Court says federal rules on oil tankers generally override state authority
By Laurie Asseo, Associated Press, 03/06/00
WASHINGTON - Federal rules intended to prevent oil-tanker spills generally override states' authority to set their own standards, except when the states are addressing unique local waterway concerns, the Supreme Court said today.
The justices ruled unanimously that a federal law enacted after the massive 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska pre-empts several rules enacted by Washington state regarding tanker staffing and operation.
"The state of Washington has enacted legislation in an area where the federal interest has been manifest since the beginning of our republic and is now well established," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court.
The justices ruled for the Clinton administration, which argued that Washington state's rules for staffing and operation of oceangoing tankers upset the federal government's authority to adopt uniform national rules.
"Uniform national rules regarding general tanker design, operation and seaworthiness have been mandated" by federal law, Kennedy said.
Federal law does allow states to set their own liability rules for pollution caused by oil spills, Kennedy noted.
And states can regulate their own ports and waterways so long as the rules are based on "the peculiarities of local waters" and do not conflict with federal rules, he said. But it is up to the Coast Guard to regulate the design, construction, maintenance, staffing and operation of tanker vessels, Kennedy said.
The justices ruled that Washington state rules on tanker crew training, English-language proficiency, navigation watch requirements and accident reporting affected operations outside state waters and therefore were superseded by federal rules. They ordered a lower court to consider whether federal law pre-empted other Washington state rules.
The decision reversed a federal appeals court ruling that said states could adopt their own rules for oil-tanker operations.
Congress enacted the Oil Pollution Act a year after the Exxon Valdez drove onto a charted reef and dumped about 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
The law said it does not pre-empt states "from imposing any additional liability or requirements" regarding oil discharges within their jurisdiction.
In 1994, Washington state officials adopted standards for training, language, staffing and drug-testing of oil tanker crews. The state also required tank vessels to have certain navigation and towing equipment.
The rules were challenged in federal court by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, known as Intertanko.
A judge upheld the rules. After the federal government joined Intertanko's appeal, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state rules on staffing and operation of oil tankers.
However, the appeals court decided that federal law pre-empted Washington state's rules on navigation and towing equipment.
The cases are U.S. vs. Locke, 98-1701, and International Association of Independent Tanker Owners vs. Locke, 98-1706.
