35 years after Exxon Valdez

How has oil transportation changed in Prince William Sound?

In this photo, three fishing vessels practice pulling bright orange oil spill boom in proper formation, with a skimmer in the middle of the boom. This configuration creates a channel for collecting and skimming oil.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill taught many lessons about preparedness, including local mariners’ knowledge about the waters in our region is vital to spill response. Today, over 300 vessels and their crews are trained and on contract to Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System, or SERVS, to respond in the event of a spill. The fishing vessel program is a major improvement to the oil spill response system, which was not in place during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In this photo, the crews of several Homer fishing vessels practice using oil spill boom and skimmers during annual contracted vessel training. Photo by Cathy Hart.

In 1989, the few measures in place were inadequate to prevent the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the available response resources were insufficient to contain and clean it up. Congress found that complacency among the oil industry, and the regulatory agencies responsible for monitoring the operation of the Valdez Marine Terminal and vessel traffic in Prince William Sound, was also a contributing factor in the disaster.

In the years following the spill, regulatory agencies, industry, and citizens worked together to make sure the painful memories and hard lessons of the Exxon Valdez were not forgotten. Changes were enacted to reduce the chances of another spill and to prepare for an effective cleanup if another should occur.

Much has improved in the intervening decades, but there are lingering concerns.

See also: Then & Now: 35 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Laws and regulations

One of the most important results of the oil spill was the enactment of the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or OPA 90, which addressed many deficiencies, including liability, compensation, and oversight. It also established permanent, industry-funded citizen oversight groups for Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet.

Both federal and state laws now require more comprehensive prevention measures and planning for larger spills and require more spill response equipment to be immediately available.

An unlikely alliance of regulators, politicians, oil industry executives, and international spill response experts came together after the spill to reimagine oil spill preparedness and response in Prince William Sound. More: How Alaskans redefined oil spill prevention and response

Prevention: The most effective protection

Photo of weather buoy near Valdez Marine Terminal.
Modern technology means weather buoys can stream real-time weather conditions to help make better operational decisions. Photo by Rob Campbell.

No oil spill can ever be completely cleaned up. Preventing an oil spill is the most effective way to protect human health, local communities and economies, and the environment. Since 1989, improvements have drastically reduced the risk of oil spills.

Double hulls

All tankers transporting oil through Prince William Sound are now double hulled. Double hulls, basically two steel skins separated by several feet of space, can reduce or eliminate spills that result from groundings or collisions.

Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System

The Ship Escort Response Vessel System, known as SERVS (SERVS’ website), was developed after the Exxon Valdez spill. SERVS’ mission is to prevent oil spills by helping tankers navigate safely through Prince William Sound and to begin an immediate response if there is a spill.

Improved tanker escorts

A major component of SERVS are the powerful tugs that escort tankers safely through our waters. Two tugs accompany each laden tanker out of Prince William Sound. These tugs can assist should the tanker experience a malfunction and begin immediate spill response if needed. SERVS also keeps trained response crews on duty around the clock and has spill response equipment ready.

Cleaning up a spill: Must be quick and effective

Photo of Prince William Sound escort tug.
In 2018, Alyeska began work with their new spill prevention and response contractor, Edison Chouest Offshore. These services include operation of escort tugs, oil recovery storage barges, and associated personnel. These resources are key oil spill prevention and response assets for Prince William Sound.
To fulfill their contract, Edison Chouest built new purpose-built tugs, such as the Elrington above; and spill response barges, such as the OSRB-5 (see page 5). These vessels represented a significant improvement for the oil spill prevention and response system. In some cases, new general-purpose tugs replaced conventional tugs that were over 40 years old. Photo by Jeremy Robida.

While prevention measures are the best way to avoid damage from oil spills, even the best system cannot remove all risks. Alyeska’s SERVS has implemented many improvements since 1989, creating the world-class oil spill prevention and response system in place today.

Contingency plans

Contingency plans, extensive documents which contain details on preventing and cleaning up oil spills, are required by state and federal law.

Some changes in the contingency plans since 1989 include:

Spill drills

Before 1989, few oil spill drills were conducted in Prince William Sound. Today, three major exercises take place per year, along with several smaller drills. The drills provide opportunities for response personnel to work with equipment and practice procedures.

1989 vs 2024: Spill response equipment

In 1989, there were only 13 oil-skimming systems in Alyeska’s response inventory; today, 90 are available. Only 5 miles of oil spill boom were available in 1989; today, around 40 miles are on hand. Alyeska had only one 500,000-gallon barge at that time to store recovered oil and the water that comes with; today, storage capacity is now 37 million gallons.

This image is a bar chart graphic that shows the difference in equipment between 1989 and 2024. It compares 13 oil skimmers compared to 90, 5 miles of boom compared to 40, and 500,000 gallons of capacity compared to 37,000,000 today.

Concerns remain

Although there have been many improvements, there are still many areas of concern, meriting the continued attention and sustained efforts from the Council. A few of these include:

Council report on changes:

More about improvements and remaining concerns in the publication “Then & Now: 35 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Tim Robertson: Real-life experiences improve oil spill response

Volunteer Spotlight

Photo of Tim Robertson on a small motorized boat on the ocean with a rocky coast in the background.
Tim Robertson is a member of the Council’s Oil Spill Prevention & Response Committee. The committee works to minimize the risk and impacts associated with oil transportation through research, advice, and recommendations for strong and effective spill prevention and response measures, contingency planning, and regulations.

Growing up in western North Carolina, over 3,000 miles away from Alaska, Tim Robertson and his brothers Roy and Andy knew all about the 49th state. His dad was obsessed.

“If there was a TV show or a movie or anything about Alaska, he drug the whole family to see it,” Robertson says. All three brothers ended up moving here.

These days Tim splits his time between Alaska and Hawaii. At first glance, it might seem like the two states are very different, but Tim’s values are present in both.

“I’m a small-boat guy on big water,” he says. “There’s the same connection with the ocean. A lot of mornings I watch the sun rise from the water. It’s a big part of what I am.”

Robertson spent his first few years in Alaska working in an oil-related field, first as a research biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, then for an oil field service company.

He dreamt of a different career though. Robertson acquired land in Seldovia in 1985, and partnered with another family to build Harmony Point Wilderness Lodge, an ecotourism business. They had only been in business a few short years when the Exxon Valdez ran aground.

“The first time I ever heard of ICS [Incident Command System] was when we had a community meeting after the spill,” says Robertson.

The Incident Command System is a standardized structure that is used to organize the response during all types of emergencies. It was first developed in the 1970s to manage wildfires.

Seldovia’s fire chief taught the system to the group that showed up to that meeting.

“Which was essentially every able-bodied adult in the community,” Robertson says. “At least for the first few months, that how it all came together. We used a lot of fishermen ingenuity.”

Oil spill response then wasn’t well-planned out and documented like it is today. Community members had to get creative. They built thousands of feet of oil spill boom and planned out how to protect their local shores.

“I knew the coast really well, I knew the outdoors, I knew the fishermen, I knew our community, and I was learning about tourism at the time, but I didn’t really know anything about picking up oil,” Robertson says.
“Pulling boom is really no different than pulling a net and skimming oil off the water’s not real different than sucking up fish with a trans-vac fish pump.”

Later on, Seldovia’s mayor asked Robertson if he would go to Anchorage and meet with a group who was forming a new kind of organization. He accepted. That organization was eventually named the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.

Robertson was elected the Council’s first vice president and first chair of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response, or OSPR, Committee. He left the Council’s Board after a few years, but remained an advocate for improving oil spill prevention and response.

In the mid-1990s, Robertson traveled to Washington, D.C., to help improve the national oil spill contingency plan. He says that before the spill, most contingency plan regulations were managed by individual states. Requirements stemming from the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 led to many changes and Robertson was right in the middle of it, representing others who were affected by oil spills.

“I was pretty passionate about it because I had worked in the oil industry, and I felt somewhat responsible for producing the oil that ended up on the beaches that I loved and impacting my friends and community.”

Robertson stayed involved with the Council over the years as a contractor. He co-founded Nuka Research and Planning Group, an environmental consulting firm that has supported many of the Council’s projects.

Robertson retired in 2023. He now volunteers for the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council and recently re-joined the Prince William Sound Council’s OSPR Committee.

“It’s really cool to come full circle back to the Council and contribute as a volunteer. It’s been a big part of my life.”

Robertson and his fellow Seldovians’ plans to protect their shores later evolved into an official part of Alaska’s oil spill response plans. Geographic Response Strategies, or GRS, are plans that are developed for specific, unique areas that are particularly sensitive to contamination. Responders practice these from time to time.

“It’s almost impossible to deploy one and not learn something,” Robertson says. OSPR works to get such lessons incorporated into spill contingency plans.

He says that it’s important for citizens to have a say in decisions that will directly affect them.

“Continual pressure tends to swing regulation toward the industry’s favor,” he says. “We talk about risk makers and risk takers. The industry are the risk makers and people along the coast of Alaska are the risk takers.”
“That’s what RCAC does so great,” he adds. “Because they put people at the table that are reasonable and understand the policies, technologies, and science.”

Photo of Tim Robertson paddling a kayak on the ocean.
Tim Robertson: small boat guy on big water

More about the early days of the Council

As one of our founding Board members, in 2013, Robertson was asked to reflect on the formation and early years of the Council. Tim’s story, along with 20 other folks who were involved early on can be found in the Council’s publication Stories from a Citizens’ Council.


Nuka Research reports authored by Tim Robertson

The following are some of the reports Robertson authored or co-authored for the Council. This is not a complete list of all of Robertson’s work.

Link to additional detailsDateDescriptionView Full Report
Prince William Sound Out-Of-Region Oil Spill Response Equipment SurveySeptember 1, 2022This report presents a survey of oil spill response equipment available from outside the Prince William Sound (PWS)/Gulf of Alaska region to supplement the response to an oil spill from …
Geographic Response Planning for the Copper River Delta and FlatsMarch 1, 2022This report by Sierra Fletcher, Breck Tostevin, and Tim Robertson of Nuka Research documents the history of the development of geographic response strategies (GRS) for the Copper River Delta and …
Alaska’s Oil Spill Response Planning Standard (Graphic Version)November 8, 2019This is a graphic synopsis of the full report: ‘Alaska’s Oil Spill Response Planning Standard – History and Legislative Intent’ (PDF/5.6MB).
Alaska’s Oil Spill Response Planning Standard – History And Legislative IntentAugust 8, 2018This report tells the story of how and why an unlikely alliance of regulators, politicians, oil industry executives, and international spill response experts used the Exxon Valdez oil spill as …
Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Optimization AnalysisFebruary 1, 2017This study analyzed potential options to increase oil recovery by optimizing both the open-water and nearshore on-water recovery systems based in Prince William Sound.
Oil Simulants Workshop ProceedingsJune 21, 2013This report summarizes a workshop of national experts to address key questions regarding the potential permitting and use of oil simulants in US waters to improve oil spill response planning …
Non-mechanical Response Gap Estimate for Two Operating Areas of Prince William Sound – 2008April 15, 2008The ‘response gap’ is the window between the upper limits of the response system (in terms of environmental conditions) and the conditions at which Hinchinbrook Entrance is closed to laden …
Non-mechanical Response Gap Estimate: Literature Review and Recommended Limits – 2007August 21, 2007This report analyzes the response gap that exists for non-mechanical response operations at two locations in Prince William Sound.
Response Gap Estimates for Two Operating Areas in Prince William Sounds – 2007February 8, 2007In 2006, the Council commissioned a study to determine the frequency and duration of any Response Gap that exists in Prince William Sound.
Response Gap MethodsMay 5, 2006In 2006, the Council commissioned a study to determine the frequency and duration of any Response Gap that exists in Prince William Sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now Hiring: Maritime Operations Project Manager

The Council is seeking skilled and experienced applicants for the Maritime Operations Project Manager position in the Valdez office!

