Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Case has Local Implications Around Nation On February 26, 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on the case surrounding the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 1987 the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 30 to 35 million gallons of Alaskan crude oil into Prince William Sound. The Court will hear arguments from Exxon why it should escape the $5 billion liability award imposed by an Anchorage jury in 1994. The High Court’s decision holds relevance for oil spill prevention and clean-up everywhere.
“The issue is whether we will hold oil companies responsible for the safety of their ships,” said Waterkeeper Alliance President Steve Fleischli. “If Exxon avoids responsibility for this tragic but preventable accident it will increase the risk to every waterbody and coastline in the nation from oil tanker traffic.”
Among other claims, Exxon has argued that an 1818 maritime case known as the Amiable Nancy insulates shippers from the damages incurred by their vessel captains. That case hinged on the fact that ships of that era typically left port for years at a time with no contact with the vessel owner; today’s modern communications obviously create changed circumstances.
“The Exxon Valdez oil spill showed that oil is considerably more toxic in the long term than scientists previously thought,” said Alaska-based Prince William Soundkeeper Jennifer Gibbons. “The once lucrative herring fisheries of Prince William Sound are now gone and 20 years after the spill, along hundreds of miles of coastline, you can still scoop oil up with your fingers.”
Through countless appeals and legal maneuvering, Exxon lawyers have whittled down the original $5 billion jury verdict to $2.5 billion, and Exxon is now asking the Supreme Court to disallow that award under U.S. maritime law and the Clean Water Act. In 2007, Exxon recorded the highest profits of any U.S. corporation ever, pulling in $40.6 billion — or more than $1,287 of profit for every second of 2007.
For background information on the Exxon Valdez oil spill, see: www.wholetruth.net or H2Oil, the summer 2007 issue of Waterkeeper magazine.