Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund

The OSLTF, administered by the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) (USCG), is used for response to spills of oil and oil products. There are two primary components to the OSLTF, the Emergency Fund and the Principal Fund. The Emergency Fund is available to pay federal response costs (federal oil removal costs under CWA 311(c)) and for initiation of Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) by the Trustees. To ensure rapid, effective response to oil spills, the President has the authority to make the Emergency Fund available – without Congressional appropriation – up to $50M each year to fund removal activities and initiate NRDAs. An additional $100M annually can be advanced to the Emergency Fund from the Principal Fund if needed and reported to Congress. Emergency Fund amounts are available until expended. The Principal Fund contains the balance of the Fund. Full description (alt text) of the OSLTF graphic.