Cantwell Introduces Comprehensive Oil Spill Prevention Legislation

Press Release

Would update landmark 1990 oil spill bill, improve response, increase protections for sensitive areas, reduce risk of spills from human error

Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced comprehensive legislation to improve oil spill prevention and response, and implement long sought-after environmental safeguards to protect America's waterways from contamination. Cantwell's bill strengthens and builds on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed by Congress in response to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound.

"This bill takes strong, commonsense steps to reduce the risk of catastrophic oil spills as well as smaller spills that continue to occur along our coastlines," said Cantwell, Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard. "I'll be the first to applaud efforts by the Coast Guard, states, and industry to dramatically reduce spills during the past 17 years. But a single incident from a large vessel can be devastating, and while we've made significant progress, oil continues to be spilled and our fragile marine resources are still susceptible to a major disaster."

Despite a drop in the overall number of spills since the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the volume of oil spilled has not decreased. In 1992, vessels spilled 665,432 gallons of oil. But in 2004, vessels spilled 722,768 gallons. That same year, in U.S. waters, there were 36 spills from tank ships, 141 spills from barges, and 1,562 spills from other vessels, including cargo ships.

Cantwell added, "With 15 billion gallons of oil passing through Washington state waters alone every year, we must remain vigilant and strengthen our oil spill safety net. Our coasts and waterways sit at the heart of our way of life and provide thousands of jobs. Investing in the protection of our marine environment and fishery resources will ensure vibrant coastal communities."

Puget Sound is one of the world's most complex and congested waterways, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca is often plagued by driving wind and rain that reduce visibility. Approximately 600 oil tankers and 3,000 oil barges travel through Puget Sound's fragile ecosystem annually carrying about fifteen billion gallons of oil to Washington's five refineries. A March 2005 report by the Seattle Post Intelligencer identified about 650 near-miss "incidents," including traffic violations, collisions, and groundings, that occurred in Puget Sound between 1985 to 2004. Since 1964, vessels have spilled approximately 4.8 million gallons of oil in Washington waters. Of this total, 184,000 gallons were spilled after the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Cantwell's Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act (OPPRA) is based in part on testimony from several Senate Commerce Committee hearings, including an August 2005 field hearing in Seattle chaired by Cantwell.

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