CALIFORNIA AMERICAN TRADER OIL-SPILL - EFFECTIVE INTERAGENCY AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER RESPONSE

The American Trader tanker oil spill off Huntington Beach, California, in 1990 triggered a large scale interagency and public-private respon se to the minimize the ecological and economic impact of nearly 400,00 0 gallons of spilled crude oil. This paper examines the interagency co llaboration of public and private organizations during this crisis. Da ta are presented from interviews with key participants from various ag encies, as well as from an innovative quantitative health-based risk a ssessment that allowed rapid reopenings of 15 miles of affected beache s. Features that contributed to effective management of the emergency response are considered along with recommendations for improvements in the future.