Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 1.djvu/732

 92 STAT. 678 Regulations.

Study.

Report.

PUBLIC LAW 95-372—SEPT. 18, 1978 (b) The owner or operator of an offshore facility which (1) is used for drilling for, producing, or processing oil, or (2) has the capacity to transport, store, transfer, or otherwise handle more than one thousand barrels of oil at any one time, shall establish and maintain, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the President, evidence of financial responsibility sufficient to satisfy the maximum amount of liability to which the owner or operator of such facility would be exposed in a case where he would be entitled to limit his liability in accordance with the provisions of section 304(b) of this title, or $35,000,000, whichever is less. (c) Any claim authorized by section 303(a) may be asserted directly against any guarantor providing evidence of financial responsibility for any owner or operator of an offshore facility or vessel as required under this section. In defending such claim, the guarantor shall be entitled to invoke all rights and defenses which would be available to such owner or operator under this title. Such guarantor shall also be entitled to invoke the defense that the incident was caused by the willful misconduct of such owner or operator, but shall not be entitled to invoke any other defense which such guarantor might be entitled to invoke in proceedings brought by such owner or operator against such guarantor. (d) The President shall conduct a study to determine— (1) whether adequate private oil pollution insurance protection is available on reasonable terms and conditions to the owners and operators of vessels, onshore facilities, and offshore facilities; and (2) whether the market for such insurance is sufficiently competitive to assure purchasers of features such as a reasonable range of deductibles, coinsurance provisions, and exclusions. The President shall submit the results of his study, together with his recommendation, within one year after the date of enactment of this title, and shall submit an interim report on his study within three months after such date of enactment. NOTIFICATION, DESIGNATION, AND ADVERTISEMENT

43 USC 1816.

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Regulations.



SEC. 306. (a) The person in charge of a vessel or offshore facility which is involved in an incident shall immediately notify the Secretary of the incident as soon as he has knowledge thereof. Notification received pursuant to this subsection or information obtained by the exploitation of such notification shall not be used against such person or his employer in any criminal cavse, other than a case involving prosecution for perjury or for giving a false statement. (b)(1) When the Secretary receives information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or otherwise of an incident which involves oil pollution, the Secretary shall, where possible, designate the source or sources of the oil pollution and shall immediately notify the owner and operator of such source and the guarantor of such designation. (2) When a source designated under paragraph (1) of this subsection is a vessel or offshore facility and the owner, operator, or guarantor fails to inform the Secretary, within five days after receiving notification of the designation, of his denial of such desiarnation, such owner, operator, or guarantor, as required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary, shall advertise the designation and the procedures by which claims may be presented to him. If advertisement is not made in accordance with this paragraph, the Secretary shall, as

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