OTHER NEWS - Nov. 23, 1992

Oil Officials Must Hand Over Tape Transcripts: Oil company officials must turn over full transcripts of conversations recorded the night of the Exxon Valdez spill, an Alaska judge ruled after excerpts indicated that Exxon merely made a show of cleaning up. Magistrate David Ruskin said the record of discussions at an emergency command post in March, 1989, were “important and highly relevant.” The conversations involve the Coast Guard and officials of Exxon and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the industry consortium set up by Exxon and others to run the Trans Alaska pipeline. The state, along with those suing Exxon and Alyeska, sought the transcripts to bolster claims that company officials knew they were unprepared for a huge spill. An Alyeska spokeswoman said company officials had not decided whether to comply with the order or challenge it in court.