Ready for Next Time

This is not much of a silver lining, but Americans were fortunate that the Exxon Valdez was owned and operated by one of the giants of the oil industry. Exxon at least recognized its responsibility to do something about the spill, and had the deep pockets that allowed it to spend freely to mobilize a cleanup operation.

But what if the tanker that hit Bligh Reef had been an independent carrier operated by a company that was struggling just to meet the mortgage payments? Existing cleanup funds and liability laws would not have begun to meet the costs, even if the shipper wanted to help. And had the shipper refused, it might have been years before a court assessed damages, which probably could not be collected anyway.

There is no secret about the inadequacy of present oil-spill prevention, cleanup and liability laws. Congress has been struggling for a decade to give the nation legislation equal to the risk. But the House and Senate have been bitterly divided over whether the federal legislation should preempt state laws--including those of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, which have no limits on the polluter’s liability.

The Senate has passed, 99-to-0, a strong liability bill that would maintain state laws. The House is about to consider two measures that not only would void state programs, but would make existing national law weaker in some respects. The shipper-oriented bills would put unacceptably low liability limits on tankers and fail to provide adequate compensation for damaged resources.

Fortunately, Reps. George Miller (D-Martinez) and Gerry E. Studds (D-Mass.) plan to sponsor amendments that would make the House version of the legislation similar to the Senate’s, but even stronger than that in some respects. The Miller-Studds package would maintain state laws, make it more difficult for shipping firms to escape liability when negligence or misconduct is involved, would finance a quick cleanup response and provide for restoration of resources. Still better, if a contract carrier did not have the financial resources to pay the bills, the oil company that hired the shipper could be held liable.

Lulled by industry promises, the nation was shocked by the magnitude of the Exxon Valdez spill, the woeful inadequacy of the immediate response and the futility of much of the cleanup. Now America knows what it will take to guard against the next spill: a no-nonsense program like the Miller-Studds package that will assure quick action and see that the polluter pays.