(a) Creation of Trust Fund There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the “Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund”, consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).
(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,
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”
(3) amounts recovered by such Trust Fund under section 1015 of such Act,
Amended 1988, 1989, 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”
- 1989 Pub. L. 101-239 Pub. L. 101–239, § 7811(m)(3), made technical correction to directory language of Pub. L. 100–647, see 1988 Amendment note below.
- 1989 Pub. L. 101-239 Pub. L. 101–239, § 7505(d)(2)(B), substituted “(on January 1, 1990)” for “(on the 1st day the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate under section 4611(c) applies)”.
- 1988 Pub. L. 100-647 Pub. L. 100–647, as amended by Pub. L. 101–239, § 7811(m)(3), substituted “Deepwater” for “Deep Water” wherever appearing.
(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,
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) 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,
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”
(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,
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”
(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
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.”
(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.
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(a), added pars. (2) to (8) and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:
- 1990 “(2) amounts recovered, collected, or received under subtitle A of the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act,
- 1990 “(3) amounts remaining (on January 1, 1990) in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established by section 18(f) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974,
- 1990 “(4) amounts remaining (on such date) in the Offshore Oil Pollution Compensation Fund established under section 302 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1978, and
- 1990 “(5) amounts credited to such trust fund under section 311(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 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—
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(b), amended par. (1) generally, substituting “Expenditure purposes” for “General expenditure purposes” in heading and substituting current text consisting of subpars. (A) to (F) for former text consisting of general provisions in subpar. (A) and special rules in subpar. (B).
Cited by 1
(A) for the payment of removal costs and other costs, expenses, claims, and damages referred to in section 1012 of such Act,
Amended 1989
- 1989 Pub. L. 101-239 Pub. L. 101–239, § 7505(d)(2)(C), which directed amendment of subsec. (c)(1) by striking the last sentence, was executed by striking out the last sentence of subsec. (c)(1)(A), as the probable intent of Congress. Such sentence read as follows: “For purposes of this subparagraph, references to the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act shall be treated as references to qualified authorizing legislation (as defined in section 4611).”
(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
Cited by 1
(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—
Amended 1990, 2022
- 2022 Pub. L. 117-263 Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “$1,500,000,000” for “$1,000,000,000” in heading and in cl. (i), and substituted “$750,000,000” for “$500,000,000” in cl. (ii).
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(c), substituted “$1,000,000,000” for “$500,000,000” in heading and in cl. (i), and substituted “$500,000,000” for “$250,000,000” in cl. (ii).
(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 Except in the case of payments of removal costs, a payment may be made from such Trust Fund only if the amount in such Trust Fund after such payment will not be less than $30,000,000.
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(e)(2), substituted “payments of removal costs” for “payments described in paragraph (1)(A)(i)”.
(d) Authority to borrow
(1) In general There are authorized to be appropriated to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, as repayable advances, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of such Trust Fund.
(2) Limitation on amount outstanding The maximum aggregate amount of repayable advances to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund which is outstanding at any one time shall not exceed $1,000,000,000.
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(d)(1), substituted “$1,000,000,000” for “$500,000,000”.
(3) Repayment of advances
(A) In general Advances made to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund shall be repaid, and interest on such advances shall be paid, to the general fund of the Treasury when the Secretary determines that moneys are available for such purposes in such Fund.
(B) Final repayment No advance shall be made to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund after December 31, 1994, and all advances to such Fund shall be repaid on or before such date.
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(d)(2), substituted “December 31, 1994” for “December 31, 1991”.
(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 Any claim filed against the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund may be paid only out of such Trust Fund.
Cited by 1
(2) Coordination with other provisions Nothing in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (or in any amendment made by such Act) shall authorize the payment by the United States Government of any amount with respect to any such claim out of any source other than the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
Amended 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(e)(1), substituted “Oil Pollution Act of 1990” for “Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act”.
(3) Order in which unpaid claims are to be paid If at any time the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has insufficient funds (or is unable by reason of subsection (c)(2)) to pay all of the claims out of such Trust Fund at such time, such claims shall, to the extent permitted under paragraph (1) and such subsection, be paid in full in the order in which they were finally determined.
(f) References to Oil Pollution Act of 1990 Any reference in this section to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 or any other Act referred to in a subparagraph of subsection (c)(1) shall be treated as a reference to such Act as in effect on the date of the enactment of this subsection.
Amended 1989, 1990
- 1990 Pub. L. 101-380 Pub. L. 101–380, § 9001(e)(3), substituted “References to Oil Pollution Act of 1990” for “References to Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act” in heading and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “For purposes of this section, references to the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act shall be treated as references to any law enacted before December 31, 1990, which is substantially identical to subtitle E of title VI, or subtitle D of title VIII, of H.R. 5300 of the 99th Congress as passed by the House of Representatives.”
- 1989 Pub. L. 101-239 Pub. L. 101–239, § 7505(d)(2)(A), added subsec. (f).