It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 46-12.7 of the General Laws entitled "Oil Release Response Fund" is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 2. Section 46-12.7-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.7 entitled "Oil Release Response Fund" is hereby amended to read as follows:

46-12.7-1. Purpose. -- The legislature finds and declares that the release of oil or hazardous substances into the environment presents a real and substantial threat to the public health and welfare, to the environment, and to the economy of the state. The legislature therefore concludes that it is in the best interest of the state and its citizens to protect the environment of the state from the release of oil. {ADD provide a readily available fund for the payment of expenses that the department of environmental management incurs in the protection of the environment of the state from the release of oil. The legislature further recognizes the considerable hardships which may be incurred by the citizens of the state as a direct result of the release of oil into the marine environment, and therefore the legislature concludes that it is in the best interest of the state to expand the scope of the fund to allow claims from citizens, in certain instances, and to provide for the disbursal of emergency loans from the fund. The legislature lastly concludes that preparedness is an essential component of prevention of and response to oil spill events and therefore the purpose of the fund shall be further expanded to support the development of safety committees, response teams, and other discreet units whose activities will directly benefit the state in the event of future oil spill events. ADD}

SECTION 3. Sections 46-12.7-4, 46-12.7-5, 46-12.7-6, and 46-12.7-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.7 entitled "Oil Release Response Fund" are hereby repealed.

46-12.7-4. Financing the abatement of oil releases. -- It is the intent of the legislature and declared to be the public policy of the state that funds for the abatement of a release of oil will always be available.

46-12.7-5. Purposes of state appropriations for abatement of oil releases. -- The director may use funds to:

(3) Recover the cost to the state or to a municipality of a containment and cleanup resulting from the release or the threatened release of oil.

46-12.7-6. Records of the fund. -- (a) The department shall maintain accounting records showing the income and expenses of the fund.

(b) The department shall develop procedures governing the expenditure of, and accounting for, money expended from the fund.

46-12.7-8. Reimbursement for containment and cleanup. -- (a) The director shall seek reimbursement promptly under this section, section 46-12.5-5, or under federal law for the cost incurred in the cleanup or containment of oil or a hazardous substance that has been released.

(b) The attorney general, at the request of the director, may seek to recover money expended by the department under this chapter or other law to contain and clean up oil or a hazardous substance that has been released or to control the threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance.

SECTION 4. Chapter 46-12.7 of the General Laws entitled "Oil Release Response Fund" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

{ADD 46-12.7-2.1. Fund established. -- (a) A fund is hereby established in the state general fund to be called the oil spill prevention, administration, and response fund. The fund shall assume the full contents of the fund previously known as the oil release response fund. The director shall continue to administer the fund.

(b) Money from an appropriation made to the fund remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain available for expenditure in successive fiscal years.

(c) The fund shall be used for only those purposes enumerated in 46-12.7-5.1. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-3.1. Financing of the fund. -- The fund shall consist of the following sources:

(1) Sums the legislature may appropriate;

(2) Moneys received from federal, state, or other sources for the purpose of response, containment, abatement, and rehabilitation costs from an oil spill in marine or estuarine waters;

(3) Moneys received from any private donor for the oil spill prevention, administration, and response fund;

(4) Costs recovered or otherwise received from parties responsible for the containment and cleanup of oil at a specific site, but excluding funds from performance bonds and other forms of financial responsibility held in escrow pending satisfactory performance of a privately funded response action;

(5) Fines, penalties, or damages recovered under any sections of this chapter, chapter 12.5 of title 46, or other law as a result of the release or threatened release of oil;

(6) The fee required pursuant to section 12.7-4.1; and

(7) Any interest earned on the moneys in the fund. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-4.1. Uniform oil response and prevention fee. -- (1) A uniform oil spill response and prevention fee in an amount not exceeding five cents ($0.05) for each barrel of petroleum products, as set by the director pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, shall be imposed upon every person owning petroleum products at the time the petroleum products are received at a marine terminal within this state by means of a vessel from a point of origin outside this state. The fee shall be remitted to the division of taxation on the 30th day of each month based upon the number of barrels of petroleum products received during the preceding month.

