The Nation - News from July 16, 1989

The state of Alaska wants Exxon to continue cleaning up its spilled oil during the long northern winter and to resume cleanup operations in spring, according to letters from state officials to the Coast Guard. Exxon wants to pull out of Alaska in two months, on Sept. 15, according to plans submitted to the Coast Guard, and a company official said that Exxon was going ahead with demobilization plans. The state wants containment booms maintained at salmon hatcheries and sensitive bays in Prince William Sound, where the Exxon Valdez spilled about 11 million gallons March 24. State officials also want Exxon to collect oily debris and continue shoreline cleanup, especially at heavily oiled beaches, as long as weather permits.