The Observer, May 2004

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Major exercise planned for late summer

Planning is under way for an August oil spill drill in Prince William Sound. The exercise – led by the U.S. Coast Guard and ConocoPhillips – will be managed from Valdez with on-water activities in the northeastern Sound.

The citizens’ council and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have been providing advice during planning of the event, which is scheduled for the first week of August.

The scenario being developed is that a tanker develops a leak while outbound from Valdez. This leads to activation of Alyeska’s Valdez Emergency Operations Center, as well as an on-water response and efforts to protect sensitive shoreline areas in Jack Bay.

Among the major issues for the council that will be addressed in the drill is the transfer of response management from Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. to ConocoPhillips. Alyeska handles response efforts for the first 72 hours after a spill. Then the spiller – ConocoPhillips in this case – takes over.

This is the largest drill in the Sound since a 2002 exercise mounted by BP. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Valdez Marine Safety Office will participate, and the service will bring in more than 20 personnel from its National Strike Force Coordination Center in North Carolina. ConocoPhillips will bring in over 100 people from Alaska and the Lower 48. The citizens’ council will activate its office in the Valdez Emergency Operations Center and will mobilize staff and contractors to work the exercise and keep everyone informed of its progress.

A full report on the drill will appear in the September Observer.
For more information, visit www.akrrt.org/pwsareaex04/Planning.html