33 U.S.C. § 1321a — Prevention of small oil spills

Page 518 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1321a amount equal to any administrative and civil penalties paid after the date of the RESTORE Act by the respon- sible parties in connection with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill to the United States pursuant to a court order, negotiated settlement, or other instrument in accordance with section 311 of the FWPCA (33 U.S.C. 1321). (b) Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. The RE- STORE Act established the Gulf Restoration Council, an independent entity charged with developing a com- prehensive plan for ecosystem restoration in the Gulf Coast (Comprehensive Plan), as well as any future revi- sions to the Comprehensive Plan. Among its other du- ties, the Gulf Restoration Council is tasked with iden- tifying projects and programs aimed at restoring and protecting the natural resources and ecosystems of the Gulf Coast region, to be funded from a portion of the Trust Fund; establishing such other advisory commit- tees as may be necessary to assist the Gulf Restoration Council, including a scientific advisory committee and a committee to advise the Gulf Restoration Council on public policy issues; gathering information relevant to Gulf Coast restoration, including through research, modeling, and monitoring; and providing an annual re- port to the Congress on implementation progress. Con- sistent with the RESTORE Act, the Comprehensive Plan developed by the Gulf Restoration Council will in- clude provisions necessary to fully incorporate the Strategy, projects, and programs recommended by the Task Force. (c) Federal members of the Gulf Restoration Council and Trustee Council, as well as all Federal entities in- volved in Gulf Coast restoration, shall work closely with one another to advance their common goals, re- duce duplication, and maximize consistency among their efforts. All Federal members are directed to con- sult with each other and with all non-federal members in carrying out their duties on the Gulf Restoration Council. SEC. 4. Ongoing Role of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council. (a) Executive Order 13554 recognized the role of the Trustee Council, and des- ignated trustees as provided in 33 U.S.C. 2706, with trusteeship over natural resources injured, lost, or de- stroyed as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Specifically, Executive Order 13554 recognized the im- portance of carefully coordinating the work of the Task Force with the Trustee Council, whose members have statutory responsibility to assess natural resources damages from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, to re- store trust resources, and seek compensation for lost use of those trust resources. Section 3(b) of Executive Order 13554 instructed the Task Force to ‘‘support the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process by refer- ring potential ecosystem restoration actions to the * * * Trustee Council for consideration and facilitating coordination among the relevant departments, agen- cies, and offices, as appropriate, subject to the inde- pendent statutory responsibilities of the trustees.’’ The Department of Commerce (through the National Oce- anic and Atmospheric Administration), the Department of the Interior (through the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service), and the Department of Justice have worked to identify linkages and opportu- nities for the Task Force to complement the restora- tion progress of the Trustee Council. (b) Section 7(e) of Executive Order 13554 provides that nothing in that order shall interfere with the statutory responsibilities and authority of the Trustee Council or the individual trustees to carry out their statutory re- sponsibilities to assess natural resource damages and implement restoration actions under 33 U.S.C. 2706 and other applicable law. Agencies that were members of the Task Force shall continue to comply with these re- quirements. SEC. 5. Designating Trustees for Natural Resource Dam- age Assessment. Given their authorities, programs, and expertise, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have insti- tutional capacities that can contribute significantly to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and restora- tion efforts, including scientific and policy expertise as well as experience gained in the Task Force process and other planning efforts in the Gulf area. In addition, EPA’s and USDA’s relevant authorities cover a range of natural resources and their supporting ecosystems, including waters, sediments, barrier islands, wetlands, soils, land management, air resources, and drinking water supplies. The inclusion of EPA and USDA as trustees participating in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and restoration efforts will maximize co- ordination across the Federal Government and enhance overall efficiencies regarding Gulf Coast ecosystem res- toration. Accordingly, without limiting the designa- tions in Executive Order 12777 of October 18, 1991, or any other existing designations, and pursuant to sec- tion 2706(b)(2) of title 33, United States Code, I hereby designate the Administrator of EPA and the Secretary of Agriculture as additional trustees for Natural Re- source Damage Assessment and restoration solely in connection with injury to, destruction of, loss of, or loss of use of natural resources, including their sup- porting ecosystems, resulting from the Deepwater Hori- zon Oil Spill. The addition of these Federal trustees does not, in and of itself, alter any existing agreements among or between the trustees and any other entity. All Federal trustees are directed to consult, coordinate, and cooperate with each other in carrying out all of their trustee duties and responsibilities. The Administrator of EPA is hereby directed to re- vise Subpart G of the National Oil and Hazardous Sub- stances Pollution Contingency Plan to reflect the des- ignations for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill discussed in this section. SEC. