Area recreation enthusiasts now have permanent, dedicated representation on the Council’s Board of Directors.
Jim Herbert
The newly-formed Oil Spill Region Recreational Coalition was added to the Council’s roster of member entities at the January meeting. Jim Herbert was chosen by the coalition as its representative.
Herbert had been serving as a temporary recreation representative for the past year while the while the council solicited interest from recreational organizations to potentially fill the seat. Herbert previously represented the City of Seward from 2013 to 2015. He is also the current chair of the Council’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Committee.
The new coalition’s mission is to assist the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council in promoting environmentally safe operation of the Alyeska Pipeline Terminal and associated tankers in a manner that will protect the natural recreational resources of Prince William Sound and other areas affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The three founding members of the coalition are the Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation, the Valdez Adventure Alliance, and the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park. The group welcomes other organizations who promote recreation in the Exxon Valdez oil spill region.
The Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping Prince William Sound healthy, clean and wild, for all to enjoy. Visit them online at: www.princewilliamsound.org
The Valdez Adventure Alliance seeks to improve quality of life through equitable access to outdoor recreation resources, education, and events. Visit them online at: www.valdezadventurealliance.com
The Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park promotes the enhancement, preservation and protection of the natural recreational, scientific and historical resources of Kachemak Bay State Park. Visit them online at: www.friendsofkachemakbay.org
This article has been edited to correct the mission of the coalition.
In 1989, the few measures in place were inadequate to prevent the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the available response resources were insufficient to contain and clean it up. Congress found that complacency among the oil industry, and the regulatory agencies responsible for monitoring the operation of the Valdez Marine Terminal and vessel traffic in Prince William Sound, was also a contributing factor in the disaster.
In the years following the spill, regulatory agencies, industry, and citizens worked together to make sure the painful memories and hard lessons of the Exxon Valdez were not forgotten. Changes were enacted to reduce the chances of another spill and to prepare for an effective cleanup if another should occur.
Much has improved in the intervening decades, but there are lingering concerns.
Both federal and state laws now require more comprehensive prevention measures and planning for larger spills and require more spill response equipment to be immediately available.
An unlikely alliance of regulators, politicians, oil industry executives, and international spill response experts came together after the spill to reimagine oil spill preparedness and response in Prince William Sound. More: How Alaskans redefined oil spill prevention and response
Prevention: The most effective protection
Modern technology means weather buoys can stream real-time weather conditions to help make better operational decisions. Photo by Rob Campbell.
No oil spill can ever be completely cleaned up. Preventing an oil spill is the most effective way to protect human health, local communities and economies, and the environment. Since 1989, improvements have drastically reduced the risk of oil spills.
Double hulls
All tankers transporting oil through Prince William Sound are now double hulled. Double hulls, basically two steel skins separated by several feet of space, can reduce or eliminate spills that result from groundings or collisions.
Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System
The Ship Escort Response Vessel System, known as SERVS (SERVS’ website), was developed after the Exxon Valdez spill. SERVS’ mission is to prevent oil spills by helping tankers navigate safely through Prince William Sound and to begin an immediate response if there is a spill.
Improved tanker escorts
A major component of SERVS are the powerful tugs that escort tankers safely through our waters. Two tugs accompany each laden tanker out of Prince William Sound. These tugs can assist should the tanker experience a malfunction and begin immediate spill response if needed. SERVS also keeps trained response crews on duty around the clock and has spill response equipment ready.
Cleaning up a spill: Must be quick and effective
In 2018, Alyeska began work with their new spill prevention and response contractor, Edison Chouest Offshore. These services include operation of escort tugs, oil recovery storage barges, and associated personnel. These resources are key oil spill prevention and response assets for Prince William Sound. To fulfill their contract, Edison Chouest built new purpose-built tugs, such as the Elrington above; and spill response barges, such as the new OSRB-5. These vessels represented a significant improvement for the oil spill prevention and response system. In some cases, new general-purpose tugs replaced conventional tugs that were over 40 years old. Photo by Jeremy Robida.
While prevention measures are the best way to avoid damage from oil spills, even the best system cannot remove all risks. Alyeska’s SERVS has implemented many improvements since 1989, creating the world-class oil spill prevention and response system in place today.
In 1989, there were only 13 oil-skimming systems in Alyeska’s response inventory; today, 90 are available. Only 5 miles of oil spill boom were available in 1989; today, around 40 miles are on hand. Alyeska had only one 500,000-gallon barge at that time to store recovered oil and the water that comes with; today, storage capacity is now 37 million gallons.
Concerns remain
Although there have been many improvements, there are still many areas of concern, meriting the continued attention and sustained efforts from the Council. A few of these include:
Risks and safety culture at the terminal: In 2023, the Council released an assessment of risks and safety culture at the Valdez Marine Terminal, concluding that there is currently an unacceptable safety risk present, although Alyeska has been working to address the concerns outlined in the report.
Aging infrastructure: The terminal is over 40 years old and still moving large volumes of crude oil. Constant vigilance of this aging infrastructure is needed to ensure that the necessary inspection and maintenance is performed to assure continued safe operations. A recent example the Council has been focusing on is the potential degradation and/or damage to the secondary containment liner system at the terminal.
Tim Robertson is a member of the Council’s Oil Spill Prevention & Response Committee. The committee works to minimize the risk and impacts associated with oil transportation through research, advice, and recommendations for strong and effective spill prevention and response measures, contingency planning, and regulations.
Growing up in western North Carolina, over 3,000 miles away from Alaska, Tim Robertson and his brothers Roy and Andy knew all about the 49th state. His dad was obsessed.
“If there was a TV show or a movie or anything about Alaska, he drug the whole family to see it,” Robertson says. All three brothers ended up moving here.
These days Tim splits his time between Alaska and Hawaii. At first glance, it might seem like the two states are very different, but Tim’s values are present in both.
“I’m a small-boat guy on big water,” he says. “There’s the same connection with the ocean. A lot of mornings I watch the sun rise from the water. It’s a big part of what I am.”
Robertson spent his first few years in Alaska working in an oil-related field, first as a research biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, then for an oil field service company.
He dreamt of a different career though. Robertson acquired land in Seldovia in 1985, and partnered with another family to build Harmony Point Wilderness Lodge, an ecotourism business. They had only been in business a few short years when the Exxon Valdez ran aground.
“The first time I ever heard of ICS [Incident Command System] was when we had a community meeting after the spill,” says Robertson.
The Council is partnering with the City of Valdez to hold a workshop to further our understanding of the risks posed to vessel operators by tsunamis, including those generated by landslides.
Participants will represent a diversity of vessel operators, emergency managers, and researchers studying the subject. A portion of this workshop will take place with Stan Stephens Cruises, traveling through Prince William Sound, with a visit to the world-famous Columbia Glacier.
Based on workshop results, we will develop a report detailing preliminary guidance for vessel operators facing the threat of a tsunami and a list of research topics that could improve future guidance. The proposed guidance will be designed to be applicable in Prince William Sound and similar areas that have complex steep shorelines, and which face the potential of landslide-generated tsunamis.
This workshop will be held in Valdez on June 3rd and 4th, 2024.
The Totem Inn is offering a limited number of rooms at a reduced rate for workshop participants. These rooms can be booked by calling the hotel directly: 907-835-4443 or toll Free: 1-888-808-4431 Please note that you are attending the Tsunami Workshop at the time you book your room.
