Look back at 30 years of oil spill response

August 10, 2020

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons (259,500 barrels) of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil would eventually impact more than 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill in U.S. waters at the time. Image courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Looking Back 30 Years

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 significantly improved measures to prevent, prepare for, and respond to oil spills in U.S. waters.

This historic legislation gives NOAA and other agencies the authority to address impacts to natural resources caused by oil spills in U.S. waters and shorelines, and to hold polluters accountable.

Congress passed this legislation, and President George H.W. Bush signed it into law on Aug. 18, 1990.

Thirty years later, we’re looking back at the events leading up to the passage of the Oil Pollution Act, what’s happened since then, and how NOAA and its partners continue to keep our nation’s coast clean from the threat of oil pollution under this important historic legislation.

This month, tune in below as we share blogs, story maps, and more to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oil Pollution Act.

An Oil Spill’s Silver Lining, 30 Years Since Exxon Valdez

When an oil spill happens, whoever is responsible pays for the cleanup and restoration. But this has not always been the case. Thirty years ago, on March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef, rupturing its hull and spilling almost 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Read the full blog here.

Story Map: The Spills Behind the Oil Pollution Act(link is external)

Exxon Valdez wasn’t the only big spill of 1989. Between June 23 and 24, three different oil tankers accidentally poured their cargo into U.S. coastal waters. Learn about how the spills of 1989 influenced the work that NOAA does today to respond to and restore the environment after oil spills in this story map(link is external).

The True Cost of an Oil Spill: Q&A with a NOAA Economist

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 made a huge shift in how we do natural resource damage assessment. One of the primary roles of damage assessment is to determine the cost of an oil spill. To learn more about how we assess the true cost of an oil spill, read the full blog here.

Source: NOAA