II
Calendar No. 518
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3305
[Report No. 111–249]
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 4, 2010
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Kaufman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reed, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Casey, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Franken, and Ms. Mikulski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
August 5, 2010
Reported by Mrs. Boxer, with an amendment
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic
A BILL
To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oil spills, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability
Act of 2010
.
Limits on liability for offshore facilities
Section 1004(a)(3) of the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)(3)) is amended by striking
$75,000,000
and inserting $10,000,000,000
.
Effective date
This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on April 15, 2010.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited
Liability Act of 2010
.
Removal of limits on liability for offshore facilities
In general
Section 1004(a)(3) of the Oil Pollution Act
of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)(3)) is amended by striking plus
$75,000,000
and inserting and the liability of the responsible
party under section 1002
.
Effective date
The amendment made by this section takes effect on April 15, 2010.
Claims procedure
Section 1013(c)(2)
of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2713(c)(2)) is amended by striking
settled by any person by payment within 90 days
and inserting
settled in whole by any person by payment within 30 days
.
Oil and hazardous substance response planning
National response system
Section 311(j)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end the following:
The President shall ensure that the regulations promulgated pursuant to this paragraph are designed to prevent, to the maximum extent practicable, injury to the economy, jobs, and the environment, including to prevent—
loss of, destruction of, or injury to, real or personal property;
loss of subsistence use of natural resources;
loss of revenue;
loss of profits or earning capacity;
an increase in the cost of providing public services to remove a discharge; and
loss of, destruction of, or injury to, natural resources.
The President shall promulgate regulations that clarify the requirements of a response plan in accordance with subparagraph (D).
;
by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following:
A response plan required under this paragraph shall—
be consistent with the requirements of the National Contingency Plan and Area Contingency Plans;
identify the qualified individual having full authority to implement removal actions, and require immediate communications between that individual and the appropriate Federal official and the persons providing personnel and equipment pursuant to clause (iii);
identify, and ensure by contract or other means approved by the President the availability of, private personnel and equipment in the quantities necessary, staged and available in the appropriate region to respond immediately to and sustain the response effort for as long as necessary—
to remove, to the maximum extent practicable, a worst-case discharge (including a discharge resulting from fire or an explosion);
to mitigate damage from a discharge; and
to prevent or reduce a substantial threat of such a discharge;
demonstrate the financial capability to pay for removal costs and damages;
describe the training, equipment testing, periodic unannounced drills, and response actions of persons on the vessel or at the facility, to be carried out under the plan to ensure the safety of the vessel or facility and to meet the requirements of this subparagraph;
describe the environmental effects of the response plan methodologies and equipment;
describe the process for communication and coordination with Federal, State, and local agencies before, during, and after a response to a discharge;
identify performance standards for the quantity of oil or hazardous substance that will be removed under the response plan immediately following the discharge and at regular, identified periods, including provisions for reporting the degree to which actual removal meets the required performance standards;
in the case of oil production, drilling, and workover facilities, describe the specific measures to be used in response to a blowout or other event involving loss of well control;
identify potential economic and ecological impacts of a worst-case discharge and response activities to prevent or mitigate, to the maximum extent practicable, those impacts in the event of a discharge;
be updated periodically; and
be resubmitted for approval of each significant change.
; and
in subparagraph (E), by striking clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the following:
require notice of the proposed response plan to be published in the Federal Register and provide for a public comment period for the plan of at least 30 days;
promptly review the response plan;
require amendments to any plan that does not meet the requirements of this paragraph;
approve any plan only after finding, based on evidence in the record, that—
the response plan meets the requirements of subparagraph (D);
there have been 1 or more field tests of the plan in the area in which the tank vessel, nontank vessel, or facility is proposed to operate, and the results of that field testing are publicly available;
the methods and equipment proposed to be used under the response plan are demonstrated to be technologically feasible in the area and under the conditions (including the depth of a well, in the case of an offshore facility) in which the tank vessel, nontank vessel, or facility is proposed to operate;
the available scientific information about the area allows for identification of potential impacts to ecological areas and protection of those areas in the event of a discharge, including adequate surveys of wildlife; and
the response plan describes the quantity of oil likely to be removed in the event of a worst-case discharge;
obtain the written concurrence of such other agencies as the President determines to be appropriate;
review each plan periodically thereafter; and
in the case of a plan for a nontank vessel, consider any applicable State-mandated response plan in effect on August 9, 2004, and ensure consistency to the maximum extent practicable.
.
Definitions
Section 311(a)(24)(B) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(24)(B)) is amended by inserting
, including from an unanticipated and uncontrolled blowout or other loss
of well control,
after foreseeable discharge
.
Reports
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and every 90 days thereafter until all claims resulting from the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred April 20, 2010, and resulting hydrocarbon releases into the environment, have been paid, the administrator of the fund described in paragraph (1) shall submit to Congress a report that describes—
the status of the compensation fund established by British Petroleum Company to pay claims resulting from the blowout and explosion; and
each claim that has been paid from that fund.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act to require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oil
spills, and for other purposes.
.
August 5, 2010
Reported with an amendment