(1) Development, promulgation, and revision of program policies and regulations incidental to Fund administration.

(2) Receipt and verification of Fund revenues comprised of barrel fees, penalties and interest income earned on Fund investments of those revenues.

(3) Verification and payment of costs and expenses reasonably necessary to Fund administration and the settlement of claims against the Fund.

(4) Investment, as provided in section 18(f)(3) of the Act, of all Fund revenues not needed for administration and the satisfaction of claims.

(5) Recovery of any monies to which the Fund is entitled as subrogee under circumstances set forth in section 18(h) (3) and (4) of the Act.

(6) Determinations of the character and nature of Fund obligations and expenditures, and the manner in which those obligations and expenditures are incurred, allowed, and paid.

ods listed in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Barrel fees due the Fund must be paid by

(1) Electronic transfer of funds as arranged with the Fund Administrator;

(2) A check or bank draft made payable to the U.S. Coast Guard; or

(3) Money order drawn to the order of the U.S. Coast Guard.

(c) The payment must be transmitted in time to be received by the Fund Administrator at the address listed in § 137.103 by the fifteenth of each month, or the closest following business day.

(d) Each payment to the Fund must be for the exact amount of oil loaded or unloaded at the port during the preceding month unless the licensee is concurrently reporting a variance under § 137.213(b) of this subpart.

§ 137.209 Adjustments.

(a) The Fund Administrator reviews each payment to the Fund and notifies each licensee if any apparent discrepancies are found.

(b) In general, each licensee may make adjustments to correct mathematical errors resulting in either overpayment or underpayment of the fees due the Fund.

(c) The manner and time by which adjustments for overpayment or underpayment are made are determined by the Fund Administrator and normally will occur with the following month's payment to the Fund.

§ 137.211 Suspension of fee collections.

(a) When the Fund Administrator determines the unobligated Fund balance less unliquidated debts to the United States Treasury exceeds $4 million, collection of the 2¢ barrel fee by any licensee is suspended.

(b) The Fund Administrator notifies each licensee by the twentieth of the month if the collection of fees is to be suspended.

(c) After any suspension of barrel fee collections by the Fund Administrator, each licensee shall resume collection of fees and resume payments to the Fund as prescribed in § 137.207,

when directed by the Fund Administrator.

(d) Any suspension of barrel fee collections under this section does not relieve a deepwater port licensee of the oil throughput reporting requirements in § 150.707 of this chapter.

§ 137.213 Oil excluded from fee collection.

(a) A deepwater port licensee shall not collect barrel fees on any bunker or fuel oil for use by a vessel, or any oil which was transported through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system (TAPS).

(b) When making the barrel fee payments due the Fund, each licensee shall explain in writing, in the oil throughput report, at the time of each payment, the reasons for any variance in the number of barrels of oil reported and payment submitted that is attributed to any bunker or fuel oil or the TAPS oil referred to in paragraph (a) of this section.

§ 137.215 Audit.

(a) The Fund Administrator audits barrel fee payments to the Fund. Each deepwater port licensee shall permit the Fund Administrator (or his representative) access to all financial records, reports, and files maintained by the licensee relevant to the computation, charging, collecting, and payment of barrel fees to the Fund, including the oil throughput log required by § 150.757 of this chapter.

(b) To facilitate Fund audits, each licensee shall keep the financial data identified in paragraph (a) of this section in a manner which makes it readily accessible for audit.

(c) The time period a licensee shall retain the financial records necessary to conduct Fund audits, and the specific type of records to be retained, shall be agreed upon by each licensee and the Fund Administrator. The period of retention will generally be for three years or until any Fund audits are approved by the Fund Administrator, whichever occurs first.

of financial responsibility by a vessel owner or operator, in an amount sufficient to meet the liabilities imposed on an owner and operator by section 18 of the Act.

(b) For the purpose of this subpart, "vessel" means any tanker which is moored at a deepwater port or which is within the designated safety zone of a deepwater port for the purpose of loading or unloading oil as cargo, exclusive of bunkers.

§ 137.303 Financial responsibility docu

mentation.

(a) In addition to obtaining a Certificate and Financial Responsibility pursuant to 33 CFR Part 130 and complying with the requirements of any other applicable laws and regulations, the owner or operator of any vessel shall

(1) Have insurance or surety bond coverage in the amount of $150 per gross ton of the vessel or $20,000,000, whichever is less, to meet the additional liability imposed by section 18 of the Act; and

(2) Provide to the Fund Administrator an original certification executed by the insurer or surety, with a copy to the involved deepwater port licensee. That certification shall contain the information set forth in § 137.305(a).

(b) The owner or operator of a vessel need not comply with paragraph (a)(2) of this section if—

(1) The insurer providing the insurance necessary to meet the liability imposed by section 18 of the Act, has executed an endorsement, approved by the Fund Administrator, to an existing Form CG-5358-9 (33 CFR Part 130), thereby demonstrating acceptable evidence of financial responsibility; and

(2) The insurer has submitted the original endorsement to the Fund Administrator, with a copy to the involved deepwater port licensee.

(c) A certification or endorsement, signed by a person who the Fund Administrator determines is not acceptable for purposes of providing evidence of financial responsibility, shall not be considered acceptable evidence of financial responsibility.

