S. 3298: Oil Spill Technology and Research Act of 2012

112th Congress · introduced 2012-06-14 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2012-06-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Oil Spill Technology and Research Act of 2012

Plain summary

Oil Spill Technology and Research Act of 2012 - Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to replace provisions establishing the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research with provisions establishing a Federal Oil Spill Research Committee for the same purpose. Requires the Committee to: (1) submit to Congress within 180 days and update every five years a report on the state of oil discharge prevention and response capabilities; (2) establish an oil pollution research and development program that provides for research, development, and demonstration of technologies and methods that are effective in preventing, detecting, responding to, mitigating, and restoring damage from oil discharges and that protect the environment; and (3) submit a plan for the implementation of such program to Congress within 180 days after submitting such report. Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to: (1) designate a Chairperson from among committee members, and (2) manage a program of competitive grants to universities or research institutions for conducting such program. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require vessel and facility response plans for responding to a worst case discharge of oil or a hazardous substance to: (1) be updated at least every five years and resubmitted for approval upon each update; (2) require the use of the best available technology and methods to contain and remove a worst-case discharge and to mitigate or prevent a substantial threat of such a discharge; and (3) include investments in research relating to oil discharges, risk assessment, and development of technologies for oil discharge response and prevention. Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to establish a program for the formal evaluation and validation of oil pollution containment and removal methods and technologies, and (2) each technology and method validated to be included in the comprehensive list of discharge removal resources maintained through the Coast Guard's National Response Unit.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Oil Spill Technology and Research Act of 2012

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] reported raising $985,139 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s3298.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s3298 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112