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Trustee Council, or those of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appro- priations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforce- able at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. (d) Executive Order 13554 of October 5, 2010, is hereby revoked concurrent with the termination of the Task Force under the terms described in section 2 of this order. BARACK OBAMA. § 1321a. Prevention of small oil spills (a) Prevention and education program The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, in consultation with the Sec- retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating and other appropriate agen- cies, shall establish an oil spill prevention and education program for small vessels. The pro- gram shall provide for assessment, outreach, and training and voluntary compliance activi- ties to prevent and improve the effective re- sponse to oil spills from vessels and facilities not required to prepare a vessel response plan under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), including recreational vessels, commercial fishing vessels, marinas, and aquaculture facilities. The Under Secretary may provide grants to sea grant colleges and in- stitutes designated under section 1126 of this title and to State agencies, tribal governments, and other appropriate entities to carry out— Page 519 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1321b (1) regional assessments to quantify the source, incidence and volume of small oil spills, focusing initially on regions in the country where, in the past 10 years, the inci- dence of such spills is estimated to be the highest; (2) voluntary, incentive-based clean marina programs that encourage marina operators, recreational boaters, and small commercial vessel operators to engage in environmentally sound operating and maintenance procedures and best management practices to prevent or reduce pollution from oil spills and other sources; (3) cooperative oil spill prevention education programs that promote public understanding of the impacts of spilled oil and provide useful information and techniques to minimize pollu- tion, including methods to remove oil and re- duce oil contamination of bilge water, prevent accidental spills during maintenance and re- fueling and properly cleanup and dispose of oil and hazardous substances; and (4) support for programs, including outreach and education to address derelict vessels and the threat of such vessels sinking and dis- charging oil and other hazardous substances, including outreach and education to involve efforts to the owners of such vessels. (b) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014. (Pub. L. 111–281, title VII, § 705, Oct. 15, 2010, 124 Stat. 2982.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified generally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1251 of this title and Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Coast Guard Au- thorization Act of 2010, and not as part of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act which comprises this chapter. § 1321b. Improved coordination with tribal gov- ernments (a) In general Within 6 months after October 15, 2010, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall complete the develop- ment of a tribal consultation policy, which rec- ognizes and protects to the maximum extent practicable tribal treaty rights and trust assets in order to improve the Coast Guard’s consulta- tion and coordination with the tribal govern- ments of federally recognized Indian tribes with respect to oil spill prevention, preparedness, re- sponse and natural resource damage assessment. (b) Inclusion of tribal government The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall ensure that, as soon as practicable after identifying an oil spill that is likely to have a significant impact on natural or cultural resources owned or directly utilized by a federally recognized Indian tribe, the Coast Guard will— (1) ensure that representatives of the tribal government of the affected tribes are included as part of the incident command system estab- lished by the Coast Guard to respond to the spill; (2) share information about the oil spill with the tribal government of the affected tribe; and (3) to the extent practicable, involve tribal governments in deciding how to respond to the spill. (c) Cooperative arrangements The Coast Guard may enter into memoranda of agreement and associated protocols with In- dian tribal governments in order to establish co- operative arrangements for oil pollution preven- tion, preparedness, and response. Such memo- randa may be entered into prior to the develop- ment of the tribal consultation and coordination policy to provide Indian tribes grant and con- tract assistance. Such memoranda of agreement and associated protocols with Indian tribal gov- ernments may include— (1) arrangements for the assistance of the tribal government to participate in the devel- opment of the National Contingency Plan and local Area Contingency Plans to the extent they affect tribal lands, cultural and natural resources; (2) arrangements for the assistance of the tribal government to develop the capacity to implement the National Contingency Plan and local Area Contingency Plans to the extent they affect tribal lands, cultural and natural resources; (3) provisions on coordination in the event of a spill, including agreements that representa- tives of the tribal government will be included as part of the regional response team co- chaired by the Coast Guard and the Environ- mental Protection Agency to establish poli- cies for responding to oil spills; (4) arrangements for the Coast Guard to pro- vide training of tribal incident commanders and spill responders for oil spill preparedness and response; (5) demonstration projects to assist tribal governments in building the capacity to pro- tect tribal treaty rights and trust assets from oil spills; and (6) such additional measures the Coast Guard determines to be necessary for oil pollu- tion prevention, preparedness, and response. (d) Funding for tribal participation Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall pro- vide assistance to participating tribal govern- ments in order to facilitate the implementation of cooperative arrangements under subsection (c) and ensure the participation of tribal govern- ments in such arrangements. There are author- ized to be appropriated to the Commandant $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to be used to carry out this section. (Pub. L. 111–281, title VII, § 706, Oct. 15, 2010, 124 Stat. 2983.)