1. OIL POLLUTION ACT Erika Arthur/Emily Stout 3 rd Period AP Environmental Science

2. What is the Oil Pollution Act?  Signed into law in August 1990  Response to the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989  Passed very easily through Congress  Amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act’s (Clean Water Act) rules for spills and cleanup  Improved the nation’s ability to respond to spills  Established provisions that expand the government’s control over funding and resources needed to respond to spills  Created new requirements for preventing and managing spills  Double hulls are encouraged, required by 2015  Increased noncompliance penalties  Alaska: a tug and an emergency response vehicle are required to escort any loaded tanker through Prince William Sound

3. OPA vs. Clean Water Act  OPA  “A company cannot ship oil into the United States until it presents a plan to prevent spills that may occur. It must also have a detailed containment and cleanup plan in case of an oil spill emergency.”  The OPA added requirements for some storage facilities above ground  The Clean Water Act  The CWA was a less specific precursor to the OPA

4. Short Term Effects  The Oil Pollution Act was mostly created in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  It was signed into law in August of 1990, a year after the Exxon Valdez spill.  The OPA said that the Exxon Valdez could never again enter Prince William Sound.  Any other ship that had spilled more than 1 million gallons of oil was also banned.

5. Long Term Effects  Created the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund  States that the owner or operator of the facility which created the spill is responsible for cleanup costs However, the OSLTF provides aid if the owner/operator cannot/will not pay for cleanup Borrowing limit is now 1 billion dollars This money comes from oil taxes  Increased penalties for spills and violations  Penalties up to $25,000/day or $1000/barrel

6. Seabirds killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A cormorant covered in oil. Oil pooling among rocks in Prince William Sound.

7. Oil spill cleanup responses, oil slick on the surface of the water in PWS.

8. Works Cited http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/lawsregs/opaover.htm http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/About_NPFC/opa.asp http://www.uscg.mil/npfc/About_NPFC/osltf.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Pollution_Act_of_1990 http://epw.senate.gov/opa90.pdf http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/OILPOLL.HTML http://www.epa.gov/osweroe1/content/lawsregs/opprover.htm