Number: 1990-15
WHEREAS, the prevention of oil spills is environmentally and economically more sensible than any resulting clean-up can be, the most reliable and accurate system should be implemented; and
WHEREAS, the oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, devastated the environment and cost billions of dollars in damages and economic loss to the citizens of Alaska; and
WHEREAS, the World Prodigy oil spill in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and other spills in Delaware, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and California also demonstrate that navigable waterways used for transportation of oil and other hazardous materials are possible sites for future devastation; and
WHEREAS, technology exists today to allow timely tracking of vessels so as to prevent such spills in the future in the form of the Differential Global Positioning System known as “satellite tracking”; and
WHEREAS, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is presently in the process of starting a pilot study of this system in the Prince William Sound of Alaska in April of this year; and
WHEREAS, the USCG has the authority to control American vessels and require them to be outfitted with specific safety equipment and this system in its simplest form can be carried on board a vessel and installed by a pilot prior to entering a harbor or bay area; and
WHEREAS, the cost of this system is far less than that of traditional radar systems and is more reliable and accurate than any combination of systems available and whose accuracy is within 8 meters in the enhanced mode; and
WHEREAS, this system will be fully operational within 12 to 15 months with 24-hour satellite coverage across the United States; and
WHEREAS, the safe and dependable transportation of fuel supplies affects all areas of the country and is heavily reliant on the movement of such fuels over our navigable waters and the most reliable system for the prevention of spills should be implemented; and
WHEREAS, the implementation of satellite tracking of foreign vessels transporting oil and other hazardous materials will require international cooperation and coordination for charting and regulations;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 15-18, 1990, in Denver, Colorado, urges the United States Coast Guard to require satellite tracking equipment to be mandated on all U.S. vessels once total coverage is possible; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon Congress to maintain a line budget item for satellite tracking in the USCG’s annual appropriation for at least three more years; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation move for international acceptance of the required satellite tracking systems on all vessels transporting oil and other hazardous materials.