U.S. Coast Guard sued for failing to release public records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea • Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth has sued the U.S. Coast Guard for failing to provide records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea from 2009 to 2014. The organization argues that this data is essential for an ongoing vessel traffic risk assessment, particularly as pressure increases to export more oil via the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which could increase tanker traffic from one per week to one per day.

• Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard for failing to disclose records of shipping incidents in the U.S. and Canadian waters of the Salish Sea occurring between 2009 and 2014, despite a request made on May 1, 2015, under the Freedom of Information Act.
• The requested data is considered critical for a current vessel traffic risk assessment to avoid underestimating oil spill risks, especially given the potential for a 7-fold increase in tankers—from approximately one per week to one per day—if the Trans Mountain Pipeline capacity is increased to 890,000 barrels per day.
• The increased tanker traffic associated with the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion would overlap with the core area of critical habitat for the endangered southern resident orca community.
• The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards operate the Co-operative Vessel Traffic System (CVTS) in the Strait of Juan de Fuca region, established in 1979 to ensure safe vessel movement and minimize pollution risks from collisions and groundings.

APA

Fox, A. (2016). U.S. Coast Guard sued for failing to release public records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea • Friends of the Earth. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2016-03-us-coast-guard-sued-for-failing-to-release-public-records-of-shipping-incidents/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. U.S. Coast Guard sued for failing to release public records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea • Friends of the Earth. Friends of the Earth, 2016. https://foe.org/news/2016-03-us-coast-guard-sued-for-failing-to-release-public-records-of-shipping-incidents/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=U.S. Coast Guard sued for failing to release public records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea • Friends of the Earth |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=24 March 2016 |url=https://foe.org/news/2016-03-us-coast-guard-sued-for-failing-to-release-public-records-of-shipping-incidents/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fox2016coast, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{U.S. Coast Guard sued for failing to release public records of shipping incidents in the Salish Sea • Friends of the Earth}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2016}, month = mar, url = {https://foe.org/news/2016-03-us-coast-guard-sued-for-failing-to-release-public-records-of-shipping-incidents/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }