Press Release  AG Healey Moves to Defend State Law Preventing Oil Spills In Buzzards Bay

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey has filed a motion on behalf of the state to intervene in a lawsuit to defend a state law aimed at preventing catastrophic oil spills in Buzzards Bay. 

The motion to intervene in the case – American Waterways Operators v. United States Coast Guard – was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in support of the Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention Act (MOSPA). The Buzzards Bay Coalition also filed a motion to intervene.

MOSPA was enacted in 2004 in response to a large oil spill in Buzzards Bay that contaminated the state’s waters, killed endangered sea birds, destroyed shoreline resources, and caused the closure of beaches and shell fishing beds. 

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), an industry group, is suing the U.S. Coast Guard to try to reopen old litigation challenging the validity of MOSPA, which requires a tugboat to escort all barges carrying oil through Buzzards Bay to prevent oil spills. The state tugboat escort requirement has been in effect since 2011 and has documented benefits in preventing oil spills.

“Buzzards Bay is a treasured resource that must be protected. It is deeply disappointing that this industry group has again challenged this common-sense and effective law,” AG Healey said. “We will work, in partnership with our local communities and the Buzzards Bay Coalition to defend these safety rules, and to protect our natural resources, our coastal economy, and the people and businesses that use and enjoy Buzzards Bay.”

“This lawsuit is yet another shameful out-of-state attempt to prevent Massachusetts from defending Buzzards Bay from a long history of oil spills,” said Mark Rasmussen, President of the Buzzards Bay Coalition. “For 16 years, the MA Oil Spill Prevention Act has been a huge success by ensuring that all oil shipped through our Bay is escorted by a capable tug and pilot. It is reasonable in its approach, easy in its implementation, and supported by local barge operators. The result has been an oil free shoreline and safer navigation on the Bay. We won’t stand for efforts to force the Coast Guard to actually weaken protections for our coast and are honored to join Attorney General Maura Healey in aggressively defending the provisions of the MA Oil Spill Prevention Act in court.”

The state has twice successfully defended the state tugboat escort law against challenges by the federal government, AWO, and other industry groups, which claimed MOSPA was preempted by federal law. Last fall, AWO filed a complaint to compel the Coast Guard to reopen that litigation — closed in 2011— so that AWO could again try to invalidate this important state environmental protection law. AWO’s lawsuit runs counter to the fact that, according to a recent filing by the Coast Guard, industry stakeholders, including even petrochemical members of AWO, “support MOSPA requirements because they provide relatively inexpensive layers of additional protection” to Buzzards Bay. 

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Seth Schofield, Senior Appellate Counsel in AG Healey’s Energy and Environment Bureau. 

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