New tanker rules

Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection last week properly approved new rules designed to reduce oil spills from tankers. As important, the BEP reasserted the state’s right to remain an overseer of the tankers.

Maine has had rules for tankers in place for more than a quarter century, but an attempted update of those rules has really irritated the tanker industry and hasn’t sat too well with the Coast Guard, either. They, understandably, do not want each coastal state devising its own set of tanker regulations, and the industry has reinforced this point through the courts, last year suing the state of Washington.

But not only did Washington win that suit, the state of Maine has been especially careful to craft rules in accordance with federal standards, so that rather than adding a regulatory burden, the rules give Maine some control over in its own waters. For instance, the new rules would allow the state to prevent vessels with poor safety records or those leaking oil to enter Maine waters. It would require all vessels to have at least one English-speaking crew member on the bridge and establish guidelines for docking in poor weather.

Approximately 130 million barrels of oil were delivered to Maine ports last year, when the state responded to at least 100, mostly minor, oil spills in state harbors. The worst spill in recent memory occurred in 1996, when the Julie N. struck a bridge abutment and leaked 180,000 gallons of oil into Portland Harbor. There is nothing to say that the new state rules would have affected the outcome of that accident, but it did demonstrate that Maine has a strong interest in monitoring the movement of tankers and barges.

The BEP’s action is likely to take Maine to the Supreme Court, where it is expected to join the states of Washington, California and other coastal states against the tanker industry. Given the years of debate and uncertainty over the extent to which states may regulate this activity, a court ruling would be welcome.

Maine’s ability to protect the safety of its residents and its own environment is crucial, and the BEP correctly approved the revised tanker-safety rules. The court should find good reason to support the states in this regard.