[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3614 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3614

 To authorize the establishment of a Maritime Center of Expertise for 
 Maritime Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release Response, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2010

 Mrs. Hutchison (for herself and Mr. LeMieux) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the establishment of a Maritime Center of Expertise for 
 Maritime Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release Response, 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 Response Act''.

SEC. 2. MARITIME CENTER OF EXPERTISE.

    (a) In General.--The Commandant shall establish a Maritime Center 
of Expertise for Maritime Oil Spill and Hazardous Substance Release 
Response. The Center shall--
            (1) serve as the primary Federal facility for Coast Guard 
        personnel to obtain qualifications to perform the duties of a 
        regional response team co-chair, a Federal on-scene 
        coordinator, or a Federal on-scene coordinator representative;
            (2) train Federal, State, and local first responders in the 
        incident command system structure, maritime oil spill and 
        hazardous substance release response techniques and strategies, 
        and public affairs;
            (3) work with academic and private sector response training 
        centers to develop and standardize maritime oil spill and 
        hazardous substance release response training and techniques;
            (4) conduct research, development, testing, and 
        demonstration for maritime oil spill and hazardous substance 
        release response equipment, technologies, and techniques to 
        prevent or mitigate maritime oil discharges and hazardous 
        substance releases;
            (5) maintain not less than 2 incident management and 
        assistance teams, one of which shall be ready to deploy 
        anywhere in the continental United States within 24 hours after 
        an incident or event;
            (6) conduct marine environmental response standardization 
        visits with Coast Guard federal on-scene coordinators;
            (7) administer and coordinate Coast Guard participation in 
        the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program; and
            (8) establish and maintain Coast Guard marine environmental 
        response doctrine.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE.

    (a) In General.--The Commandant shall maintain a National Strike 
Force to facilitate preparedness for and response to maritime oil spill 
and hazardous substance release incidents.
    (b) Composition.--The National Strike Force--
            (1) shall consist of--
                    (A) a National Strike Force Coordination Center;
                    (B) strike force teams, including--
                            (i) 1 team for the Atlantic Ocean;
                            (ii) 1 team for the Pacific Ocean; and
                            (iii) 1 team for the Gulf of Mexico; and
                    (C) a public information assist team; and
            (2) may include, if the Commandant so directs, 1 or more 
        teams for the northwest Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.
    (c) National Strike Force Coordination Center Duties.--The National 
Strike Force Coordination Center shall--
            (1) provide support and standardization guidance to the 
        regional strike teams;
            (2) maintain a response resource inventory of maritime oil 
        spill and hazardous substance release response, marine salvage, 
        and marine fire fighting equipment maintained by certified oil 
        spill response organizations as well as equipment listed in a 
        vessel or facility oil spill response plan, as required by 
        section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
        U.S.C. 1321(j));
            (3) oversee the maintenance and adequacy of Coast Guard 
        environmental response equipment;
            (4) certify and inspect maritime oil spill response 
        organizations; and
            (5) maintain the National Area Contingency Plan library.
    (d) Strike Force Team Duties.--The Strike Force Response Teams 
shall--
            (1) provide rapid response support in incident management, 
        site safety, contractor performance monitoring, resource 
        documentation, response strategies, hazard assessment, oil 
        spill dispersant, in-situ burn and other technologies, 
        prefabrication of containment technology, operational 
        effectiveness monitoring, and high-capacity lightering and 
        offshore skimming capabilities;
            (2) train Coast Guard units in environmental pollution 
        response and incident command systems, test and evaluate 
        pollution response equipment, and operate as liaisons with 
        response agencies within their areas of responsibility;
            (3) maintain sufficient maritime oil spill and hazardous 
        substance release assets to ensure the protection of human 
        health and the environment in the event of an oil spill or 
        hazardous -substance release including the -prefabrication of 
        oil spill containment equipment; and
            (4) maintain the capability to mobilize personnel and 
        equipment to respond to an oil spill or hazardous substance 
        release anywhere in the continental United States within 24 
        hours of such event.
    (e) Public Information Assist Team Duties.--The Public Information 
Assist Team shall maintain the capability--
            (1) to provide crisis communication during oil spills, 
        hazardous material releases, marine accidents, and other 
        disasters, including staffing and managing public affairs and 
        intergovernmental communication;
            (2) provide public information and communications training 
        to Federal, State, and local agencies and industry personnel; 
        and
            (3) maintain the capability to mobilize personnel and 
        equipment to respond to an oil spill or hazardous substance 
        release anywhere in the continental United States within 24 
        hours after such an event.

