2010-2011 Annual Report

Mission and Responsibilities

The Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council is an independent non-profit corporation guided by its mission: promoting environmentally safe operation of the Alyeska terminal in Valdez and the oil tankers that use it.

The council's 19 member organizations are communities in the region affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, as well as Alaska Native, aquaculture, commercial fishing, environmental, recreation, and tourism groups.

Consistent with its mission, the council's structure and responsibilities stem from two documents. The first is a contract with Alyeska, which operates the trans-Alaska pipeline as well as the Valdez terminal. Most of the council's operating funds come from this contract.
The second guiding document, enacted after the council was created, is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which required citizen oversight councils for Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. Their purpose is to promote partnership and cooperation among local citizens, industry and government, to build trust, and to provide citizen oversight of environmental compliance by oil terminals and tankers.

The Act allows pre-existing organizations to fulfill its requirement for citizen oversight, and our council has done so for Prince William Sound since 1990. Each year, the U.S. Coast Guard certifies that the council fosters the general goals and purposes of the Act and is broadly representative of the communities and interests as envisioned in the Act.
The council's contract with Alyeska pre-dates the Oil Pollution Act, but the similarities in the powers and duties given the council in the two documents are not coincidental. Many people involved in the establishment of the council also promoted citizen involvement requirements in the federal law.

In accordance with the provisions of the two documents, the council performs a variety of functions aimed at reducing pollution from crude oil transportation through Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska:

• We monitor, review, and comment upon oil spill response and prevention plans prepared by Alyeska and by operators of oil tankers.
• We monitor, review, and comment upon the environmental protection capabilities of Alyeska and the tanker operators, as well as on the environmental, social and economic impacts of their activities.
• We review and make recommendations on government policies, permits, and regulations relating to the oil terminal and tankers.

As part of these undertakings, the council regularly retains experts in various fields to conduct independent research and technical analysis on issues related to oil transportation safety.

The Alyeska contract also calls for the council to increase public awareness of the company's oil spill response, spill prevention and environmental protection capabilities, as well as the actual and potential environmental impacts of terminal and tanker operations.

The contract states that the council may work on other related issues not specifically identified when the contract was written.

The council was initially funded at $2 million a year. The funding is renegotiated every three years; current Alyeska funding is approximately $3.3 million a year. The council's total annual budget is about $3.7 million.

Although the council works closely with and is funded chiefly by Alyeska, the council is an independent advisory group. The contract is explicit: "Alyeska shall have no right…to have any degree of control over the formation or operation of the corporation."

Next Section: Oil Spill Prevention