William Grawe is the Director of the National Pollution Funds Center located in Washington, DC. In this capacity he is responsible for administering all aspects of the liability and compensation provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 including the management of the multi-billion dollar Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. He is also a member of the Marine Safety and Security Council, the Commandant’s advisory council for all Coast Guard regulatory matters. Under his leadership the National Pollution Funds Center provides money for the prompt federal response to oil pollution incidents. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is also available to pay claims to those damaged by oil spills when polluters do not. The National Pollution Funds Center ensures “the polluter pays” by recovering removal costs and damages paid from the fund. Finally, the National Pollution Funds Center administers the Certificate of Financial Responsibility program ensuring that over 22,000 vessels operating in U.S. waters have the financial ability to cover their pollution liability.
Mr. Grawe entered federal civilian service in 2000 as Deputy Chief of the Case Management Division of the National Pollution Funds Center, where he supervised daily activities for a 22-person division responsible for controlling nationwide expenditures from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) fund for oil and hazardous chemical responses. In this capacity, he negotiated agreements with other agencies, developed policy, implemented procedures, provided training, and coordinated information system development to facilitate the timely collection of financial data and maximize cost recovery from polluters. Mr. Grawe assumed the duties of Deputy Director in 2001 and was selected as the Director in 2015.
Mr. Grawe is a retired Coast Guard officer. During his military career, his experience spanned the diverse disciplines of Coast Guard surface and ashore operations, marine safety, marine environmental protection, vessel traffic management and financial management. His active duty service included six years of sea duty in the performance of maritime law enforcement, search & rescue, and Aids to Navigation.
Mr. Grawe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Science degree in Management from Purdue University. He is a recipient of the Coast Guard Resource Director/Comptroller Award for Excellence.