History

The United States possesses the world's most sophisticated system of spill prevention, response and restoration capabilities. This system — a working partnership between public agencies and private industry — has grown from a shared commitment to learn from the mistakes of the past and ensure the safe and efficient delivery of petroleum products to you, the consumer.

1967

In January, an oil platform blowout in California's Santa Barbara Channel spilled roughly 4 million gallons of crude oil over 12 days, as workers struggled to stem the flow. The U.S. Coast Guard added data from this incident to the lessons learned by U.S. observers of the Torrey Canyon cleanup in a report submitted to the Department of Transportation. This report marked an important first step toward improving the Coast Guard's oil spill response capabilities.

1968

Major tanker owner/operators from around the world formed the International Tanker Owners' Pollution Federation (ITOPF) as a forum to study and address the issues of spill prevention and response. The new organization also administered the Tanker Owner's Voluntary Agreement concerning Liability for Oil Pollution (TOVALOP). By signing this agreement, participating owners agreed to provide compensation to governments and other parties affected by an oil spill, whether or not they were legally bound to do so. The agreement also included provisions on spill response and cleanup.

By 1997, enough maritime nations had signed onto international, government-based conventions for oil spill prevention and response that TOVALOP became redundant and was therefore dissolved.

1969

1970

The Water Quality Improvement Act authorized a National Contingency Plan to promote coordinated action to minimize damage from oil discharges. The U.S. Coast Guard and the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (which took over the water quality responsibilities of the U.S. Department of the Interior) assumed joint responsibility for implementing the NCP.

1972 - 73

Congress passed The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA and Coast Guard still broader powers to prevent and respond to oil and hazardous substance releases. The Coast Guard used its new authority to establish the first National Response Center. The EPA published regulations that required facilities with aboveground or underground storage tanks for oil and/or hazardous materials to prepare Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure plans.

While the United States worked to improve spill prevention and response capabilities within domestic waters, the international community was equally energized by the Torrey Canyon disaster. In 1973, The International Maritime Organization — formed in 1948 as a common forum for the world's maritime nations -- adopted the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The convention targeted not only accidental pollution, but also pollution arising from day-to-day operations, such as cleaning operations for tanker cargo compartments. The convention was amended and ratified in 1978.

1988 - 89

With the National Contingency Plan in effect and international agreements on spill response and prevention in place, other environmental issues took the fore for much of the late 1970s on through to the mid-1980s. Then, a series of high-profile incidents returned oil spills to the front page:

In January, 1988, an oil storage tank collapsed in Pennsylvania, spilling 3.7 million gallons near the Monongahela River.
In March of 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling 11 million gallons of oil.
In a freakish coincidence, three significant spills occurred in U.S. waters within a 12-hour period from June 23 to June 24, 1989.

Although much had improved in the years following the Torrey Canyon disaster, it was clear there was more work to be done to protect our environment from the potential harm of an oil or hazardous material release.

1990

Spurred by the events in this timeline, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90) to further refine and enhance U.S. spill prevention and response capabilities. Since passage of OPA '90:

Federal agencies have issued 41 new rules regarding pollution prevention, preparedness and response.
The petroleum industry has spent over $17 billion to ensure compliance with the new regulations.
By 2015, all tankers operating in U.S. waters will feature double hulls. This design protects oil cargo, contained within the inner hull, in the event of a breach in the outer hull.

2010

On the evening of April 20, 2010, a gas release and subsequent explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oilrig working on the Macondo exploration well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank and hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before the well was closed and sealed.

BP worked under the direction of the federal government to respond swiftly to the spill and to support the economic recovery of the Gulf Coast of those affected by the accident. BP conducted studies with federal and state natural resource trustees to identify and define the injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, BP had spent more than $14 billion on their response activities.