Date of incident: April 27, 2003.

Location: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Trustees:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• State of Rhode Island
• Wampanoag Tribe

Case status: Injury assessment and restoration planning underway.

Overview: On April 27, 2003, Bouchard Barge 120 hit an obstacle in Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and spilling an estimated 98,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. The oil is known to have affected approximately 98 miles of shoreline, aquatic intertidal and subtidal habitats, numerous bird species, and recreational uses of the Bay, such as shellfishing, general shoreline use, and boating. The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) charges NOAA, USFWS, states, and Indian tribes—collectively known as Trustees—with evaluating the environmental and cultural impacts of oil spills.

While response agencies worked to contain and clean up the oil, the natural resource Trustees initiated a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). NOAA, as the lead administrative Trustee for the Buzzards Bay oil spill, is coordinating Trustee efforts. Bouchard Transportation Company, the responsible party (RP) that owns and was operating the barge (B-120) at the time of the spill, has been cooperating with the Trustees and assisting with Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) activities. In May 2011, a settlement was reached regarding a portion of the natural resource injuries. An injury assessment continues for some of the bird injuries.