Smith_1993_Review Permit Extension Oil Production

Resources Management

We have reviewed the oil spill response plan submitted by Fina oil and Chemical Company. Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding, we are providing the following comments on a technical assistance basis for transmittal to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The oil spill response plan submitted by Fina for operations in State Tract 181 is inadequate. On-site staff must wait for offsite spill response personnel to arrive with supplies and equipment before any spill containment can be accomplished. The plan does not provide for immediate on-site action to mitigate damage caused by a spill. We therefore continue to recommend that a decision on Permit Application No. 16888(02) be postponed, or the permit denied, until the applicant makes a commitment to provide for immediate on-site spill response with booms and absorbent pads.