SEC. 4. DISTRICT PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TEAMS.

    The Commandant shall maintain district preparedness response teams 
to--
            (1) maintain Coast Guard environmental response equipment;
            (2) administer area contingency plans;
            (3) administer the National Preparedness for Response 
        Exercise Program;
            (4) conduct responder incident command system training and 
        health and safety training;
            (5) provide federal on-scene coordinator technical advice;
            (6) coordinate district pollution response operations;
            (7) support regional response team co-chairs;
            (8) coordinate district participation with the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency's regional interagency steering 
        committee; and
            (9) conduct response public affairs and joint information 
        center training.

SEC. 5. OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) Requirement.--Each maritime oil spill response organization 
that is listed under an oil spill response plan of a vessel or facility 
regulated by the Coast Guard, as required by section 311(j) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j))--
            (1) shall be certified by the Coast Guard; and
            (2) inspected at least once per year to ensure that it has 
        the capabilities to meet the requirements delegated to it under 
        applicable oil spill response plans.
    (b) Certification Criteria and Requirements.--Within 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant shall develop 
criteria and requirements for certifying and classifying maritime oil 
spill response organizations.
    (c) Inventory of Maritime Oil Spill Response Equipment.--Each 
certified maritime oil spill response organization and any facility 
regulated by the Coast Guard that is not using a maritime oil spill 
response organization to meet the facility oil spill response plan 
requirements of section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) shall maintain a current list of its maritime 
oil spill response equipment and submit a copy of the current list to 
the National Strike Force Coordination Center.
    (d) Decreased Capacity Reports.--If a maritime oil spill response 
organization experiences a decrease in its maritime oil spill response 
assets, the organization shall report the decrease to the National 
Strike Force Coordination Center and the Captain of the Port in which 
that organization operates.

SEC. 6. PROGRAM FOR OIL SPILL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE RELEASE RESPONSE.

    (a) Requirement To Establish Program.--The Commandant shall 
establish a program for oil spill and hazardous substance release 
response, within the Maritime Center of Expertise for Oil Spill 
Response, to conduct research, development, testing, and demonstration 
for oil spill and hazardous substance release response equipment, 
technologies, and techniques to prevent or mitigate oil discharges and 
hazardous substance releases.
    (b) Program Elements.--The program required by subsection (a) shall 
include the following elements:
            (1) Research, development, testing, and demonstration of 
        new or improved methods (including the use of dispersants and 
        biological treatment methods) for the containment, recovery, 
        removal, and disposal of oil and hazardous substances.
            (2) Assist in the development of improved designs for 
        vessel operations (including vessel operations in Arctic 
        waters) and facilities that are regulated by the Coast Guard, 
        and improved operational practices.
            (3) Research and training, in consultation with the 
        National Response Team, to improve the ability of private 
        industry and the United States Government to respond to an oil 
        discharge or a hazardous substance release.
            (4) A list of oil spill and hazardous substance 
        containment, recovery, removal, and disposal technology that is 
        approved for use by the Commandant and is made publicly 
        available, in such manner as determined appropriate by the 
        Commandant.
            (5) A process for private industry, academic institutions, 
        non-governmental organizations, and Federal, State, and local 
        governments to submit systems, equipment, and technologies for 
        testing and evaluation.
    (c) Grants for Oil Spill Response.--The Commandant shall have the 
authority to make grants to or enter into cooperative agreements with 
academic institutions to conduct research and development for oil spill 
response equipment, technology, and techniques.
    (d) Coordination.--The Commandant shall carry out the program in 
coordination with the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil 
Pollution Research established pursuant to section 7001(a) of the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)).
    (e) Funding.--The Commandant shall use such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2010 through 2015 
from funds appropriated to the research, development, and testing 
program account of the Coast Guard for those years.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commandant.--The term ``Commandant'' means the 
        Commandant of the Coast Guard.
            (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the program for 
        oil spill response established pursuant to section 6.
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