§ 2702. — Elements of liability.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC2702]
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
CHAPTER 40--OIL POLLUTION
SUBCHAPTER I--OIL POLLUTION LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION
Sec. 2702. Elements of liability
(a) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law, and subject to
the provisions of this Act, each responsible party for a vessel or a
facility from which oil is discharged, or which poses the substantial
threat of a discharge of oil, into or upon the navigable waters or
adjoining shorelines or the exclusive economic zone is liable for the
removal costs and damages specified in subsection (b) of this section
that result from such incident.
(b) Covered removal costs and damages
(1) Removal costs
The removal costs referred to in subsection (a) of this section
are--
(A) all removal costs incurred by the United States, a
State, or an Indian tribe under subsection (c), (d), (e), or (l)
of section 1321 of this title, under the Intervention on the
High Seas Act (33 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), or under State law; and
(B) any removal costs incurred by any person for acts taken
by the person which are consistent with the National Contingency
Plan.
(2) Damages
The damages referred to in subsection (a) of this section are
the following:
(A) Natural resources
Damages for injury to, destruction of, loss of, or loss of
use of, natural resources, including the reasonable costs of
assessing the damage, which shall be recoverable by a United
States trustee, a State trustee, an Indian tribe trustee, or a
foreign trustee.
(B) Real or personal property
Damages for injury to, or economic losses resulting from
destruction of, real or personal property, which shall be
recoverable by a claimant who owns or leases that property.
(C) Subsistence use
Damages for loss of subsistence use of natural resources,
which shall be recoverable by any claimant who so uses natural
resources which have been injured, destroyed, or lost, without
regard to the ownership or management of the resources.
(D) Revenues
Damages equal to the net loss of taxes, royalties, rents,
fees, or net profit shares due to the injury, destruction, or
loss of real property, personal property, or natural resources,
which shall be recoverable by the Government of the United
States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof.
(E) Profits and earning capacity
Damages equal to the loss of profits or impairment of
earning capacity due to the injury, destruction, or loss of real
property, personal property, or natural resources, which shall
be recoverable by any claimant.
(F) Public services
Damages for net costs of providing increased or additional
public services during or after removal activities, including
protection from fire, safety, or health hazards, caused by a
discharge of oil, which shall be recoverable by a State, or a
political subdivision of a State.
(c) Excluded discharges
This subchapter does not apply to any discharge--
(1) permitted by a permit issued under Federal, State, or local
law;
(2) from a public vessel; or
(3) from an onshore facility which is subject to the Trans-
Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (43 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.).
(d) Liability of third parties
(1) In general
(A) Third party treated as responsible party
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in any case in which
a responsible party establishes that a discharge or threat of a
discharge and the resulting removal costs and damages were
caused solely by an act or omission of one or more third parties
described in section 2703(a)(3) of this title (or solely by such
an act or omission in combination with an act of God or an act
of war), the third party or parties shall be treated as the
responsible party or parties for purposes of determining
liability under this subchapter.
(B) Subrogation of responsible party
If the responsible party alleges that the discharge or
threat of a discharge was caused solely by an act or omission of
a third party, the responsible party--
(i) in accordance with section 2713 of this title, shall
pay removal costs and damages to any claimant; and
(ii) shall be entitled by subrogation to all rights of
the United States Government and the claimant to recover
removal costs or damages from the third party or the Fund
paid under this subsection.
(2) Limitation applied
(A) Owner or operator of vessel or facility
If the act or omission of a third party that causes an
incident occurs in connection with a vessel or facility owned or
operated by the third party, the liability of the third party
shall be subject to the limits provided in section 2704 of this
title as applied with respect to the vessel or facility.
(B) Other cases
In any other case, the liability of a third party or parties
shall not exceed the limitation which would have been applicable
to the responsible party of the vessel or facility from which
the discharge actually occurred if the responsible party were
liable.
(Pub. L. 101-380, title I, Sec. 1002, Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 489.)
References in Text
This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 101-380, Aug. 18,
1990, 104 Stat. 484, as amended, known as the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,
which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 2701 of this title and Tables.
The Intervention on the High Seas Act, referred to in subsec.
(b)(1)(A), is Pub. L. 93-248, Feb. 5, 1974, 88 Stat. 8, as amended,
which is classified generally to chapter 28 (Sec. 1471 et seq.) of this
title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short
Title note set out under section 1471 of this title and Tables.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, referred to in subsec.
(c)(3), is title II of Pub. L. 93-153, Nov. 16, 1973, 87 Stat. 584,
which is classified generally to chapter 34 (Sec. 1651 et seq.) of Title
43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to the Code,
see Short Title note set out under section 1651 of Title 43 and Tables.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 2701, 2703, 2704, 2705,
2706, 2708, 2712, 2716, 2717 of this title.
