§2702. Elements of liability — Inbound Citations
33 U.S.C. § 2702
Cited by 20 provisions in release 119-102.
Citations to 33 U.S.C. § 2702 as a whole
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(v) notwithstanding subparagraph (B)(i), and in the same manner and to the same extent, both procedurally and substantively, as any nongovernmental entity, including for purposes of liability under section 2702 of this title, any State or local government that has caused or contributed to a discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil from a vessel or facility ownership or control of which was acquired involuntarily through—(I) seizure or otherwise in connection with law enforcement activity;(II) bankruptcy;(III) tax delinquency;(IV) abandonment; or(V) other circumstances in which the government involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as sovereign;
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(a) A responsible party is not liable for removal costs or damages under section 2702 of this title if the responsible party establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil and the resulting damages or removal costs were caused solely by—(1) an act of God;(2) an act of war;(3) an act or omission of a third party, other than an employee or agent of the responsible party or a third party whose act or omission occurs in connection with any contractual relationship with the responsible party (except where the sole contractual arrangement arises in connection with carriage by a common carrier by rail), if the responsible party establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the responsible party—(A) exercised due care with respect to the oil concerned, taking into consideration the characteristics of the oil and in light of all relevant facts and circumstances; and(B) took precautions against foreseeable acts or omissions of any such third party and the foreseeable consequences of those acts or omissions; or
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(b) A responsible party is not liable under section 2702 of this title to a claimant, to the extent that the incident is caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the claimant.
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the total of the liability of a responsible party under section 2702 of this title and any removal costs incurred by, or on behalf of, the responsible party, with respect to each incident shall not exceed—(1) for a tank vessel the greater of—(A) with respect to a single-hull vessel, including a single-hull vessel fitted with double sides only or a double bottom only, $3,000 per gross ton;(B) with respect to a vessel other than a vessel referred to in subparagraph (A), $1,900 per gross ton; or(i) with respect to a vessel greater than 3,000 gross tons that is—(I) a vessel described in subparagraph (A), $22,000,000; or(II) a vessel described in subparagraph (B), $16,000,000; or(ii) with respect to a vessel of 3,000 gross tons or less that is—(I) a vessel described in subparagraph (A), $6,000,000; or(II) a vessel described in subparagraph (B), $4,000,000;(3) for an offshore facility except a deepwater port, the total of all removal costs plus $75,000,000; and(4) for any onshore facility and a deepwater port, $350,000,000.
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(A) Interest (including prejudgment interest) under this paragraph is in addition to damages and removal costs for which claims may be asserted under section 2702 of this title and shall be paid without regard to any limitation of liability under section 2704 of this title.
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(b) A responsible party who is entitled to a limitation of liability may assert a claim under section 2713 of this title only to the extent that the sum of the removal costs and damages incurred by the responsible party plus the amounts paid by the responsible party, or by the guarantor on behalf of the responsible party, for claims asserted under section 2713 of this title exceeds the amount to which the total of the liability under section 2702 of this title and removal costs and damages incurred by, or on behalf of, the responsible party is limited under section 2704 of this title.
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(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a claim for which liability may be established under section 2702 of this title may be asserted directly against any guarantor providing evidence of financial responsibility for a responsible party liable under that section for removal costs and damages to which the claim pertains. In defending against such a claim, the guarantor may invoke—(A) all rights and defenses which would be available to the responsible party under this Act;(B) any defense authorized under subsection (d); and(C) the defense that the incident was caused by the willful misconduct of the responsible party.The guarantor may not invoke any other defense that might be available in proceedings brought by the responsible party against the guarantor.
Citations to §2702(a)
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(5) Nothing in this paragraph or in subsection (a)(3) shall diminish the liability of any previous owner or operator of such facility who would otherwise be liable under this Act. Notwithstanding this paragraph, if a responsible party obtained actual knowledge of the discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil at such facility when the responsible party owned the facility and then subsequently transferred ownership of the facility or the real property on which the facility is located to another person without disclosing such knowledge, the responsible party shall be treated as liable under section 2702(a) of this title and no defense under subsection (a) shall be available to such responsible party.
Citations to §2702(b)
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(5) “damages” means damages specified in section 2702(b) of this title, and includes the cost of assessing these damages;
Citations to §2702(b)(1)
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(2) An action for recovery of removal costs referred to in section 2702(b)(1) of this title must be commenced within 3 years after completion of the removal action. In any such action described in this subsection, the court shall enter a declaratory judgment on liability for removal costs or damages that will be binding on any subsequent action or actions to recover further removal costs or damages. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, an action may be commenced under this subchapter for recovery of removal costs at any time after such costs have been incurred.
Citations to §2702(b)(2)(A)
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(a) In the case of natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title, liability shall be—(1) to the United States Government for natural resources belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to the United States;(2) to any State for natural resources belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to such State or political subdivision thereof;(3) to any Indian tribe for natural resources belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to such Indian tribe; and(4) in any case in which section 2707 of this title applies, to the government of a foreign country for natural resources belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to such country.
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(A) shall assess natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title for the natural resources under their trusteeship;
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(A) shall assess natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title for the purposes of this Act for the natural resources under their trusteeship; and
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(A) shall assess natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title for the purposes of this Act for the natural resources under their trusteeship; and
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(A) shall assess natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title for the purposes of this Act for the natural resources under their trusteeship; and
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(1) The measure of natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title is—(A) the cost of restoring, rehabilitating, replacing, or acquiring the equivalent of, the damaged natural resources;(B) the diminution in value of those natural resources pending restoration; plus(C) the reasonable cost of assessing those damages.
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(1) The President, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the heads of other affected agencies, not later than 2 years after August 18, 1990, shall promulgate regulations for the assessment of natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title resulting from a discharge of oil for the purpose of this Act.
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(f) Sums recovered under this Act by a Federal, State, Indian, or foreign trustee for natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title shall be retained by the trustee in a revolving trust account, without further appropriation, for use only to reimburse or pay costs incurred by the trustee under subsection (c) with respect to the damaged natural resources. Any amounts in excess of those required for these reimbursements and costs shall be deposited in the Fund.
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(2) No claim may be presented under this section for recovery of damages unless the claim is presented within 3 years after the date on which the injury and its connection with the discharge in question were reasonably discoverable with the exercise of due care, or in the case of natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title, if later, the date of completion of the natural resources damage assessment under section 2706(e) of this title.
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(B) in the case of natural resource damages under section 2702(b)(2)(A) of this title, the date of completion of the natural resources damage assessment under section 2706(c) of this title.