News & Announcements

Council announces election of Board officers

by

The Council held its annual Board meeting in Valdez, Alaska, on May 6-7, 2021. Among other business, the Board convened to elect officers who will serve from May 2021 to May 2022.

The elected executive committee is comprised of:

  • President: Robert Archibald, representing the City of Homer
  • Vice President: Amanda Bauer, representing the City of Valdez
  • Treasurer: Wayne Donaldson, representing the City of Kodiak
  • Secretary: Bob Shavelson, representing the Oil Spill Region Environmental Coalition
  • Three Members-at-Large:
    • Ben Cutrell, representing Chugach Alaska Corporation
    • Robert Beedle, representing the City of Cordova
    • Rebecca Skinner, representing the Kodiak Island Borough

“The Council’s work has never been more important,” said Archibald. “It is crucial we not forget the reasons that lead to the creation of this organization and continue to work together to maintain the record of safe, efficient transportation of crude oil through Prince William Sound. Memories of the Exxon Valdez oil spill run deep in our minds. Not since regulations were put in place as the result of that spill has the state been so challenged in maintaining these high standards. I am honored to lead our Board for another year as advocates of this mission. Citizen oversight remains a key component to maintaining robust spill prevention and response systems and benefits everyone – citizens, industry, and regulators alike.”

The Council is grateful to have the support of its many volunteers from all over the Exxon Valdez oil spill region. The new executive committee is an excellent representation of the Council.

New members join Board of Directors

At its May meeting, the Board seated four new members:

  • Angela Totemoff replaced Roy Totemoff as the representative of the community of Tatitlek
  • Patrick Domitrovich replaced Rob Chadwell as the representative of the City of Seward
  • Nick Crump replaced Thane Miller as the representative of the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation
  • Elijah Jackson filled a vacant seat representing the Kodiak Village Mayors Association

News release (PDF): 

Council Elects Officers For May 2021 To May 2022

Repairs to Prince William Sound’s radar in the works

by
Screenshot of AIS system
The Coast Guard is using other technologies, such as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) pictured here, to monitor traffic while radar repairs are underway.

Coast Guard planning long-term project to replace entire system

Radar that helps the U.S. Coast Guard monitor vessels in Port Valdez is undergoing repairs.

This radar is part of the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service, or VTS, which monitors and manages vessel traffic movements in busy waterways such as Prince William Sound. Three radar sites across Prince William Sound relay information to Valdez, where the data is integrated with other technologies onto an electronic display.

All three sites have struggled to stay online recently because of the harsh Alaska environment coupled with normal wear and tear. The Coast Guard plans to have at least one radar at each of the three sites operational by September 2021.

Planning for further upgrades

U.S. Coast Guard Commander Patrick Drayer joined a Council meeting in January to report that the Coast Guard’s long-term plan is to develop plans to upgrade all of the VTS radar systems nationwide. The Coast Guard will begin an in-depth review starting this summer to help plan these upgrades. The timeline and cost for replacement is not yet known as it is still early in the planning process.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is monitoring the Sound using other technologies. While other technologies serve valuable roles, the Council does not believe that other technologies can adequately replace the surveillance and collision avoidance capabilities that modern radar provides.

The Council is planning a review to better understand how these technologies work together to prevent accidents and potential oil spills.

Escort tug Courageous damages the tanker Polar Endeavour in January incident

by
One of the Polar Endeavour’s ballast water tanks was damaged during the incident. The Endeavour, seen here participating in a 2009 towing exercise, is undergoing repairs.

Just before midnight on January 11, the escort tug Courageous allided with the tanker Polar Endeavour, which had just finished loading crude oil at Berth 4 at the Valdez Marine Terminal.

An “allision” occurs when a moving vessel comes in contact with a stationary object or vessel.
A “collision” occurs when both objects or vessels are moving when contact occurred.

The Courageous is owned and operated by Edison Chouest Offshore, the contractor who provides spill prevention and response services for Alyeska.

The tug was approaching the fully loaded tanker to assist the tanker as it prepared for departure. The tug struck the hull of the Endeavour, damaging a ballast water tank. Some of that ballast water was released into Port Valdez. The Endeavour carries crude oil in cargo tanks that are separate from the ballast water tanks, so there was no oil in the damaged tank and none was spilled.

ConocoPhillips, the company that owns the Endeavour, made temporary repairs onsite. The U.S. Coast Guard inspected the tanker and approved it to sail to Long Beach, California, for permanent repairs.
One mariner aboard the Courageous received minor injuries and is expected to fully recover.

The U.S. Coast Guard is still conducting its investigation, however initial reports indicate it appears that the incident was caused by human error.

At the January meeting of the Council’s Board of Directors, Alyeska noted several remedial actions, including restricting the use of autopilot in certain areas and clarifying standing orders.

The Council is tracking this incident and the subsequent changes and will provide advice on how to prevent a similar incident in the future.

Sale of BP’s Alaska assets approved

by
Please note that this is corrected pie chart. A previous version showed ExxonMobil’s ownership at approximately 30% and ConocoPhillips at 21%.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has issued a final approval in the sale of BP’s Alaska assets to Hilcorp Energy Company and their affiliate, Harvest Alaska.

This purchase includes the transfer of the largest percentage of ownership of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System to Hilcorp Energy and their affiliate, Harvest Alaska.

The sale has been controversial. In March of 2020, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska issued an order approving the company’s request to keep their financial documents confidential. That order generated extensive public comments from Alaskans, including the Council.

One of the commissioners, Stephen McAlpine, dissented in that March order. He noted that he believed “airing these documents publicly and subjecting the entire transaction to intense debate far outweighs the petitioners’ interest in keeping them confidential.”

Read more

Skip to content