Coastal Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: The Morris J. Berman Incident

On January 7, 1994, the disabled tank barge Morris J. Berman ran aground spilling 750,000 gallons of heavy-grade fuel oil on the beaches of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The spill impacted a variety of resources and temporarily shut down a portion of the tourist industry during the height of the winter season. The spill is noteworthy as the first major incident in U.S. coastal waters following passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). A landmark provision passed as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe. The Berman spill provides a test case for assessing the robustness of policy mandates incorporated in the OPA 90. Mandates that compelled the oil transportation and response network to assume high-reliability organization characteristics. The study finds that although high-reliability characteristics were seemingly adopted their implementation during the Berman spill evidenced a significant number of shortcomings. Copyright 2008 by The Policy Studies Organization.