Proposal Includes Fee to Clean Up Oil Spills

Declaring that California has escaped a disastrous oil spill only because of “sheer blind luck,” two state officials proposed legislation Tuesday that would impose a 50-cent-per-barrel fee on oil to pay for spill cleanups.

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy and Controller Gray Davis proposed the fee as part of a legislative package that would make the oil industry in California subject to tough new fines and regulations designed to force it to take steps to prevent tanker spills along the state’s coastline.

Both officials, who are members of the State Lands Commission, said hearings conducted after the 11-million-gallon spill from the Exxon Valdez in Alaska’s Prince William Sound had taught them that the industry cannot be depended upon to take adequate measures on its own either to prevent spills or clean up after one has occurred.

“What we learned was that California was spared (an oil spill) not because of adequate preparation, not because of appropriate caution, but out of sheer blind luck,” McCarthy said.

Industry Oil Spill Program

But a spokeswoman for the Western States Petroleum Assn. disagreed, saying the industry has begun its own oil spill program by pledging $250 million to create five regional oil spill centers capable of reacting immediately to spill emergencies.

Carol Currie said the industry is also supporting federal legislation that would create a $1-billion cleanup fund.

“What the industry asks is that they (the state) work with the industry to ensure that everything works together on both the state and federal level,” she said. The state legislation, to be sponsored by Sen. Barry Keene (D-Benicia) and Assemblyman Ted Lempert (D-San Mateo), would:

* Create a $500-million superfund to pay for oil spill cleanups. The superfund would be financed by the 50-cent fee imposed on each barrel of oil unloaded at a California marine terminal.

* Promote earlier participation by the Coast Guard in cleanup operations by providing that money from the fund could be used to reimburse the federal government for Coast Guard involvement.

* Establish tough new safety rules and make oil tanker and marine terminals subject to a maximum $100,000-a-day fine if they failed to comply with the rules.

* Impose a $10-a-gallon fine for every oil spill and a $30-a-gallon fine if the spill is caused by “willful misconduct or negligence.”

* Create an office of oil spill response to direct cleanup operations.

* Require tanker operators moving across state waters to prove that they had the resources to cover their liability for any spill.

* Establish coastal tanker control facilities to prevent collisions and groundings.

Lempert, who is also chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Oil Spill Prevention and Response Preparedness, said he will conduct hearings on the proposed legislation throughout the fall and formally introduce it early next year.

‘Widespread Outrage’

“I think if the public knew just how unprepared we are right now to prevent this nightmare there would be widespread outrage,” he said.

Lempert and Keene acknowledged that the oil companies would probably pass the new fees on to consumers in higher oil prices, possibly as much as half a cent per gallon.

“Will they pass it on to the consumer?” Keene asked. “They’ll try.”

But Davis said any increases in gasoline prices would be small compared with the 19-cent-per-gallon average rise in prices after the Valdez incident. “If they (the consumers) get hit with a half-cent increase at the gas pump, at least they get something for it,” he said.