Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Oil Spill Response Enhancement Act of 2021”.
Oil Spill Response Enhancement Act of 2021
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to contracts for oil spill response, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Oil and hazardous substance removal
Section 311(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(B)—
in clause (ii), by striking “and” at the end;
in clause (iii), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iv) enter into a contract with a person to carry out the removal actions under this subparagraph and shall indemnify that person with whom the President has entered into a contract under this clause for liabilities arising out of the performance of the contract, and expenses, incidental thereto, that are not compensated by any insurance required under the contract.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(7) Limitations on indemnity—Indemnification provided under paragraph (1)(B)(iv) shall be made solely from funds that are available in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and may not include indemnification for any liability of the person—
“(A) who is a responsible party for the discharge;
“(B) arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the person;
“(C) arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of a person in the violation of paragraph (3);
“(D) arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of a person in the breach of an express term of the contract;
“(E) for which the contractor has failed to maintain any insurance required by the contract; or
“(F) that exceeds the per incident limit described in section 9509(c)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.”
Sec. 3 Uses of the oil spill liability trust fund
in paragraph (4), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (5)(D), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(6) the indemnification of persons with whom the President has entered into a contract pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)(i) of section 311(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)) for liabilities arising out of the performance of the contract, and litigation costs and attorneys’ fees incidental thereto, that are not compensated by any insurance required under the contract.”
Availability— Section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2752(b)) is amended by striking “1012(a)(4)” and inserting “1012(a)(4) and (6)”.