North Cape oil spill recovered in the weeks following the spill. US federal and Rhode Island state governments undertook considerable work to clean up the spill and restore lost fishery stocks and coastal marine habitat. The "North Cape" oil spill is considered a significant legal precedent in that it was the first major oil spill in the continental U.S. after the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, resulting from the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill in Alaska on March 24, 1989. Of the many affected communities, one important habitat was the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is nearly 800 acres in
Oil spill governance in the United States covers inland oil spills. It is required by US federal law that any discharge of oil that creates a film or sheen on the water surface be reported to the National Response Centre. The National Response Centre then dissipates information to the USCG who acts as the federal on-scene coordinator. The USCG are the primary federal response authority in coastal water hence having the overall power to ensure the effective cleanup of oil spills and lead actions that prevent further discharge from the spill source. The resulting activities that follow up an oil spill involving federal, state and private parties