26 USC 9509 - Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund

U.S Code last checked for updates: May 03, 2024

§ 9509.

Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund

(a)

Creation of Trust Fund

(b)

Transfers to Trust Fund

There are hereby appropriated to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund amounts equivalent to—

(1)

taxes received in the Treasury under section 4611 (relating to environmental tax on petroleum) to the extent attributable to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate under section 4611(c),

(2)

amounts recovered under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for damages to natural resources which are required to be deposited in the Fund under section 1006(f) of such Act,

(3)

amounts recovered by such Trust Fund under section 1015 of such Act,

(4)

amounts required to be transferred by such Act from the revolving fund established under section 311(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,

(5)

amounts required to be transferred by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 from the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established under section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,

(6)

amounts required to be transferred by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 from the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978,

(7)

amounts required to be transferred by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund established under section 204 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, and

(8)

any penalty paid pursuant to section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, section 309(c) of such Act (as a result of violations of such section 311), the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, or section 207 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act.

(c)

Expenditures

(1)

Expenditure purposes

Amounts in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund shall be available, as provided in appropriation Acts or section 6002(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, only for purposes of making expenditures—

(A)

for the payment of removal costs and other costs, expenses, claims, and damages referred to in section 1012 of such Act,

(B)

to carry out sections 5 and 7 of the Intervention on the High Seas Act relating to oil pollution or the substantial threat of oil pollution,

(C)

for the payment of liabilities incurred by the revolving fund established by section 311(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,

(D)

to carry out subsections (b), (c), (d), (j), and (l) of section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to prevention, removal, and enforcement related to oil discharges (as defined in such section),

(E)

for the payment of liabilities incurred by the Deepwater Port Liability Fund, and

(F)

for the payment of liabilities incurred by the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund.

(2)

Limitations on expenditures

(A)

$1,500,000,000 per incident, etc.

The maximum amount which may be paid from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund with respect to—

(i)

any single incident shall not exceed $1,500,000,000, and

(ii)

natural resource damage assessments and claims in connection with any single incident shall not exceed $750,000,000.

(B)

$30,000,000 minimum balance

(d)

Authority to borrow

(1)

In general

(2)

Limitation on amount outstanding

(3)

Repayment of advances

(A)

In general

(B)

Final repayment

(C)

Rate of interest

Interest on advances made pursuant to this subsection shall be—

(i)

at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury (as of the close of the calendar month preceding the month in which the advance is made) to be equal to the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the anticipated period during which the advance will be outstanding, and

(ii)

compounded annually.

(e)

Liability of the United States limited to amount in Trust Fund

(1)

General rule

(2)

Coordination with other provisions

(3)

Order in which unpaid claims are to be paid

(f)

References to Oil Pollution Act of 1990

(Added Pub. L. 99–509, title VIII, § 8033(a), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1959, § 9507; renumbered § 9509, Pub. L. 99–509, title VIII, § 8033(c)(2)(B), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1962; amended Pub. L. 100–647, title I, § 1018(u)(20), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3591; Pub. L. 101–239, title VII, §§ 7505(d)(2), 7811(m)(3), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2364, 2412; Pub. L. 101–380, title IX, § 9001, Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 573; Pub. L. 117–263, div. K, title CXIII, § 11312, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 4086.)

cite as: 26 USC 9509