Reilly Tours Alaska, Expects Cleanup to Continue in 1990 : EPA Chief Wants Exxon to Honor Pledge

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief William K. Reilly said here Friday that Exxon should not abandon its efforts to clean up the nation’s largest oil spill until the job is done.

In the most forceful language he has yet employed, Reilly said that despite Exxon’s claims that the cleanup will be completed by Sept. 15 it was “quite clear this job is not going to be done this year.

Reilly, in response to a question, said Exxon should be held to its original pledge not to quit until the cleanup was complete.

“I believe Exxon ought to be here next year. I’ll say that right now,” Reilly said as he stepped off a float plane onto one of the most heavily oiled islands in Prince William Sound.

‘Take It Step by Step’

“It’s clearly not the task of one summer and probably even not a couple of years. But we’ll take it step by step,” Reilly said.

Nonetheless, Reilly said that Exxon’s response so far to the nation’s largest oil spill has been “positive” and that “we expect them to continue to do that.”

Reilly’s remarks come at a time of lingering confusion over Exxon’s future cleanup plans, and on the same day that the U.S. Coast Guard reported that 1,355 miles of Alaskan shoreline -- nearly twice the earlier estimate -- had been affected by the March 24 oil spill of 11 million gallons from the tanker Exxon Valdez.

As recently as Friday, Otto Harrison, general manager of Exxon’s cleanup effort, told a hearing in Anchorage that the company would make no commitments to fund more oil removal efforts next year, according to a United Press International report.

Exxon has came under fire in Congress and from Alaskan officials after the disclosure of a July 19 company memo written by Harrison that said there were no guarantees the cleanup would be resumed next spring after winter storms subside.

Later, in testimony before a Senate committee, Exxon President William D. Stevens appeared to retreat from that position, calling the memo’s wording unfortunate.

Stevens said the company would comply with any “reasonable” request from the U.S. Coast Guard, which is overseeing the federal government’s response to the spill.

Nonetheless, many viewed the testimony as giving the oil company breathing room not to return.

Exxon also issued a statement July 28 quoting from a statement by Lawrence G. Rawl, chairman of Exxon Corp., at Exxon’s May 18 annual shareholders meeting:

“Our objective is to complete the job by mid-September, and milestones have been established to measure our progress. In any event, we will return to the area in the spring of 1990 to reinspect the area, to assure that the job has been properly done, and if not, to put it right.”

Toll of Beaches

The Coast Guard said Friday that less than a third of the 1,355 miles of beaches have been treated by Exxon.

Exxon reported late last month that it would spend $1.28 billion on the cleanup.

Meanwhile, Exxon’s decision to quit for the winter because of adverse weather conditions came under fire again from Alaska officials.

Alaska Environmental Commissioner Dennis Kelso, in testimony before the Alaska Oil Spill Commission meeting in Anchorage, said the decision called into question the industry’s ability to deal with a spill during winter.

“If it really is Exxon’s position that an effective response cannot be safely maintained during the winter months, then what does that say about the transport of oil in Prince William Sound or in other parts of the Alaskan environment during those same months?” Kelso asked.

Visits Two Islands

Meanwhile, EPA Administrator Reilly, in his first inspection of Prince William Sound since the cleanup mobilization, visited Knight and Green islands, which were among the hardest hit by the spill.

Reilly said that he was encouraged by the cleanup progress and by preliminary results which show that applying fertilizers on the oiled beaches accelerates the breakdown of the oil.

Reilly declined, however, to comment at length on a controversial proposal to use a chemical dispersant on or near beaches to break up the oil.

On Thursday, eight environmental organizations urged Reilly to forbid the use of the dispersant, known as Corexit 9580, because of its potential toxicity to marine life.

“We’re taking it seriously,” Reilly said. He said toxicological tests would be completed by Aug. 10. “There’s time for a decision,” he said.

Reilly also met with Exxon officials here, as well as local, state and federal officials. Later, he was scheduled to fly to Cordova, a fishing community hard hit by the loss of the salmon season.

Reilly, who is scheduled to fly Sunday to Mexico City for preparations for the summit between the U.S. and Mexico, said he will report his Alaskan findings to President Bush.