Exxon Valdez oil spill Exxon Valdez oil spill The "Exxon Valdez" oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 24, 1989, when "Exxon Valdez", an oil tanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, 1.5 miles west of Tatitlek, Alaska at 12:04 am local time and spilled (or a mass of 35,000 metric tonnes) of crude oil over the next few days. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters. The "Valdez" spill is the second largest in US waters, after the 2010 "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill, in terms
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.