From: Juneau Empire
“On Monday, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said by email that a 9-cent per-barrel excise tax on all American crude oil will expire at the end of the year. That tax goes into the fund to pay for oil spills from a variety of sources, including pipelines, refineries, oil wells and ships. Rick Steiner, a retired University of Alaska Anchorage professor and board member of PEER, said by email that the issue was a “spectacularly fumbled ball by Congress.”"