The Oil Pollution Act of 1990

1
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990

• This piece of legislation was passed in August of
  1990 in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill,
  so the U.S. Congress wanted to prevent this from
  occurring again.
• It falls in line with prevention principle.
• It amended the Clean Water Act and addressed the
  wide range of problems associated with
  preventing, responding to, and paying for oil
  pollution incidents in navigable waters of the
  United States.

2
Legislation Impacts

• OPA greatly increased federal oversight of
  maritime oil transportation, while providing
  greater environmental safeguards by
• Setting new requirements for vessel construction
  and crew licensing and manning
• Mandating contingency planning
• Enhancing federal response capability
• Broadening enforcement authority
• Increasing penalties
• Creating new research and development programs
• Increasing potential liabilities
• Significantly broadening financial responsibility
  requirements
• Gave the EPA the strength to seek out those
  responsible for any release of oil into the
  environment and make them pay for it

3
The Legislation Reads

• 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.
• By Lauren Shetterly, APES per. 1