Marine Oil Spills

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, a semisubmersible drilling platform located approximately 50 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. The damaged platform capsized and sank on April 22, 2010. The rig is owned by Transocean and under contract to British Petroleum (BP), and contained an estimated 700,000 gallons of fuel before it sank. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

You may wish to view more about the Deepwater Horizon Incident. 

A marine oil spill is an accidental or intentional release of oil that reaches bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes or rivers. Oil can refer to many different materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products (like gasoline or diesel fuel), ships' by-products, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste. Spills can be caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries and storage facilities while the oil is being transported; natural oil seeps coming from the ocean floor; leaks that happen when we use petroleum products on land; equipment breaking down; natural disasters; or deliberate acts by terrorists, vandals or illegal dumpers.

Cleanup and Response 
Although many spills are contained and cleaned up by the party responsible for the spill, some spills require assistance from local and state agencies, and occasionally, the federal government. Under the National Contingency Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead federal response agency for oil spills occurring in inland waters, and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the lead response agency for spills in coastal waters and deepwater ports.

For more information, please visit the following sites: 

• The EPA's Emergency Management of Oil Spills web page
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Oil and Chemical Spills web page
• The Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Oil Spill Preparation and Response web page

Wildlife Rescue 
Depending on the circumstances, oil spills can be very harmful to marine birds, mammals, fish and shellfish. Many government agencies and private organizations help to rescue wildlife that has been exposed to oil pollution. However, before any person or organization can handle or confine birds or mammals for rescue, they must get special permits that are issued by state and federal officials. For more information, please visit the EPA's web page on rescuing wildlife.

Reporting 
To report an oil spill, please call the National Response Center (NRC) at 1.800.424.8802 or 1.202.267.2675. The NRC is the sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills. The NRC operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Whether or not it manages the response, the EPA tracks all reports of oil spills. Once the federal government receives the report, it is recorded in the Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS), which contains historical spill information for the entire country dating from 1986.

Additional Resources:

• Marine Debris
• Beach Pollution
• Environmental Emergencies: Releases of Oil, Radioactive Materials or Hazardous Chemicals
• Pollution: Filing an Environmental Complaint 

By usa.gov team