Buzzards Bay Oil Spill. Coooperatively Working from Spill Response to Natural Resource Injury Restoration.

摘要

On April 27, 2003, Bouchard Transportation Company's Barge 120 (B-120) grounded on a shoal soon after entering the western approach to Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and spilling an estimated 98,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. In the days and weeks that followed the spill, winds and currents drove the oil ashore, oiling approximately 100 miles of shoreline in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including rocky and cobble shores, tidal marshes, and sand beaches. The oil spill killed or harmed hundreds of loons, sea ducks, and other birds, and adversely affected the public's use of the coastal waters and the adjoining coastline. The lost uses of natural resources included a prolonged temporary harvesting closure of shellfish beds, restrictions on general shoreline use, including beach access, and limitations on recreational coastal boating opportunities.