Online Observer Archives | Page 35 of 95 | Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

Industry drills test equipment and personnel

January 9, 2024December 30, 2020

Drills and exercises conducted last year in Prince William Sound continued to test the new vessels and equipment brought in by the new spill response contractor, Edison Chouest, in 2018. In addition, the year’s drills helped train the crews of the tugs and tankers on various aspects of spill prevention and response in Prince William … Read more

Community Corner: How does outreach continue in a pandemic?

August 17, 2023December 30, 2020

My job at the Council is to foster community engagement. This includes lots of travel to our many small communities, from Cordova in the east to Kodiak Island in the west. I also represent the Council at events such as oil spill prevention and response professional conferences, fisherman conventions, scientific forums, local government meetings or conferences, and community receptions.

All that came to an abrupt halt in March 2020 when the pandemic stopped all travel for the Council. Since then, meetings have been via videoconference, educators have cut most hands-on programs, and conferences have been canceled or switched to online.

To continue citizen oversight of the operation of the Valdez Marine Terminal and tankers that use it, Council staff had to get creative and roll with the rapidly changing field of public engagement.

From the executive director: Maintaining Alaska’s High Standards in Spill Prevention and Response

October 10, 2024December 30, 2020

Prince William Sound is home to one of the best and most effective oil spill prevention and response systems in the world.

This system was developed over the past 30 years through a partnership between the oil industry, federal and state regulators, legislators, and citizen stakeholders. This system is possible because Alaskans were dedicated to working together to ensure a spill like the Exxon Valdez never happens again.

Unfortunately, we have also seen a steady, on-going, and alarming deterioration of federal and state oil spill prevention, response, oversight, and enforcement capabilities in Prince William Sound.

A variety of factors contributed to this situation: state and federal regulation and enforcement rollbacks, budget and staff reductions at oversight agencies, COVID-19, the low price of oil, reduced oil consumption, and lower throughput in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).

Collectively, these issues could substantially increase the risk of an oil spill in Alaska.

“Burdensome” state regulations

From Alyeska: Collaboration and dedication helps ease tough year

August 17, 2023December 30, 2020

I began my first weeks with Alyeska in January energized about the year ahead. Having served in multiple positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation, including time at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), I was familiar with Alyeska, and its sterling reputation for safety and integrity. As I initially traveled around TAPS in our pre-COVID world, our employees’ commitment to their work was evident in every interaction. Since getting around has become far more difficult, thank you for the opportunity to provide an update about what I’ve experienced in the last several months with Alyeska, and the outlook for the rest of the year.