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N0KFQ > TODAY 24.03.14 17:42l 39 Lines 1645 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 16091_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Mar 24
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DB0ANF<CX2SA<VE3UIL<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 140324/1535Z 16091@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.58
Mar 24, 1989:
Exxon Valdez runs aground
The worst oil spill in U.S. territory begins when the supertanker
Exxon Valdez, owned and operated by the Exxon Corporation, runs
aground on a reef in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. An
estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled into the
water. Attempts to contain the massive spill were unsuccessful,
and wind and currents spread the oil more than 100 miles from its
source, eventually polluting more than 700 miles of coastline.
Hundreds of thousands of birds and animals were adversely
affected by the environmental disaster.
It was later revealed that Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the
Valdez, was drinking at the time of the accident and allowed an
uncertified officer to steer the massive vessel. In March 1990,
Hazelwood was convicted of misdemeanor negligence, fined $50,000,
and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service. In July
1992, an Alaska court overturned Hazelwood's conviction, citing a
federal statute that grants freedom from prosecution to those who
report an oil spill.
Exxon itself was condemned by the National Transportation Safety
Board and in early 1991 agreed under pressure from environmental
groups to pay a penalty of $100 million and provide $1 billion
over a 10-year period for the cost of the cleanup. However, later
in the year, both Alaska and Exxon rejected the agreement, and in
October 1991 the oil giant settled the matter by paying $25
million, less than 4 percent of the cleanup aid promised by Exxon
earlier that year.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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