Contact Information
The National Pollution Funds Center is located in Arlington, Virginia and is controlled by the United States Coast Guard. The center was created to monitor and help with the transportation of oil across American waters. The National Pollution Funds Center has the capability to respond to spills with the need assets 24hrs a day anywhere in American waters.
In addition to spill response, the center is tasked with assessing the financial standing of every ship that carries oil in American waters. This is done to ensure that in the event of spills, the vessel responsible has the funds needed to handle cleanup and all associated expenses. This is handled by issuing Certificates of Financial Responsibility (CORF). These certificates are generally required for all maritime vessels operating in US waters with a gross weight of over 300 tons.
The National Pollution Funds Center is also tasked with maintaining the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is used to pay for Coast Guard cleanup operations of oil spills in US waters. Additionally, the National Pollution Funds Center is responsible for collecting payments from those vessels that are responsible for oil spills and the associated cleanup costs.
One of the largest roles of the National Pollution Funds Centers is paying out of claims associated with oil spills. This includes individuals, agencies and businesses in areas affected that have filed and been approved for claims regarding things like removal costs, damage to resources, property damage and loss of profit or earning capability.