Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010
Latest action · Aug 5, 2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 518.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 4, 2010
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010 - Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to remove the $75 million limit on the liability of the party responsible for an offshore facility from which oil is discharged into or upon navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
Makes this Act effective on April 15, 2010.
Authorizes a claimant to commence an action in court against the responsible party or guarantor or to present the claim to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund if the claim is not settled in whole by payment within 30 (currently 90) days of the claim being presented.
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the President to ensure that tank vessel, nontank vessel, and facility response plans under the National Response System are designed to prevent injury to the economy, jobs, and the environment.
Requires the President to promulgate regulations that revise the requirements that govern oil spill response plans, including requiring such plans to: (1) ensure the availability of private personnel and equipment in the quantities necessary and in the appropriate region to respond immediately to and sustain the response effort for as long as necessary to remove a worst-case discharge and to mitigate damage from a discharge; (2) demonstrate the financial capability to pay for removal costs and damages; (3) describe the environmental effects of the plan methodologies and equipment; (4) describe the process for communication and coordination with federal, state, and local agencies before, during, and after a response to a discharge; (5) identify performance standards for the quantity of oil or hazardous substance that will be removed under the response plan; (6) in the case of oil production, drilling, and workover facilities, describe the specific measures to be used in response to a blowout or other event involving loss of well control; and (7) identify potential economic and ecological impacts of a worst-case discharge and response activities to prevent or mitigate those impacts in the event of a discharge.
Allows the President to approve a plan only if: (1) it meets the plan response requirements; (2) field tests of the plan have been conducted in the area in which the tank vessel, nontank vessel, or facility is proposed to operate; (3) the methods and equipment proposed to be used under the response plan are demonstrated to be technologically feasible in the area and under the conditions (including the depth of a well, in the case of an offshore facility) in which the vessel or facility is proposed to operate; (4) the available scientific information about the area allows for identification of potential impacts to ecological areas and protection of those areas in the event of a discharge, including adequate surveys of wildlife; and (5) it describes the quantity of oil likely to be removed in the event of a worst-case discharge.
Requires the President to require notice of the proposed response plan to be published in the Federal Register and provide for a public comment period for the plan of at least 30 days.
Includes within the definition of "worst case discharge" the largest foreseeable discharge from an unanticipated and uncontrolled blowout or other loss of well control.
Requires the Administrator of the fund established by British Petroleum Company to pay claims resulting from the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred April 20, 2010, to report to Congress on the status of such fund and claims that have been paid from the fund.
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 4, 2010 to Jun 7, 2010; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | May 4, 2010 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | May 5, 2010 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | May 5, 2010 | |
| D-DE | Edward E. Kaufman | May 6, 2010 | |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | May 6, 2010 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | May 7, 2010 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | May 10, 2010 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | May 12, 2010 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | May 13, 2010 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | May 19, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred May 4, 2010Hearings Jun 9, 2010Markup Jun 30, 2010Reported Aug 5, 2010 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 5, 2010Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-249. Minority views filed.
- Aug 5, 2010Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 518.
- Jun 30, 2010Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Jun 9, 2010Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-1241.
- May 4, 2010Introduced in Senate
In the Congressional Record 6
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4896 | Patty Murray D-WA | Jun 15, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4602 | Bill Nelson D-FL | Jun 7, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4176–S4179, S4199 | Bill Nelson D-FL, Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ, James M. Inhofe R-OK, Patty Murray D-WA, Richard J. Durbin D-IL, Robert Menendez D-NJ | May 25, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3849–S3853 | Amy Klobuchar D-MN, Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD, Bill Nelson D-FL, Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ, Harry Reid D-NV, James M. Inhofe R-OK, Patty Murray D-WA, Robert Menendez D-NJ | May 18, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3684–S3686 | Bill Nelson D-FL, Frank R. Lautenberg D-NJ, Lisa Murkowski R-AK, Robert Menendez D-NJ | May 13, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3134 | Bill Nelson D-FL | May 5, 2010 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Jul 27, 2010S. 3305, Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 30, 2010</p>
- Jul 27, 2010S. 3305, Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 30, 2010
Printed hearings 4
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 111-1244 | ASSESSING NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE BP DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER144 pages | Environment and Public Works Committee | Jul 27, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-1241 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING TO CONSIDER S. 3305210 pages | Environment and Public Works Committee | Jun 9, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-679 | DEEPWATER HORIZON LIABILITY87 pages | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | May 25, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-1240 | FEDERAL RESPONSE TO THE RECENT OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO186 pages | Environment and Public Works Committee | May 18, 2010 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R40098 | Water Quality Issues in the 111th Congress: Oversight and Implementation Archived | Report | Jan 11, 2011 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3472 | Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010 | Related bill | Jun 9, 2010 |
| HR 5214 | Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act of 2010 | Related bill | May 6, 2010 |
| HR 5355 | To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to repeal the limitation of liability of a responsible party for a discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil from an offshore oil facility. | Related bill | May 21, 2010 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oil spills, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Big Oil Bailout Prevention Unlimited Liability Act of 2010
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Accidents
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental Protection
- Government trust funds
- Gulf of Mexico
- Intergovernmental relations
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Marine pollution
- Oil and gas
- Pollution liability
- Technology assessment
- Water quality
- Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 5, 2010Reported to Senate
- May 4, 2010Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.