House Panel Backs Oil Spill Liability Bill

A bill that would place a fee of 1.3 cents a barrel on oil to provide compensation to victims of major oil spills cleared a House subcommittee today with the endorsement of the Reagan Administration.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Gerry E. Studds (D-Mass.), was approved by the Coast Guard subcommittee of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

Before endorsing the bill, the subcommittee adopted an amendment that would place a $300-million ceiling on the federal fund created with money from the fees.

The amendment provides for fee rebates if the $300-million cap is reached, and fee collections would resume fully if the fund dropped below the $300-million level because of pay-outs due to spills.

The bill is aimed at replacing a variety of federal and state laws governing oil spill liability.

Under the bill, a Marine Oil Pollution Insurance Corp. would be established in the Transportation Department to administer the new fund, replacing four such federal funds that now exist.

Studds said states that run their own oil spill funds would have three years to phase out any programs that duplicate the federal effort.

The bill also would set liability limits for the owners of oil tankers, bargers, pipelines and offshore oil wells.

Similar bills have passed the House three times and the Senate once but have never become law, partly because of opposition from the Reagan Administration, which endorsed the concept of the Studds bill last year.

Transportation Secretary Elizabeth H. Dole wrote to Studds this week to endorse his bill.