[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5313 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5313

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to require offshore oil rigs to 
       install acoustic control systems, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2010

Mr. Schock (for himself and Mr. Putnam) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
 addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to require offshore oil rigs to 
       install acoustic control systems, 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 ``Offshore Safety and Response 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. ACOUSTIC CONTROL SYSTEM REQUIREMENT FOR OFFSHORE OIL RIGS.

    The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Energy, shall study the use, effectiveness, and specifications of 
acoustic control systems for offshore oil rigs, and, not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall--
            (1) promulgate, and publish in the Federal Register, 
        regulations for carrying out the leasing provisions of the 
        Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 
        that--
                    (A) identify approved acoustic control systems for 
                offshore oil rigs; and
                    (B) require any lessee under that Act using an 
                offshore oil rig to install an acoustic control system 
                identified under subparagraph (A) not later than two 
                years after the date on which the Secretary publishes 
                the regulations; or
            (2) submit to Congress, and make available to the public, a 
        report describing in detail the reasons acoustic control 
        systems are not necessary for offshore oil rigs.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION CONTINGENCY 
              PLAN REVISION.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the President, acting through the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency and in consultation with the Secretary 
of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall revise 
the National Contingency Plan developed under section 311(d) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) to include 
specific response procedures for various predetermined scenarios and 
conditions relating to discharges of oil, including the location and 
amount of a discharge, and the length of time that has elapsed since a 
discharge occurred. In revising the National Contingency Plan under 
this section, the President shall solicit comments from the Secretary 
of the Interior, the Governors of coastal States, and owners or 
operators of offshore oil rigs or oil transportation services.

SEC. 4. OIL SPILL REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY REVIEW.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the 
Secretary of the Interior shall jointly review and submit to Congress a 
report regarding the following:
            (1) Technologies and methods for removal of oil from an oil 
        spill that are used in Federal responses to such spills.
            (2) The length of time each of the technologies and methods 
        described in paragraph (1) has been in use in such responses.
            (3) Technologies and methods for removal of oil from an oil 
        spill that are available world-wide.
            (4) Technologies and methods for removal of oil from an oil 
        spill that are in development.
            (5) The investments being made by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior in the 
        development of improved technologies and methods for the 
        removal of oil from an oil spill, including the amount of funds 
        obligated for such purpose using amounts appropriated for the 
        fiscal year or years covered by the 12-month period preceding 
        the date of submission to Congress of the report required by 
        this section.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Acoustic control system.--The term ``acoustic control 
        system'' means a remote-control emergency shut-off system for 
        an offshore oil rig, as further defined by the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (2) Offshore oil rig.--The term ``offshore oil rig'' means 
        any vessel or facility that is used for the drilling of oil or 
        gas in exploration, development, or production on the outer 
        Continental Shelf (as those terms are used in section 2 of the 
        Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331)).
            (3) Oil spill.--The term ``oil spill'' means any discharge 
        of oil into navigable waters (as those terms are defined in 
        section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
        2701)).
            (4) Removal.--The term ``removal'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 
        U.S.C. 2701).
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