124 STAT. 2981 PUBLIC LAW 111–281—OCT. 15, 2010 (1) shall focus on operations that have the highest risks of discharge, including operations at night and in inclement weather; (2) shall consider— (A) requirements for the use of equipment, such as putting booms in place for transfers, safety, and environ- mental impacts; (B) operational procedures such as manning standards, communications protocols, and restrictions on operations in high-risk areas; or (C) both such requirements and operational procedures; and (3) shall take into account the safety of personnel and effectiveness of available procedures and equipment for pre- venting or mitigating transfer spills. (b) APPLICATION WITH STATE LAWS.—The regulations promul- gated under subsection (a) do not preclude the enforcement of any State law or regulation the requirements of which are at least as stringent as requirements under the regulations (as deter- mined by the Secretary) that— (1) applies in State waters; and (2) does not conflict with, or interfere with the enforcement of, requirements and operational procedures under the regula- tions. SEC. 703. IMPROVEMENTS TO REDUCE HUMAN ERROR AND NEAR MISS INCIDENTS. (a) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit a report to the Senate Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that, using avail- able data— (1) identifies the types of human errors that, combined, could cause oil spills, with particular attention to human error caused by fatigue, in the past 10 years; (2) in consultation with representatives of industry and labor and experts in the fields of marine casualties and human factors, identifies the most frequent types of near-miss oil spill incidents involving vessels such as collisions, allisions, groundings, and loss of propulsion in the past 10 years; (3) describes the extent to which there are gaps in the data required under paragraphs (1) and (2), including gaps in the ability to define and identify fatigue, and explains the reason for those gaps; and (4) includes recommendations by the Secretary and rep- resentatives of industry and labor and experts in the fields of marine casualties and human factors to address the identified types of errors and any such gaps in the data. (b) MEASURES.—Based on the findings contained in the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall take appropriate action to reduce the risk of oil spills caused by human error. (c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED INFORMA- TION.—The identity of a person making a voluntary disclosure under this section, and any information obtained from any such voluntary disclosure, shall be treated as confidential. (d) DISCOVERY OF VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED INFORMATION.— 46 USC 3703 note.
