NATION IN BRIEF : ALASKA : Exxon Told to End Cleanup by Aug. 15

The Coast Guard said in Anchorage, Alaska, that it wants Exxon Corp. to finish cleaning the still-oily shores of Alaska by Aug. 15. The federal on-scene coordinator of the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup, Coast Guard Rear Adm. David Ciancaglini, changed Exxon’s work plan to require that the oil company take additional steps to protect the environment during the second year of cleaning up oil spilled when its tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound last year. Ciancaglini ordered Exxon not to leave treated beaches in a disturbed condition. He told the company that once its crews have removed oil from a beach, they should return it to its earlier shoreline profile.