The Observer Newsletter

The latest news about the safe transportation of oil in Prince William Sound

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The Council’s publication, The Observer, is a free newsletter distributed throughout Prince William Sound, the northern Gulf of Alaska, lower Cook Inlet, and the Kodiak archipelago, as well as by request to interested citizens around the world, including regulators and industry.

The Observer covers the Council’s activities, developments in the oil transportation industry in Prince William Sound, including news about policies, regulations, operations at the Valdez Marine Terminal, oil spill prevention and response, effects of the oil industry on the environment, and other issues related to the safe transportation or oil through Prince William Sound. Major oil spill drills are covered, and Alyeska is invited to submit a column for each issue.

The latest articles from the Observer newsletter:

March 25, 2025

Remembering Richard Fineberg

Dr. Richard Fineberg, expert on the economics and profits of the oil industry in Alaska, passed away in September 2024 ...

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March 20, 2025

Council’s archives hold valuable lessons

Since its inception, the Council has placed a high value on keeping a historical record of documents related to the ...

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March 20, 2025

Approval for oil spill contingency plan for terminal comes with conditions

This past November, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, or ADEC, approved the renewal of the oil spill contingency plan ...

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March 20, 2025

Matt Melton: Preparing for the unexpected

Volunteer Spotlight Matt Melton, like many others born and raised in Alaska, received an early education in oil spills. He ...

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March 14, 2025

Law could adversely affect fishing vessel response program

In 2023, a Federal law was passed that could affect Alyeska’s contracted fleet of fishing vessels trained to help respond ...

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March 14, 2025

New staff member joins Anchorage office

In December, the Council welcomed a new staff member, Suparat Prasannet. Prasannet has a background in office management, previously overseeing ...

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More articles

Questions or comments about The Observer newsletter? We’d like to hear from you! Please email or call: Amanda Johnson, Public Communications Project Manager, 907-273-6221.

Observer Archives

If you are looking for an article from a previous edition of The Observer:

1. 1. Individual articles written since 2013 are available in the Observer Article Archive.
   2. Articles 2012 and older are available via the PDF archives below.