PWSRCAC Board meeting scheduled for Seward in September will be virtual only

Update on COVID-19 impacts on Council activities

COVID19The Council is scheduled to hold a Board meeting on Thursday and Friday, September 17 and 18, 2020. The decision was made by the Board to hold the meeting through virtual attendance only, by video/teleconference.

The meeting schedule and agenda will be released the week prior as usual. Information on how to join the teleconference will be provided at that time.

Both Council offices (Anchorage and Valdez) are temporarily closed as a safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Council staff are conducting business remotely. All other Council meetings are being offered via teleconference only. Information on how to join meetings can be found in individual meeting announcements or by contacting staff.

The health and safety of Council staff and volunteers are our top priority and will drive decisions as the situation evolves and more information becomes available.

Additional updates on COVID-19 impacts to Council activities and other information related to this situation can be found here: COVID-19: Effects on Council activities

Council announces election of Board officers

The Council held its annual Board meeting by videoconference, on May 7-8, 2020.  Among other business, the Board convened to elect officers who will serve from May 2020 to May 2021. All current officers were re-elected into the same positions they held for the previous year.

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
    • Thane Miller, representing Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation
    • Rebecca Skinner, representing the Kodiak Island Borough

The Council is very happy 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.

Executive Committee:

[show-team category=’xcom’ url=’active’ layout=’table’ style=’img-square,text-left’ display=’photo,position,freehtml,smallicons,name’]

News release (PDF): Prince William Sound RCAC announces election of board officers

Council’s annual board meeting will be virtual, May 7-8

Tanker in Prince William Sound

The Council will hold a virtual board meeting, via video and teleconference, on Thursday and Friday, May 7-8, 2020. Due to coronavirus concerns, no in-person attendance will be permitted.

Those interested in attending can do so by teleconference (1-888-788-0099, meeting ID: 216 315 997) or video conference. Visual presentations given during the meeting can be streamed live through the videoconference or accessed by download:

The tentative schedule for the Thursday session is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Friday, the meeting is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public through the video/teleconference system, except for executive sessions. Public comments are scheduled to be taken on Thursday starting at 9 a.m.

The Council will be conducting regular business during the meeting, including seating of established directors and committee members and election of new board officers. Other topics included on the agenda are:

  • An activity report by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company on the Valdez Marine Terminal and Ship Escort/Response Vessel System operations, including impacts to operations from COVID-19 and an update on the current spill situation at the terminal.
  • A report on the annual analytical summary and interpretation of the passive sampling device, mussel, and sediment samples taken each summer for the Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program.
  • A report on best available technology for towline deployment between oil tankers operating in Prince William Sound and rescue tugboats.
  • A report from the Council’s legislative monitors and staff on political developments and prospects coming out of Washington, D.C. and Juneau.

A second, special board meeting is planned for May 21, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., to discuss and approve the Council budget for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2020.

The meeting agenda provided is subject to change before or during the meeting. Council board meetings are routinely recorded and may be disseminated to the public by the Council or by the news media. 

Both Council offices (Anchorage and Valdez) are currently closed as a safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the State of Alaska and the City of Anchorage have recently made announcements about their plans to start reopening businesses soon, the Council does not yet plan to reopen either office. As state and city plans continue to progress, the Council will take a very cautious approach to reopening and will send out notifications about when and how the Council offices will do so.

The health and safety of Council staff and volunteers are our top priority and will drive decisions as the situation evolves and more information becomes available.

More information: Updates on COVID-19 impacts to Council activities.


 

News release: Public input needed to safeguard state protections

Photo of Robert Archibald
Robert Archibald is the president of the board of directors for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council and has lived in Homer since 1984. Archibald spent 46 years as a mariner, including service in the U.S. Coast Guard and 32 years as chief engineer on Crowley Marine Service vessels in various locations, 22 of which were in Valdez, before retiring in 2014.

By Robert Archibald 
Board President

Also published in the Anchorage Daily News

In 1971, the Alaska Legislature formed the Department of Environmental Conservation to take the lead on Alaska’s environmental protections. DEC’s mission, set by the legislation which formed it, is: conserving, improving, and protecting Alaska’s natural resources and environment to enhance the health, safety, economic, and social well-being of Alaskans.

Now, here we are, 30 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the creation of regional citizens advisory councils in Alaska, and coming up on 30 years since the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The world-class oil spill prevention and response system in Prince William Sound is a direct result of post-Exxon Valdez spill laws and regulations designed to protect Alaska. These strong statutes and regulations are one of the main reasons why Prince William Sound has not had a major oil spill since.

Currently, DEC is undertaking a “scoping process,” asking for comments from industry and the public on oil spill prevention and response regulations and statutes, which the DEC Commissioner has stated have become “onerous and burdensome” to business. The deadline to comment, March 16, 2020, is quickly approaching.

(Update: November 2021)

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