AB 2911: Upgrading our oil spill response

On a foggy November 7, 2007, the cargo ship Cosco Busan plowed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, spilling 54,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the bay. Property damage and environmental cleanup costs exceeded $70 million and were likely exacerbated by poor communications and a lack of ready response resources by state, federal and private responders. AB 2911 (Wolk) expands the authority of the state Oil Spill Prevention and Response administrator to take command of all response activities, expands OSPR’s authority to inland, as well as marine, waters and increases penalties for inland spills, and expands the focus of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network to include proactive search and rescue of oiled wildlife.