WATCHING WASHINGTON EXXON VALDEZ: 1 YEAR LATER

with Patrick Crow It seems like it's been longer, but this week marks only the first anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Perhaps that's because no aspect of the Mar. 24 accident has yet been laid to rest. The cause is undetermined, the captain's behavior is unjudged, beach cleaning isn't finished, and Congress still hasn't passed an oil spill liability bill. The next few months should resolve some of those issues. A congressional conference committee will meet soon

March 19, 1990

3 min read

It seems like it's been longer, but this week marks only the first anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Perhaps that's because no aspect of the Mar. 24 accident has yet been laid to rest. The cause is undetermined, the captain's behavior is unjudged, beach cleaning isn't finished, and Congress still hasn't passed an oil spill liability bill.

The next few months should resolve some of those issues. A congressional conference committee will meet soon on the oil spill bill. It should have little difficulty approving a bill that both houses can pass this spring.

Exxon will return to Prince William Sound in May to resume treating oiled beaches. How long that continues will depend on what the Coast Guard's field surveys find next month. Cleanup is likely to continue for much of the summer.

The National Transportation Safety Board is working on its official analysis of the accident but likely won't issue a report before June at the earliest.

Most of the blame initially fell on the man in charge, Capt. Joseph Hazelwood. And after Hazelwood failed a postaccident blood alcohol test, he became perhaps the most maligned skipper since Capt. William Bligh. Ironically, the tanker went aground on a reef named for Bligh.

Contrary to our legal doctrine of presumed innocence, the press and public were quick to convict Hazelwood. He even had to get off an airplane when other passengers complained.

Hazelwood is undergoing trial in Anchorage on misdemeanor charges, and a jury should pass judgment on him soon.

Exxon, hit with federal charges and a myriad of lawsuits, also has fared badly in the court of public opinion.

Although it promptly-and rightly-pledged to clean up the spill and pay damages, its public relations were dismal.

No matter how right, Exxon's actions always seemed somehow tainted. There were complaints the biggest of the U.S. "big oil" companies did not show enough remorse for the spill. And despite its massive cleanup mobilization, some resented Exxon's reluctance to commit to a total cleanup.

Although Exxon has lavished more than $1 billion on the cleanup, its image has not improved, and many Alaskans think it is yet unpunished for a "misdeed," which was in fact an accident.