CLARIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES.

SEC. 312. CLARIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES.(a) Transportation of Humanitarian Relief Supplies to Respond to Environmental Emergencies.—Section 402 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection (d):“(d)(1) The Secretary of Defense may use the authority provided by subsection (a) to transport supplies intended for use to respond to, or mitigate the effects of, an event or condition, such as an oil spill, that threatens serious harm to the environment, but only if other sources to provide such transportation are not readily available.“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense may require reimbursement for costs incurred by the Department of Defense to transport supplies under this subsection.”.(b) Conditions on Provision of Transportation.—Subsection (b) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting “or entity” after “people”;(2) in paragraph (1)(E), by inserting “or use” after “distribution”; and(3) in paragraph (3), by striking “donor to ensure that supplies to be transported under this section” and inserting “entity requesting the transport of supplies under this section to ensure that the supplies”.117 STAT. 1430(c) Provision of Disaster Assistance.—Section 404 of such title is amended—(1) in subsection (a), by inserting “or serious harm to the environment” after “loss of lives”;(2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting “or the environment” after “human lives”; and(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(e) Limitation on Transportation Assistance.—Transportation services authorized under subsection (b) may be provided in response to a manmade or natural disaster to prevent serious harm to the environment, when human lives are not at risk, only if other sources to provide such transportation are not readily available.”.(d) Provision of Humanitarian Assistance.—Section 2561(a) of such title is amended—(1) by inserting “(1)” before “To the extent”; and(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(2) The Secretary of Defense may use the authority provided by paragraph (1) to transport supplies intended for use to respond to, or mitigate the effects of, an event or condition, such as an oil spill, that threatens serious harm to the environment, but only if other sources to provide such transportation are not readily available. The Secretary may require reimbursement for costs incurred by the Department of Defense to transport supplies under this paragraph.”.