More Protection Against Oil Spills Needed
06/02/2005
Mark J. Spalding and Sean Crowley,
San Diego Union-Tribune
Last month, the House passed a budget resolution that would allow oil drilling in Alaska's environmentally sensitive Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In April, the Senate did the same thing. While the Arctic drilling provision still must survive negotiations between the House and Senate on a budget reconciliation bill, the odds clearly favor it becoming law.
While we oppose Arctic drilling, both opponents and supporters should be able to agree on the need to investigate any oil spill that threatens both the environment and the U.S. commercial fishing industry. That's why we urge members of the Senate Commerce Committee (Sen. Dianne Feinstein sits on this committee) to call for an investigation into the December spill by the Selendang Ayu of at least 320,000 gallons of fuel into the economically important and equally environmentally sensitive Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. This Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge supports the largest fishery in the United States, generating $2 billion in revenue annually.
The Selendang Ayu oil spill, the worst in Alaska waters since the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, prompted us to form the Shipping Safety Partnership, or SSP, an unusual coalition of business interests (Unalaska Native Fisherman Association, TDX Corporation) and conservation groups (Ocean Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund). The SSP is in discussions with federal officials to explore further actions that need to be taken to prevent future maritime disasters, and a nongovernmental organization incident investigation is under way.
In concert with that effort, we urge Congress to replenish the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund that is used to pay for spills throughout U.S. waters beyond the oil spiller's liability limit. Otherwise, the fund will be exhausted by 2008 because the fund's chief revenue source was sunsetted in 1995 – a 5 cent/barrel tax on all imported petroleum crude and products – and it is paying out $200 million a year more than it is collecting. The cost of cleaning up the Selendang Ayu oil spill alone could reach $100 million, according to the fund administrator, the National Pollution Funds Center. Unfortunately, the spill's cleanup costs are only a fraction of this disaster's economic and environmental impact.
The Selendang Ayu was traveling one of the most heavily trafficked shipping routes in the world. It cuts along the Pacific Ocean's "Great Circle Route" through the Aleutian Islands, where every year several thousand ships take the shortest, but most dangerous route between U.S. and Asia ports. The Malaysian freighter ran aground in an environmentally sensitive area so remote that it is only accessible by boat and helicopter, making it difficult to rescue victims and limit the damage to endangered and threatened species, as well as the U.S. fishing industry.
This tragedy shows beyond a doubt that there is a real necessity to balance human safety, environmental protection and commercial imperatives in the Aleutian Islands and the Great Circle Route. It also shows that we should exercise real caution in opening any wildlife refuge to commercial activity, as the Aleutian spill provides a clear example of the potential consequences.
That's why Congress should take action. This disaster cries out for a congressional investigation and clear recommendations as to what measures are necessary to reduce the impact of shipping on Alaska's vital resources. Those recommendations should include: the establishment of a vessel tracking system, so the Coast Guard can monitor all vessel traffic in the Aleutians and Bering Sea continuously; two rescue tugs strategically stationed along the route so they can tow a disabled vessel out of harm's way; routing agreements requiring merchant vessels to stay as far away from sensitive habitats as possible; and so forth. All such safety measures should be clearly identified in a comprehensive risk assessment for the region, and can be paid for by instituting a nominal federal assessment on all cargo shipped into and from U.S. ports.
The U.S. commercial fishing industry and the many states whose economies depend upon it cannot afford a repeat of this kind of damage to our environment.
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Spalding, a former chair of the environmental law section of the California State Bar Association, is the marine conservation and environmental policy adviser for the San Diego-based International Community Foundation and senior program officer for the Alaska Conservation Foundation's Alaska Oceans Program (www.alaskaoceans.org). Crowley is a former press secretary for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Jurisdiction).
