Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, two citizen councils were authorized and empowered to help reduce the frequency and impacts of oil spills in Alaska waters through more effective oversight: the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council and our counterpart for Cook Inlet.
This oversight was mandated in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or OPA 90. That Act was achieved through the efforts of Senators Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski, and Congressman Don Young. It was passed by historic bipartisan votes of 99 to 0 in the Senate and 360 to 0 in the House, before being signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.
The rationale for our two citizen groups was to help combat the complacency seen as one of the contributing factors to the spill and to provide a needed layer of scrutiny to increase public confidence in the safety of Alaska’s oil transportation system.
The councils’ role, defined by OPA 90 as purely advisory, was to help correct the problems leading to the oil spill. This is achieved through two main avenues. First, by involving local citizens in the process of preparing, adopting, and revising oil spill prevention and response plans and the systems that support those plans. Second, by fostering long-term partnership among the oil industry, government, and local communities in overseeing compliance with environmental concerns in the operation of crude oil facilities and means by which oil is transported through the region.
The structural attributes created with our founding are necessary for effective and constructive citizen oversight: authority to monitor and oversee industry operations; assured independence to conduct oversight and have credibility with the citizens it represents; assured funding to undertake technical research, monitoring, and evaluation of proposals; and access to company facilities, personnel, and records on the same basis as regulators.
As time continues to move us away from the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, it’s important to revisit how and why PWSRCAC was founded. This history grounds our mission and purpose to this day. Time has not diminished its importance. In fact, this context is more important than ever to keep us moving forward, as was envisioned and intended through our federal mandates.
We value the relationships we strive to maintain with industry and regulators, while also recognizing that our founding advisory functions necessitate that we not shy away from tough conversations, nor hold back hard questions. These sometimes challenging interactions could be seen by some as being anti-industry, which is certainly not the case. The Council is neither for nor against development – our purpose is solely to make sure the system is as safe as it can possibly be made while oil is being transported through our region.
The goals of all – industry, regulators, and citizens – are achieved when all parties come to the table ready to listen, discuss, and take on the greatest problems presented. If the conversations are uncomfortable, we must all ask why that is the case and get to the real core of the issue. We must put our personal perspectives aside to share information, be open to new ideas, and move towards solutions.
Congress found that the system of regulation and oversight before the 1989 spill had degenerated into a process of continual mistrust and confrontation. They noted that only when local citizens are involved in the process will the trust develop that is necessary to change that system from confrontation to consensus. The Council was created to push for answers, observe operations, verify information we are provided, and inform the stakeholders who have the most to lose in the event of another major oil spill. There is too much at stake for us to do anything less.