[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4849 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4849

To require the Commandant of the Coast Guard to establish a process to 
    update the vessel response plan program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 14, 2022

  Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Commandant of the Coast Guard to establish a process to 
    update the vessel response plan program, 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 Review Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Even a minor oil spill can cause significant harm to 
        individual organisms, entire populations, and ecosystems.
            (2) The impacts from certain oil spills can last for years 
        or even decades.
            (3) The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of 
        Mexico released more than 100,000,000 gallons of oil before it 
        was contained 86 days later.
            (4) The 1989 Exxon Valdez spill released about 11,000,000 
        gallons of oil, and cleanup efforts continued intermittently 
        for 3 years.
            (5) Since 2018, the Coast Guard has only verified the 
        accuracy of salvage and marine firefighting information in 71 
        of over 3,000 submitted VRPs.
            (6) The National Response Center collects oil spill 
        incident data, but data are often initial, unverified 
        estimates.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commandant.--The term ``Commandant'' means the 
        Commandant of the Coast Guard.
            (2) ACP.--The term ``ACP'' means an area contingency plan.
            (3) VRP.--The term ``VRP'' means a vessel response plan.

SEC. 4. INCREASING DATA COLLECTION AND VERIFICATION TO UPDATE THE VRP 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Commandant shall develop and carry out a 
process to update its review of VRPs, which are required to be 
submitted to the Coast Guard under part 155 of title 33, Code of 
Federal Regulations, by increasing the collection and improving the 
quality of incident data on oil spill location and response capability.
    (b) Activities.--In developing and carrying out the process 
required by subsection (a), the Commandant shall--
            (1) not less frequently than every 3 years, verify the 
        efficacy of--
                    (A) information submitted to the Commandant 
                pursuant to part 300 of title 40, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or successor regulations), through random 
                selection and auditing of all reported information from 
                not less than 30 percent of--
                            (i) submitted VRPs;
                            (ii) area drills conducted pursuant to 
                        section 311(j)(7) of the Federal Water 
                        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(7)); 
                        and
                            (iii) responses to oil spill incidents that 
                        require mobilization of contracted response 
                        resources; and
                    (B) oil spill data stored in the Marine Information 
                for Safety and Law Enforcement database and reported by 
                on-scene coordinators pursuant to section 300.300 of 
                title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
                regulation);
            (2) not less frequently than annually, review, and update 
        as necessary--
                    (A) the information contained in the Coast Guard 
                Response Resource Inventory and other tools used to 
                document the availability and status of oil spill 
                response equipment so as to ensure that such 
                information and tools remain current and accurate; and
                    (B) processes for data submission to the Response 
                Resource Inventory to ensure that Oil Spill Removal 
                Organizations and other participating entities submit 
                accurate and regularly updated information;
            (3) establish procedures for--
                    (A) incorporating oil spill incident data from oil 
                spill reports and VRP exercises into--
                            (i) VRPs, including alternative planning 
                        criteria review and approval processes; and
                            (ii) ACP development;
                    (B) mitigating the impact of military personnel 
                rotations in Coast Guard field units on knowledge and 
                awareness of VRP requirements, including knowledge 
                relating to the evaluation of proposed alternatives to 
                national planning requirements; and
                    (C) evaluating the consequences of reporting 
                inaccurate data in VRPs submitted to the Commandant 
                pursuant to part 300 of title 40, Code of Federal 
                Regulations, and submitted for storage in the Marine 
                Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database 
                pursuant to section 300.300 of that title (or any 
                successor regulation);
            (4) develop standard tools, job aids, and guidance that--
                    (A) may be shared with vessel owners and operators 
                and Coast Guard field units to assist with accurately 
                calculating and measuring the performance and viability 
                of proposed alternatives against national planning 
                criteria requirements and coastal zone ACPs; and
                    (B) recognize regionally specific challenges;
            (5) review subcontracts related to submitted VRPs to ensure 
        that all necessary equipment and response resources are 
        obligated to satisfy the VRP planning requirements and respond 
        to an oil spill, as applicable;
            (6) not less frequently than every 5 years, review, and 
        revise as necessary, Coast Guard planning, preparedness, and 
        oil spill response strategies based on analyses of--
                    (A) incident data on oil spill location and 
                response capability;
                    (B) oil spill risk assessments;
                    (C) oil spill response effectiveness and the 
                effects of such response on the environment; and
                    (D) oil spill response exercises conducted pursuant 
                to section 311(j)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution 
                Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(7)); and
            (7) collaborate with the heads of other Federal agencies to 
        increase Federal Government engagement with State, local, and 
        Tribal agencies and stakeholders, including regulated entities, 
        for the purpose of strengthening coordination and efficiency of 
        oil spill responses.
    (c) Public Availability of Data.--Subject to section 552 of title 
5, United States Code, the Commandant shall make available to the 
public the data described in subsection (b)(1).
    (d) Annual Report.--Not less frequently than annually, the 
Commandant shall submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing 
and planned efforts to improve the policies, guidance, and processes of 
the VRP program, including actions of the Maritime Oil Spill Response 
Plan Advisory Group, based on feedback, public comment, and other 
engagement from the Coast Guard and maritime transportation industry 
stakeholders.

SEC. 5. EXPENDITURE PURPOSES OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND.

    Section 9509(c)(1) of title 26, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``, and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) to increase support for marine pollution 
                disaster planning, preparedness, and response 
                strategies, including for--
                            ``(i) incident data collection and 
                        verification and for regular updates to vessel 
                        response plans and area contingency plan 
                        review; and
                            ``(ii) training and equipping residents of 
                        Tribal and remote communities with resources 
                        and information for effective planning, 
                        preparedness, and response.''.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL OIL SPILL RESPONSE STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study on Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency 
oversight of national, regional, and local area oil spill response 
frameworks.
    (b) Elements.--The study required by subsection (a) shall include 
the following:
            (1) An assessment of lessons learned with respect to oil 
        spill responses based on research conducted as a result of the 
        Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and other marine pollution 
        disasters, which shall include an assessment of--
                    (A) oil spill response and prevention technologies; 
                and
                    (B) methods and best practices for oil spill 
                mitigation and prevention.
            (2) An analysis of major changes in national, regional, and 
        local area oil spill response frameworks since 2010 for the 
        purpose of assessing whether such changes have improved oil 
        spill responses.
            (3) An analysis of available information on the short-term 
        and long-term effects of the use of chemical dispersants and 
        potential alternatives in oil spill and marine pollution 
        responses.
            (4) Recommendations for legislative and regulatory action 
        that would facilitate better implementation of best available 
        technologies and methods for effective oil spill response.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
        to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted 
        under subsection (a).
            (2) Public availability.--The report submitted under 
        paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available on the internet 
        website of the Comptroller General.
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