1.This Act may be cited as the
Offshore Safety and Response
Improvement Act
.
2.Acoustic control
system requirement for offshore oil rigsThe 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.
3.National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan revisionNot 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.
4.Oil spill removal
technology reviewNot 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.
5.In this Act:
(1)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)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)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)The term removal has the
meaning given that term in section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701).