U.S. Oil Spill Policy Hampers Response and Hurts Science

ABSTRACT The Exxon Valdez oil spill and others that followed it triggered major legislation at state and federal levels and reexamination of every phase of spill prevention and preparedness throughout industry and government. Will all of this effort and expense make a difference, i.e., will it reduce the environmental impacts of the next big spill? There will certainly be more equipment available and greater liabilities for spilling oil. However, unless certain policy issues are resolved, the changes are unlikely to reduce the ecological impacts of the next spill. Three fundamental policy initiatives are needed: (1) a national goal for spill response, i.e., to minimize the ecological impacts of the spill, (2) strengthened contingency planning that allows more decisions to be made in advance of an emergency, and (3) a streamlined management system during spill emergencies that will allow the goal to be achieved. This includes making sure that legal matters such as Natural Resource Damage Assessments do not...