Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although the information provided here was accurate and current when first created, it is now outdated.

EPA's ability to launch an immediate and organized response to a large-scale environmental threat is crucial to our mission. Often, a quick response is what makes all the difference in safeguarding public health and the environment. On January 19, 1996, the US Coast Guard received a report that the tug Scandia was on fire. The crew were abandoning ship and had released the North Cape, carrying four million gallons of fuel oil, from its tow. The barge grounded in 20-foot seas and 60-mile-per-hour winds, leaking 828,000 gallons of oil offshore of Matanuck State Park, near Point Judith, RI. The US Coast Guard, charged with directing coastal spill prevention and clean-up activities, activated its Atlantic Strike Team. Offshore and onshore operations were carried out with the assistance of EPA emergency response teams and laboratories; RI Departments of Environmental Management, Health and Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; University of Rhode Island; and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as other organizations. Coordinating with these agencies, EPA initiated monitoring to assess oil dispersal and threats to ecosystems. The impact on wildlife was immediate. 12,000 dead lobsters lined one half-mile stretch of beach. 108 birds died and 89 were injured. Valuable oyster and sea clam beds were damaged. The state was forced to prohibit fishing in a 254 square-mile area -- a fishery valued at $1 million. Rhode Island's Department of Health continues to test seafood for traces of contamination. Assessments of ecological and economic damages are being conducted by the State of Rhode Island, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA.