Navy Oil Spills

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Navy Oil Spills

The Associated Press just ran an article (printed in San Jose Mercury
News, November 22, 1998) describing an epidemic of small Navy oil spills
in U.S. harbors. AP analyzed Navy data showing reported spills totally
181,453 gallons from fiscal year 1990 to 1997. "On average, there was a
spill every two days."

The location with the largest quantity of spills was Puget Sound
(Washington state) with 56,674 gallons over eight years, "60 percent of
all spills in the sound." Norfolk, Virginia had 36,773 gallons, San
Diego, California had 33,584 gallons, and Jacksonville, Florida had
10,805.

The annual total has risen from 17,730 gallons in 1990 yo 66,404 in
1997, but the Navy said the different may be due to "improved
record-keeping," not worse handling.

AP quote Read Admiral W.D. Center, command Puget Sound naval complex:
"Virtually every recent spill would not have occurred if property
training and supervised personnel had followed written procedures to the
letter." But Center also says the navy is going a good job of cleaning
up: "Unfortunately... one reason we are so good at responding to spills
is that we have been getting a lot of practice."

Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org