S 975 · 98th Congress · Environmental Protection
A bill to amend title III of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 to clarify provisions relating to claims, financial responsibility, and civil penalties.
Bill Progress
✓
Introduced2
Committee3
Senate Vote4
House5
EnactedLatest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.(1983-04-05)
Plain Language Summary
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Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978 to amend the definitions of "offshore facility", "owner", "operator", and "guarantor" for purposes of liability apportionment. Defines: (1) "lessee" as any person with an oil or gas lease granted under such Act; (2) "permittee" as any person with a geological exploration permit under such Act; (3) "responsible party" as the owner or operator of a vessel or pipeline, or the lessee or permittee of the area of specified mobile offshore drilling units; and (4) "mobile offshore drilling unit" as any watercraft operating on the outer continental shelf (OCS) (or above submerged lands) which is capable of drilling for oil on the OCS. Permits claims against the Offshore Oil Spill Pollution Fund for voluntary removal costs which exceed the maximum liability of a responsible party by a specified amount. Extends liability for spills to owners and operators of pipelines, lessees or permittees of an area in which a pipeline is located, and holders of rights of use and easements for an offshore facility. Imposes liability on the owner and operator of a mobile offshore drilling unit for oil pollution where the source of such pollution…
Summarized by Claude AI · Non-partisan · For informational purposes only