Settlement Protects Coastal Waters from Harms of Oil Spill Dispersants

Surfrider Foundation filed settlement in court on May 30, 2013 that requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure that toxic oil-dispersing chemicals will not adversely impact sea life and our coastal resources. Surfrider Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Environment (“Plaintiffs”) originally filed this lawsuit against the EPA and the Coast Guard in April of 2012. According to this settlement of the lawsuit, these agencies promised to solicit and use the expert opinions of the National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish & Wildlife Service before toxic oil spill dispersants are listed as eligible for use in our nation’s waters. Previously, after oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf, the dispersant chemicals were used in unprecedented amounts without knowledge of their long-term effects.