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Oil And The Public Trust Doctrine In Washington, Ralph W. Johnson

Articles

The tragic spill of millions of gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound alerted the people of Washington to the danger of spills in Puget Sound. In Washington, the danger heightens as the amount of oil transported through the Sound increases. Indeed, Coast Guard figures show about 1,500 tanker movements in Puget Sound in 1988, a 50 percent increase over 1974.2 Moreover, the spill from the Exxon Valdez taught us that, because very little can be done after a spill, the only truly effective means of preventing damage from oil spills is to prevent them in the first place. …