March 24, 2009 marked the passing of twenty years since the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef, resulting in over 11 million gallons of spilled North Slope crude. The spill fouled beaches and marine life from Prince William Sound to the Alaska Peninsula, devastating communities and sending local economies into a tailspin. Much has changed in the past twenty years with safety improvements reducing the likelihood of such a spill ever happening again. Most tankers have double hulls and vessels are escorted out of Port Valdez to the Gulf of Alaska by powerful tugs. Detailed contingency plans for preventing and cleaning up spills are now mandatory. Citizens now have a place at the table and a mandated voice in safety planning and oversight of the Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet oil transportation.

Click the photos-links above for event photos, event agendas, and documents looking back at the 20 years history since the Exxon Valdez spill.

20th Anniversary Commemoration

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20th Anniversary Speeches and Acknowledgment

20th Anniversary in the News

Letter from Vigipol to PWSRCAC Senator Mark Begich remarks Senator Lisa Murkowski remarks PWSRCAC Board President Patience Andersen Faulkner PWSRCAC Acting Executive Director Donna Schantz U.S. Senator from New Jersey Frank R. Lautenberg

KTUU Channel 2 Alaska: Spill responders say clean up equipment was inadequate Anchorage Daily News: On 20th anniversary of oil spill, trouble lingers The Huffington Post: An Industry Drunken with Profits Reuters: Twenty years after Valdez spill, Exxon grows in Alaska Wired: The Exxon Valdez Spill Is All Around Us New York Times: Lessons of the Exxon Valdez Associated Press: Nation's worst oil spill hits 20-year mark Time Magazine: Remembering the Lessons of the Exxon Valdez Science News: Otters and oil: Problems remain BBC News: What we learned from the Exxon Valdez

 

 

Art & Book Shows

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Reflections of a Spill - The Pratt Museum in Homer is hosting an art show called “Reflections of a Spill,” which began March 24. Click here to view the “Reflections of a Spill” flyer.

SPILL: Alaskan Artists Remember is a 20th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, March 24, 1989. This thematic group exhibition of Alaska Artists addresses the effects of the spill in all media, in their own signature styles. Spill will showcase the artist’s individual interpretations of the Spill as informed by diverse cultural values, experiences, beliefs and artistic passions. Spill is sponsored by PWSRCAC, Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council.

Looking Back: Images of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Kodiak. - The museum is exhibiting digitized images contributed by fishermen, oil spill workers and ordinary people who experienced the 1989 spill on Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula. The images will be archived and a commemorative DVD will be produced. For details contact the museum at 907-486-0384 or info@kodiakmaritimemuseum.org, or go to www.kodiakmaritimemuseum.org

Barnes and Noble has kindly agreed to feature books on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill region, as well as the spill itself in March of 2009 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the spill. If anyone has suggestions for books they would like to see featured, please contact Linda Robinson at robinson@pwsrcac.org.  A list of books has been started, but all suggestions are welcome.