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 are co-ordinated by the USCG. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Response and Restoration (NOAA) works closely with the USCG in providing assistance in technical areas such as Consideration of Alternatives, Oil displacement tracking and risk assessments. Different authorities are responsible for governing oil spill prevention and anticipation depending on the potential sources of the oil spills. A number of executive orders (EOs) and memoranda of understanding (MOU) have established the authorities and agencies responsible for various classes of potential oil spills (Table 1). Table.1 Federal Agency Jurisdiction for oil spill anticipation and prevention duties, by potential sources.