RESOURCES SENSITIVE TO OIL SPILLS 

 (CASE STUDY OF THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL) 



June Lindstedt-Siva 



Society of Petroleum Industry Biologists 



and Atlantic Richfield Co. 



Los Angeles, California 



ABSTRACT 



Oil spills should be treated as ecological, not just esthetic problems. 

 The primary goal of spill response should be to minimize the ecological im- 

 pacts of oil spills, not merely to remove visible oil. Biologically sensitive 

 areas can be identified and strategies developed to protect them in the event 

 of a spill. Guidelines for minimum impact oil spill cleanup can be developed 

 for various coastal habitats. These spill response planning concepts have 

 been successfully implemented by an oil cleanup cooperative in Santa Barbara, 

 Cal i form" a. 



INTRODUCTION 



Torrey Canyon in 1967 and Santa Barbara in 1969 were marker events. They 

 triggered the environmental movement in both the United States and the United 

 Kingdom and made it clear that neither government agencies or industry was 

 prepared to deal effectively with large oil spills. Garnett (1978) states 

 that large spills will always overtax the ability to respond. This points up 

 the need for clear goals and priorities in response planning. Conflicts 

 arise when spills are viewed differently by responding agencies. For example, 

 both Torrey Canyon and Santa Barbara were viewed by authorities as esthetic 

 problems rather than ecological ones. Hence, spill cleanup included methods 

 like steam cleaning and bulldozing to remove visible oil and (in the case of 

 Torrey Canyon) use of toxic detergents. Little thought was given to the eco- 

 logical consequences of these severe "cleanup" methods. Unfortunately, during 

 the more recent Amoco Cadiz spill, some of these same methods were still being 

 used. What have we learned in the 12 years since Torrey Canyon? What should 

 oil spill response, including cleanup, accomplish? 



I propose that except where life and limb are threatened, the primary 

 goal of spill response should be to minimize the ecological impacts of oil 

 spills. Although spilled oil is ugly, our primary response goal should not 

 be esthetic, i.e., to remove visible oil or present esthetic impact. There 

 may be times and places when the esthetic goal of removing visible oil will 

 predominate over the ecological goal of minimizing impact (e.g., during clean- 

 up of public amenity beaches), but in the main the goal of minimizing impact 

 should take precedence when the two conflict. For example, if a choice must 



79 



