When oil spills occur in the US and its waters, he US Coast Guard’s National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) “provides funding for quick response, compensates claimants for cleanup costs and damages, and takes action to recover costs from responsible parties.”
In November 2022, the Data Liberation Project filed a FOIA request 📄 to the Coast Guard sought all records collected through several types of NPFC forms and workbooks since January 2000. Through conversations with the Coast Guard, the Data Liberation Project agreed to narrow the request to more recent years — those for which the records are primarily digital.
The Coast Guard has begun providing the responsive records in 150-page increments. The first tranche of records was provided on July 30, 2024. To access the documents and the Data Liberation Project’s descriptions of them, click here.