effecting this improvement in services. All agencies, he said, at both the 

 Federal and State levels, must have a clear definition of their responsibilities 

 in the area of response planning and additionally must have adequate funding to 

 carry out these responsibilities. In his words, "everybody within an agency has 

 got to know who carries the ball for that agency" with regard to oil spills. 

 At Fish and Wildlife Service, the ball is being carried by the Office of Migra- 

 tory Bird Management. According to Mr. Nelson, that office will soon have a 

 full-time coordinator in Washington to handle oil spill problems. 2 



Mr. Nelson stressed how important it is that immediate action be taken to 

 protect wildlife from oil spills. At present, when an oil spill occurs, the 

 Regional Response Team (RRT) meets to determine whether the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service should be called in. It may be too late to save most of the animals 

 affected by the time the team makes that decision. For this reason, he said, 

 the official at the scene must have the authority to initiate appropriate action 

 immediately. 



Mr. Nelson stated that, in his opinion, most Congressional legislation has 

 little significance in terms of biology, except in the case of protecting 

 endangered species. Regardless of existing legislation, the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service cannot be insensitive to the fate of birds exposed to the hazards of oil 

 spills. He said the first responsibility is to keep them out of the oil in the 

 first place. In short, it is not if but how the Service is going to proceed to 

 accomplish this. 



B. Status and Future Trends in Oil Spills and Implications for the U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service: April E. Fletcher 



Ms. Fletcher, of the Office of Migratory Bird Management, indicated that 

 the incidence of oil spills in the coastal waters of the United States has 

 increased tremendously during the last two decades. This increase parallels 

 the twofold increase in the consumption of oil in the United States during the 

 past 25 years. As the demand for oil increased during this period, the smaller 

 tankers of the World War II period were replaced by newer and larger vessels 

 capable of carrying greater cargoes of crude oil. The increasing world ocean- 

 bone trade in oil will continue to provide the impetus for increases in the size 

 of tankers. Giant supertankers are already operating in offshore waters. As 

 the size of tankers continues to increase, there will probably be fewer spills, 

 but when one does occur it will be of much greater magnitude. To emphasize the 

 nee 4 for protection of wildlife, particularly birds, Ms. Fletcher showed slides 

 ind eating that the major oil ports in the United States are also the locations 

 of .najor wintering habitat for migratory birds. In her concluding remarks, 

 Ms. Fletcher emphasized that the need for protection of birds from oil spills 

 is going to be with us for a long time. 



C. National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan and 

 Federal Responsibilities: Richard E. Hess 



Mr. Hess of the EPA/Coast Guard Liaison Team stated that the U.S. Department 

 of Interior is represented on the National Response Team (MRT) by the U.S. 

 Geological Survey. (Later, it was recommended that the Department of the Interior 

 representative should be a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.) Mr. Hess 



Editor's note: The new position of National Oil and Hazardous Substance 

 Spill Coordinator was filled in the fall of 1977. 



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