765 



conditions, will be harmful to the public health or 

 welfare of the United States, including, but not lim- 

 ited to. fi.sh. shellfish, wildlife, and public and private 

 property, shorelines, and beaches except that in the 

 case of the discharge of oil into or upon the waters 

 of the contiguous zone, only those discharges which 

 threaten the fishery resources of the contiguous zone 

 or threaten to pollute or contribute to the pollution 

 of the territory or the territorial sea of the United 

 States may be determined to be harmful. 



(5) Any person in charge of a vessel or of an on- 

 shore facility or an offshore facility shall, as soon as 

 he has knowledge of any discharge of oil or a hazard- 

 ous substance from such vessel or facility in viola- 

 tion of paragraph (3) of this subsection, immediately 

 notify the appropriate agency of the United States 

 Government of such discharge. Any such person 

 who fails to notify immediately such agency of such 

 discharge shall, upon conviction, be fined not more 

 than $10,000, or imprisoned for not more than one 

 year, or both. Notification received pursuant to this 

 paragraph or information obtained by the exploita- 

 tion of such notification shall not be used against 

 any such person in any criminal case, except a 

 prosecution for perjury or for giving a false 

 statement. 



(6> Any owner or operator of any vessel, onshore 

 facility, or offshore facility from which oil or a 

 hazardous substance is discharged in violation of 

 paragraph i3) of this subsection shall be assessed 

 a civil penalty by the Secretary of the department in 

 which the Coast Guard is operating of not more than 

 $5,000 for each offense. No penalty shall be assessed 

 unless the owner or operator charged shall have 

 been given notice and opportunity for a hearing on 

 such charge. Each violation is a separate offense. 

 Any such civil penalty may be compromised by such 

 Secretary. In determining the amount of the penalty, 

 or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the ap- 

 propriateness of such penalty to the size of the busi- 

 ness of the owner or operator charged, the effect on 

 the owner or operators ability to continue in busi- 

 ness, and the gravity of the violation, shall be con- 

 sidered by such Secretary. The Secretary of the 

 Treasury shall withhold at the request of such 

 Secretary the clearance required by section 91 of 

 Title 46 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 such Secretary. 



(c) Removal of discharged oil or hazardous sub- 

 stances; National Contingency Plan. 



(1) Whenever any oil or a hazardous substance 

 is discharged, into or upon the navigable waters of 

 the United States, adjoining shorelines, or into or 

 upon the waters of the contiguous zone, the Presi- 

 dent is authorized to act to remove or arrange for 

 the removal of such oil or substance at any time, un- 

 less he determines such removal will be done prop- 

 erly by the owner or operator of the vessel, onshore 

 facility, or offshore facility from which the dis- 

 charge occurs. 



(2) Within sixty days after October 18, 1972, the 

 President shall prepare and publish a National Con- 

 tingency Plan for removal of oil and hazardous sub- 



stances, pursuant to this subsection. Such National 

 Contingency Plan shall provide for efficient, coordi- 

 nated, and effective action to minimize damage from 

 oil and hazardous substance discharges, including 

 containment, dispersal, and removal of oil and haz- 

 ardous substances, and shall include, but not be 

 limited to — 



fA> assignment of duties and responsibilities 

 - among Federal departments arid agencies in co- 

 ordination with State and local agencies, includ- 

 ing, but not limited to, water pollution control, 

 conservation, and port authorities: 



(B) identification, procurement, maintenance, 

 and storage of equipment and supplies: 



(C) establishment or designation of a strike 

 force consisting of personnel who shall be trained, 

 prepared, and available to provide necessary serv- 

 ices to carry out the Plan, including the establish- 

 ment at major ports, to be determined by the 

 President, of emergency task forces of trained per- 

 sonnel, adequate oil and hazardous substance pol- 

 lution control equipment and material, and a 

 detailed oil and hazardous substance pollution 

 prevention and removal plan: 



(D) a system of surveillance and notice le 

 signed to insure earliest possible notice of di.>- 

 charges of oil and hazardous substances to the 

 appropriate Federal agency: 



fE) establishment of a national center to pro- 

 vide coordination and direction for operations in 

 carrying out the Plan: 



(F) procedures and techniques to be employed 

 in identifying, containing, dispersing, and remov- 

 ing oil and hazardous substances; 



(G) a schedule, prepared in cooperation with 

 the States, identifying (i) dispersants and other 

 chemicals, if any, that may be used in carrying 

 out the Plan, (ii) the waters in which such dis- 

 persants and chemicals may be used, and (iii) the 

 quantities of such dispersant or chemical which 

 can be used safely in such waters, which schedule 

 shall provide in the case of any dispersant, chemi- 

 cal, or waters not specifically identified in such 

 schedule that the President, or his delegate, may, 

 on a case-by-case basis, identify the dispersants 

 and other chemicals which may be used, the 

 waters in which they may be used, and the quan- 

 tities which can be used safely in such waters: and 



(H) a system whereby the State or States af- 

 fected by a discharge of oil or hazardous sub- 

 stance may act where necessary to remove such 

 discharge and such State or States may be re- 

 imbursed from the fund established under sub- 

 section (k) of this section for the reasonable costs 

 incurred in such removal. 

 The President may, from time to time, as he deems 

 advisable revise or otherwise amend the National 

 Contingency Plan. After publication of the National 

 Contingency Plan, the removal of oil and hazardous 

 substances and actions to minimize damage from oil 

 and hazardous substance discharges shall, to the 

 greatest extent possible, be in accordance with the 

 National Contingency Plan. 



