Oil Spills: The Clean Water Act to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 - February 2016

by 詹姆斯·T. 朗

一艘拖船 overturns in a waterway adjacent to a small shipyard off of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, 在诺福克的坎波斯特拉桥附近, 洒了大约1杯,他把1000加仑的柴油倒入河中. 专门处理有害物质释放的消防员，美国消防总局说.S. Coast Guard and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality respond to the scene. The shipyard owner/operator is criticized for his failure to notify the National Response Center. 他缺乏控制泄漏和从水中回收石油的设备, 所以他雇佣了一家专门从事石油泄漏应急响应的商业公司. The Department of Environmental Quality commences a civil enforcement action against the shipyard owner/operator, 所以他聘请了法律顾问. 执法行动的结果是罚款7,361美元.00 fine plus the requirement that he prepare an Oil Discharge Contingency Plan and submit it to the Department of Environmental Quality. The plan must describe techniques and practices the shipyard will implement to prevent future oil spills and to properly contain and clean them up, 如果再次发生. The shipyard owner/operator hires a consultant to prepare the Oil Discharge Contingency Plan, 获得新设备, modifies its operations and trains its personnel to implement the plan’s techniques and practices.

估计 泄漏给船厂所有者/运营商的自付费用:50,000美元.00.  

It 不是一直都是这样吗.

迟 20世纪60年代, 如果有任何, negative consequences attached to people who discharged pollution into the water. 两场臭名昭著的灾难改变了这一切. 1969年1月, a “blowout” at a Union Oil Company oil platform six miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean released 200,在11天的时间里消耗了1000加仑的原油. 石油污染了加州圣巴巴拉附近35英里的海岸线. 1969年6月, 凯霍加河在克利夫兰爆发大火, 俄亥俄州, after sparks from a passing train set fire to oil-soaked debris floating on the surface of the water.

“变化”来了 in 1972 when Congress enacted, and President Nixon signed, the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). 《皇冠线上买球平台》第1321条, 33 USC §1321 created liability (in certain circumstances) for persons who discharge “oil or hazardous substances into or upon the navigable waters of the United States.1972年的《皇冠线上买球平台》, 连同1977年的修正案, 创设了美国石油及有害物质污染专项犯罪.S. navigable waters, created administrative and civil penalties and empowered the U.S. 政府迫使排放者向政府支付清理费用.

的公告 没有为私人提供补救办法, but the statute made it clear that it did not preempt existing remedies for damage to property, 这种补救措施主要包括妨害, 根据州法律提出的过失或侵权索赔. 有, 然而, 根据州法律受害者的赔偿有很大障碍, 比如法律辩护, 诉讼时效, the corporate form and the burdens of proof that favor those responsible for the spill.

在《皇冠线上买球平台》第1321条的不足之处.S.C. §1321暴露于1989年3月，当油轮 埃克森·瓦尔迪兹号 在阿拉斯加威廉王子湾的布莱礁搁浅, rupturing its hull and spilling nearly 11 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into a remote, 风景优美、生物丰富的水体. State law remedies were a poor way to make private persons and businesses whole given the massive economic impact this spill caused to the tourism industry and to the fishing industry. 对此，国会通过了《皇冠线上买球平台》(OPA 90). In some respects OPA 90 is more limited than the CWA in that the liability it imposes is limited to the discharge of “oil,” whereas the CWA creates liability for the discharge of “oil and hazardous substances.然而，OPA 90,33 U.S.C. §2702，超出了《皇冠搏彩APP下载》第1321条.S.C. §1321在几个重要方面:

• OPA 90允许 私人(不仅仅是政府)收回清理费用;
• OPA 90允许 private persons and businesses to recover money damages from the discharger for injury to real or personal property caused by the oil spill; and
• OPA 90允许 private persons and businesses to recover money damages from the discharger for lost profits caused by the oil spill.

一些州制定了新的立法，在许多方面与OPA 90相似. Virginia, for example, enacted the Virginia Disharge of Oil into Waters law found at Va. 法典§§62.1-44.34:14 to 62.1-44.34:23.

返回w现在和我一起去找那个小造船厂的老板/经营者,000加仑的泄漏和他估计的50美元,000.00美元的自付费用，本来可以高得多. 《皇冠线上买球平台》第1321(b)(5)条，33 U.S.C. §1321(b)(5) makes the failure to report an oil or hazardous substance spill a felony punishable by a fine and/or five years of imprisonment. The shipyard owner/operator was fortunate that he was not called upon to reimburse the City of Norfolk for sending to the scene of the oil spill its firefighters who specialize in hazardous substance releases, 因为这是一项根据《皇冠线上买球平台》第321条可收回的“搬迁费用”, 33 U.S.C. §1321(f)和OPA 90,33 U.S.C. §2702(b)(1). He was similarly fortunate to have escaped his obligation to reimburse the United States for the cost of sending USCG personnel and equipment to the scene, and his obligation to reimburse the Commonwealth of Virginia for the cost of its personnel. 没有人向他提出伤害鱼的帐单, 水禽, 或其他野生动物(或植物), 尽管OPA是90, 33 U.S.C. §2702(b)(2)(A) empowers the United States to recover natural resource damages from him. 如果他的泄漏损害了他人的个人财产(e).g. coated the hulls of other nearby vessels triggering the need to clean them) or real estate belonging to others, OPA 90,33 U.S.C. §2702(b)(2)(B) would have made him liable to those persons for the losses caused. If his oil spill had caused a business interruption at any of the neighboring businesses, OPA 90, 33 U.S.C. §2702(b)(2)(E) would have required him to reimburse his neighbors for their loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity.

If 你拥有或经营一家造船厂, it is essential to manage the risks associated with the discharge of oil and hazardous substances. 吉姆·朗，彭德家族的一员 & 皇冠线上买球平台股东, focuses his practice on this and other matters relating to water and environmental law. 联系 him with questions by calling (757) 502-7326 or by sending an email to jlang@ranklypalindromist.com.