Home > Major Acts of Congress > Oil Pollution Acts

Arthur Holst

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) (P.L. 101-380 104 Stat. 484) established liabilities for polluters and recovery methods for areas affected by oil spills. It was preceded by the Oil Pollution Act of 1924 (43 Stat. 604) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-167). The 1924 act prohibited the discharge of oil into U.S. coastal waters and was regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The 1961 act forbade the discharge of oil in any waters within fifty miles of the U.S. coast, extending the area regulated by the previous legislation.

In 1980 the Oil Pollution Act of 1961 was superceded by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships of 1980 (P.L. 96-478), which forced ships in U.S. waters, or U.S. ships anywhere, to follow the pollution prevention guidelines established by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships of 1973. This convention, a reaction to the environmental damage caused by the oil spill off the ship Torrey Canyon in the English Channel in 1967, set guidelines that regulated oil, chemical, sewage, and garbage discharges into the sea.

Oil pollution prevention legislation was further strengthened by OPA, signed into law on August 18, 1990. The new legislation was enacted soon after the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in the Prince William Sound of Alaska in March of 1989, spilling over eleven million gallons of oil. Although Congress was in favor of the legislation, opposition came from the oil industry executives who were concerned about the costs of implementing the OPA's stricter requirements. The act enabled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better regulate, prevent, and respond to devastating oil spills. The purpose of the OPA was to "amend [section] 311 of the Clean Water Act to clarify federal response authority for oil spills, increase penalties for spills, require tank vessel and facility response plans, and provide for contingency planning in designated areas."

Under the OPA, liability for oil spills is placed on the owner or operator of the ship. The responsible party must pay the costs of environment recovery, repair of damage to natural resources, and compensation to people affected by the spill. In addition, parties that use oil tankers or have certain facilities that could pose a threat to the local environment must create acceptable contingency plans (plans to cover possible spills). These plans must be approved by the EPA. The OPA establishes the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which can provide up to $1 billion for oil spill recovery efforts and is financed primarily by a per barrel tax on oil.

Other important provisions of the OPA include revoking a mariner's registries and licenses on the grounds of alcohol and drug abuse, the maintenance of U.S. Coast Guard units specialized in oil spill cleanup, the establishment of a study on tanker navigation and tanker safety, and the requirement of double-hulled tank vessels. Assessments of the legislation have shown that many oil companies have yet to convert to double-hulled oil tankers. The Department of Justice has used the OPA to prosecute oil spills, including the New Carissa spill in Coos Bay, Oregon, in 1999, the Scandia and North Cape spill at Moonstone Beach, Rhode Island, in 1999, and the cruise ship line Royal Caribbean for illegal oil dumping from 1990 to 1994.