Splashback
Massachusetts Oil Act

Buzzards Baykeeper scored a major victory in the First Circuit Court of Appeals this summer – good news for all coastal Waterkeepers. The decision by the court reinstates key provisions of the Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act and supports states’ rights to establish oil spill prevention measures. While the legal battle isn’t over yet, this is an important step. The support of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Maine, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico against the federal government and oil industry is an important indicator that states are beginning to stand up for themselves against oil interests.

Each year, more than two billion gallons of oil are shipped through Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, putting the bay at grave risk for hazardous oil spills. For a long time, the state’s best defense against a toxic disaster was the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, a state law that requires tugboat escorts, and enhanced manning and watch provisions for tankers. The law also ensures that oil transporters are held accountable for damage to the waterways, and that a proper cleanup is performed in the case of an oil spill emergency.

But in July 2006, ruling on a complaint filed by the federal government with support from the oil lobby, the U.S. District Court eliminated important environmental protections in the law. Baykeeper and the Coalition for Buzzards Bay, together with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, appealed the decision. This summer, after a year-long legal battle, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision, reinstating the environmental protections and remanding the act back to the lower court for a rehearing.

In the interim, the state has held firm in maintaining the protections in the act. In July, legislation drafted by Baykeeper and the Coalition was presented before the Joint Committee on the Environment for the City of New Bedford with support from state representatives. The bills provide a plan for tugboats with trained pilots to shadow oil tankers as they navigate Buzzards Bay. And in August, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Attorney General’s Office announced that it would enforce environmental provisions in the act while it is being reviewed by the lower court.

Buzzards Baykeeper and the Coalition hailed this as a major victory in the ongoing fight to prevent another oil spill in the bay and preserve state protections against federal rollbacks.