1993 Tampa Bay Oil Spill: A Tale of Two NRDAS, With One Happy Ending

摘要

On August 10, 1993, approximately 32,000 gallons of mixed light fuels and 330,000 gallons of no. 6 fuel oil were discharged into the Tampa Bay environment following collisions involving three vessels. The spill or associated response actions resulted in harm to a variety of natural resources, including birds, sea turtles, mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, oyster beds, surface waters, sediments and beaches, and significantly disrupted the use of area waterways, beaches and shellfish beds for public recreation. The Tampa Bay spill the first major coastal oil spill in the nation following enactment of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the first major spill in Florida following enactment of Fla. Stat. 376.121, Floridas compensation statute for oil spills.