later allowed it to resume. This was not a detergent such as 

 those used for the TORREY CANYON accident which many 

 claim did more harm to marine life than the oil did. There are 

 however serious questions regarding the effects of Corexit and 

 similar chemicals on marine life and further research is cer- 

 tainly in order. 



The pending sale of 27 offshore leases on the outer contin- 

 ental shelf off the Louisiana Coast has been postponed. A 

 moratorium on sales of Federal offshore oil and gas leases is 

 to be maintained until the Department of Interior is assured 

 that regulations exist which will prevent pollution such as 

 occurred at Santa Barbara. In mid-March another oil well, this 

 time in the Gulf of Mexico off of Louisiana, began pouring oil 

 into the ocean. Because of favorable tide and wind conditions 

 no coastal damage resulted from that incident. 



Congressional Hearings. As oil continued to spew into the 

 waters off of the coast of Santa Barbara, hearings on two water 

 pollution bills (S. 7 and S. 544) began in a Senate subcommittee 

 on February 3, 1969. The bills, similar to one which barely 

 failed to pass in 1968 after a strong lobbying effort by oil and 

 public power interests, deal with sewage discharges from ves- 

 sels, oil pollution control, compliance with water pollution stand- 

 ards by federal licenses, and various research authorizations. 

 They contain the controversial provisions of the 1968 bill (S. 

 3206 ) which would extend oil pollution controls to offshore drill- 

 ing installations and would give the Secretary of the Interior 

 increased powers to control interstate water pollution by licen- 

 sees of federal agencies. Senator Muskie introduced the two 

 bills and chairs the Subcommittee. 



Representatives of the oil and shipping industries and other 

 spokesmen have argued that the proposed maximum liability 

 of $15 million or $450 per gross ton, whichever is the lesser, 

 for clean-up costs is beyond the capacity of the world insurance 

 markets, and they suggest instead a ceiling of $10 million or 

 $100 per gross ton. Appearing before the Subcommittee on 

 February 28, Secretary Hickel not only supported the bills but 

 suggested that they be strengthened in several major respects. 

 His proposals included: 



— safeguards against any potential pollutant, not oil alone 



— eliminating the $15 million liability for well blowout and 

 placing unlimited liability on the companies 



— provision for civil penalty for willful or negligent dis- 

 charge of pollutants for offshore oil operations, not only 

 for ships 



32 



