Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2009
Key claim: This 2009 Senate bill would have required the Coast Guard to finish overdue oil-pollution and towing-vessel safety rules, tighten oil-transfer and inspection standards, and expand spill-prevention and NOAA response tools, but it never advanced beyond committee referral.
Abstract
(S684 · 111th Congress) Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to: (1) report to specified congressional committees on the status of all Coast Guard rulemakings under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, under provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act concerning oil and hazardous substances liability, and for automatic identification systems on vessels and inspection requirements for towing vessels; and (2) issue a final rule in each pending rulemaking under such Acts. Establishes requirements for the promulgation of safety standards for towing vessels. Requires a variety of measures to reduce the risk of oil spills, including Coast Guard inspections, regulations regarding the transfer of oil to or from a tank vessel, identification of the types of human errors that cause oil spills and near-miss oil spill incidents and actions designed to reduce human error risks, routing or other navigational measures, and an oil spill prevention and education program for small vessels. Authorizes state enforcement of any marine resource law enforced by the Secretary and allows state inspection of vessels. Requires the Secretary of State to negotiate with Canada on issues concerning tugboat escorts for specified tank ships. Allows owners and operators of tank and non-tank vessels to form nonprofit cooperatives to comply with National Response System provisions. Requires completion of the electronic navigation chart suite for all U.S. coastal waters. Requires a rapid response system to collect and predict in situ information about oil spill behavior. Allows Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund amounts to be used for response and damage assessment capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Prohibits using Fund amounts for claims under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Requires owners of certain tank vessels to maintain evidence of financial responsi Latest action (2009-03-24): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3681-3685)
Why this matters
The bill is one of several post-Exxon Valdez / pre-Deepwater Horizon attempts to close overdue Coast Guard rulemakings on towing vessels, oil transfers, and spill response — a recurring gap in U.S. marine safety governance. Because it stalled in committee, the underlying rule delays and NOAA response-tool shortfalls it targeted persisted, providing historical context for later maritime safety and oil-spill statutes.