an remain there for long periods of time. In calm water conditions, the affected habitat may take years to restore. Flowing water is less impacted by oil spills than standing water because the currents provide a natural cleaning mechanism. (3)There are also positive effects to oil spills. When there is a spill workers are needed to help with the clean up effort. This in turn provides jobs for people. Due to the amount of people needed to clean up the spill, the surrounding community can bring in money from local hotels and restaurants. The workers that come into the area with utilize these facilities. A negative effect of an oil spill is the watermen's loss of employment. With an oil spill closing down the waterways and boat ramps they lose money. They are not able to go out and fish, or do boat rentals and tours. Another negative effect is that the area is never totally back to its original status before the oil spill. Resturants that rely on seafood, and are positioned beside the water also suffer money losses. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) once quoted “There ain’t no rules around here! We’re trying to accomplish something!” Today there are stiff fines, penalties, civil lawsuits, and criminal prosecution associated with the production, transportation, and use of hazardous materials. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or local authority can enforce laws and regulations regarding any use and disposal of hazardous substances that can affect natural resources and human life.The PEPCO Chalk Point oil pipeline spill leaked approximately 139,000 gallons of crude oil into the Patuxent River may to charged $70 million to $75 million in fines (PRNewswire). In a similar case of a pipeline, owned by Olympic Pipe Line, which exploded in Bellingham, Washington that killed three teenagers and released over 200,000 gallons of gasoline into a city park was facing $3.05 million in fines (Seattle Times). Althou...
