Two Florida congressmen teamed up this week to ensure American taxpayers arent on the hook when foreign oil spills move into American waters.
With other nations expanding offshore drilling operations, U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., teamed up to bring out the Foreign Spill Protection Act on Thursday. The congressmen noted that, back in 2012, a leading Mexican official said his nation would have problems dealing with offshore oil spills while the Bahamas are currently expanding their own drilling. Cuba is also looking at offshore operations.
Curbelos and Murphys bill would change the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) passed in 1990 to ensure costs from foreign oil spills that impact American waters will be incurred by the responsible party. The bill would also ensure the responsible party for these type of spills would be held accountable by the Clean Water Act.
As the law currently stands, responsible parties would only face up to $1 billion in damages for oil spills that start in other countries waters and, eventually, impact American waters.
Our coastal communities need peace of mind that if they are impacted by a foreign spill, resources are available to clean up their shores and help them recover, Curbelo said on Thursday. American taxpayers should not have to foot the bill to bail out the mistakes of foreign companies.
Murphy pointed to the Gulf oil spill in 2010 and said Florida could be impacted by oil spills from other nations.
We must not risk putting the American public on the hook for a spill that could devastate our coastlines and our environment, especially when considering that the BP oil spill is estimated to cost at least $14 billion in cleanup efforts, Murphy. That is why Im proud to co-sponsor this common-sense bill that will help protect Floridas shores from spills originating in foreign waters, and to ensure that anyone responsible for a spill will be responsible for the cleanup.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
