Mixed Spill Not ‘Oil’ Under Oil Pollution Act, 5th Cir. Affirms

NEW ORLEANS — The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed that a spill containing both oil and hazardous substances does not fit within the scope of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990’s definition of oil.

In an Oct. 27 opinion, the panel agreed with a Texas federal district court that OPA and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) are mutually exclusive of each other and that OPA does not apply to spills containing a mixture of oil and CERCLA-regulated hazardous substances.

In March of 2019, Intercontinental Terminals Company, LLC (“ITC”) spilled a …