SUMMARY OF FLORIDA'S OIL SPILL ACT AND 

 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES RESPONSIBILITY 



Maj. Jack D. Thompson 



Regional Director, Florida Marine Patrol 



St. Petersburg, Florida 



Pollutant spills are a fact of life in technological societies. To 

 mitigate the resulting damage and destruction, legislation delegating auth- 

 ority and specifying procedures to be followed in managing such spills is 

 necessary. Such legislation was enacted in Florida in 1970. It is called 

 the "Oil Spill Act" (Chapter 376, Florida Statutes). 



On 19 March 1971, however, the U.S. District Court of Florida issued a 

 temporary restraining order enjoining the enforcement of Chapter 376. The 

 restraining order was officially lifted on 11 July 1973. In 1974, the State 

 legislature enacted Chapter 74-336, which amended Chapter 376. Rules and 

 regulations were adopted after public hearings in August 1974. 



PROVISIONS OF THE OIL SPILL ACT 



The Oil Spill Act empowers the Department of Natural Resources to deal 

 with the threats of danger and damage posed by pollutant spills. It defines 

 example discharge, terminal facility, owner, transfer, and other terms; pro- 

 vides that any person making fraudulent statements in response to the certi- 

 fication requirements is guilty of a second-degree felony and levies upon 

 each registrant an excise tax for the privilege of operating a terminal 

 facility and handling pollutants. 



The Act also defines liabilities and defenses of registrants and vessels; 

 limits the liability of any vessel for damage resulting from nonwillful dis- 

 charges to $14,000,000 or $100 per gross registered ton of such vessel, which- 

 ever is less; limits the liability of a terminal facility for damage resulting 

 from nonwillful discharges to $8,000,000; and establishes procedures, whether 

 by arbitration proceedings or court actions, for handling claims for damage 

 resulting from discharge of pollutants. 



In addition, Chapter 376 raises the limit of the Florida Coastal Pro- 

 tection Fund from $5,000,000 to $35,000,000 and specifies purposes relating 

 to abatement and cleanup of pollution for which the money in the fund may be 

 used. To date, the Coastal Protection Trust Fund has a balance of 

 $24,192,167.78, which is invested in U.S. Treasury Bills and Certificates of 

 Deposit, and a cash balance of $253,116.38. These monies were derived from 



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