which the Secretary has 
                approved a proposal for the conduct of oil spill 
                response or prevention activities or programs.
            ``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security.
    ``(b) Establishment of Programs.--To enable a better understanding 
of oil spills and oil spill response, and to prevent oil spills, there 
are established--
            ``(1) a program under which the Secretary shall biennially 
        award grants to eligible entities for the conduct of oil spill 
        response research and technology development activities and 
        programs and oil spill prevention activities and programs that 
        the Secretary determines to be of substantial merit, including 
        the conduct of research on oil spill response and prevention in 
        ice-impacted environments; and
            ``(2) a program under which the Secretary shall annually 
        award grants to eligible States for the conduct of oil spill 
        prevention activities and programs in the eligible States, 
        including--
                    ``(A) equipment and technology upgrades;
                    ``(B) upgrades to, and promotion of optimal use of, 
                spill prevention and response training facilities;
                    ``(C) support of strategic plans to address aging 
                bulk oil storage and transportation infrastructure;
                    ``(D) risk assessments and studies; and
                    ``(E) abandoned and derelict vessel identification, 
                remediation, and removal.
    ``(c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the 
program established by paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), an 
eligible entity or eligible State, as applicable, shall submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
    ``(d) Coordination.--
            ``(1) Eligible entity grant program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In coordinating, prioritizing, 
                and awarding grants under the program established by 
                subsection (b)(1), to ensure alignment with the 
                principal objectives established in the Oil Pollution 
                Research and Technology Plan of the Committee under 
                section 7001(b), the Secretary shall coordinate with, 
                and solicit recommendations from, the Committee.
                    ``(B) Recommendations.--The recommendations 
                provided by the Committee under subparagraph (A) shall 
                incorporate feedback from--
                            ``(i) oil and gas industry representatives 
                        with expertise in relevant oil spill response 
                        research; and
                            ``(ii) members of academia with the 
                        expertise described in clause (i).
            ``(2) Eligible state grant program.--In evaluating 
        applications under the grant program established by subsection 
        (b)(2), the Secretary may solicit recommendations from--
                    ``(A) other relevant Federal departments and 
                agencies; and
                    ``(B) the Committee, with respect to any research 
                activity or program relating to oil spill prevention 
                proposed in such an application.
    ``(e) Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of the amount of interest produced by 
        investments in the Fund--
                    ``(A) $10,000,000, as indexed for United States 
                dollar inflation from the date of enactment of this 
                section (as measured by the Consumer Price Index), 
                shall be available biennially, without further 
                appropriation, to carry out the grant program 
                established by subsection (b)(1); and
                    ``(B) $25,000,000, as indexed for United States 
                dollar inflation from the date of enactment of this 
                section (as measured by the Consumer Price Index), 
                shall be available annually, without further 
                appropriation, to carry out the grant program 
                established by subsection (b)(2).
            ``(2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amounts made 
        available under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) that 
        are not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary may use not more 
        than 2 percent for the administrative expenses of the Secretary 
        in carrying out the grant programs established by paragraphs 
        (1) and (2), respectively, of subsection (b) for each fiscal 
        year.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of the Oil 
        Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. prec. 2701) is amended by 
        inserting after the item relating to section 4118 the 
        following:

``Sec. 4119. Oil spill response and prevention grant programs.''.
            (3) Expenditure authority.--Section 9509(c)(1) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``section 6002(b)'' and inserting ``section 
                4119 or 6002(b)'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``, and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) for carrying out the grant programs under 
                section 4119 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.''.
    (b) Advances of Amounts From Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.--
Section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2752(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``Sums'' and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(4) Availability of amounts.--The amounts'';
            (2) in the third sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``by the Coast Guard''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Amounts advanced'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(3) Repayment of advanced amounts.--Any amounts advanced 
        under paragraph (2)'';
            (3) by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(2) Advance of funds.--To the extent that the amount 
        under paragraph (1) is not adequate, the Coast Guard--
                    ``(A) may obtain from the Fund one or more advances 
                of such sums as may be necessary, up to a maximum of 
                $100,000,000, with the total amount of all advances not 
                to exceed the amounts available under section 
                9509(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
                    ``(B) not later than 30 days after the date on 
                which each advance is obtained under subparagraph (A), 
                and annually thereafter until all advances are repaid, 
                shall submit to the Committees on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation and Finance of the Senate and the 
                Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
                Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report 
                that describes--
                            ``(i) the amount advanced under that 
                        subparagraph; and
                            ``(ii) the facts and circumstances 
                        necessitating, supporting, and justifying the 
                        advance.''; and
            (4) in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``, as amended by this Act'' and 
                inserting ``(33 U.S.C. 1321(c))''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
                sections'' and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
        section''.
    (c) Applicability of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Financing 
Rate.--
            (1) Permanent extension and periodic suspension.--
        Subsection (f) of section 4611 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 is amended to read as follows:
    ``(f) Application of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Financing 
Rate.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 
        financing rate under subsection (c) shall not apply during any 
        period--
                    ``(A) beginning on the day after the last day of 
                any calendar quarter for which the Secretary estimates 
                that, as of the close of that quarter, the unobligated 
                balance in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is more 
                than $7,000,000,000, and
                    ``(B) ending 30 days after the last day of any 
                subsequent calendar quarter for which the Secretary 
                estimates that, as of the close of that quarter, such 
                unobligated balance is $5,000,000 or less.
            ``(2) Inflation adjustment.--In the case of any calendar 
        year beginning after December 31, 2019, the $7,000,000,000 
        amount in paragraph (1)(A) and the $5,000,000,000 amount in 
        paragraph (1)(B) shall each be increased by an amount equal 
        to--
                    ``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
                    ``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined 
                under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year, by 
                substituting `2018' for `2016' in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
                thereof.
        Any increase determined under the preceding sentence shall be 
        rounded to the nearest multiple of $100,000,000.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection 
        shall apply to crude oil received or petroleum products entered 
        after the date that is 7 days after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act.
    (d) Modification of Limitation on Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 
Expenditures.--
            (1) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section 9509(c)(2) of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``$1,000,000,000'' in clause (i) 
                and inserting ``$2,000,000,000'';
                    (B) by striking ``$500,000,000'' in clause (ii) and 
                inserting ``$1,000,000,000''; and
                    (C) by striking ``1,000,000,000 per incident, etc'' 
                in the heading and inserting ``Per incident 
                limitations''.
            (2) Inflation adjustment.--Section 9509(c)(2) of such Code 
        is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Inflation adjustments.--In the case of any 
                calendar year beginning after December 31, 2019, the 
                $2,000,000,000 amount in subparagraph (A)(i) and the 
                $1,000,000,000 amount in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall 
                each be increased by an amount equal to--
                            ``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
                            ``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment 
                        determined under section 1(f)(3) for the 
                        calendar year, by substituting `2018' for 
                        `2016' in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
                Any increase determined under the preceding sentence 
                shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 
                $100,000,000.''.
    (e) Clarification of Definition of Crude Oil for Excise Tax 
Purposes.--
            (1) Definition of crude oil.--Paragraph (1) of section 
        4612(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 
        as follows:
            ``(1) Crude oil.--The term `crude oil' includes crude oil 
        condensates, natural gasoline, any bitumen or bituminous 
        mixture, any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous 
        mixture.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by this subsection 
        shall apply to oil and petroleum products received or entered 
        during calendar quarters beginning more than 60 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>