Immunity Claimed for Captain in Oil Spill

When Capt. Joseph Hazelwood reported that the Exxon Valdez was spilling crude oil into Prince William Sound, he automatically won immunity from prosecution on any charges from the spill, his lawyer claims.

Hazelwood has been charged with three misdemeanors and three felonies in the spill, but court documents filed in his defense claim that a little-known state regulation protects him from prosecution.

The regulation was designed to encourage reporting of spilled oil or other hazardous substances. The immunity clause provides that information obtained in such a report may not be used in prosecuting the people who make the notification.

Hazelwood’s trial is tentatively set for Oct. 30.

Early on March 24, Hazelwood reported to the Coast Guard that his vessel was impaled on Bligh Reef and was spilling its cargo of oil into the sound.

The promise of some kind of immunity to “any natural person providing this notification or report” is stated in the Alaska Administrative Code, but it will be up to Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler to decide how far the protection extends.

Dick Madson, one of Hazelwood’s attorneys, said the immunity clause “prohibits prosecution for anything stated by the reporter, as well as any information which is derived from investigating the report.”

If Cutler rules for Hazelwood, it could eliminate all of the evidence gathered by the state to support its charges against the former skipper.

Madson argued that a broad interpretation of the immunity clause is necessary because people who spill oil are legally required to report the incident--violating their right to protection from self-incrimination.

“The immunity offered is to ensure that, if one obeys the law by reporting a discharge, he cannot be criminally prosecuted for the discharge itself,” Madson argued.

State Ignored Laws

Madson said also that the state improperly ignored laws specifically designed to deal with oil spills and charged Hazelwood instead with catchall criminal mischief felonies that carry stiffer penalties.

Madson said the allegations of recklessness are based on untrue accusations. The state claims Hazelwood turned over control of the ship to a third mate who did not have a required license. Madson said the Coast Guard had waived that rule, although Coast Guard information appears to dispute Madson’s assertion.

The second allegation of recklessness is based on charges that Hazelwood tried to rock the tanker off the reef. But Madson said logs show the engine was not in reverse at any time after the grounding.