The Oil Pollution Act of 1990

The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 was passed into law by Congress in the United States in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The OPA was enacted to prevent further oil spills from occurring and states that companies must have a plan to prevent spills and also have a detailed containment and cleanup plan for oil spills when they do occur.

The OPA streamlined and strengthened the EPA’s ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. A trust fund to clean up oil spills was established and funded by a tax on oil. The trust fund is available if the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do the cleanup.
 

The OPA requires oil storage facilities and vessels to submit plans to the Federal government detailing how they will respond to large discharges. The EPA is responsible for regulations for above ground storage facilities and the Coast Guard is responsible for regulations for oil tankers. In order to prepare for oil spills on a regional scale, the OPA also requires the development of Area Contingency Plans.
 

The Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 could well surpass the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989 because deposits in the Gulf of Mexico hold much more oil than one single tanker can hold.