Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 21E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the word "section" and inserting in place thereof the word:- chapter.

SECTION 2. Said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of "Imminent hazard" the following definition:-

"Offshore oil facility", any oil facility of any kind located in, on, or under any submerged land within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth including, without limitation, the territorial sea; provided, however, that it shall not include a vessel.

SECTION 3. Said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Oil" the following three definitions:-

"Oil facility", any structure, group of structures, equipment, or device, including a public vessel but not including any other type of vessel, that is used for one or more of the following purposes: exploring for, drilling for, producing, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or transporting oil. This definition shall include, without limitation, any motor vehicle, rolling stock, or pipeline used for one or more of the purposes set forth in the preceding sentence.

"Oil Pollution Act", the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, P.L. 101-380.

"Onshore oil facility", any oil facility of any kind located in, on, or under any land within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth other than submerged land. This definition shall include, without limitation, motor vehicles and rolling stock.

SECTION 4. The definition of "Owner" or "Operator" in said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- "Owner" or "Operator", (1) in the case of a vessel, any person owning, operating or chartering by demise such vessel, (2) in the case of a site, any person owning or operating such site, (3) in the case of an abandoned site, any person who owned, operated, or otherwise controlled activities at such site, vessel, onshore oil facility, offshore oil facility, deepwater port, or pipeline, any person who owned, operated, or otherwise controlled activities at such site immediately prior to such abandonment, except that, in the case of an onshore oil facility or offshore oil facility, this definition shall not include an agency or political subdivision of the federal government or the commonwealth, or any state or public corporation or authority, or any interstate body, that owned an onshore oil facility or offshore oil facility and that, as the owner, transferred possession and right to operate the onshore oil facility or offshore oil facility to another person by lease, assignment, or permit, immediately prior to such abandonment, (4) in the case of an onshore oil facility, other than a pipeline, any person owning or operating the onshore oil facility, except that this definition shall not include an agency or political subdivision of the federal government or the commonwealth, or any state or body, that owns an onshore oil facility and that, as the owner, transfers possession and right to operate the onshore oil facility to another person by lease, assignment, or permit, (5) in the case of an offshore oil facility, other than a pipeline or a deepwater port licensed under the U.S. Deepwater Port Act of 1974, the lessee or permittee of the area in which the offshore oil facility is located or the holder of a right of use and easement granted under an applicable law of the commonwealth or the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, for the area in which the offshore oil facility is located if such holder is a different person from the lessee or permittee; provided, however, that this definition shall not include an agency or political subdivision of the federal government or the commonwealth, or any state or public corporation or authority, or any interstate body, that owns an offshore oil facility and that, as the owner, transfers possession and right to operate the offshore oil facility to another person by lease, assignment, or permit, (6) in the case of a deepwater port licensed under the U.S. Deepwater Port Act of 1974, the licensee, and (7) in the case of a pipeline, any person owning or operating the pipeline.

SECTION 5. The definition of "Person" in said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "authority", in line 89, the words:- any interstate body, foreign nation,.

SECTION 5A. Said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "Priority disposal site" and inserting in place thereof the following definition:-

"Priority disposal site", a disposal site which constitutes a substantial hazard to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment, including but not limited to a disposal site which is located within five hundred feet of a building being used as a school and which causes an increased risk of exposure to children from contamination in air, soil or water.

SECTION 6. Said section 2 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of "Priority disposal site" the following definition:-

"Public vessel", a vessel of any kind that is owned, or a bareboat that is chartered and operated, by the United States, or by a state or political subdivision thereof, or by a foreign nation, except when such vessel is engaged in commerce.

SECTION 7. Section 3 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "laws", in line 3, the words:- including the Oil Pollution Act.

SECTION 8. Section 4 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Any person, except a person who is liable pursuant to clause (1) of paragraph (a) of section five, who provides care, assistance or advice in response to a release or threat of release of oil into or on to the tidal waters of the United States including without limitation the territorial sea, or to any tidal shorelines adjoining any waters of the United States, or to the zone established by Presidential Proclamation numbered 5030 dated March tenth, nineteen hundred and eighty-three, including without limitation, the ocean waters of the areas referred to as "eastern special areas" in Article 3 (1) of the Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June first, nineteen hundred and ninety, and said care, assistance or advice is consistent with applicable state law, or the National Contingency Plan or as otherwise directed by the federal on-scene coordinator predesignated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the United States Coast Guard to coordinate and direct a federal response for oil removal under subpart D of the National Contingency Plan, or by the state official with responsibility for oil spill response shall not be liable, notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section five, for removal costs or damages which result from actions taken or omitted to be taken in the course of providing such care, assistance, or advice, except with respect to personal injury or wrongful death, or if such person is grossly negligent or engages in willful misconduct. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term damages shall mean any damages, costs, expenses or economic loss of any kind for which liability may exist under the laws of this state resulting from, arising out of or related to the discharge or threatened discharge of oil. As used in the preceding sentence, the term discharge shall mean any emission, other than natural seepage, intentional or unintentional, and including but not limited to spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of oil, oil refuse, oil mixed with wastes, other than dredge spoil, or petroleum, but not including hazardous substances which are specifically listed under 42 USC 9601 (14) (A) through (F) and which are subject to the provisions of that Act. Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of a person as described in clause (1) of paragraph (a) of section five, for oil spill response under any other provision of the General Laws.

SECTION 9. Paragraph (a) of section 5 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 24, the word "and",- and by inserting after the word "release", in line 26, the words:- , and (iv) to any person for any liability that another person is relieved of pursuant to the fourth paragraph of section four.

SECTION 10. Paragraph (b) of said section 5 of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 29, the word "and (iii)" and inserting in place thereof the words:- , (iii) and (iv).