Oil Spills

After 13 years of litigation, Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to settle with plaintiffs who accused the oil giant of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, the most infamous of which was the execution of prominent playwright, author and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. A member of the Ogoni tribe, Saro-Wiwa was a vocal critic of Shell and the brutal military government of Gen. Sani Abacha.

The federal government's top ocean scientists are urging the Interior Department to drastically reduce plans to open the coast to offshore oil and gas drilling, citing threats to marine life and potentially devastating effects of oil spills in Arctic waters. The recommendations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are informal and not binding. But if adopted, they would restrict development in some of the nation's most resource-rich untapped offshore areas and mark a significant departure from the pro-drilling policies of the George W. Bush administration.

A holding tank broke at a Caterpillar facility in Joliet, spilling about 65,000 gallons of oil sludge and contaminating a three-mile section of the Des Plaines River, officials said. The substance was reported to be hydraulic and cutting oil, said Maggie Carson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. "It is being contained, and there is no evidence of a fish kill or harm to waterfowl," Carson said in an e-mail. Most of the sludge spilled on land, but 6,000 gallons seeped into Des Plaines River water, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer William Mitchell said.

Officials declared a disaster zone along a stretch of some of Australia's most pristine and popular eastern beaches after tons of fuel oil that leaked from a stricken cargo ship blackened the sand for miles. National parks at Moreton and Bribie islands near Brisbane were worst hit by oil that spilled Wednesday from the container ship Pacific Adventurer. The potential for long-term environmental damage off Queensland was not clear.

Thieves ruptured a pipeline that crosses the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, spilling at least 79,000 gallons of diesel fuel Thursday and forcing the evacuation of at least 350 people. The diesel spilled across at least 1,000 square feet in Rio Blanco, 80 miles west of Veracruz city, said state civil protection director Ranulfo Marquez Hernandez. He said no one was injured.

Santa Barbara County supervisors this week began a crackdown on oil companies that repeatedly spill fuel, asking staff to draft legislation that would increase penalties, make companies pay for the emergency response and give the county the tools to shut down repeat offenders. The tough plans were prompted by the many complaints that supervisors heard Tuesday during a four-hour hearing on the Greka Energy Corp., a Santa Maria-based company with fields in northern Santa Barbara County.

In a sobering self-assessment of the response to last year's San Francisco Bay oil spill, a U.S. Coast Guard study released Monday conceded that the first crews on the scene dramatically underestimated the trouble and onshore commanders failed to properly alert the public and local officials. But the 130-page report on the aftermath of the Nov.

Cleanup crews are working to keep a diesel spill from seeping into a pristine Northern California waterway about 10 miles south of the Oregon border. Officials with the Department of Fish and Game said Sunday that workers mopping up about 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled from a tanker truck last week had found fuel in a trench about 50 feet from the Smith River. The Smith is the last major undammed river in California and a favorite of anglers for its stocks of salmon and steelhead.

Nearly 19 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill fouled Alaska's Prince William Sound, the Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether the world's largest oil company must pay a record $2.5 billion in punitive damages. The eight justices who heard the case appeared closely split, although several of them said they were looking for a way to reduce the size of the award. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. sat out the case because he is an Exxon stockholder.

Agents for the owner of a cargo ship that dumped 54,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay have agreed to pay the city $2 million for damages caused by the spill. City Atty. Dennis Herrera said the agreement announced Sunday was an "initial payment," not a final settlement. Thousands of birds died, oil-fouled beaches were closed, and Northern California's crabbing season was delayed after the 900-foot Cosco Busan sideswiped the Bay Bridge, cutting a huge gash in its hull. The agreement was reached with Hudson Marine Management Services acting on behalf of the ship's Hong Kong-based owner, Regal Stone Ltd.