Bouchard 120 Oil Spill – Five Years Later

What Has Changed and Why Isn’t The Bay Fully Protected?

Five years ago, on April 27, 2003, the Bouchard Transportation 120 oil barge ran aground in Buzzards Bay, which caused a gash in the bottom of the single-hull barge that gushed nearly 100,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil – the second largest spill in the Bay’s history.

The collision caused an gash in the bottom of the single-hull barge that gushed nearly 100,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Bay – the second largest spill in the Bay’s history. The impacts were devastating, as the oil contaminated 93 miles of shoreline, killed hundreds of birds, and closed thousands of acres of shellfish beds. To this day, the insidious long-term consequences are not fully understood.

Since then, the Coalition has fought tirelessly to strengthen oil spill prevention rules to protect the Bay from future spill disasters, as the Bay is a primary route for barges and small tankers transporting petroleum products into Boston and northern New England.

2003

• The Coalition serves as the Coast Guard-Designated Volunteer Response Coordinator, participating directly in the Unified Command System, coordinating the public Reporting Phone Line, and training hundreds of volunteers to work in wildlife rehabilitation, shoreline assessment, and public outreach.

2004

• The Coalition leads effort to draft oil spill prevention legislation in Massachusetts. The legislation unanimously passes in the House and Senate. In addition to raising fines for oil spills and creating a fund to train first-responders, the law requires oil barge operators to navigate within designated routes, use local pilots and tugboat escorts to guide their crafts, and employ a vessel tracking system to curb collisions and groundings.

• The Coalition initiates and coordinates development of a Buzzards Bay Geographic Oil Spill Response Plan. Working alongside 12 other local, state, federal and private organizations, the Coalition creates a response plan to provide protection strategies for 43 coastal sites in Buzzards Bay from Westport to Cuttyhunk. The plan provides first- responders with guidance on equipment, shore access points and strategies that can be immediately implemented to begin an effective response and minimize the devastating effects that occur within the first hours of a spill.

2005

• The U.S. Coast Guard and oil transport industry join forces and sue Massachusetts for enacting the “Oil Spill Prevention Act,” charging that the state exceeded its authority to regulate oil transport in the Bay.

• The Coalition moves quickly to join the state to assist in the defense of the law. The Coalition intervenes as co-defendant with the state and countersues the federal government for failing to follow a congressional mandate requiring drug and alcohol testing after a serious marine incident.
  
  
• The U.S. Coast Guard’s Area Committee approves the “Buzzards Bay Geographic Response Plan for Oil Spill Mitigation.”

• The Coalition campaigns for implementation of Oil Spill Prevention Act components not being challenged by the lawsuit, including the Vessel Traffic Service System, a monitoring system similar to air traffic control that would guide vessels safely through Buzzards Bay.

2006

• Three years after the spill, the U.S. Coast Guard finally proposes new oil transport rules that mandate the use of escort tugs and federal pilots for single-hull tank barges. However, the rules do not call for state pilots or tug escorts for double-hull vessels as requested by the state.

• The Coalition submits formal comments to the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposed rules urging them to adopt regulations equal to Massachusetts law.

• The U.S. District Court decides, in favor of the oil transport industry and the U.S. Coast Guard, to remove large portions of the Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention Act, such as mandatory tug escorts and navigational routes, as well as local pilots and minimum crew on oil vessels in Buzzards Bay.
  
  

• The Coalition and Massachusetts Attorney General appeal the decision and outline the need for multiple safety regulations in the Bay, including a required escort tug for both single- and double-hull barges, enhanced manning for tugs, as well as proof of financial assurance payable to the State in the event of an oil spill.

2007

• The Coalition and the Massachusetts Attorney General succeed in convincing the Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the U.S. District Court’s decision. Three of the most essential provisions protecting Buzzards Bay from another oil spill are restored – escort tugs for ALL barges carrying more than 6,000 barrels of oil in the Bay, enhanced manning requirements for tugs and barges, and adequate financial assurance.

• The U.S. Coast Guard issues new navigation safety regulations, adopting many of the safety measures advocated by the Coalition, including a Vessel Movement Reporting System, and an escort tug requirement for single hull barges. The U.S. Coast Guard also requires that federal pilots be aboard all single-hull barges.
  
  

• The Coalition leads the effort to draft new oil spill prevention legislation in Massachusetts Bill # S.2374 to insure that tug escorts and local state pilots are provided to double-hull barges transiting Buzzards Bay.
  
  
• MA. S.2374 passes Senate and awaits action in the House.
  

Although the Coalition has accomplished a lot in the past five years to prevent another oil spill in Buzzards Bay, there are still battles to be won. The Coalition won a small victory on Thursday, April 24 when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, which includes a Buzzards Bay Pilot Amendment. U.S. Representative Barney Frank D-Mass. worked closely with the Coalition to develop the provision, which mandates that single-hull oil barges traveling in Buzzards Bay use Massachusetts licensed pilots or federally licensed pilots with recent experience in the Bay. Alaska’s Prince William Sound – the location of the Exxon Valdez oil spill – is currently the only waterway specifically requiring state pilots.

The Coalition commends Congressman Frank for his continued advocacy and commitment to protecting the Buzzards Bay environment and coastal economy. Looking forward, the Coalition hopes this amendment will eventually expand to include double-hull oil barges.

With the ultimate fate of our federal litigation in defense of the 2004 Massachusetts law unknown, the Coalition worked closely with Massachusetts state legislators to come up with a new way to secure the critical Tug Escort and Massachusetts State Pilot requirements for ALL oil barges transiting Buzzards Bay. Last summer, a broad group of legislators filed, "An Act to Prevent Oil Spills in Buzzards Bay" (Bill #S.2374). The Senate passed this legislation unanimously in November 2007 and it now awaits a vote in the House of Representatives.

Your voice this week can help. The Tug Escort and local Pilot requirements at the heart of this bill are by far the most important safety measures needed, and without them, Buzzards Bay remains at risk of another spill.

The Coalition encourages you to remind your state representative how important oil spill prevention is to you and to place a quick call to the House Ways and Means Committee at 617-722-2380 (or email the Committee’s Chairman Robert DeLeo at Robert.DeLeo@state.ma.us) to urge them to move S.2374 to a vote in the House of Representatives. That simple step is the most important thing you can do this week to make sure that our Bay and region never again suffers the environmental and economic harm we saw five years ago.

Click here for a suggested letter (letters are more effective than e-mails). Simply print this letter, sign it, and print your name and address to reflect your location close to the Bay – or feel free to craft your own letter. Send letters to:

Chairman Robert DeLeo

Committee on House Ways and Means

State House, Room 243

Boston, MA 02133

Please act now so we don’t have another anniversary with an unprotected Bay.

If you have any questions or concerns about this issue, please call Korrin N. Petersen, Esq. at (508) 999-6363 ext 206 or petersen@savebuzzardsbay.org. It would be helpful for us to know that you sent this letter - please send a copy to Korrin N. Petersen, Esq. Advocacy Director 620 Belleville Ave New Bedford, MA 02745 or by e-mail.

Related Links:

Fact Sheet S.2374, “An Act to Prevent Oil Spills in Buzzards Bay”

House Passes Fishing Safety Measures – Bill Also Requires Special Pilots on Oil Barges in Buzzards Bay

Standard Times Op-Ed by Coalition Executive Director, Mark Rasmussen