This paper is concerned with the extent to which the dischargers of oil and hazardous substances have assumed liability for removal of these discharges under Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. In particular, this study shows that the law and its administration are ineffective tools for compelling the polluter to incur the costs of removal. Three core chapters will be used to determine the efficiency of the law and administrative practice with respect to compelling the polluter to incur removal costs. Chapter two focuses on the state of the law. Following a brief overview of historical remedies of oil pollution damage is an indepth description and analysis of the modern law of oil pollution removal liability with special emphasis on the intent of the law and the forces that shaped the law. Finally, the inefficiencies of the law in compelling the polluter to pay for removal will be analyzed. Chapter three describes the effectiveness of the administration of the law in compelling the polluter to pay. After a cursory description of the Federal respone to spills, the Federal organization and procedures relative to removal cost recovery will be described and analyzed. Chapter four provides a statistical representation of the program with emphasis on removal parties, Federal expenditures, and pertinent trends. The final chapter offers conclusions and proposes legal and administrative measures to provide greater incentive for the polluter to incur removal costs.