3,338 originate with tank vessels and barges. The 
quantity of spillage from vessels grew from 9,565.5 
metric tons in 1973 to 27,462.7 metric tons in 1976. 
The major causes of these accidents are structural 
failures, collisions, and groundings, many due to 
human error. Tankers deliberately discharge 1 mil- 
lion tons of oil each year worldwide, and some un- 
known quantity of that in waters off the U.S. coast, 
in routine operations of ballasting and tank clean- 
ing, although the law now prohibits such practices 
within 200 miles of the coast unless specifically 
allowed by the 1954 IMCO Convention.*® Tankers 
accidently spill 181,440 metric tons of oil each year 
worldwide (3.3 percent of total oil input to oceans). 
As the volume of oil in waterborne commerce in- 
creases and larger tankers are constructed to take 
advantage of the economies of scale, a catastrophic 
accident would result in a much larger spill, although 
supertanker casualties from collisions have not yet 
produced an abnormal number of major spills. 
Offshore oil production, which now comprises 
nearly 20 percent of total domestic oil production, 
will probably grow in importance. Some studies have 
indicated that total offshore production may com- 
prise between 25 and 30 percent of total U.S. oil 
production by 1985:*° As conventional onshore pro- 
duction peaked and has continued to decline, addi- 
tional emphasis has been placed on the development 
of oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf to offset 
increasing domestic demands for energy. It is esti- 
mated that between 8 and 50 billion barrels of oil 
and 28 to 199 trillion cubic feet of natural gas may 
exist as undiscovered recoverable reserves in offshore 
areas."* 
Offshore oil production contributes between 
72,570 and 136,080 metric tons of oil per year to 
the marine environment.’ The size of spills and an- 
nual frequency ‘vary considerably. Although spills 
may vary from a few gallons to over 150,000, the 
latter being the amount in the Santa Barbara blow- 
out, most oil spills are small. In 1972, 96 percent 
were less than 2.4 barrels (100 gallons). A few very 
large spills accounted for most of the oii spilled. For 
example, in 1970 and 1972 three spills each year 
accounted for two-thirds of all oil spilled in the 
United States in those years.’* Changes in technology 
and operating procedures can also affect the prob- 
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Coastal 
Effects of Offshore Energy Systems. Washington, D.C., Govern- 
ment Printing Office, 1976, p. 76. 
* U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Towards 
Project Interdependence: Energy in the Coming Decade. 94th 
Cong., Ist sess. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 
1975, p. 35. 
™ U.S. Congress, House, Ad Hoc Select ‘Committee on Outer 
Continental Shelf. Effects of Offshore Oil and Natural Gas 
Development on the Coastal Zone. 94th Cong., 2d sess. Wash- 
ington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1976, p. 7. 
™ National Academy of Sciences op. cit. note 63. 
® U.S. Congress, op. cit. note 71, p. 135. 
abilities and extent of oil spills from offshore devel- 
opment. One may assume, however, that expanded 
drilling and production activities off shore will in- 
crease the probability of oil spills as development in 
the frontier areas and in deeper waters of the Con- 
tinental Shelf and Continental Slope proceeds. 
Vessel Source Pollution 
Although the River and Harbor Act of 1899 
was originally intended to prevent the obstruction 
of navigation by refuse, it was later held by the 
U.S. Supreme Court in 1966 to include petroleum 
released in navigable waters.’‘ The first statutory en- 
actment intended to prevent oil releases into the 
marine environment was the Oil Pollution Control 
Act of 1924. This was followed by the Oil Pollution 
Control Act of 1961 (which implemented the 1954 
International Convention for the Prevention of the 
Pollution of the Sea by Oil), the Water Quality Im- 
provement Act of 1970, Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Ports and 
Waterways Safety Act of 1972, and the Clean Water 
Act of 1977. 
Before 1970, public concern and consequently 
political interest over oil pollution was small. The 
grounding and spiiling of 72,576 metric tons of oil 
by the Torrey Canyon off the coast of England in 
1967 and the Santa Barbara blowout from offshore 
oil wells in January 1969 dramatically pointed out 
the potential dangers of oil in the marine environ- 
ment, as well as the inadequacy of the laws to deal 
with cleanup and liability. 
Federal activity aimed at developing a U.S. capa- 
bility to prevent and mitigate the effect of such major 
oil spills accelerated following these incidents. The 
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration 
(predecessor to EPA) and the Coast Guard assumed 
the lead in this activity. Their earlier efforts resulted 
in a division of effort wherein the Coast Guard ac- 
cepted responsibility for developing equipment to 
contain and clean up spills in the offshore areas, 
while the FWPCA concentrated on cleanup tech- 
niques in sheltered waters. 
In response to the legislative mandate of the 
Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970, the Coast 
Guard promulgated pollution prevention regulations 
with the intent of reducing the probability of an 
accidental discharge of oil or oily waste during nor- 
mal vessel operations, transfer operations, or as a 
result of certain vessel accidents. The vessel-related 
portions of the pollution prevention regulations 
apply to all vessels in U.S. waters (except for vessels 
not engaged in commerce) and prohibit discharges 
affecting natural resources of, pertaining to, or under 
™ U.S. vs. Standard Oil Company, 384 U.S. 224, 86 S. Ct. 
1427, 16 L. Ed. 2d 492, (1966). 
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