California Oil Industry's Solution for Oil Spill Control in the Santa Barbara Channel

Abstract

Abstract Since the well-known Santa Barbara oil spill in January, 1969, the oil industry in California has devoted considerable manpower and money toward prevention of oil spills and effective control and cleanup of any accidental spill on the water or the land. Major oil companies have developed detailed oil spill contingency plans to improve their capabilities to control and cleanup oil spills, and both the Oil Operators and the Contractors have increased their inventory of cleanup equipment and their knowledge of control and cleanup operations. The most significant step toward controlling pollution from spills has been the formation of pollution from spills has been the formation of Clean Seas Incorporated, a non-profit corporation, headquartered in Santa Barbara, which will supply the equipment, materials, trained manpower, and operational know-how necessary to handle oil spills in the ocean from Pt. Dume to Estero Bay. The formation and funding of Clean Seas Incorporated by 14 major oil operators in the Santa Barbara area represents a commendable effort on their part to protect the environment of the area. The successful formation of Clean Seas Incorporated will pave the way for setting up similar cooperative oil spill control organizations in other major commercial areas on the West Coast and in Alaska. Introduction The oil spill that began on January 28, 1969, in the Santa Barbara Channel was undoubtedly the most publicized incident of its kind. It stirred up an emotional storm that is still raging. More information and even more misinformation has been put in public print about this event than, perhaps, public print about this event than, perhaps, any other single incident in recent oil history. There is great public confusion and understandable public concern. Political reverberations still echo in Sacramento and in the Halls of Congress. But amid the confusion of having to defend itself from both founded and wildly unfounded criticism, the oil industry saw one point to be perfectly clear. There was honest need to improve existing capability to deal with massive offshore oil spills. It was in response to this recognition that Clean Seas Incorporated came into being as the cooperative effort of the 14 major oil companies operating in the Santa Barbara Channel. It appears that Clean Seas Incorporated may also be the prototype of similar efforts needed elsewhere.