[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5431 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5431

   To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to prevent oil spills and 
           increase liability limits, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 7, 2004

 Mr. Pallone 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 prevent oil spills and 
           increase liability limits, 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 ``Oil Spill Prevention and Liability 
Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY.

    Section 1001(32) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
2701(32)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
following:
                    ``(A) Vessels.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of a vessel 
                        other than a single-hull tank vessel, any 
                        person that owns, operates, or demise charters 
                        the vessel.
                            ``(ii) Single-hull tank vessels.--In the 
                        case of a single-hull tank vessel, any person 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) owns, operates, or demise 
                                charters the vessel; or
                                    ``(II) by contract or agreement, 
                                through an agent, or otherwise, 
                                arranges for the shipment in a single-
                                hull tank vessel of oil owned or 
                                possessed by the person or any other 
                                person.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITS ON LIABILITY.

    (a) Increase in Liability Limits.--Section 1004(a) of the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``for a tank vessel, the greater 
                of--'' and inserting ``for a double-hull tank vessel, 
                after December 31, 2004, the greater of--'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``$1,200'' and 
                inserting ``$2,400''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking 
                        ``$10,000,000'' and inserting ``$20,000,000''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking 
                        ``$2,000,000'' and inserting ``$4,000,000'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as 
        paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) for a single-hull tank vessel--
                    ``(A) during the period beginning January 1, 2005, 
                and ending December 31, 2005, the greater of--
                            ``(i) $2,400 per gross ton; or
                            ``(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 
                        greater than 3,000 gross tons, $20,000,000; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 
                        gross tons or less, $4,000,000;
                    ``(B) during the period beginning January 1, 2006, 
                and ending December 31, 2006, the greater of--
                            ``(i) $3,600 per gross ton; or
                            ``(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 
                        greater than 3,000 gross tons, $30,000,000; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 
                        gross tons or less, $6,000,000;
                    ``(C) during the period beginning January 1, 2007, 
                and ending December 31, 2007, the greater of--
                            ``(i) $4,800 per gross ton; or
                            ``(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 
                        greater than 3,000 gross tons, $40,000,000; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 
                        gross tons or less, $8,000,000;
                    ``(D) during the period beginning January 1, 2008, 
                and ending December 31, 2008, the greater of--
                            ``(i) $6,000 per gross ton; or
                            ``(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 
                        greater than 3,000 gross tons, $50,000,000; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 
                        gross tons or less, $10,000,000;
                    ``(E) during the period beginning January 1, 2009, 
                and ending December 31, 2009, the greater of--
                            ``(i) $7,200 per gross ton; or
                            ``(ii)(I) in the case of a vessel of 
                        greater than 3,000 gross tons, $60,000,000; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a vessel of 3,000 
                        gross tons or less, $12,000,000; and
                    ``(F) after December 31, 2009, the maximum amount 
                permitted under the Constitution;'';
            (4) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph (2))--
                    (A) by striking ``$600'' and inserting ``$1,200''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``$500,000'' and inserting 
                ``$1,000,000'';
            (5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), by 
        striking ``$75,000,000'' and inserting ``$150,000,000''; and
            (6) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), by 
        striking ``$350,000,000'' and inserting ``$700,000,000''.
    (b) Adjustment of Liability Limits.--Section 1004(d) of the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(d)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) Deepwater ports and associated vessels.--The 
        Secretary may establish a limit of liability of less than 
        $700,000,000, but not less than $100,000,000, for the 
        transportation of oil by vessel to deepwater ports (as defined 
        in section 3 of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 
        1502).''; and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), respectively.
    (c) Adjustment for Inflation.--Paragraph (2) of section 1004(d) of 
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(d)) (as redesignated by 
subsection (b)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The President'' and inserting ``The 
        Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
        located, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the 
        Interior,''; and
            (2) by striking ``significant''.

SEC. 4. CARRIAGE OF LIQUID BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES.

    (a) Conditions for Entry to Ports in the United States.--Section 9 
of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1228) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Risk of Severe Harm.--Not later than January 1, 2006, the 
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is located shall 
promulgate regulations under which the owner or operator of a port on 
the navigable waters of the United States may, after December 31, 2009, 
place restrictions on the entry into port of a tank vessel shipment 
presenting a risk of severe harm to the port or port region.''.
    (b) Inspection and Examination.--Section 3714(a) of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) In addition to the inspections required under 
        paragraphs (1) and (2), each single-hull tank vessel that is 
        more than 15 years of age shall undergo an annual inspection in 
        accordance with the Condition Assessment Scheme of the Marine 
        Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime 
        Organization, adopted by Resolution 94(46) on April 27, 2001, 
        as determined in accordance with regulations promulgated by the 
        Secretary.''.

SEC. 5. STUDY.

    (a) Administration.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall offer 
to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to 
conduct a study to assess the total economic cost of oil spills, and 
the types of costs resulting from oil spills, in the United States.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit to Congress a 
report describing the results of the study.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

     This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on 
January 1, 2005.
                                 <all>