[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 102 (Monday, July 12, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5747-S5748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. NELSON of Florida:
  S. 3569. A bill to improve the ability of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to respond to releases of subsea oil and 
gas, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, we are now on the 84th day of 
the Deepwater Horizon spill. Along with the over 175 million gallons of 
oil and natural gas that have gushed into the gulf, over 1 million 
gallons of dispersants have been applied, with 700,000 gallons applied 
under the surface of the water. This is a method of using dispersants 
that has been likened to a science experiment.
  With each passing day, we see new images of oil washing up on the 
shores, onto our beaches, into the wetlands, coating the wildlife. We 
have all seen it on television, and it is heartbreaking. But I worry 
more about something else, something we do not see. For 2 months now, 
academics, the media, and the public have asked about the possibility 
of vast amounts of oil miles away from the location of the spill.
  Independent scientists from research institutions in my State, such 
as the University of South Florida and Florida State University, took 
to the water early on. They sent their own research vessels out there 
to find the answers. What they found confirmed the fears we have--what 
we do not see, and that is detectable amounts of oil and hydrocarbons 
impacting areas away from the spill. These hydrocarbons may not look 
like what we imagined. We imagined ominous black clouds. But, in fact, 
what scientists pulled up from different depths in their water samples 
often came up clear, but just because you can't see the oil doesn't 
mean it is not there and it doesn't mean it is not having an impact.
  A few weeks ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
released its first report on subsea oil. Our top ocean science agency 
has been working to understand the impacts of subsurface hydrocarbons. 
While there is now some publicly available information on subsurface 
oil, many unanswered questions remain. Is the subsurface oil down 
there, and especially that which you can't see? Is it there because of 
the use of dispersants? Does the large amount of pressure caused by the 
weight of the water column at such depths--as far as 5,000 feet--lead 
to these plumes of oil being subsurface? What is the effect of having 
oil and gas throughout the water column as opposed to the oil floating 
on the surface?
  I believe it took so long to get any information because this is 
something we simply have not seen before. The last time this country 
dealt with a spill even near this magnitude was the Exxon Valdez spill. 
But that was a tanker that leaked in a bay where all the oil was in the 
upper layers of the water column. The oil basically stayed afloat. 
Here, we have a situation where the oil is being released 5,000 feet 
below the surface of the gulf. It is being sprayed with dispersants, 
and that keeps much of it down in that fragile environment and away 
from view. But, of course, the many organisms that live down at those 
depths are the base of the food web, and the impact of the dissolved 
and dispersed hydrocarbons on these critters is simply unknown.
  We haven't even begun to deal with the question of the natural gas 
that is also spewing out of the well. Some have estimated that as much 
as half of the volume coming out of the well is actually natural gas. 
Some of that is very probably dissolving, and it is possible that most 
of it is dissolving. But who knows how these chemicals are interacting 
with it? If any of the natural gas is bubbling to the surface, it could 
pose a threat to the health and the safety of wildlife, and it could 
pose a health hazard to humans on the surface of the gulf.
  As a result of all of this and so that we learn from this situation 
so we don't keep doing this same thing over and over, I am introducing 
the Subsea Hydrocarbon Imagery and Planning Act. This bill will address 
some of these gaps in our knowledge and understanding of what happens 
when oil and natural gas are released under the ocean.
  This bill will direct NOAA to review its current protocols for 
detecting and mapping subsea hydrocarbons. It would require them to 
develop priorities and to adopt a plan for the future by implementing a 
program within the Office of Response and Restoration dedicated to 
mapping subsea hydrocarbons and releasing what their trajectories are. 
State and local governments and the American people should have access 
to this information so they can plan accordingly. NOAA itself needs 
this information for incorporation into its protocols for closing and 
opening fisheries. And the people in charge of managing this crisis 
need this information so they can make informed decisions about how to 
proceed.
  We are in the midst, as we know, of hurricane season. While we have 
not seen this subsea oil with our eyes yet, a hurricane could make that 
worst-case scenario a reality.
  Last week, during the recess, I spent some time with some of 
Florida's best and brightest scientists who are studying this spill.
  I spoke with researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University, Mote 
Marine Laboratory, and the University of Miami's Center for 
Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing. These institutions might 
have the technology and expertise that could be used to detect and 
monitor subsea oil and gas and measure its impact on fragile marine 
environments.
  As we look to the future and as we are getting NOAA to adopt a plan, 
that is a plan we need. This legislation--the Subsea Hydrocarbon 
Imagery and Planning Act--will ensure that days in the future we will 
not wonder how much oil and gas is out there, where it is, where it is 
going, and what its impacts will be because we will know.
  I hope my colleagues in the Senate are going to support this effort. 
Clearly, with what is going on, this well needs to be killed. There are 
60,000 barrels of oil a day gushing into the gulf, and this has been 
going on now closing in on 3 months.
  Until the time the well is killed, they will continue to try to 
siphon off as much as possible, and that is the process they are doing 
now. They took off that one cap. All of that oil is gushing. They are 
going to try to put on another cap that will have a tighter seal that 
they can get more to the surface.
  In the meantime, all that oil on the surface--we have the skimmers--
we need to skim off and keep it from reaching the shore. If it gets on 
the beach, that is one thing. We can get it off the beach. It harms all 
of the industries. It harms tourism. Clearly, the perception that there 
is oil harms fishing. But the real ecological damage is when it gets 
past the beach and it gets into the bays, the estuaries, and the marsh 
grasses. Then it is so difficult to get out and it all the more 
compounds the impact on the critters.
  No. 1, kill the well. No. 2, scoop as much as we can get off the 
surface to

