PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 25, 2010
Better Oil Spill Response Plan Act of 2010 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the President, every five years, to publish and provide to each Area Committee an estimate of the worst case discharges that are possible in each area described in an Area Contingency Plan based on the oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities that are planned or being conducted at various locations and depths in each area.
Requires the President to revise the National Contingency Plan and the regulations concerning the National Response System to take into account: (1) the adequacy of the Plan to respond to the volume, source, and duration of the discharge caused by the explosion involving the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon; (2) any findings and options related to the Plan made by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling; and (3) the estimate of the worst case discharges. Requires the President to revise the Plan whenever the estimate of the worst case discharges materially changes.
Requires Area Contingency Plans to be adequate to mitigate or remove (currently, to remove) a worst case discharge. Sets forth provisions concerning revision and presidential review of: (1) Area Contingency Plans; and (2) tank vessel, nontank vessel, and facility response plans to discharges of oil or hazardous substances.
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Repeals provisions authorizing the President to permit a vessel or facility to operate without an approved response plan if the owner or operator certifies the availability of private personnel and equipment to respond to a worst case discharge or substantial threat of such a discharge. Directs the President to require owners or operators of vessels or facilities that are required to submit response plans to demonstrate annually their capacity to implement such plans.
Requires a dispersant schedule prepared under the National Contingency Plan to include specified information regarding the safety and efficacy of the dispersants, other chemicals, and other spill mitigating devices and substances. Prohibits the President from placing such a substance on such schedule unless the President receives satisfactory assurances that the manufacturer will publicly disclose the ingredients of any such substance that will be used to carry out a National Contingency Plan, Area Contingency Plan, or vessel or facility response plan in response to a discharge declared to be a spill of national significance.
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require compliance with the Clean Water Act's response plan requirements.
People & committees
Rep. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA-7] · D–MA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Referred to House Natural Resources
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Transportation and Infrastructure
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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