Oil and Water - A Fine Mess

It's a moral and legal dilemma for everyone on the water these days. You're at the gas dock or at your slip and in the course of filling up the fuel tank, a splash or even a cup of fuel spills into the water. What do you do?

Under federal law, you are required to report a fuel or oil spill, no matter how small, if it is enough to cause a sheen upon the surface of the water. It doesn't matter that your boat is not the Exxon Valdez, which actually led to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90). Enforcement of federal law, as currently written, requires all spills to be reported, even if that means a fine, as a BoatUS member found out the hard way.

Last July while refueling his 40-foot Hunter at a Maryland marina, the member, who asked that his name not be used, took precautions by placing a spill prevention device over the fuel vent to capture any overflow. More