Litigation Update

After the Buzzards Bay oil spill in 2003, Massachusetts passed the Oil Spill Prevention Act (OSPA), which imposed several operational requirements on tank vessels operating in state waters.A0 Last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts permanently enjoined the state from enforcement of OSPA, holding that several provisions of the law were preempted by the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA). On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the injunction was premature. The First Circuit reasoned that there was not enough evidence to determine whether the enforcement of the state laws would conflict with the PWSA. The case was remanded to the district court for further proceedings.