In stains and buried pools, oil remains, and deciding what to do about it has become only more difficult. Spill officials are already preparing their positions for the fight next spring. Gov. Steve Cowper said Thursday that the state will prepare a detailed list with work plans for each of the oiled beaches he wants Exxon to clean. If federal and Exxon officials decide against coming back, the state could hire a contractor to do the work and then sue Exxon for the money. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which successfully set the agenda for the 1990 cleanup season, is working on a study that Scientific Support Coordinator Joe Talbott expects will buttress its position that much of the buried oil the governor is worried about is better to leave than tear out of the ground with machinery.
Scientific evidence supports both sides.
So does common-sense evidence on the beaches. In 1989, more than 1,000 miles of shoreline were oiled and treated, according to Exxon figures. This year, state, federal and Exxon officials agreed to work on 154 miles, on about 520 beaches. This August, the state agreed that no more oil can be wrung out of 117 of those 520 they don't need more work. The groups disagreed on most of the rest.