The Observer, July, 2008

Despite progress, response gap threatens Sound

It took a lot of hard work and cooperation between the people of Prince William Sound and the oil industry for the citizens’ council to confidently say that the Sound has some of the best oil spill prevention and response capabilities in the world.

For almost 20 years now, the council has worked with the oil and shipping industries and regulators to identify and minimize the potential dangers of transporting oil through the Sound.

However, the council recently analyzed an oil spill response gap that could severely limit the ability to effectively respond to a spill considering the various weather conditions that exist in Prince William Sound.

The response gap was documented in two council-sponsored studies by Nuka Research and Planning Group that confirm a longstanding concern that tankers are being allowed to move oil at times when sea and weather conditions make it impossible for the existing response system to perform as designed should an oil spill occur.

The studies reviewed the limitations of mechanical spill response technologies such as skimmers and boom, and non-mechanical technologies such as dispersants and in-situ burning (burning of oil on the water), in light of weather data from the Sound from 2000 through 2005.

These studies suggest that, at Hinchinbrook Entrance, oil spill response is severely impaired or impossible 56 percent of the time during the winter and 30 percent of the time in the summer. That means, for a significant portion of the year, a spill could happen in Prince William Sound and even our most capable response systems could not perform in a meaningful way.

According to the oil industry’s contingency plan for cleaning up tanker spills, Hinchinbrook Entrance does not close to tankers until winds reach 45 knots (51 mph) or waves reach 15 feet.

When tankers are operating just under closure limits, response tugs and other vessels, such as fishing vessels, could not effectively operate the existing spill response equipment that they are regularly trained to use.

The council’s conservative approach in the response gap studies didn’t even include all weather-related restrictions. Limitations in the studies, such as inadequate visibility and current data, and lack of reliable weather data from areas within Prince William Sound such as the Valdez Narrows, leave room for further research.

While the council is identifying areas where the response system may be improved, we recognize that prevention is still the best tool to fight oil spills. In an effort to improve prevention measures, the council is participating in the SAFETUG I and II projects being conducted by the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands.

The data we receive should provide additional information on the capabilities of response vessels in rough seas and allow us to make recommendations for improvements to this vital oil spill prevention system.

While improvements in equipment, technology and operation make a catastrophic spill today much less likely than in 1989, we don’t want to gamble on a mistaken assumption that our current response fleet could handle any spill, in all weather conditions.

While we wait for further improvements in heavy weather response technology, we continue to focus on prevention measures. We do believe the response gap needs to be significantly narrowed, if not closed entirely.

John Devens is executive director of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Coucil.

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