§335 Environmental Compliance and Restoration Program

Summary

Requires the Coast Guard to run a program to find, fix, and prevent pollution and other environmental harm at current and former Coast Guard facilities and on Coast Guard vessels. Some key words mean the same as in other laws: environment, facility, person, release, removal, remedial, and response (see section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601). "Hazardous substance" also follows that same definition but includes "oil" as defined in section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321). "Pollutant" follows section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362). The program must find, investigate, and clean up hazardous pollution; fix other urgent environmental dangers; remove unsafe buildings; and prevent future contamination. The Coast Guard must respond to releases at facilities it now owns, leases, or possesses, at facilities it owned, leased, or possessed when the contamination happened, and on its vessels, except when a potentially responsible person handles the cleanup under section 122 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9622). The Coast Guard must pay state permit fees like private entities do, unless a lessee or contractor is responsible. The Coast Guard can partner with other federal, state, and local agencies, or hire contractors and grants to help, including work on off-site contamination. Contractors are covered by section 119 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9619), and the Coast Guard must indemnify contractors if reasonable long-term liability insurance is not available at a fair price when the contract starts. Money recovered for these actions must go into a Coast Guard account set by the Commandant and stay available until spent. The President must show the requested amount for these activities separately in the annual budget under section 1105 of title 31. Amounts recovered under section 107 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607) are also credited to that Coast Guard account. The Commandant must send Congress a prioritized list of projects eligible for funding each year when the President submits the budget.