The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska in 1989, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. Photos show the extent of the spill and its impacts on wildlife. Cleanup took 3 years and $2.1 billion. Victims filed lawsuits and were initially awarded $5 billion, but the Supreme Court ultimately reduced this to $500 million. The spill had widespread environmental and economic impacts on Alaska and its residents.

1. The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska on March 24, 1989, and
began leaking 11 million gallons of oil. The oil sheen is very clear in the upper right
quadrant of this photograph. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
Exxon Shipping v. Baker:
How a 1989 oil spill in Alaska affects the United States Today

2. The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska on March 24, 1989, and
began leaking oil. The oil sheen is very clear across the center of this photograph.
Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

3. Oil was visible from the air off the coast of Alaska. In two months’ time, the oil could be
spotted 470 miles off the coast. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).

4. Birds covered in oil had difficulty flying. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

5. Dead birds lined the beach. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).

6. Clean-up efforts began by placing booms around the ship in an attempt to contain the
oil. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

7. How are oil spills cleaned?
Science 101:
Oil is less dense than
water, so it floats!
1. Skimmers surround the oil and do just that—skim
it off the surface of the water with vacuums;
2. Devices such as sorbents, or sponges, are used
to absorb the oil;
3. Detergents break up oil, like dish detergent cuts
grease, on coasts and wildlife; and
4. In situ burning, where the oil is burned in the
water, produces toxic smoke, so cannot be used
in spills close to land
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8. Many animals drowned in oil. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).

9. Dead oil-soaked birds. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).

10. Similar to water lines after a flood, the oil spill left lines. Photo courtesy of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

11. Spilled oil contaminated the ground soil. Scientists estimate that it will take 30 years or
more before the ground returns to normal. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

12. More sea life feeling the effects of the oil spill. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

13. Workers washed down the beaches with detergents as part of the cleaning effort.
Clean-up took 3 years and cost over $2.1 billion. Photo courtesy of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

14. Oil pooled on the beach. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).

15. Sea lion, bathed in oil, sitting on a buoy. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

16. Oil-covered sea lions found it difficult to swim. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

17. Workers got very dirty, and stepped in pools of oil, during the clean-up process. Photo
courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

18. Clean-up efforts also had negative impacts on the environment. Photo courtesy of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

19. A 2001 test reveals oil remaining in the soil. Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

20. Where did the oil go?
How much area was affected?

21. Map courtesy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees Council.

22. What was the government’s
response?
• Clean-up efforts and follow-up testing, still
going on today
• 1990 Oil Pollution Act, which: strengthened
oil industry shipping standards; established
the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to fund
clean-up efforts; created oil spill response
plans for local, state, and national
governments; and required all U.S. oil ships
to be double-hulled by 2012
• Trials, lawsuits, other legal issues

23. What happened to Captain
Hazelwood?
Though he was accused of being drunk at the
time of the accident, he was found innocent
of this charge during trial. He was, however,
charged with “negligent discharge of oil,”
fined $50,000, and ordered to perform 1,000
hours of community service.
Hazelwood did not have his shipping license
revoked, but has been unable to find work
since the accident. Today he lives in New
York.

24. Who did the oil spill impact?
Where were the victims from?

25. Map courtesy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees Council.

26. What did the victims do?
Did the victims file lawsuits?

27. Lawsuits resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill

28. What did the court decide?
In 1994, an Alaskan jury awarded the
victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill
$5 billion in punitive damages, or
damages for pain and suffering. That
award, divided amongst the victims,
entitled each person to approximately
$150,000 each.
Do you think this decision was fair?

29. Exxon appealed that ruling, so…
An appeals court cut the Alaska jury’s $5
billion award in half, to $2.5 billion.
This also reduced each victim’s award
in half, to approximately $75,000 each.
Do you think this decision was fair?

30. The case was appealed all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court
In 2008, the Supreme Court announced the
final ruling on the Exxon Valdez case:
punitive damages were set at $500 million, or
one fifth of the $2.5 billion award, and one
tenth of the original Alaska jury award of $5
billion. Under the Supreme Court ruling,
each victim is entitled to approximately
$15,000.
Do you think this decision was fair?

31. Why did the Court make that
decision?
The Court relied on precedent, or an earlier
ruling on a similar case, for advice. In 1818,
The Amiable Nancy case established the
maritime law principle that the owner of a
vessel [here, Exxon] whose officers and crew
[here, Captain Hazelwood] had acted illegally
at sea may not be punished with damages
beyond actual costs. Therefore, since Exxon
already spent $3.4 billion on clean-up efforts
and Alaska state fines, they had paid “actual
costs” and were not responsible for any
additional costs, such as punitive damages.

32. Key Questions
1. How has the Exxon Valdez oil spill
impacted the environment? Alaska
residents? The United States?
2. Did the Exxon Valdez incident change the
relationships of law, government, the
environment, and society to one another?
How?
3. Was the Supreme Court fair in upholding
precedent in the Exxon case, or should the
laws have been interpreted in other ways?
4. How might an oil spill impact your life?