The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was a watershed moment in the environmental history of the U.S. and changed the way oil and chemical spills are considered and dealt with in this country. It also thrust a little-known federal agency, the Hazardous Materials Response Branch of NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), into the public eye as the group provided scientific guidance for the oil spill cleanup. The film reviews the events in the early days of the oil spill, shows current conditions, and identifies challenges for the future as it asks the questions: what does the twentieth anniversary of the spill mean and what have we learned?
—Gary Shigenaka