ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990                   TAG: 9003232021
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium


MAJOR OIL SPILLS LOOM, GROUP SAYS

A major oil spill such as the one that devastated Alaska's Prince William Sound a year ago could strike New York or Los Angeles harbor, two environmental groups said Thursday.

One group, the Center for Marine Conservation, also said spills are almost inevitable in the ecologically rich Florida Keys.

The center and the Natural Resources Defense Council, in separate studies undertaken after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, called for tighter standards governing tankers, pilots and tug escorts.

Meanwhile, an official of the Alaska Department of Conservation told a House panel that response to a similar spill wouldn't be much better today than a year ago.

"We don't believe recovery capability is where it should be," Larry Dietrick told a House interior subcommittee.

Dietrick said the state Legislature is considering a bill requiring a plan to handle very large spills.

The marine center suggested in its Thursday reports that the Coast Guard establish a network, much like the air-traffic control system, to monitor traffic off the Florida Keys and the central California coast and advise mariners of danger spots.

The tanker Exxon Valdez spewed nearly 11 million gallons of toxic crude oil into the sea when it ran aground in Prince William Sound a year ago Saturday, soaking 1,100 miles of scenic coastland. Searchers found 34,400 dead birds and believe at least 1,000 sea otters and countless other animals died.

"An Exxon Valdez-size spill could occur in New York Harbor," the Natural Resources Defense Council concluded, saying 18 billion gallons of oil are brought into the harbor each year and large spills have dumped more than 2.4 million gallons into the harbor in 13 years.

The report also said, in Los Angeles Harbor, supertankers regularly arrive carrying 33 million gallons of oil. It said more than 1.3 million gallons of oil and fuel have spilled into the Los Angeles Harbor area from major and medium spills since 1976.



 by CNB