THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT COMPONENT OF AN OIL SPILL CLEANUP MODEL

1981 ◽  
Vol 1981 (1) ◽  
pp. 695-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Nyhart ◽  
Harilaos N. Psaraftis ◽  
Walter S. Laird
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Damage Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT An oil spill and its cleanup can be viewed as occurring within a legal environment separable into categories including legal aspects of planning, response action, environmental protection, liability, and compensation. Each may provide enabling rules and constraints that affect the delegation of authority and responsibility to a range of actors. These include the spiller, terminal/facility owner, local emergency cleanup personnel, the Coast Guard, other government officers, volunteers, cleanup contractors, equipment manufacturers, and those damaged by the spill. This paper describes the legal components of an oil spill cleanup model being developed in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sea Grant College Program project involving several representative actors from the above categories. It focuses on the relevant existing legal environment in the United States and its relationship to the different actors. It explores how these relationships, expressed as enabling rules or constraints, may be integrated into the project's strategic, tactical, operational, and damage assessment models.

FIRST EXPERIENCES WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OIL SPILL MODEL

1983 ◽  
Vol 1983 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harilaos N. Psaraftis ◽  
J. D. Nyhart ◽  
David A. Betts
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Massachusetts Institute ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT A research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has completed the first phase of development of a computer-assisted model for analyzing complex decisions and policies regarding oil spill cleanup. The model is the product of an ongoing MIT Sea Grant project sponsored by a consortium of government and industry organizations. The model can be used, among other things, in “strategic” planning for the long-term oil spill response needs of a region, in assisting on-scene coordinators in responding to a specific spill (“tactical/operational” setting), in evaluating the environmental and economic damages of a spill versus the cost of cleanup, in simulation and training, and in the analysis of various policy and regulatory issues such as delays, use of dispersants, and liability and compensation. The model is described in detail, with a focus on its potential uses. Some illustrative applications in the New England region are presented and applications of the model for the solution of Petro-Canada's dispersant logistics problem are discussed briefly.

scholarly journals Safeguarding the Public Interest: A Look At Government Policies That Affect the Opa 90 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and Oil Spill Costs1

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 725-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael de Bettencourt ◽  
Gary Merrick ◽  
Timothy Deal ◽  
Bob Travis
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Trust Fund ◽  
Best Response ◽  
The Government ◽  
Measurement And Evaluation ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup

ABSTRACT U.S. government policies concerning the management of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) may be responsible for increased costs of oil spill cleanup in the United States. By not requiring measures of effectiveness and efficiency, and by enforcing policies that are disincentives to cost control, the government may be encouraging increased oil spill removal costs. The costs of an oil spill have increased substantially since the enactment of OPA 90, this despite improved spill response techniques and contingency planning. Rising costs have been attributed to:The government's acute sensitivity to public concerns about spill cleanupThe increased costs of natural resource damageThe inefficiency of spill response management This paper discusses the steps necessary to curb rising cleanup costs by changing policies relative to the management of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund OSLTF and by instituting measurements of spill response efficacy. Section I of the paper describes the current state of OPA 90 and the OSLTF. Section II outlines measurement and evaluation of oil spill responses using a Best Response model currently being developed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Section III describes several disincentives currently in place under policies of the OSLTF managers that have an effect on allowing increased costs for oil spill response.

The Measurement Handicapping System of USYRU

1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel D. Strohmeier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Linear Measure ◽  
Massachusetts Institute ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Wind Velocities ◽  
Sailing Yacht ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Rule Making ◽  
Offshore Sailing

In 1976 the United States Yacht Racing Union mandated a new handicapping system for offshore sailing yachts. The purpose was to provide equitable racing among yachts of diverse designs, a feature not possible under the existing International Offshore Rule. Making full use of the Pratt Project for sailing yacht research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USYRU evolved the Measurement Handicap System, in which ratings are expressed, not in linear measure as in past rules, but in predicted speeds on various points of sailing and in different wind velocities. The MHS was first used in the 1978 Bermuda Race. A feature of MHS is a set of regulations to require adequate cruising accommodations.

THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF OIL SPILL FINGERPRINTING1

1979 ◽  
Vol 1979 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
Alan P. Bentz ◽  
Stanley L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Oil Spill Identification ◽  
Civil Penalty

ABSTRACT In several recent court cases, evidence of an oil “fingerprint” has been used to identify the source of an oil spill. As a result, those responsible for the spill have been required to pay a civil penalty and to reimburse the United States for the cost of cleaning up the oil. The use of such evidence in court supports the conclusion that the U.S. Coast Guard's oil spill identification system is both scientifically and legally sound.

PREVENTIVE SALVAGE: THE GAP IN OPA POLLUTION DEFENSES

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 659-661
Author(s):  
John Arnold Witte
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Strong Emphasis ◽  
The World ◽  
Oil Spill Cleanup ◽  
Marine Environmental

ABSTRACT Despite the strong emphasis on oil spill cleanup in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the United States still faces a major gap in its defenses against oil pollution: the lack of adequate professional ship salvage capability. Availability of preventive salvage capability would contribute to the most effective way of preventing a marine environmental catastrophe: keeping the oil, or chemicals, in the ship. This is especially important in view of the increasing age of the world tanker fleet.

United States Coast Guard (USCG) C-130 Air Dispersant Delivery System (ADDS) capability history, deployment in remote areas, and associated challenges

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2017027
Author(s):  
Tim Gunter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Delivery System ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Federal State ◽  
United States Coast Guard ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
State And Local

Among the variety of oil spill response countermeasures, including mechanical, chemical, in-situ burning and bioremediation, deployment of chemical dispersants has been successfully utilized in numerous oil spills. This paper will review the history of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) C-130 Air Dispersant Delivery System (ADDS) capability, deployment in remote areas, and associated challenges. ADDS consists of a large tank with dispersant(e.g., 51,000 pounds), owned and operated by an industry partner, used aboard USCG C-130 aircraft designed to be ADDS capable as specified in various agreements for marine environmental protection missions. ADDS is a highly complex tool to utilize, requiring extensive training by air crews and industry equipment technicians to safely and properly deploy during an oil spill response. In 2011, the Commandant of the USCG, Admiral Papp reaffirmed the USCG's C-130 ADDS capability during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard. The use of ADDS in remote areas creates unique challenges, such as logistical coordination between the USCG and spill response industry partners and maintaining proficiency with personnel. It is critical for federal, state, and local agencies, industry, and academia to understand the history and challenges of ADDS to ensure the successful utilization of this response tool in an actual oil spill incident.

Integrated Vessel Response Plan Format

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 635-638
Author(s):  
William C. Rogers ◽  
Jean R. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Vessel Response ◽  
Response Plan ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACT Oil shipping companies operating on the West Coast of the United States are subject to international, federal, and state oil spill prevention and response planning regulations. Many companies wrote separate plans for each jurisdiction with the result that tank vessels carried several different plans on board and parent companies faced an administrative burden in keeping plans current. In June 1996, oil shipping company representatives proposed that the States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force work with them to develop a format incorporating West Coast states' and U.S. Coast Guard contingency planning requirements. A workgroup comprised of representatives of the Task Force, industry, and the U.S. Coast Guard, working cooperatively, eventually proposed a voluntary integrated plan format based on the key elements of the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Response Plan. This format allowed correlation with state planning requirements as well as with the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) required by international regulations. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Ministry of Transport, and all West Coast states have subsequently documented their agreement to accept vessel plans in this format, to coordinate review as needed, and to allow references to public documents such as Area Plans.

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