On Tuesday, the U.S. House passed a proposal from two Florida ensuring taxpayers aren’t stuck with the bill 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 early last year to bring out the “Foreign Spill Protection Act.” 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.
Curbelo’s and Murphy’s 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.
“I thank the House of Representatives for passing this critical legislation for Florida and coastal communities all across the country,” said Curbelo on Tuesday. “This is a victory not only for our environment, but also for American taxpayers and may lead our foreign neighbors to improve their safety and oversight standards. I also want to thank Mr. Murphy for partnering with me on this bi-partisan legislation. Working together we can improve the quality of life in our communities and build a stronger nation.”
“As a native Floridian, protecting our environment remains one of my top priorities. When our economy so greatly relies on the health of our waters, we must do everything we can to protect our coastline from devastating oil spills,” said Murphy who is running for the U.S. Senate this year. “I was proud to work with Congressman Curbelo on this bipartisan bill to protect Florida communities from having to pay for costly clean-up efforts on top of the environmental and economic impacts. I am glad to see the House come together to pass this common-sense bill that says if you’re responsible for a spill, you are also responsible for cleaning it up.”
The bill had heavy support from the Florida delegation with Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Curt Clawson, Ander Crenshaw, Mario Diaz-Balart, David Jolly, John Mica, Jeff Miller, Bull Posey and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel, Gwen Graham, Alan Grayson, Alcee Hastings, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson co-sponsoring it. While there is no version in the Senate yet, the bill’s supporters expect it to move through that chamber with ease.
