The Observer, September 2003

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Past year saw much achievement; coming year will require much vigilance

By John Devens
Executive Director

As summer ends and we put away our fishing gear and vacation clothes, this is a good time to take stock of what the citizen’s council achieved over the past year, and the challenges we confront in the coming year.

Our accomplishments included startup of the iceberg radar system in Prince William Sound, continued funding of the Long Term Environmental Monitoring Program, cooperative work with regulators and industry on contingency plan reviews, and unconditional recertification by the United States Coast Guard. We have also continued our work on non-indigenous species that come into Prince William Sound in ballast water, a problem that will only increase as the new double hull tankers come on line.

Internally, we have improved operations in several ways. We conducted a major expansion of our web site, www.pwsrcac.org, and we have created an electronic management system to keep track of the huge trove of documents accumulated since we formed 14 years ago. We are placing more emphasis on getting our highly qualified professional staff into the field for direct observation of operations by Alyeska and the oil shipping companies.

Under the heading of challenges, the most striking development was the unfolding of a new corporate and political climate that will require more vigilance by citizens than ever before.

In Valdez, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has undergone another corporate reorganization, resulting in several hundred fewer workers and major changes in procedures. In Juneau, our new governor and state legislature are working to increase natural-resource development by streamlining the permitting process. Ensuring these changes don’t lead to a relaxation of environmental protections will require the council to spend more time, money, and effort on its mission of promoting the safe transportation of Alaska North Slope crude oil.

On the corporate front, we continue to monitor the effects of Alyeska’s move, launched two years ago, to reduce staff and to cut costs in other ways. Our concern that complacency may set in again, as it did before the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, led us to increase our oversight at the Valdez tanker terminal, including close attention to the ballast water treatment system, the fire protection system, air pollution, and the increase in oily wastes discharged into Prince William Sound. As part of our efforts in this regard, we conducted research and provided information to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on the need for air- and water-quality regulations at the terminal.

On the political front, we found it necessary to expend more time and effort on monitoring legislative and administrative streamlining efforts that could affect the safety of oil transportation. We took a major role in providing information and advice to citizens, legislators and the executive branch on bills dealing with the Alaska Coastal Management Plan, contingency plans, and right-of-way permits for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. We anticipate even more effort will be needed in future years as the state continues to push ahead with its streamlining initiatives.

As we get further in time from the Exxon Valdez spill and the industry continues its drive to cut costs, ever more vigilance will be required to prevent a return to complacency.