Oil and hazardous substance response planning

(a)

National response system

Section 311(j)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)) is amended— (1)in subparagraph (A), by adding at the end the following:

(iii)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— (I)loss of, destruction of, or injury to, real or personal property; (II)loss of subsistence use of natural resources; (III)loss of revenue; (IV)loss of profits or earning capacity; (V)an increase in the cost of providing public services to remove a discharge; and (VI)loss of, destruction of, or injury to, natural resources. (iv)The President shall promulgate regulations that clarify the requirements of a response plan in accordance with subparagraph (D).

;

(2)by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following:

(D)A response plan required under this paragraph shall— (i)be consistent with the requirements of the National Contingency Plan and Area Contingency Plans; (ii)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); (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— (I)to remove, to the maximum extent practicable, a worst-case discharge (including a discharge resulting from fire or an explosion); (II)to mitigate damage from a discharge; and (III)to prevent or reduce a substantial threat of such a discharge; (iv)demonstrate the financial capability to pay for removal costs and damages; (v)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; (vi)describe the environmental effects of the response plan methodologies and equipment; (vii)describe the process for communication and coordination with Federal, State, and local agencies before, during, and after a response to a discharge; (viii)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; (ix)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; (x)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; (xi)be updated periodically; and (xii)be resubmitted for approval of each significant change.

; and

(3)in subparagraph (E), by striking clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the following:

(i)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; (ii)promptly review the response plan; (iii)require amendments to any plan that does not meet the requirements of this paragraph; (iv)approve any plan only after finding, based on evidence in the record, that— (I)the response plan meets the requirements of subparagraph (D); (II)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; (III)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; (IV)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 (V)the response plan describes the quantity of oil likely to be removed in the event of a worst-case discharge; (v)obtain the written concurrence of such other agencies as the President determines to be appropriate; (vi)review each plan periodically thereafter; and (vii)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.

(b)

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.