118 STAT. 1076 PUBLIC LAW 108–293—AUG. 9, 2004 groundings for double hull tank vessels and alternative hull designs.’’. SEC. 706. AUTHORITY TO SETTLE. Section 1015 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2715) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO SETTLE.—The head of any department or agency responsible for recovering amounts for which a person is liable under this title may consider, compromise, and settle a claim for such amounts, including such costs paid from the Fund, if the claim has not been referred to the Attorney General. In any case in which the total amount to be recovered may exceed $500,000 (excluding interest), a claim may be compromised and settled under the preceding sentence only with the prior written approval of the Attorney General.’’. SEC. 707. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990. No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall provide a written report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that shall include the following: (1) The status of the levels of funds currently in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and projections for levels of funds over the next 5 years, including a detailed accounting of expenditures of funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004 by all agencies that receive such funds. (2) The domestic and international implications of changing the phase out date for single hull vessels pursuant to section 3703a of title 46, United States Code, from 2015 to 2010. (3) The costs and benefits of requiring vessel monitoring systems on tank vessels used to transport oil or other hazardous cargo, and of using additional aids to navigation, such as RACONs. (4) A summary of the extent to which the response costs and damages for oil spill incidents have exceeded the liability limits established in section 1004 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704), and a description of the steps that the Coast Guard has taken or plans to take to implement subsection (d)(4) of that section. (5) A summary of manning, inspection, and other safety issues for tank barges and towing vessels used in connection with them, including— (A) a description of applicable Federal regulations, guidelines, and other policies; (B) a record of infractions of applicable requirements described in subparagraph (A) over the past 10 years; (C) an analysis of oil spill data over the past 10 years, comparing the number and size of oil spills from tank barges with those from tanker vessels of a similar size; and (D) recommendations on areas of possible improve ments to existing regulations, guidelines and policies with respect to tank barges and towing vessels.
�
