History of Oil Spills. Oil Spills Some of the most famous oil spills to affect the United States include: Gulf Coast Oil Spill April 20, : An explosion at the site of a well caused , gallons of oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico each day; the Gulf Coast oil leak may surpass the Exxon-Valdez disaster as the worst oil spill in U. It is estimated that 4 million gallons of fuel was released into the waters, about 60 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas.
However, experts say that the majority of the fuel burned in surface fires. Exxon-Valdez March 24, : The Exxon-Valdez disaster was caused when the oil tanker hit a reef off the coast of Alaska and leaked 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. The accident badly damaged the hull of the Burmah Agate and caused an explosion. It is estimated that 2. A few days later, the ship split open and its entire cargo of 7.
As discussed above, these differences are due to a small number of relatively large spills from rail that occurred in those years. Figure 5. Rail Crude Oil Spill Volume: Impacts are typically divided into acute short-term and chronic long-term effects. Both types are part of a complicated and often controversial equation that is addressed after an oil spill: ecosystem recovery. Depending on the toxicity and concentration of the spill, acute exposure to oil spills can kill various organisms and cause the following debilitating but not necessarily lethal effects: Birds, marine mammals, bottom-dwelling and intertidal species, and organisms in their developmental stages e.
In addition to the impacts to individual organisms, oil spills can lead to a disruption of the structure and function of the ecosystem. Certain habitats—such as coral reefs, mangrove swamps, and salt marshes—are especially vulnerable, because the physical structure of the habitats depends upon living organisms. These potential acute effects to individual organisms and marine ecosystems have been "unambiguously established" by laboratory studies and well-studied spills. Long-term, chronic exposure typically occurs from continuous oil releases—leaking pipelines, offshore production discharges, and non-point sources e.
Although spills are normally associated with acute impacts, some oil spills have also demonstrated chronic exposure and effects. As a result, studies involving chronic effects are often met with debate and some controversy. Interested parties may have differing opinions as to what constitutes ecosystem recovery.
At one end of the spectrum, local groups may demand that an ecosystem be returned to pre-spill conditions. NOAA regulations 15 C. Baseline conditions may not equate with pre-spill conditions.
Multiple variables affect local species and ecosystem services. For example, one species at a spill site could have been on the decline at the time of an incident, because of changing water temperatures. These types of trends are considered during the restoration evaluative process discussed below. Restoration leaves room for site-specific interpretation, which, in the case of the Exxon Valdez spill and cleanup, continues to generate considerable argument.
The economic costs that can result from an oil spill can be broken into three categories: cleanup expenses, natural resource damages, and the various economic losses incurred by the affected community or individuals. The cleanup costs of an oil spill can vary greatly and are influenced by a mix of factors: location characteristics, oil type, and oil volume. Location is generally considered the most important factor because it involves multiple variables.
Areas with less water movement, such as marshlands, will generally cost more to clean up than open water. Some spill locations may have relatively robust populations of indigenous micro-organisms that help degrade the oil naturally. Tourist destinations or sensitive habitats, such as coral reefs, will likely require more stringent cleanup standards, thus increasing the costs. The political and social culture at the spill site plays a part as well.
A spill in a high-profile area may receive special attention. Coupled with this pressure, authorities federal, state, or local at these locations may require extensive oil spill response requirements, which can influence cleanup cost.
For instance, spill costs in the United States are considerably higher than in other parts of the world. The more persistent and viscous oil types, such as heavy crude oil e. Gasoline and other lighter refined products may require only minimal cleanup action. Generally, these materials will evaporate or disperse relatively quickly, leaving only a small volume of petroleum product in the environment.
Compared with other factors, spill volume is less important. A major spill away from shore will likely cost considerably less than a minor spill in a sensitive location. Certainly, the amount of oil spilled affects cleanup costs, because, all things being equal, a larger spill will require a larger and more expensive cleanup effort.
However, the relationship between cleanup costs and spill volume is not linear. Cleaning up a smaller spill is likely to cost more than a larger spill on a per-gallon basis. This category of costs relates to the environmental impacts caused by an oil spill. Pursuant to OPA, the party responsible for an oil spill is liable for any loss of natural resources e. When a spill occurs, natural resource trustees conduct a natural resource damage assessment to determine the extent of the harm.
Trustees may include officials from federal agencies designated by the President, state agencies designated by the relevant governor, and representatives from tribal and foreign governments. Direct use value may derive from recreational e. In contrast, a passive-use value may derive from preserving the resource for its own sake or for enjoyment by future generations. The damages are compensatory, not punitive. Collected damages cannot be placed into the general Treasury revenues of the federal or state government, but must be used to restore or replace lost resources.
Oil spills can generate costs other than response expenses or damages to natural resources. An oil spill can disrupt business activity near the spill, particularly businesses and individuals that count on the resources and reputation of the local environment. For example, the local fishing and tourist industry may be affected. In some cases, a well-publicized oil spill can weaken local or regional industries near the spill site, regardless of the actual threat to human health created by the spill.
Local infrastructure and services can be disrupted by an oil spill. Port and harbor operations may be interrupted, altering the flow of trade goods. Power plants that use cooling water systems may need to temporarily cease operations.
For example, the Salem Nuclear Plant—the second-largest nuclear plant in the United States—was forced to halt activity due to a substantial oil spill more than , gallons in the Delaware River in November When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in March , there were multiple federal statutes, state statutes, and international conventions that dealt with oil discharges.
The spill highlighted the inadequacies of the existing coverage and generated public outrage. See the Appendix for further information concerning these issues. The end result was the Oil Pollution Act of OPA 36 —the first comprehensive law to specifically address oil pollution to waterways and coastlines of the United States.
The framework and primary federal funding process used to respond to oil spills are described below. With the enactment of OPA on August 18, , Congress consolidated the existing federal oil spill laws under one program Appendix. The law expanded the existing liability provisions within the Clean Water Act CWA 37 and created new free-standing requirements regarding oil spill prevention and response.
Key OPA provisions are discussed below. When responding to a spill, many considered the lines of responsibility under the pre-OPA regime to be unclear, 38 with too much reliance on spillers to perform proper cleanup. Coast Guard or EPA with authority to perform cleanup immediately using federal resources, 40 monitor the response efforts of the spiller, or direct the spiller's cleanup activities.
The revised response authorities addressed concerns "that precious time would be lost while waiting for the spiller to marshall its cleanup forces. The federal government—specifically the On-Scene Coordinator OSC for spills in the Coast Guard's jurisdiction—determines the level of cleanup required. Although the federal government must consult with designated trustees of natural resources and the governor of the state affected by the spill, the decision that cleanup is completed and can be ended rests with the federal government.
States may require further work, but without the support of federal funding. The law established a multi-layered planning and response system to improve preparedness and response to spills in marine environments. In general, vessels and facilities are prohibited from handling, storing, or transporting oil if they do not have a plan approved by or submitted to the appropriate agency discussed below.
The plans should, among other things, identify how the owner or operator of a vessel or facility would respond to a worst-case scenario spill. Congress did not intend for every vessel to have onboard all the personnel and equipment needed to respond to a worst-case spill, but vessels must have a plan and procedures to call upon—typically through a contractual relationship—the necessary equipment and personnel for responding to a worst-case spill.
In , Congress enacted an amendment requiring non-tank vessels i. Moreover, the international standards for oil spill prevention 51 apply to tanker and non-tanker vessels alike. Thus, the amendment brought the U. The issue of double hulls received considerable debate for many years prior to OPA, and it was one of the stumbling blocks for unified oil spill legislation.
Proponents maintained that double-hull construction provides extra protection if a vessel becomes damaged. The act required new vessels carrying oil and operating in U. As of January , single-hull vessels with several exceptions, some of which expired in cannot operate in U. OPA unified the liability provisions of existing oil spill statutes, creating a freestanding liability regime.
Section states that responsible parties are liable for any discharge of oil or threat of discharge from a vessel or facility 59 to navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the exclusive economic zone 60 of the United States i.
Regarding the oil spill statutes prior to OPA, Congress recognized that "there is no comprehensive legislation in place that promptly and adequately compensates those who suffer other types of economic loss as a result of an oil pollution incident. Under OPA, a responsible party is liable for all cleanup costs incurred, not only by a government entity, but also by a private party. OPA provided limited defenses from liability: act of God, act of war, and act or omission of certain third parties.
These defenses are similar to those of the Superfund statute, 64 established in for releases of hazardous substances which does not include oil.
Except for certain behavior, including acts of gross negligence or willful misconduct, 65 OPA set liability limits or caps for cleanup costs and other damages. OPA requires the President to issue regulations to adjust the liability limits at least every three years to take into account impacts of inflation over time. Administrations subsequent to the enactment of OPA in did not adjust the liability limits until Congress amended OPA in The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of adjusted the liability limits for vessels in statute.
For purposes of liability limits, OPA divides potential sources of oil spills into four general categories. The liability limits differ by category, and in some cases, the scope of liability varies. The categories and their scopes of liability are:. Table 1 identifies the liability limit for each of the oil spill source categories listed above as enacted in OPA.
