1.This Act may be cited as
the Safe Dispersants
Act
.
2.Use of
dispersants under National Contingency PlanSection 311(d) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(5)Dispersants
used in accordance with National Contingency Plan
(A)Placement of
dispersants on the National Contingency Plan product schedule
(i)No dispersant may be used in a response to a discharge of
oil or hazardous substances unless the dispersant has been listed by the
Administrator on the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule in accordance
with this subparagraph.
(ii)The
Administrator may list, or allow the continued listing of, a dispersant on the
National Contingency Plan Product Schedule for determination by the Federal
On-Scene Coordinator, in consultation with the Administrator and Regional
Response Team, and the National Response Team, as appropriate, for use in
response to a discharge of oil or hazardous substances only if the
Administrator determines that—
(I)the dispersant
meets such standards as shall be established by the Administrator governing
maximum allowable toxicity and minimum acceptable effectiveness;
(II)the adverse
effect from use of the dispersant is less than the adverse effect from allowing
the discharged oil or hazardous substance—
- (aa)to
be dispersed by natural or physical means;
- (bb)to
degrade by natural processes;
- (cc)to
be removed by technologically feasible physical methods; or
- (dd)to
undergo any combination of the processes described in items (aa) through (cc);
and
(III)any such
listing, or decision to continue listing, meets such other conditions as the
Administrator determines are necessary to ensure the dispersant meets the
criteria described in subclauses (I) and (II).
(iii)Determination
of adverse effectIn determining the adverse effect from the use
of a dispersant, the Administrator shall consider—
(I)acute, chronic,
short- and long-term health and environmental effects of the dispersant or any
individual component of the dispersant formulation;
(II)additive or
synergistic effects of the dispersant in combination with oil or hazardous
substances and other environmental factors and components; and
(III)persistence,
bioavailability, and bioaccumulation potential.
(B)Minimum data
set on dispersants
(i)The Administrator shall promulgate regulations specifying
the minimum data set applicable to dispersants listed on the National
Contingency Plan Product Schedule under subparagraph (A).
(ii)The
data set specified under clause (i) shall—
(I)include
information necessary and sufficient to determine the potential for
dispersants, or their degradation products, both by themselves and in
combination with oil or hazardous substances and other environmental factors
and components, to persist or accumulate in, or create or contribute to short-
and long-term adverse effects on—
- (aa)marine,
estuarine, and freshwater environments and ecosystems, including surface,
subsurface, and benthic zones;
- (bb)representative
forms of marine, coastal estuarine, and freshwater organisms, including aquatic
and terrestrial species, including birds;
- (cc)workers,
volunteers, and other individuals involved in handling, storing, transporting,
applying, treating, or disposing of the dispersants or dispersant wastes, or
who may otherwise come into direct contact with the dispersants or dispersant
wastes before, during, or after the application of the dispersants; and
- (dd)individuals in
or near areas in which dispersants are being handled, stored, transported,
applied, treated, or disposed of, or who may otherwise be reasonably expected
to be exposed to the dispersants;
(II)include
information on the dispersants and their uses, including on—
- (aa)individual
ingredients of the dispersants;
- (bb)the combination
of the dispersants with each type of oil or hazardous substance with which the
dispersants may reasonably be expected to be used;
- (cc)the efficacy of
the dispersant under different conditions of use (including the oil or
hazardous substance type, temperature, salinity, and type of environmental
media, such as open sea, rocky shoreline, rocky or sandy substrates, or marsh
grasses), and the optimal condition for use; and
- (dd)the efficacy of
the dispersant at different use concentrations and the most effective
application rate; and
(III)be sufficient
to assist the Administrator in determining—
- (aa)whether the
combination of each dispersant and each relevant type of oil or hazardous
substance can increase or decrease the persistence, bioaccumulation potential,
or toxicity relative to either the dispersant or oil or hazardous substance
alone;
- (bb)the potential
for dispersant components to persist or accumulate in the environment or biota,
or create or contribute to, short- and long-term adverse effects under any
scale or manner of application, including in worst-case situations; and
- (cc)whether and
under what circumstances use of the dispersant would cause less harm to health
and the environment than responding to a discharge of oil or hazardous
substances without use of the dispersant.
(C)Disclosure of
dispersant ingredients and safety information
(i)Health and
safety informationThe Administrator shall consider health and
safety information for a dispersant listed for use under the National
Contingency Plan Product Schedule to mean information from any study of any
effect of a dispersant (or any constituent), either alone or in combination
with oil or a hazardous substance, on health, the environment, or both,
including—
(I)underlying data
and epidemiological studies;
(II)studies of
occupational exposure to a chemical substance or mixture;
(III)toxicological,
clinical, and ecological studies of a chemical substance or mixture;
(IV)the specific
chemical identities of the dispersant and constituents of the dispersant;
and
(V)any test
performed pursuant to this title.
(ii)Availability
of informationNotwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Administrator shall make available to the public—
(I)all health and
safety information for the chemical dispersant;
(II)the
concentrations of all ingredients of the dispersant, if the Administrator
determines that the public availability of that information is necessary to
prevent substantial endangerment to human health or the environment or is
otherwise in the public interest, taking into account the needs of responders,
local residents, medical personnel, and researchers engaged in monitoring or
otherwise studying the effects of the dispersant or of discharges of oil in
which the chemical dispersant is used; and
(III)information on
listed dispersants that the Administrator is required to disclose under
subclause (II) or (III), unless the information is protected from disclosure
under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States
Code.
