THE STORY OF A SUCCESSFUL OIL SPILL COOPERATIVE: THE CORPUS CHRISTI AREA OIL SPILL CONTROL ASSOCIATION

The Corpus Christi Area Oil Spill Control Association, founded in 1970 as a nonprofit Texas corporation to provide the Coastal Bend area of South Texas with a reasonable capablility to contain and harvest oil spills on the area's shallow waters, can be considered a successful cooperative for two primary reasons. The first is the smooth blending of industry with federal, state, and local governments to create a working entity. The association, originally funded by each of these partments, is governed by a five-man board with a representative from each. Its operating budget is shared by government and industry alike on a 50-50 basis. The second reason is the low average cleanup cost, 40 cents per gallon. To date the association has cleaned up 167 assorted spills with the first occurring in November 1971. The largest spill amounted to 8,000 barrels, covering approximately 10 miles of ship channel area; the smallest spill was less than one barrel. The association has been commended by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the State of Texas, and industry groups. It is the recipient of the Gold Medal Award from the National Sports Foundation and has been assigned the use of EPA's unique beach sand cleaner.

Media Info

  • Pagination: p. 65-68

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00152031
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: American Petroleum Institute
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Apr 27 1977 12:00AM