University of Richmond Law Review Volume 48 Article 5 Issue 3 Allen Chair Issue 2014 3-1-2014 Oil and Gas and Floods Justin Pidot University of Denver Sturm College of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview Part of the Environmental Law Commons, and the Natural Resources Law Commons Recommended Citation Justin Pidot, Oil and Gas and Floods, 48 U. Rich. L. Rev. 959 (2014). Available at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol48/iss3/5 This Symposium Articles is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Richmond Law Review by an authorized editor of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. OIL AND GAS AND FLOODS Justin Pidot * INTRODUCTION On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef.' Over the next five hours, the incapacitated vessel spilled more than ten million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound, and some of that oil remains in the envi- ronment to this day.2 Reaction to the Exxon Valdez disaster was swift. Congress con- vened its first hearing on the incident on April 6, 1989," and passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ("OPA") less than two years later with broad bipartisan support-the House of Representa- tives passed the bill 375 to 5 and the Senate passed the bill on a voice vote.' The federal government did not act alone. The State of Alaska promptly convened an oil spill commission to examine the Exxon Valdez spill, which published a lengthy report less than a * Assistant Professor, University of Denver Sturm College of Law.