[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3515

To authorize and enhance the programs of the Department of the Interior 
 relating to the detection of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup 
of oil spills on Federal land managed by the Department, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 21, 2010

  Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr. Bingaman) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize and enhance the programs of the Department of the Interior 
 relating to the detection of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup 
of oil spills on Federal land managed by the Department, 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 ``Department of the Interior Research 
and Technologies for Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to maintain and enhance the world-class 
research and facilities of the Department of the Interior and to ensure 
that there is adequate knowledge, practices, and technologies to 
detect, respond to, contain, and clean up oil spills occurring on 
Federal land managed by the Department of the Interior, whether onshore 
or on the outer Continental Shelf.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Science and 
        Technology Advisory Board established under section 5(a).
            (2) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Oil Spill Technology 
        and Research Fund established by section 13(a).
            (3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program 
        established under section 4(a).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OIL SPILL RESEARCH 
              AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program of 
research, development, technology demonstration, and risk assessment to 
address issues associated with the detection of, response to, and 
mitigation and cleanup of oil spills occurring on Federal land managed 
by the Department of the Interior, whether onshore or on the outer 
Continental Shelf.
    (b) Specific Areas of Focus.--The program shall include research, 
development, demonstration, validation, personnel training, and other 
activities relating to--
            (1) technologies, materials, methods, and practices--
                    (A) to detect the release of hydrocarbons from 
                leaking exploration or production equipment;
                    (B) to characterize the rates of flow from leaking 
                exploration and production equipment in locations that 
                are remote or difficult to access;
                    (C) to protect the safety of workers addressing 
                hydrocarbon releases from exploration and production 
                equipment;
                    (D) to contain, respond to, and clean up oil 
                spills, including with the use of dispersants, 
                containment vessels, booms, and skimmers, particularly 
                under worst-case release scenarios;
                    (E) to contain, respond to, and clean up an oil 
                spill in extreme or harsh conditions on the outer 
                Continental Shelf; and
                    (F) for environmental assessment, restoration, and 
                long-term monitoring;
            (2) fundamental scientific characterization of the behavior 
        of oil and natural gas in and on soil and water, including 
        miscibility, plume behavior, emulsification, physical 
        separation, and chemical and biological degradation;
            (3) behavior and effects of emulsified, dispersed, and 
        submerged oil in water; and
            (4) modeling, simulation, and prediction of oil flows from 
        releases and the trajectories of releases on the surface, the 
        subsurface, and in water.

SEC. 5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall enter into appropriate 
arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to establish an 
independent committee, to be known as the ``Science and Technology 
Advisory Board'', to provide scientific and technical advice to the 
program, including--
            (1) the identification of knowledge gaps that the program 
        should address;
            (2) the establishment of scientific and technical 
        priorities; and
            (3) an annual review of the results and effectiveness of 
        the program, including successful technology development.
    (b) Reports.--Reports and recommendations of the Board shall 
promptly be made available to Congress and the public.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Board, shall develop and publish a research and 
technology plan for the program.
    (b) Contents.--The plan under this section shall--
            (1) identify research needs and opportunities;
            (2) propose areas of focus for the program;
            (3) establish program priorities, including priorities for 
        the research centers of excellence under section 7, 
        demonstration projects under section 8, and research grants 
        under section 9; and
            (4) estimate--
                    (A) the extent of resources needed to conduct the 
                program; and
                    (B) timetables for completing research tasks under 
                the program.
    (c) Publication.--The Secretary shall timely publish--
            (1) the plan under this section; and
            (2) a review of the plan by the Board.