(2) Every owner of petroleum products shall be liable for the fee until it has been paid to the state, except that payment to a marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.

(3) Whenever the director, in consultation with the department and the division of taxation, estimates that the amount in the fund will reach the amount specified in subsection (5) of this section, and the money in the fund is not required

(4) The director shall set the amount of the oil spill prevention and response fees. The fees shall be imposed on all feepayers in the same amount. The administrator shall not set the amount of the fee at less than five cents ($0.05) for each barrel of petroleum products or crude oil, unless the director finds that the assessment of a lesser fee will cause the fund to reach the designated amount within six (6) months.

(5) For the purposes of this chapter, "designated amount" means an amount equal to ten million dollars ($10,000,000), adjusted for inflation after January 1, 1998, according to an index which the director may reasonably choose.

(6) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the oil spill prevention, administration, and response fund, and shall be disbursed according to the purposes expressed in section 46-12.7-5.1. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-5.1. Purposes of the fund. -- The director may use money from the fund to:

(1) Provide funds to cover promptly the costs of response, containment, and cleanup of oil spills into marine or estuarine waters, including but not limited to damage assessment costs, and wildlife rehabilitation as defined in this section.

(2) Site evaluation activities. These activities shall include, but not be limited to, site mapping, installation of wells and equipment, collection, monitoring, and analysis of samples of air, soil, and/or water, and evaluation of the impacts of contamination of marine and terrestrial environments, production of reports, and implementation and maintenance of necessary technology, and equipment for complete remedial action;

(3) Provide emergency loans and to cover response and cleanup costs and other damages suffered by the state or other persons or entities from oil spills or threatened oil spills, which cannot otherwise be compensated by responsible parties or the federal government; and

(4) To pay for claims for damages pursuant to section 46-12.7-8.1;

(5) Provide emergency loans to affected workers ineligible for unemployment insurance;

(6) Pay for structural improvements to vulnerable coastal features:

(7) Pay for habitat restoration, where necessary and appropriate;

(8) Pay for response training and equipment; and

(9) Pay for large-scale personnel drills and exercises. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-6.1. Administration and records of the fund. -- (1) The director shall administer the fund in accordance with this act.

(2) The department shall develop procedures governing the expenditure of, and accounting for, money expended from the fund.

(3) The director is responsible for insuring that there are adequate moneys available in the fund to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(4) The department shall maintain accounting records showing the income and expenses of the fund. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-8.1. Expenditure of fund money. -- (1) The director may only expend money from the fund if a discharge of oil has occurred, or the threat of a discharge has led the state to take appropriate response, and the following determinations have been made:

(a) A responsible party does not exist or the responsible party is unable or unwilling to provide adequate and timely cleanup and to pay for the damages resulting from the spill. The director shall make a reasonable effort to have the responsible party remove the oil or agree to pay for any actions resulting from the spill that may be required by law, provided that the efforts are not detrimental to fish, plant, animal, or bird life in the affected waters. The reasonable effort of the director shall include attempting to access the responsible party's insurance or other proof of financial responsibility.

(b) Federal oil spill funds are not available or will not be available in an adequate period of time. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the director may expend money from the fund for authorized expenditures when a reimbursement procedure is in place to receive reimbursements from federal oil spill funds.

(2) Disbursements shall be made from the fund for the following purposes:

(a) Administrative expenses, personnel expenses and equipment costs of the department related to the enforcement of this subchapter;

(b) All costs, including without limitation personnel undertaking oil spill response activities and equipment expenses, involved in the removal of oil, the abatement of pollution and the implementation of remedial measures including restoration of water supplies, related to the release of oil, petroleum products, and their by-products covered by this subchapter;

(c) Sums allocated to research and development in accordance with this section;

(d) Payment of all damage claims awarded in accordance with this section;

(e) Payment of costs of arbitration and arbitrators in accordance with this section;

(f) Payment of costs of insurance by the state to extend or implement the benefits of the fund; and

(g) Payment of costs for the collection of overdue reimbursements. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-10. Claims against the fund. -- (1) Any person may apply to the fund for compensation for damages and losses suffered as a result of an oil spill under any of the following conditions:

(a) The responsible party or parties cannot be ascertained.

