After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

"The Exxon Valdez oil spill affected mammals, birds, fish, habitat, subsistence, and other resources. This report describes those effects and presents an overview of the settlement and restoration framework. Reprinted from Alaska's Marine Resources Vol. VII No. 3.

In this report:

Summary of Injury: The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred just prior to the most biologically active
season of the year in Southcentral Alaska. The oil affected different organisms in different ways. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees recently produced a document which includes the most recent accounting of damages to the natural resource in the spill area. In this issue of Alaska's Marine Resources we have included this information as it appeared in the document in an effort to help understand what occurred after the oil spill.

Summary of the Settlement: On October 8, 1991, an agreement was approved by the United States District Court that settled the claims of the United States and the State of Alaska against Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping Company for various criminal violations and for recovery of civil damages resulting from the oil spill. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees described the settlement in their document titled Restoration Framework. That description is reprinted in this issue of Alaska's Marine Resources.

Habitat Acquisition, Key to Successful Settlement: Was the oil spill settlement a good compromise for both the people and the natural resources impacted by the spill? This has been a topic of heated discussion. Some Alaskans don't think the state has done so well for the people, the resources, and the environment. In addition they don't think the monies are being used for what they were promised."