The Observer, September, 2008

20th anniversary events set to commemorate Exxon oil spill

After the September board meeting, staff and board members will be participating in a spill response drill, put on by Tesoro Corporation, in Nikiski. The command post will be at Cook Inlet Spill Response Inc., and regional stakeholder committees will be set up with Tesoro community liaisons in Homer and Seward.

On Sept. 25, Alyeska Ship Escort/ Response Vessel System and Cook Inlet Spill Response Inc. will participate in a field deployment exercise in Homer.

From Sept. 26-28, the council information booth will be set up at the 2008 Seward Music and Arts Festival. This festival features artists, a full schedule of musicians and dancers, and children’s activities. For more information, go to www.sewardfestival.com.

On July 9, former staff member Emily Polley and I visited Chenega Bay. We showed the council’s film, “Then and Now—The Alaska Oil Spill at 20,” to students at the Chenega Bay School, a kindergarten through grade 12 facility. While in Chenega Bay we also presented a framed map of Prince William Sound to former board member Pete Kompkoff, thanking him for his years of service with the council.

Chenega Bay is very busy this summer with new road construction, and a new 16-house subdivision being built.

It’s hard to believe, but the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill is coming up. On March 24, 2009, the council will connect several affected communities by videoconference and share presentations, panel discussions, and art. The purpose of the event is to remind people not only of the spill and how we must always remain vigilant, but also of the advancements in oil transportation that have been made since the spill.

Tentative topics and venues at this writing are: Cordova, socioeconomic impacts, and the status of herring; Valdez, demonstration of prevention and response capabilities; Kenai, a tour of the Cook Inlet Spill Response Inc.’s otter rehabilitation facility; Seward, tour of the Alaska SeaLife Center; Anchorage, panel of industry representatives and reporters to discuss improvements in oil transportation since the spill; and the Bunnell Street Gallery in Homer will host an art event for artists and writers with work related to the spill and how it affected their lives. It will include a monthlong show, with a reception and readings on March 24th. For the month of March, 2009 Barnes and Noble in Anchorage will feature books on the spill and the region affected by it.

November will be busy with the Alaska Municipal League conference in Ketchikan, the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry annual meeting in Tampa, and the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle.

The free Oil Spill Curriculum is updated and available on our website at http://www.pwsrcac.org/ outreach/education.html#curric and the free DVD, “Then and Now—The Alaska Oil Spill at 20,” is available by contacting me at robinson@pwsrcac.org.

Teachers and students: the Observer would like to begin a student column. Students can write about anything relevant to the council or its work that would be of interest to our readers. Please let us know if you are interested in submitting a column.

return to this edition