Annual oil spill exercise planned off coast

May 28, 2018 3:26 pm

By: The Associated Press

Twitter: @ABC6

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) – An annual two-day oil spill exercise is planned for the waters off of a Rhode Island town.

In a news release, the Coast Guard Sector of Southeastern New England says it is hosting a full-scale oil spill exercise beginning Wednesday in Westerly.

More than 20 federal, state, and local agencies will coordinate a simulated response to a potential major oil spill affecting the Rhode Island coastline.

The exercise was established to comply with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which improves the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to respond to large oil spills.

The waters off Westerly are known as the Block Island Sound.