Oil Pollution Act of 1990 timely evidence that oil spills were not uncommon. Alaska Governor Steve Cowper authorized the creation of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission in 1989 to examine the causes of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and issue recommendations on potential policy changes. Cowper appointed Walter B. Parker, a longtime transportation consultant and public official, as the chairman of the commission. Under Parker, the Commission issued 52 recommendations for improvements to industry, state, and federal regulations. 50 of these recommendations were worked into the Oil Pollution Act bill that was introduced into legislation on March 16, 1989 by Walter B. Jones, Sr., a
Refugio oil spill rest of the Refugio coastline south of the spill. The spill was much smaller than the nearby 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill on January 28, 1969 in which an oil rig blow-out spilled an estimated of crude oil over a ten-day period. The thick crude oil damaged the coats, skin, beaks, and appendages of hundreds of animals. Workers eventually collected 202 dead birds and 99 dead mammals which included at least 46 sea lions and 12 dolphins. The full impact will never be known since animals may travel a distance before succumbing to their injuries. Sixty-five live birds and sixty-three