[[Page S5748]]

keep it away from the shore. But No. 3, the big unknown is how much oil 
is underneath the surface and what is its long-term effect on the 
health of the gulf and on the entire ecological balance of the Gulf of 
Mexico and, indeed, other waters that could be affected, such as the 
Loop Current that turns into the gulf stream and that goes into the 
Atlantic.
  That is the big unknown, and that is what we are asking NOAA to do. 
That is why I am introducing this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3569

       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 ``Subsea Hydrocarbon Imagery 
     and Planning Act of 2010''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 
                   ADMINISTRATION OIL SPILL RESPONSE.

       (a) Subsea Hydrocarbon Review.--Not later than 45 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 
     Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall conduct a 
     comprehensive review of the current state of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the capacity of 
     the Administration to monitor, map, and track subsea 
     hydrocarbons.
       (b) Elements.--The review conducted under subsection (a) 
     shall include the following:
       (1) A review of protocol for application of dispersants 
     that contemplates the variables of temperature, pressure, and 
     depth of the site of release of hydrocarbons.
       (2) A review of technological capabilities to detect the 
     presence of subsea hydrocarbons at various concentrations and 
     at various depths within a water column resulting from 
     releases of oil and natural gas after a spill.
       (3) A review of technological capabilities for 
     expeditiously identifying the source (known as 
     ``fingerprinting'') of subsea hydrocarbons.
       (4) A review of coastal and ocean current modeling as it 
     relates to predicting the trajectory of oil and natural gas.
       (5) A review of the effect of subsea hydrocarbons (all 
     concentrations including down to hydrocarbon chains in 
     solution) on all levels of the food web, including 
     evaluations of seafood safety, toxicity to individuals, 
     negative impacts to reproduction, bioaccumulation, growth, 
     and such other matters as the Under Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       (6) Development of recommendations on priorities for 
     improving forecasting of movement of subsea hydrocarbons.
       (7) Development of recommendations for long-term remote 
     monitoring of subsea hydrocarbons after a spill, including 
     dissolved oxygen impacts.
       (8) Development of recommendations for implementation of a 
     Subsea Hydrocarbon Monitoring and Assessment program within 
     the Office of Response and Restoration.
       (c) Program Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 
     establish a hydrocarbon monitoring and assessment program. 
     Such program shall be based on the recommendations developed 
     under the comprehensive review required by subsection (a).
       (d) Funding.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, out of any funds in the Oil Spill 
     Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 not otherwise appropriated, the 
     Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary of 
     Commerce to carry out the provisions of this section 
     $15,000,000 to remain available until expended.

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