§2702 Elements of Liability

Summary

Holds the party responsible for a vessel or facility that spills oil, or that poses a serious risk of spilling oil into U.S. waters or shorelines, responsible for paying cleanup costs and money damages that come from that incident. Cleanup costs include what the United States, a State, or an Indian tribe spends, and what a person spends if their actions follow the official cleanup plan (the National Contingency Plan). The law also allows claims for six kinds of damages: harm to natural resources (and the cost to measure that harm); damage or loss of real or personal property; loss of subsistence use of resources by people who depend on them; lost taxes, royalties, rents, fees, or profit shares to governments; lost profits or reduced ability to earn money for other claimants; and the extra public service costs (like fire or health protection) that arise during or after cleanup. The rule does not apply to discharges allowed by a permit, discharges from public vessels, or onshore facilities covered by the Trans‑Alaska Pipeline law. If a responsible party proves a third party alone caused the incident (or did so with an act of God or war), the third party becomes liable. But the responsible party must still pay claimants first and then can try to recover that money from the third party or the Fund. Limits on third‑party liability mirror the limits that would apply to the vessel or facility involved.