Guest Opinion

July 31, 2001

It's time to equip downstream communities for self-defense from oil spills

By John S. Devens, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill 12 years ago, we saw communities and the fishing industry banding together to protect their shores by building log booms by hand. Skimmers, manufactured boom and the other equipment necessary to protect local resources from a regional spill simply wasn't available where it was needed.

Since 1989, the situation has improved in many respects, particularly within Prince William Sound. Response depots have been established at communities throughout the Sound, including Cordova, Whittier, Tatitlek, and Chenega. Response barges are stationed at remote locations in the Sound for a rapid response to an oil spill.

But outside the Sound – in the "downstream" communities – things haven't changed much. While Kodiak has received some response equipment, thanks in part to the efforts of our council, very little such equipment is on hand in places like Seward and Homer. If another spill sent oil in their direction, as the Exxon Valdez spill did, they would once again be compelled to improvise to protect salmon hatcheries, clamming beaches, community waterfronts and other valuable local resources.

For example, a survey conducted for the citizens' council disclosed there is still a shortage of what is called "primary storage" – the containers where response workers put the oil-water mixture they collect. Cleanup efforts could grind to a halt because there would be no place to put what was being recovered.

It's time something was done about this. We all have a responsibility to provide the resources these communities need to help protect their valuable resources.

Over the next few months, the citizens' council will be studying this problem and coming up with a plan for establishing depots of oil-spill response equipment in these downstream communities.

We can only hope the oil industry recognizes its obligation to provide these resources. On many occasions the industry has been willing to go beyond compliance to do the right thing. This is certainly another opportunity for the industry, in partnership with the state of Alaska and the citizens of the region, to step up to the plate once again.

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Editor's note: John Devens was mayor of Valdez at the time of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and is now executive director of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council. The Council is an independent non-profit corporation that promotes environmentally safe operation of the Valdez Marine Terminal and associated tankers. Its work is guided by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and its contract with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The council's 18 member organizations are communities in the region affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, as well as commercial fishing, aquaculture, Native, recreation, tourism and environmental groups.