SEC. 7. RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) Response Technologies for Deepwater, Ultra Deepwater, and Other 
Extreme Environment Oil Spills.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish at 1 or 
        more institutions of higher education a research center of 
        excellence for the research, development, and demonstration of 
        technologies necessary to respond to, contain, mitigate, and 
        clean up deepwater, ultra deepwater, and other extreme 
        environment oil spills.
            (2) Grants.--The Secretary shall provide grants to the 
        research center of excellence established under paragraph (1) 
        to conduct and oversee basic and applied research in the 
        technologies described in that paragraph.
    (b) Oil Spill Response and Restoration.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
        Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall 
        establish at 1 or more institutions of higher education a 
        research center of excellence for research and innovation in 
        oil spill fate, behavior and effects, and damage assessment and 
        restoration.
            (2) Grants.--The Secretary shall provide grants to the 
        research center of excellence established under paragraph (1) 
        to conduct and oversee basic and applied research in the areas 
        described in that paragraph.
    (c) Other Research Centers of Excellence.--The Secretary may 
establish such other research centers of excellence as the Secretary 
determines to be necessary for the research, development, and 
demonstration of technologies necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 8. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall 
conduct deepwater, ultra deepwater, and other extreme environment oil 
spill response demonstration projects for the purpose of developing and 
demonstrating new integrated deepwater oil spill mitigation and 
response systems that use the information and implement the improved 
practices and technologies developed from the program.
    (b) Requirements.--The mitigation and response systems developed 
under subsection (a) shall use technologies and management practices 
for improving the response capabilities to deepwater oil spills, 
including--
            (1) improved oil flow monitoring and calculation;
            (2) improved oil spill response capability;
            (3) improved subsurface mitigation technologies;
            (4) improved capability to track and predict the flow and 
        effects of oil discharges in both subsurface and surface areas 
        for the purposes of making oil mitigation and response 
        decisions; and
            (5) any other activities necessary to achieve the purposes 
        of the program.

SEC. 9. RESEARCH GRANTS.

    In carrying out the program, the Secretary may award competitive 
grants in coordination with research centers of excellence under 
section 7 and consistent with the research and technology plan under 
section 6 to institutions of higher education or other research 
institutions--
            (1) to carry out projects that are relevant to the goals 
        and priorities of the research and technology plan; and--
            (2)(A) to advance research and development; or
            (B) to demonstrate technologies.

SEC. 10. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR FIELD TESTING TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall conduct a 
pilot program to conduct field tests on new oil spill response, 
mitigation, and cleanup technologies developed under the program in the 
waters of the United States.
    (b) Results.--The results of the field tests conducted under 
subsection (a) shall be used--
            (1) to refine oil spill technology research and 
        development; and
            (2) to assist the Secretary and the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency in the development of safety 
        and environmental regulations under this Act and other 
        applicable laws.

SEC. 11. PEER REVIEW OF PROPOSALS AND RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Any award of funds under the program shall be made 
only after the Secretary has carried out an impartial peer review of 
the scientific and technical merit of the proposals for the award.
    (b) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that any research 
conducted under the program shall be peer-reviewed, transparent, and 
made available to the public.

SEC. 12. COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall 
consult and coordinate, as appropriate, with other Federal agencies and 
programs, including the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil 
Pollution Research established under section 7001 of the Oil Pollution 
Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761).
    (b) Responsibility of the Secretary.--Notwithstanding any 
requirements to consult or coordinate, the Secretary shall maintain 
authority, direction, and control of the program.

SEC. 13. OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a revolving fund, to be known as the ``Oil Spill 
Technology and Research Fund'', consisting of such amounts as are 
transferred to the Fund under subsection (b), to be administered by the 
Secretary, to be available without fiscal year limitation and not 
subject to appropriation, to carry out the program.
    (b) Transfers to Fund.--From any Federal royalties, rents, and 
bonuses derived from Federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leases 
issued the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 
or the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) that are deposited 
in the Treasury, and after distribution of any funds described in 
subsection (c), there shall be transferred to the Fund $25,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2010 through 2020, to remain available until 
expended.
    (c) Prior Distributions.--The distributions referred to in 
subsection (b) are those required by law--
            (1) to States and to the Reclamation Fund under section 
        35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(a)); and
            (2) to other funds receiving amounts from Federal oil and 
        gas leasing programs, including--
                    (A) any recipients pursuant to section 8(g) of the 
                Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(g));
                    (B) the land and water conservation fund, pursuant 
                to section 2(c) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
                Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-5(c));
                    (C) the Historic Preservation Fund, pursuant to 
                section 108 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
                (16 U.S.C. 470h); and
                    (D) the coastal impact assistance program 
                established under section 31 of the Outer Continental 
                Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356a).
    (d) Prohibition.--Amounts in the Fund may not be made available for 
any purpose other than a purpose described in subsection (a).
    (e) Annual Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the end of 
        each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2010, the Secretary 
        shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
        the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, 
        and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
        Representatives a report on the operation of the Fund during 
        the fiscal year.
            (2) Contents.--Each report shall include, for the fiscal 
        year covered by the report, the following:
                    (A) A statement of the amounts deposited into the 
                Fund.
                    (B) A description of the expenditures made from the 
                Fund for the fiscal year, including the purpose of the 
                expenditures.
                    (C) Recommendations for additional authorities to 
                fulfill the purpose of the Fund.
                    (D) A statement of the balance remaining in the 
                Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
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