Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 88 Part 2.djvu/826

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PUBLIC LAW 93-627-JAN. 3, 1975

[88 STAT.

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^^ penalty shall be assessed unless the owner or operator or the licensee has been given notice and opportunity for a hearing on such charge. Each violation is a separate offense. The Secretary of the Treasury shall withhold, at the request of the Secretary, the clearance required by section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, as amended (46 U.S.C. 91), of any vessel the owner or operator of which is subject to the foregoing penalty. Clearance may be granted in such cases upon the filing of a bond or other surety satisfactory to the Secretary.

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^^^ "^^^^ l u d l v i d u a l in c h a r g e of a vessel or a d e e p w a t e r p o r t shall notify the Secretary as soon as he has knowledge of a d i s c h a r g e of ^j^j^ j^^y ^^^^i i n d i v i d u a l w h o fails to notify the Secretary i m m e d i a t e l y of such d i s c h a r g e shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000 or i m p r i s o n e d for not more than 1 year, or both. Notification received pursuant to t h i s subsection, or information o b t a i n e d by the use of such notification, shall not be used against any such i n d i v i d u a l in any c r i m i n a l case, except a prosecution for p e r j u r y or for g i v i n g a false statement. (c)(1) WheuBver any oil is d i s c h a r g e d from a vessel w i t h i n any safety zone, from a vessel which has received oil from a n other vessel a t a d e e p w a t e r p o r t, or from a d e e p w a t e r p o r t, the Secretary shall remove or a r r a n g e for the removal of such oil as soon as possible, unless he determines such removal will be done p r o p e r l y and expeditiously by the licensee of the d e e p w a t e r p o r t or the o w n e r or o p e r a to r of the vessel from which the d i s c h a r g e occurs.

Penalty.

Oil removal.

33 USC 1321.

Liability.

(2) Removal of oil and actions to minimize damage from oil discharges shall, to the greatest extent possible, be in accordance with the National Contingency Plan for removal of oil and hazardous substances established pursuant to section 311(c)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended. (3) Whenever the Secretary acts to remove a discharge of oil pursuant to this subsection, he is authorized to draw upon money available in the Deepwater Port Liability Fund established pursuant to subsection (f) of this section. Such money shall be used to pay promptly for all cleanup costs incurred by the Secretary in removing or in minimizing damage caused by such oil discharge. ^(j^ Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, the owner and operator of a vessel shall be jointly and severally liable, without regard to fault, for cleanup costs and for damages that result from a discharge of oil from such vessel within any safety zone, or from a vessel which has received oil from another vessel at a deepwater port, except when such vessel is moored at a deepwater port. Such liability shall not exceed $150 per gross ton or $20,000,000, whichever is lesser, except that if it can be shown that such discharge was the result of gross negligence or W'illful misconduct within the privity and knowledge of the owner or operator, such owner and operator shall be jointly and severally liable for the full amount of all cleanup costs and damages, (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, the licensee of a deepwater port shall be liable, without regard to fault, for cleanup costs and damages that result from a discharge of oil from such deepwater port or from a vessel moored at such deepwater port. Such liability shall not exceed $50,000,000, except that if it can be shown that such damage was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct within the privity and knowledge of the licensee, such licensee shall be liable for the full amount of all cleanup costs and damages.

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