HB 403: "An Act requiring certain vessels to prepare and provide oil discharge prevention and contingency plans or to provide oil discharge prevention and contingency plans prepared in conjunction with a nonprofit association established for spill response and restoration purposes; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 403 01 "An Act requiring certain vessels to prepare and provide oil discharge prevention 02 and contingency plans or to provide oil discharge prevention and contingency 03 plans prepared in conjunction with a nonprofit association established for spill 04 response and restoration purposes; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. As 46.04 is amended by adding a new section to read: 07 Sec. 46.04.055. Nontank vessel prevention and contingency plans. (a) A 08 person may not cause or permit the operation of a nontank vessel within the waters of 09 the state or cause or permit the transfer of oil to or from a nontank vessel within the 10 waters of the state unless the person 11 (1) prepares and submits to the department for approval an oil 12 discharge prevention and contingency plan, and the person is in compliance with the 13 plan; a plan submitted as required by this paragraph is subject to and must meet the 14 requirements of AS 46.04.030 and the provisions of (b) - (d) of this section; or
01 (2) for each region determined under AS 46.04.210 that the nontank 02 vessel transits, has entered into an agreement with a nonprofit association by which 03 the person agrees to abide by the requirements of an oil discharge prevention and 04 contingency plan that meets the requirements of AS 46.04.030 and the provisions of 05 (b) - (d) of this section and that has been prepared and is being implemented by the 06 nonprofit association for that region, and the person is in compliance with the plan. 07 (b) A plan submitted under (a) of this section may be specific to a nontank 08 vessel or may apply to a fleet of nontank vessels. A plan applicable to a fleet of 09 nontank vessels must meet the elements of this section for an individual vessel. 10 (c) A person preparing and submitting a plan under this section shall organize 11 the plan into at least two separate volumes, in which 12 (1) one volume is an initial response activity manual suitable for on- 13 scene use in the event of a spill; the volume must summarize key notification information and 14 the initial on-board response actions necessary to minimize the effects of a spill on marine 15 waters; the volume shall be maintained on board the nontank vessel at all times; 16 (2) the remaining volume or volumes must include all the information 17 required by this section, AS 46.04.030, and regulations adopted by the department to 18 implement this section and AS 46.04.030, organized to facilitate access to relevant 19 information and arranged, to the extent possible, in the same order in which the 20 nontank vessel operates. 21 (d) The department may, by regulation, prescribe additional required contents 22 for the plan required for nontank vessels under this section, including material relating 23 to prevention measures, necessary notification procedures, recovery capabilities, on- 24 board and on-water response equipment and services, and other requirements that, in the 25 judgment of the commissioner, are reasonably necessary to comply with international 26 agreements and federal requirements, taking into consideration the differences in 27 environmental risks between spills from nontank vessels and tank vessels. 28 (e) A nontank vessel subject to the provisions of (a) - (d) of this section 29 (1) may not operate in the marine waters of the state without an 30 approved oil discharge prevention and contingency plan; 31 (2) that operates in violation of (1) of this subsection is subject to a
01 civil penalty of not more than $100,000, assessed by the commissioner against the 02 owner of the nontank vessel. 03 (f) In this section, "nontank vessel" means any watercraft of at least 300 gross 04 registered tons not designed to carry oil as cargo; in this paragraph, "watercraft" 05 includes commercial fish processing vessels, passenger vessels, cargo vessels, and the 06 vessels of the Alaska marine highway system, but does not include a vessel owned or 07 operated by the United States unless engaged in commerce. 08 * Sec. 2. This Act takes effect May 1, 2001.