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Oil Pollution Act

Oil Pollution Act. Erika Arthur/Emily Stout 3 rd Period AP Environmental Science. 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

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Oil Pollution Act

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  1. Oil Pollution Act Erika Arthur/Emily Stout 3rd 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. Oil pooling among rocks in Prince William Sound. A cormorant covered in oil.

  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

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