The table includes adjustments made in the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of , which modified only the limits for vessels, and subsequent adjustments made through agency regulations.
Table 1. Single-hulls including a single-hull vessel fitted with double sides only or double bottom only. In contrast to other sources, this limit applies only to the sum of natural resource damages and covered economic damages; removal costs are not limited. The Coast Guard made regulatory adjustments to the liability limits pursuant to the consumer price index provision OPA Section in and See 1 and U.
The limits are codified in 33 C. Prior to OPA, federal funding for oil spill response was generally considered inadequate, 68 and damages recovery was difficult for private parties. The fund may be used for several purposes:. In , OPA provided the statutory authorization necessary to put the fund in motion. In complementary legislation, Congress imposed a 5-cent-per-barrel tax on the oil industry to support the fund. In , the rate increased to 9 cents.
The tax is scheduled to terminate at the end of Figure 6. Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The increases in expenditures and "other receipts" between and are related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To preserve the trust fund and ensure that responsible parties can be held accountable for oil spill cleanup and damages, OPA requires that vessels and offshore facilities maintain evidence of financial responsibility e.
The current levels of financial responsibility are related to the current liability limits for various sources e. The liability limits differ by potential source. In the case of vessels, whose liability limits are a single dollar amount encompassing both removal costs and other damages, the financial responsibility levels are directly tied to the corresponding liability caps. Current law requires responsible parties for vessels to demonstrate the "maximum amount of liability to which the responsible party could be subjected under [the liability limits in OPA Section ; 33 U.
Because the structure of offshore facility liability limit is different than vessels, the corresponding financial responsibility limit provisions differ. The federal regulations that are authored by this statutory provision 30 C. Although OPA is the primary domestic legislation for oil spills, other federal laws contain provisions that relate to oil spills.
Many of these provisions were in place before OPA. The following list is not all-inclusive, but it highlights the main requirements authorized by laws other than OPA.
A key provision is found in Section b 3 , which prohibits the discharge of oil or hazardous substances into U. In addition, the CWA contains various penalty provisions for noncompliance, including violations of the discharge prohibition of Section b. SPCC plans address the "procedures, methods, and equipment and other requirements for equipment to prevent discharges.
The agency offered several regulatory amendments after the rulemaking. Following the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of OPA , 79 the agency proposed substantial changes and clarifications that were not made final until July For reasons beyond the scope of this report, EPA extended the rule's compliance date on multiple occasions and made further amendments to the rule.
For most types of facilities subject to SPCC requirements, the deadline for complying with the changes made in was November 10, Notwithstanding these recent deadlines, the final rule and subsequent revisions did not alter the requirement for owners or operators of facilities, including farms, to maintain and continue implementing their SPCC plans in accordance with the SPCC regulations that have been in effect since The U.
Several laws govern oil pipelines. Several federal laws directly or indirectly deal with oil pollution from vessels. For example, the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of , 90 amended by the Port and Tanker Safety Act of , 91 called for specific construction and equipment design requirements for oil tankers. As noted, OPA subsequently amended this statute in to establish a phased-in schedule for double-hulled tankers.
Department of Energy, 1. A major oil spill could easily double that amount. Between and , the U. Coast Guard identified more than , oil spills in U. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service. Approximately 1. The Persian Gulf oil spill of is so far the biggest oil spill in the world. As Iraqi troops retreated from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, they opened the valves of oil wells and pipelines, pouring up to 8 million barrels into the Gulf, though estimates on the exact amount of oil spilled vary.
This would put this spill at several times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Tanker accidents have accounted for most of the world's largest oil spills. They are less frequent than other kinds of oil spills, such as pipeline breaks, but typically involve large volumes of spilled oil relative to other kinds of oil spills.
Between and , tankers and barges were responsible for 45 percent of the volume of oil spilled in U. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service report. In that same period, pipelines were responsible for 16 percent of the volume of oil spilled in U. This includes both onshore and offshore pipelines, though onshore spills accounted for most of the pipeline spillage into U. Between and , U. Outer Continental Shelf OCS offshore facilities and pipelines accounted for only 2 percent of the volume of oil spilled in U.
Analysts for the Oil Spill Intelligence Report have reported that spills in that size range have occurred in the waters of nations since But certain areas see more spills than others. The Report identifies these "hot spots" for oil spills from vessels:. While no one is certain of the answer, oil experts have suggested some possibilities, including natural oil seeps that were in the water even before man-made ones, according to NOAA. Scientists aren't sure.
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