Offshore Oil Spills: Restoration and Federal Research Efforts Continue, but Opportunities to Improve Coordination Remain

The Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills are two of the largest offshore oil spills in U.S. history, causing long-lasting damage to marine and coastal resources. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) includes provisions to prevent and respond to such oil spills by authorizing (1) federal-state trustee councils that manage billions of dollars from legal settlements and (2) an interagency committee to coordinate oil pollution research, among other things. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the federal government’s response, restoration, and research efforts after the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills. This report examines, among other things, (1) how the trustee councils have used the restoration trust funds and the status of restoration and (2) the interagency committee’s coordination of oil spill research efforts. GAO reviewed the councils’ plans for the funds and how they were used, federal funding of oil spill research by member agencies, and key laws. Also, GAO evaluated the coordination of such efforts against a leading collaboration practice. GAO interviewed members of the trustee councils and the interagency committee. GAO recommends, among other things, that the interagency committee coordinate with the trustee councils to support their work and research needs. The agency agreed with GAO’s recommendations.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696318.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696316.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Government Accountability Office

  441 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20548
• Publication Date: 2019-1-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 60p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asset management; Coordination; Federal government; Financing; Oil spill cleanup; Oil spills; Recommendations; Research management
• Identifier Terms: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 2010; Exxon Valdez (Tanker); Oil Pollution Act of 1990
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Environment; Finance; Marine Transportation; Research;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01692388
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: GAO-19-31
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 7 2019 1:54PM