(b) A responsible party is not liable for non-economic damages caused by another.

(c) Federal oil spill funds are not available or will not be available in an adequate period of time. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the director may expend money from the fund for authorized expenditures when a reimbursement procedure is in place to receive reimbursements from federal oil spill funds.

(3) Awards from the fund on damage claims may not include any amount the claimant has recovered, on account of the same damage, by way of settlement with the responsible party or the responsible party's representatives or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction against the responsible party to the extent these amounts are duplicative.

(4) The director shall pay only those claims which are approved pursuant to this section.

(5) A responsible party is not eligible for compensation under this subsection for costs, expenses, or damages related to the specific discharge for which the responsible party is determined responsible.

(6) Damage claims may not include expenditures for the preparation and prosecution of the damage claim, such as legal fees or real estate appraisal fees. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-11. Emergency loans. -- In the event of an oil spill where more than ten thousand (10,000) gallons of oil have been discharged in the marine or estuarine waters, in any one day from a single event, the director, after a properly noticed public hearing, may make an emergency secured loan to any private individual or entity who demonstrated that the individual or entity may suffer substantial financial hardship as a result of the oil spill without such loans. However, loans under this section may be made only if the director determines that sufficient amounts are available in the fund to cover costs incurred by state and local governments and entities in responding to and cleaning up the spill. The director shall adopt any regulations and guidelines determined to be necessary regarding repayment terms, interest, security, and any other items the administrator deems appropriate. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-12. Recovery of expenditures from fund. -- The attorney general, in consultation with the director, shall undertake actions to recover all costs to the funds from any responsible party for an oil spill into marine or estuarine waters for which expenditures are made from the fund. The recovery of costs pursuant to this section shall not foreclose the attorney general from any other actions allowed by law. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-13. Preventative uses of the fund. -- (1) Recognizing the importance of the development of readiness and response programs, the legislature may allocate not more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per annum of the amount then currently in the fund to be devoted to research and development in the causes, effects and removal of pollution caused by oil, petroleum products and their by-products on the marine environment.

(2) The one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per annum allocated for research and development shall include moneys allocated to the Narragansett Bay/Rhode Island sound safety committee, as determined by the director for expenses consistent with the purposes of that committee.

(3) The remaining moneys in the fund which the legislature may allocate to research and development shall be used for purposes approved by the director. Such purpose may include but shall not be limited to:

(a) Sensitive area data management and mapping;

(b) Scientific research which is directly relevant to state legislation; and

(c) Development of more effective removal and containment technologies, appropriate for the cleanup and containment of refined fuel oils. ADD}

{ADD 46-12.7-14. Board of arbitration. -- (1) The director shall establish a disputed claims processing capability within the department to hear and determine claims filed under this chapter that are not agreed upon by the claimant and the director and any responsible party who has joined as an interested party.

(2) An independent hearing examiner appointed by the commissioner shall hear and determine any disputed damage claims. The hearing examiner shall be an individual with appropriate qualifications. The parties to the hearing are the director and the claimant.

(3) To the extent practical, all claim arising from or related to a common oil spill must be heard and determined by the same hearing examiner.

(4) Hearings before the hearing examiner are informal and the rules of evidence applicable to judicial proceedings are not binding. The hearing examiner may administer oaths and require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, recourse, and other evidence relative or pertinent to the issues presented to the hearing examiner for determination.

(5) Determination made by the hearing examiner are final and those determinations may be subject to review by a justice of the superior court, but only as to matters related to abuse of discretion by the hearing examiner. The party seeking review of a hearing examiner's determination must file an appeal in the superior court within thirty (30) days of the determination. Determinations made by the hearing examiner must be accorded a presumption of regularity and validity in a subsequent reimbursement action, but this presumption may be rebutted by responsible parties.

(6) The director shall certify the amount of the damage award, if any, after determination by the hearing examiner and shall certify the name of the claimant to the treasurer of the state. ADD}

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect on January 1, 1997.