Legislation Project Activity: Oil Pollution Control Act of 1990

1. Ari Parsay, Period 3 Legislation Project Activity: Oil Pollution Control Act of 1990

2. Current Provisions and Necessary Revisions: A Brief Outlook • Applies only to United States standards and was conceived in response to the Exxon Valdez incident which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in late 1989 • Expanded liability for oil spills, technical incidents, and other causes or forms of interference with daily ordnance/activity • Established the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) as well as the National Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund • Expanded liability for cleanup costs and efforts, oil transportation activities, and response effort capabilities • Amended Section 311 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the sense that liability costs were expanded for cleanup and that it imposed liability for damages to certain natural resources • House of Representatives (HOR) eliminated the liability for offshore platforms – this would have been a center for deliberations had a certain Senate committee not also eliminated this bill • Should require responsible entity/party to prove financial responsibility in an amount equal to the cost of insurance – subsequently, Executive Branch should pass survey(s) on insurance limits • Increase voluntary or government pooling to spread risks • Increase funding and establish more standards for technical operating efficiency

3. Conclusion and Remarks Some long range planning for enhancing and expanding the federal statutes of this policy, while keeping in mind its efficiency, effectiveness, and the determinants that follow with it are (1) to enhance cooperation with the international community, notably our neighbors to the North and South, which are Mexico and Canada, (2) to understand and chorus the effects oil spills can have on the wildlife as many Americans cannot ascertain the wide-spread amount of hazards, potential problems, and current problems, (3) establish a coverage for attorney fees promulgated from such activities, (4) to increase funding for the National Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, and (5) to enact legislation that does not intertwine and may replace State regulations for liability. Interagency coordination is obligatory. The transparency of bipartisan politics in this arena will be a tumult to progress through, but, by and large, we can expect to believe that through the thick and thin, we can achieve success.