The Observer, May, 2009

Legislature passes resolution for tanker escorts

The Alaska Legislature in March unanimously passed a council-sponsored resolution calling for the preservation of dual escort tugs for loaded oil tankers in Prince William Sound.

Final action came March 27, three days after the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, when the state Senate approved the measure 17-0. The House approved it 37-0 on March 18.

Preserving the escort system is a major priority for the council, which fears the system may be cut back with the sunsetting of a double-escort requirement in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Act requires double escorts for single-hulled tankers, but is silent on the subject of escorts for double-hulled tankers. The Act also requires a phase-out of single-hulled tankers by 2015.

Double-hulled tankers, which have several feet of protective space between their two hulls, can prevent or reduce some oil spills, but are not a cure-all. The Coast Guard estimated a double hull on the Exxon Valdez might have cut the oil outflow from its grounding on Bligh Reef in 1989 from 11 million gallons to as little as 4.4 million gallons, which would still have been a catastrophic spill.

At present, all loaded tankers in Prince William are escorted, regardless of hull configuration, but the oil industry has indicated its interest in reducing, if not eliminating, the escort system once all single-hulled tankers have left service and the requirement in the Oil Pollution Act ceases to apply.

The legislative resolution reads, in part, “double hulls are not a perfect prevention measure, and it would be imprudent to alter a proven oil spill prevention and response program based solely on improvements in oil tanker vessel engineering and design.”

“Alaskans owe a debt of gratitude to our legislators for putting our state strongly on record in support of preserving these escort tugs,” said Donna Schantz, acting executive director of the citizens’ council. She expressed the organization’s gratitude to Sen. Gary Stevens and Rep. Alan Austerman, both of Kodiak, who introduced the escorts resolution in their respective chambers of the legislature and worked hard to keep it moving toward passage.

On April 8, Gov. Sarah Palin also backed the double-escort system, in a letter to Alaska’s delegation in Congress.

“We must remain vigilant in ensuring the safest possible oil transportation standards in Alaska,” Palin wrote. “Only in this way can we maintain the vibrancy of Alaskan communities and purity of our waters while providing Alaskans and the nation with needed energy.”

The council will work with members of Congress on a possible fix in federal legislation, and will explore whether the future of the double escorts could be guaranteed through other means.

Invasive species bill is left in committee

Another council-backed measure made less progress in the legislative session ended April 20. That measure will, if adopted, create the Alaska Council on Invasive Species to serve as a statewide clearinghouse and coordinating body.

When lawmakers adjourned, the bill lay in the House Resources Committee. It will remain ‘alive’ through the end of the 2010 session.

Jeanne Ostnes, an aide to Rep. Craig Johnson of Anchorage, the bill’s sponsor, said the main obstacle to the measure has been the cost of staffing and operating the invasive species council. Ostnes said work would be done between now and the start of the next session to identify ways to get the bill moving again, including reducing costs.

Invasive species, long a major concern for the citizens’ council, refers to the problem of non-indigenous plants, animals, or microorganisms reaching Alaska and establishing themselves here. Such invasions can harm native species, including commercially valuable ones like salmon. For the citizens’ council, the primary concern is non-indigenous organisms arriving via oil tankers—either attached to hulls or riding in the ballast water that the tankers discharge into Prince William Sound before loading North Slope crude at the Alyeska terminal in Valdez.

The bill would create a 14-member council. Five seats would held by commissioners of state departments. The rest would represent soil and water conservation districts, conservation organizations, farmers, landscapers, commercial fishermen, commercial shippers, the University of Alaska agricultural program, Native corporations, and the public at large.

The council, according to the bill, would “plan and coordinate efforts that address the threats posed to the state and its residents by invasive species.” It would seek to involve federal departments and agencies in the process.

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