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Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2007

Introduced: June 14, 2007 Introduced by: Cantwell, Maria Democratic · Washington See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 14, 2007
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7736-7742)
Jun 14, 2007
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7735-7736)
Jun 14, 2007
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2007 - Establishes requirements for the promulgation of safety standards for towing vessels.

Requires a variety of measures to reduce the risk of oil spills, including Coast Guard inspections, regulations regarding the transfer of oil to or from a tank vessel, identification of the types of human errors that cause oil spills and near-miss oil spill incidents and actions designed to reduce human error risks, routing or other navigational measures, and an oil spill prevention and education program for small vessels.

Amends the the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to codify the establishment of the Oil Spill Advisory Council.

Authorizes state enforcement of any marine resource law enforced by the Secretary and allows state inspection of vessels.

Allows owners and operators of tank and non-tank vessels to form nonprofit cooperatives to comply with National Response System provisions.

Requires completion of the electronic navigation chart suite for all U.S. coastal waters.

Requires a rapid response system to collect and predict in situ information about oil spill behavior.

Allows Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund amounts to be used for response and damage assessment capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Prohibits using Fund amounts for claims under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

Requires owners of certain tank vessels to maintain evidence of financial responsibility.

Makes owners of oil (in addition to vessel owners) transported in single hull tank vessels with a poor safety or operational record liable for removal costs and damages.

Establishes the Federal Oil Spill Research Committee. Establishes grant programs: (1) for new technologies to prevent, detect, or mitigate oil discharges and to protect the environment; and (2) to develop cost-effective technologies for detecting discharges of oil from vessels and to improve detection and recovery of submerged and sinking oils.

What's happening now June 14, 2007

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7736-7742)

 Committees of jurisdiction 1