.
3.Dispersant
health and environmental impact study
(a)Not
later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this Act as the
Administrator) shall initiate a study evaluating the adequacy of
existing capabilities and legal authorities of the Federal Government to make
informed decisions regarding the health and environmental impacts of
dispersants placed on the National Contingency Product Schedule under section
311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321).
(b)Minimum
elements of the study
(1)The study shall include an assessment of the availability
of information necessary to evaluate the risks and impacts to human health and
the environment, including acute and chronic risks, from the use of
dispersants, other chemicals, and other spill-mitigating substances, if any,
that may be used to carry out the National Contingency Plan, including an
assessment of such risks and impacts.
(2)At a minimum, the study shall evaluate—
(A)the availability
of, and the advisability of requiring additional information that is necessary
and sufficient to determine the potential for, dispersants, or their
degradation products, both by themselves and in combination with oil or
hazardous substances and other environmental factors and components, to persist
or accumulate in, or create or contribute to short- and long-term adverse
effects on—
(i)workers,
volunteers, and other individuals involved in handling, storing, transporting,
applying, treating, or disposing of the dispersants or dispersant wastes, or
who may otherwise come into direct contact with dispersants or dispersant
wastes before, during, or after the application of the dispersants;
(ii)individuals in
or near areas in which dispersants are being handled, stored, transported,
applied, treated, or disposed of, or who may otherwise be reasonably expected
to be exposed to the dispersants;
(iii)marine,
estuarine, and freshwater environments and ecosystems, including surface,
subsurface, and benthic zones; and
(iv)representative
forms of marine, coastal estuarine, and freshwater organisms, including
aquatic, soil- and sediment-dwelling, and terrestrial species, including
birds;
(B)the availability
of, and the advisability of requiring additional information regarding, the
dispersants and their uses, including information on—
(i)individual
ingredients of the dispersants;
(ii)the combination
of the dispersants with each type of oil or hazardous substance with which the
dispersants may reasonably be expected to be used;
(iii)the health and
environmental impacts and efficacy of the dispersant under different conditions
of use (including oil or hazardous substance type, temperature, pressure,
salinity, and type of environmental media (such as open sea, rocky shoreline,
rocky or sandy substrates, corals or marsh grasses)), and the optimal condition
for use;
(iv)the health and
environmental impacts and efficacy of the dispersant at different use
concentrations and the most effective application rate and quantity;
(v)whether the
combination of each dispersant and each relevant type of oil or hazardous
substance can increase or decrease the persistence, bioaccumulation potential,
or toxicity relative to either the dispersant or oil or hazardous substance
alone;
(vi)the potential
for dispersant components to persist or accumulate in the environment or biota,
or create or contribute to short- and long-term adverse effects under any scale
or manner of application, including in worst-case situations; and
(vii)whether and
under what circumstances use of the dispersant would cause less adverse effects
to health and the environment than responding to a discharge of oil or
hazardous substances without use of the dispersant; and
(C)an assessment of
the adequacy of existing Federal laws (including regulations) to protect human
health and the environment from the potential risks and impacts from the
toxicity of dispersants placed on the National Contingency Product
Schedule.
(c)The
Administrator shall conduct the study under this section in consultation with
such other Federal departments and agencies as the Administrator determines to
be appropriate.
(d)The Administrator shall provide for public notice of, and
not fewer than 30 days of public comment on, the draft study.
(e)The
Administrator shall complete the study under this section not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
4.
(a)Not
later than 90 days after the date of completion of the study under section 3,
the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that—
(1)describes the
results of the study; and
(2)makes specific
recommendations concerning potential improvements to the existing capabilities
and legal authorities of the Federal Government to make informed decisions
regarding the health and environmental impacts of dispersants placed on the
National Contingency Product Schedule.
(b)The
report shall, at a minimum, include—
(1)a description of
the results of the study conducted under section 3;
(2)an identification
of the gaps in available information regarding the health and environmental
impacts of dispersants on, or being considered for placement on, the National
Contingency Product Schedule;
(3)recommendations
for addressing the gaps in relevant information, which could include research,
technology development, and demonstration among the Federal agencies, or in
cooperation with industry, institutions of higher education, research
institutions, or State governments; and
(4)recommendations
for any statutory or regulatory changes necessary to ensure the safety of
dispersants currently on the National Contingency Product Schedule, or being
considered for future placement on the National Contingency Product
Schedule.
5.Revision of the
National Contingency Plan—Subpart J
(a)Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator shall determine whether to propose revisions to
subpart J of the National Contingency Plan prepared under section 311(d) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) and, as necessary, the
regulations required under section 311(j) of that Act (33 U.S.C.
1321(j)).
(b)If the Administrator determines that revisions
described in subsection (a) are necessary to ensure the effectiveness and
safety of dispersants, the Administrator shall propose the revisions not later
than 180 days after the date on which the Administrator makes the determination
under subsection (a).
(c)The revisions proposed under subsection (b) shall take
into account the recommendations in the report to Congress required under
section 4.