Coastal Protection Fee Frequently Asked Questions

The Coastal Protection Fee is levied on all crude oil and condensate transferred to or from vessels at Texas marine terminals. The fee is applied to each load of crude oil or condensate only once.

Every person who owns crude oil or condensate in a vessel must pay the Coastal Protection Fee when the crude oil or condensate is transferred to or from a marine terminal.

Each marine terminal operator, or owner of the crude oil or condensate if the owner is registered with the Comptroller to report the fee, must file a report stating the number of barrels of crude oil and condensate loaded to or from vessels at Texas marine terminals. The operator or owner must pay the appropriate fee

The report and fee payment are due no later than the last day of the month following the month in which the transfers that are subject to the fee occur (for example, April 30 for transfers that occurred in March).

The fee is 1.333 cents per barrel of crude oil or condensate. However, the fee can vary or be suspended depending on the balance in the state's Coastal Protection Fund and subject to certification by the General Land Office.

The fee can be increased to 4 cents a barrel if

• the General Land Office certifies that the balance of the Coastal Protection Fund is less than $20 million,
• an unauthorized discharge of oil in excess of 100,000 gallons has occurred in the previous 30 days, and
• response costs and damages are expected to deplete the fund substantially.

If the General Land Office certifies that the fund balance exceeds $20 million, the fee will be suspended until there is certification that the balance has fallen below $10 million. At such time, the fee collection will be reinstated.

The Comptroller will send a notification letter to you when the fee changes.