[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1002 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1002

   To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to exempt marinas from the 
     financial responsibility requirements applicable to off shore 
                       facilities under that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 21, 1995

Mr. Gejdenson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to exempt marinas from the 
     financial responsibility requirements applicable to off shore 
                       facilities under that Act.

    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 ``Marina Relief Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted in part in 
        response to the EXXON VALDEZ oil spill, which discharged 
        approximately 11,000,000 gallons of crude oil into Prince 
        William Sound, Alaska.
            (2) That Act was enacted to prevent similar disasters in 
        the future and to ensure that companies transporting and 
        drilling for oil had sufficient financial resources, insurance, 
        or other means to pay for comprehensive cleanup and 
        environmental restoration in response to discharges of oil into 
        navigable waters.
            (3) That Act required offshore facilities which could 
        pollute navigable waters of the United States to provide proof 
        of financial responsibility of at least $150,000,000.
            (4) Marinas sell gasoline and diesel fuel only, and 
        reported that in fiscal year 1994 only 144 gallons of gasoline 
        and diesel fuel oil were spilled nationwide.
            (5) Marinas do not have the capital to self-insure or 
        receive letters of credit for $150,000,000 and insurance 
        policies are unavailable to them for that amount.
            (6) Requiring marinas to demonstrate $150,000,000 in 
        financial responsibility could drive many of them out of 
        business with subsequent negative impacts on their owners and 
        employees, boaters, and coastal residents.

SEC. 3. MARINAS EXEMPTED FROM FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
              APPLICABLE TO OFFSHORE FACILITIES.

    (a) Exemption From Financial Responsibility Requirement.--Section 
1016(c)(1) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2716(c)(1))--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Except as provided in 
        paragraph (2),''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a marina.''.
    (b) Marina Defined.--Section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 
(33 U.S.C. 2701) is amended by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at 
the end of paragraph (36), by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (37) and inserting ``; and'', and by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(38) `marina' means a facility used primarily for 
        providing mooring space, dock space, fuel, storage on land, or 
        other services primarily for recreational vessels.''.
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