Applicants must have strong verbal and written communication skills and be able to work collaboratively with staff, volunteers, industry, and regulators to promote environmentally safe and responsible transportation of crude oil through Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska.

The Maritime Operations Project Manager responsibilities include:

  • Develop, implement, and maintain all aspects of maritime operations projects and programs as assigned, including project plans, determination of resources needed, budget development and contract management, in line with PWSRCAC’s mission and Long Range Plan.
  • Coordinate with other project managers and management to ensure uniform approach to accomplishment of assigned projects.
  • Recruit and facilitate PWSRCAC project teams and working groups as needed.
  • Maintain PWSRCAC office Automatic Information System (AIS) unit and related information.
  • Review U.S. Coast Guard Local Notice to mariners and incident reports, and relay relevant information to PWSRCAC staff and volunteers.
  • Observe and provide written reports on towing and tether exercises and drills as needed.
  • Develop recommendations for Board review and/or approval of maritime operations contracts and projects.
  • Prepare and deliver reports to PWSRCAC technical committees and/or Board of Directors
    Work with PWSRCAC stakeholders to implement Board-approved recommendations.
  • Participate in PWSRCAC and external (industry and /or regulatory) working groups related to assigned projects , including the Valdez Marine Safety Committee.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Communications to respond to media inquiries related to assigned projects and respond to such inquiries as directed.
  • Perform research as needed, including literature review, archival research, and field work.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferred, but relevant experience may be substituted on a year-for-year basis. Maritime operations (or a related field), project management, and contracting experience preferred but not required.  Experience in a scientific or technical discipline would also be helpful.

This is an exempt position with a starting annual base salary of $109,300+ DOE. An additional 10% of base salary is provided for Valdez cost of living adjustment. After 60 days of successful employment, an additional 25% of base salary is added for optional benefits, bringing total compensation to $147,555.

A complete job description can be found at Maritime Operations Project Manager.

>> Questions? Email info@pwsrcac.org

To apply

Applications will only be considered when received from this link: Criteria Assessment Center for PWSRCAC – Maritime Operations Project Management. You will be asked to provide:

  1. Cover letter. Your cover letter should address the reasons you feel your education, work experience, and career goals are a good match for this position and why you want to work for the PWSRCAC.
  2. Current resume.
  3. List of references. The list of references should include at least three professional references with contact information.

After submitting, candidates may also be asked to take a series of tests to verify your skills.  Finalists may be subject to criminal and credit background checks and verification of education and past employment.

Open until filled – first review of Maritime Operations Project Manager applicants: March 13, 2024.

About the Council

The Council was formed in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill with the mission of promoting the environmentally safe operation of the Valdez Marine Terminal and the associated tankers. The Council has an annual operating budget around $4.2M with a total staff of 18 and over 50 volunteers.

Workshop: Tsunami hazards guidance for vessel operators

The Council is partnering with the City of Valdez to hold a workshop to further our understanding of the risks posed to vessel operators by tsunamis, including those generated by landslides.

Participants will represent a diversity of vessel operators, emergency managers, and researchers studying the subject. A portion of this workshop will take place with Stan Stephens Cruises, traveling through Prince William Sound, with a visit to the world-famous Columbia Glacier.

Based on workshop results, we will develop a report detailing preliminary guidance for vessel operators facing the threat of a tsunami and a list of research topics that could improve future guidance. The proposed guidance will be designed to be applicable in Prince William Sound and similar areas that have complex steep shorelines, and which face the potential of landslide-generated tsunamis.

This workshop will be held in Valdez on June 3rd and 4th, 2024.

Registration

Registration is now open: Register for Tsunami Hazards in Prince William Sound – Workshop for Vessel Operators

Lodging

The Totem Inn is offering a limited number of rooms at a reduced rate for workshop participants. These rooms can be booked by calling the hotel directly: 907-835-4443 or toll Free: 1-888-808-4431 Please note that you are attending the Tsunami Workshop at the time you book your room.

Questions

For more information, please email Nelli Vanderburg.

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