What sounded like a warning really was just a reminder: If another oil spill the size of the March 1989 Exxon Valdez mess occurs anytime soon off the U.S., the oil industry won't be able to handle it. The reminder came at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston last week. Government officials and private spill cleanup specialists agreed that if Exxon Valdez happened again, the response wouldn't be much better now than it was 2 years ago. To be sure, spill response capability is improving. The problem is that the improvements take time.
"We have a window of exposure," said Garry Mauro, commissioner of the Texas general land office. "The good news is that we have less of a window of exposure than we once had." Provisions of last year's federal Oil Pollution Act won't take full effect for more than 1 year, and the Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC) needs time to set cleanup equipment and personnel in place. "in the short run," said Mauro, "we're not in very good shape."
PREVENTION STILL THE KEY
For the industry, prevention remains the primary defense. As Exxon Valdez and subsequent shipping accidents show, however, spills happen. The petroleum and shipping industries must take every precaution possible to prevent them. Spills happen, nevertheless.
General recognition that another major spill probably will occur somewhere, sometime propels the effort to strengthen response capability. As Mauro pointed out, it represents a major change in how the government and industry view oil spills. It is perhaps the biggest improvement in spill readiness so far. The industry wasn't prepared to handle the Exxon Valdez spill because it didn't believe a spill like that could happen. It knows better now.
Coastal states know better, too. Until last month, only California had what cleanup professionals consider to be an effective spill response law. Last month, Texas enacted a law setting up five spill response centers, requiring companies with oil facilities on the coast to have spill contingency plans, mandating federally approved response plans for vessels carrying 1 0,000 gal of oil or more, capping liability for companies involved in accidents, and promoting cleanup research. Money for the response program will come from a 2 cents/bbl fee on oil moved through Texas ports. Louisiana is considering similar legislation.
It seems astonishing that two states with as much tanker traffic as Texas and Louisiana should only now be implementing strong oil spill response programs. But that's the unfair advantage of hindsight, a perspective that includes not only Exxon Valdez but also two major spills off Galveston just last year. What's important is that states, like industry, can and do learn from experience.
INDUSTRY'S CHALLENGE
For the industry, another major challenge looms. At some point, federal and state spill response laws will be in effect, tankers will have double bottoms, and the MSRC will be fully operational. At some point, U.S. spill readiness will stand on all three legs described by Coast Guard Rear Admiral James M. Loy at OTC: prevention, preparedness, and response. Until preparedness and response capabilities catch up, prevention must carry the burden alone.
The other major challenge comes when preparedness and response capabilities do catch up. Will industry then maintain a proper sense of urgency about spill prevention? It must. Perfection in spill readiness comes only when the industry and government know everything possible about handling spills, possess all the equipment and personnel necessary to respond effectively, and never have to use any of it.
Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
