August-September 2005 - New Orleans
The Coast Guard estimates more than 167,000 barrels of oil were spilled during Hurricane Katrina from various sources, including pipelines, storage tanks and industrial plants.
March 2006 - Prudhoe Bay, AK
More than 5,000 barrels of oil spilled onto the shores of Alaska's North Slope because of a leak in a pipeline owned by BP.
BP suspended production after it was discovered that pipeline corrosion caused the leak.
The company was fined $20 million for negligence under the Clean Water Act. The incident led to stronger pipeline inspection requirements.
November 28, 2000 - Port Sulphur, LA
Some 13,100 barrels of crude oil leaked into the Mississippi River about 60 miles south of New Orleans after the tanker Westchester lost power and ran aground. The vessel struck an unidentified navigational hazard, causing a release of the 554,400 gallons of Nigerian crude oil.
At the time, the spill was the largest in U.S. waters since Exxon Valdez.
January 19, 1996 - Moonstone Beach, RI
Almost 20,000 barrels of home heating oil spread through the Block Island Sound when the tank barge North Cape and tug Scandia grounded after a fire started in the engine fire of the tug.
The spill killed more than 10 million lobsters and prompted a ban on fishing in the area for several months.
Oil spread throughout a large area of Block Island Sound, including Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, resulting in the closure of a 250-square-mile area of the area for fishing.
August 10, 1993 - Tampa Bay, FL
An estimated 8,000 barrels of oil carried by the Bouchard 155 spilled into Tampa Bay after the barge was in a collision with the freighter Balsa 37 and the barge Ocean 255.
The collision caused three separate emergencies:
1) The Balsa 37, which was carrying a cargo of phosphate rock, was severely damaged on the starboard side, was listing at an increasing rate, and was in danger of capsizing in the channel.
2) The Ocean 255, which was loaded with jet fuel, gasoline and a small amount of diesel fuel, was burning out of control just south of Mullet Key.
3) The Bouchard 155 was holed at the port bow, spilling approximately 8,000 barrels of #6 fuel oil into Tampa Bay.
June 8, 1990 - Galveston, TX
The 886-foot Mega Borg released close to 121,000 barrels of oil 60 miles off of Galveston after an explosion and subsequent fire in the pump room.
The ship was unloading oil onto another tanker when the spill occurred.
Estimates suggest the tanker lost as much as 3 million gallons of oil. The U.S. Coast Guard said that only roughly 12,000 gallons remained on the water after much of the oil had burnt or evaporated (75,000 gallons of oil were recovered).
February 7, 1990 - Bolsa Chica State Beach, CA
The 811-foot American Trader tanker leaked close to 7,100 barrels of crude into the ocean when its hull was punctured as it neared an oil pipeline mooring.
An oil slick over 13 miles long harmed one of southern California's biggest coastal nature preserves.
March 24, 1989 - Prince William Sound, AK
In the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the tanker Exxon Valdez hit an undersea reef, spilling about 260,000 barrels of oil into the sea.
Following the spill, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, preventing any ship that had spilled more than 1 million gallons (23,800 barrels) of oil from operating in Prince William Sound.
December 1976 - Buzzards Bay, MA
The Argo Merchant, a Liberian-registered oil tanker, ran aground southeast of Nantucket Island on Dec. 15, 1976.
Its crew was evacuated, but the ship's cargo, 183,000 barrels of fuel oil, was unable to be unloaded.
Six days later, the ship broke apart, the fuel, enough to heat 18,000 homes for a year, spilled into the ocean.
January 1969 - Santa Barbara, CA
A blowout on a Union Oil Co drilling rig 6 miles off the coast of Summerland, CA, leaked close to 80,000 barrels of crude oil into the Santa Barbara Channel.
An 800-square-mile slick damaged 35 miles of coastline and killed thousands of sea animals and birds.
The oil spill has been considered by many to be the catalyst of the U.S. environmental movement and spurred a moratorium on offshore drilling, which was ended by President George W. Bush and Congress in 2008.
