Cosco Busan Oil Spill - A Year Later

November 7 marked one year since the Cosco Busan container ship ran into the Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay. Whether you were involved in bird rescue and beach clean up, or simply a witness to the wildlife and environmental effects along our shorelines, the 2007 oil spill was a vivid reality check on oil spill response and coordination in the Bay Area. My own experience on the rescue front illuminated some woefully inadequate resources. Lisa Owens Viani wrote a piece for Terrain magazine, part personal account and part analysis of the flaws in the rescue response.

As a result of the Cosco Busan spill, Baykeeper and state legislators mobilized to ensure that the slow and inadequate response we witnessed after the spill will never happen again. And, this year, Baykeeper marked the passage of several pieces of legislation designed to provide better protection of our waterways and our wildlife, in the event of another spill. The bills were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in September of this year.

Unfortunately, three additional bills were vetoed by the Governor: SB 1056 (improved mandatory response times), AB 2547 (oil spill prevention and cleanup technology grants), and AB 2032 (increased cap on OSPAF barrel fee). You can read Baykeeper's analysis of the individual bills here. Sejal Choksi and David Gordon penned an editorial for the Chronicle on November 7, establishing both the progress made so far, and the measures still needed with respect to oil spill issues.

Over at Huffington Post today, I saw a related story on Dr. Riki Ott, the marine biologist whose recent book Not One Drop documents the struggle between residents of the Prince William Sound area of Alaska and Exxon -- in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. In June of this year, the Supreme Court slashed punitive damages for Exxon in the ongoing case over the spill.

The Chelsea Green website has a video with Dr. Ott describing her involvement in Alaska's environment and with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. You can also see footage of at least one lasting effect incurred by the massive and devastating oil spill almost 20 years ago.

Links:

• Cosco Busan Oil Spill Photos
• Baykeeper Website
• Chelsea Green Video with Dr. Niki Ott

^{Photo © Ingrid Taylar}