The Santa Barbara Oil Spill and Its Effect on United States Environmental Policy

Abstract

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) paved the way for comprehensive federal environmental policy in the United States. NEPA has successfully allowed citizens and others to become active participants in the environmental decision-making process for federal infrastructure projects throughout the evolution of environmental policy in the United States. Its efficacy was enhanced because of an oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast in January 1969. This disaster gave the framers of NEPA an example of the consequences of the lack of environmental policy in federal decision making. Using their original proactive approach along with the reactive response to the spill, they created a policy that has can be seen as a foundation for 21st century sustainability and resilience programs.