There’s been a lot of talk — a lot of it from us — about the $75 million cap on damages liability legislated back in the early 1990s after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. And to a degree the cap is now rendered at least somewhat moot by the agreement today for BP to contribute $20 billion to a fund to clean up the Gulf and make the injured whole. But I’ve been wondering for a while, just how did the oil industry manage to get that law passed?
It’s true there was an fund set up to handle damages over $75 million. But it was and is woefully underfunded. The current one will only cover a fraction of the costs for this spill.
So again, especially in the aftermath of Valdez, how’d they get that passed? Yes, it’s half a rhetorical question. But really, how’d that happen? If you know the backstory or a good article on how this went down, I’d love to hear more.