(d) Whenever there is any change to the financial responsibility documen

tation under this subpart, including cancellation or non-renewal of insurance or surety coverage, the vessel owner, operator or underwriter shall immediately provide written notice of the changes to the Fund Administrator and the involved deepwater port li

censee.

§ 137.305 Certification contents.

(a) The certification referred to in § 137.303(a)(2) must be in English and must be signed and dated by the person, or authorized representative of the person, providing the insurance or surety coverage. The certification must include the following:

(1) Name and address of the insurer or surety providing coverage for purposes of compliance with the section 18 of the Act and the regulations in this subpart.

(2) Name of vessel, and name of owner or operator covered, jointly and severally, against cleanup costs and damage liability under section 18 of the Act.

(3) Type of financial responsibility coverage provided, i.e., insurance or surety.

(4) Amount of financial responsibility coverage provided, i.e., $150 per gross ton of the vessel or $20,000,000, whichever is less.

(5) A statement that the coverage provided is not conditioned or dependent in any way upon any agreement or understanding between the underwriter and the owner or operator, and that only the defenses provided under section 18 of the Act are applicable.

(6) The effective date of the coverage provided.

(7) A statement that the coverage applies to the named vessel or vessels in respect of discharge incidents which give rise to claims under section 18 of the Act and which occur on or after the effective date and before the expiration date of the coverage.

(b) No provision contained in the certification referred to in paragraph (a) of this section may nullify, modify or limit the effect or intent of the seven statements listed in that paragraph. Any provision which may be construed as so nullifying, modifying, or limiting is void to the extent of

a

(a) A claim may not be filed against the Fund without filing claim against the deepwater port licensee or the owner or operator of the vessel which is the source of the discharge.

(b) A claim may be filed with the Fund simultaneously with filing a claim against the deepwater port licensee or the owner or operator of a vessel which is the source of the discharge; however, the Fund does not act on the claim until it appears, to the satisfaction of the Fund Administrator, that a settlement of the claim against the source of the discharge will not be timely reached.

(c) A claim against the Fund may be filed not more than three years after the date of the discharge giving rise to the claim.

(d) A claim against the Fund is considered filed on the date the claim is actually received by a Fund Claims Adjuster or the Fund Administrator.

(3) Involving natural resources of the marine environment; and

(4) Involving the coastal environment of any nation.

(b) The damages in paragraph (a) of this section may be claimed without regard to ownership of any affected lands, structures, fish, wildlife, or biotic or natural resources.

(c) For all claims, a claimant must establish that the source of the oil pollution was a deepwater port, a vessel within a safety zone, or a vessel which has received oil from another vessel at a deepwater port.

(d) A claim for loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to injury to, or destruction of, real or personal property or natural resources may be presented by any person deriving income from activities which utilize, or are related to the utilization of, the property or natural resource.

§ 137.511 Trans-Alaska Pipeline oil pollution.

Damages from a discharge of TransAlaska Pipeline oil from a deepwater port are compensated in accordance with section 18 of the Act and the requirements of this part.

NOTE: Claims involving Trans-Alaska Pipeline oil discharged from a vessel are filed under the provisions of 43 CFR Part 29.

§ 137.513 Review of claims against the Fund.

(a) Administrative review of any determination by a Fund Claims Adjuster concerning the denial of a claim against the Fund is conducted by the Fund Administrator in accordance with section 18 of the Act and the regulations in this part.

(b) A claimant must initiate administrative review of a claim against the Fund within 30 days of the denial of a claim, by submitting a written request for review, together with any supporting data, to the Fund Administrator.

(c) The Fund Administrator's decision after administrative review of the denial of a claim is final agency action.

(d) Judicial review of any final determination on claims against the Fund is in accordance with section 18(j)(3) of the Act.

PART 140-GENERAL

Subpart A-General

Sec.

does not apply to pipelines and deepwater ports (as the term "deepwater port" is defined in section 3(10) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1502)).

§ 140.4 Relationship to other law.

(a) Design and equipment requirements of this subchapter for OCS facilities, including mobile offshore drilling units in contact with the seabed of the OCS for exploration or exploitation of subsea resources, are in addition to the regulations and orders of the U.S. Geological Survey applicable to those facilities.

(b) Any apparent conflict between the application of any requirement of this subchapter and any regulation or order of the U.S. Geological Survey should immediately be brought to the attention of the Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.

(c) This subchapter does not establish design requirements for fixed OCS facilities or regulate drilling or production equipment on any OCS facility or attending vessel, except for matters affecting navigation or workplace safety or health.

§ 140.5 Exemptions during construction.

The Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, may exempt any unit under construction from any requirements of this subchapter that would be impracticable or unreasonable to apply during construction or erection of the unit.

§ 140.7 Incorporation by reference.

(a) Certain materials are incorporated by reference into this subchapter with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a). To enforce any edition other than the one listed in paragraph (b) of this section, notice of the change must be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER and the material made available to the public. All approved material is on file at the Office of the Federal Register, 1100 L Street, NW., Washington, DC and at U.S. Coast Guard, Merchant Vessel Inspec