Walter B. Parker Act, which was signed into law in 1980 by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, spilling an estimated 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major environmental disaster for the state. Governor Steve Cowper, who held office at the time of the spill, appointed Walter Parker as the chairman of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission in 1989. The Alaska Oil Spill Commission was created by the Alaska state government to investigate the causes of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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.