July 2015 | Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

Pete Heddell: Exxon Valdez taught many lessons to those who paid attention

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

Volunteer Spotlight:

Volunteer Pete Heddell, member of the council’s Port Operations and Vessel Traffic System committee, has seen a lot of changes in Prince William Sound and Alaska.

His parents brought him here at the age of three and a half, just 30 days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, where the family homesteaded outside of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.

Heddell worked in the fishing business for several years before joining the state police in 1963. After his retirement in 1987, Heddell and his wife Marilynn, started their marine charter service, Honey Charters, out of the port of Whittier.

“We ordered the first of our four boats in the fall of 1987,” Heddell said. He and his wife spent that first summer exploring Prince William Sound.

“In March of 1989, we were on the floor at our first sportsman’s show when we heard the Exxon Valdez had hit Bligh reef.”

How can we combine efforts and verify response capabilities?

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

From Executive Director Mark Swanson:

The safe transportation of oil requires that the industry plan extensively for spill prevention and response. Beyond planning, extensive practice of the tactics described in the plans help verify that these spill response plans will work as written.

Drills and exercises conducted today are many and varied. These drills test different federal and state requirements. Some are aimed at maintaining proficiency, others verify response capabilities and strategies, or marine firefighting or salvage plans.

With so many drills and exercises, surely there must be an opportunity to combine drills for the needs of both shippers and regulators for cost savings and efficiency, particularly in Alaska, where companies often share the same response contractors, equipment, and plans, without sacrificing preparedness.

New council report: Port of Valdez shrimp found generally safe for consumption

January 9, 2024July 22, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

A new report on the effects of small amounts of hydrocarbons on Port Valdez shrimp is now available. The report was approved by the board of directors during the May board meeting.

News release:

Are shrimp caught in Port Valdez contaminated by Alaska North Slope crude oil? The council recently worked with scientists at the National Auke Bay Lab in Juneau to answer that question.

From Alyeska: Alyeska’s 2015 Atigun Award spotlights health and safety, hearing protection, and communication

July 28, 2022July 22, 2015 by Contributing Author

Power Vapor staff Scott Smith and Tim Medaris sport state-of-the-art hearing protection, and Dwayne Wilson wears a more traditional model. Photo courtesy of Alyeska Corporate Communications.

Alyeska’s Valdez Marine Terminal is a unique work environment where hundreds of professionals from dozens of trades perform thousands of various tasks daily. But there is one thing that remains the same every moment at the terminal’s Power Vapor facility. “There’s a constant noise of machinery here 24 hours a day,” said Scott Smith, Utilities Power Vapor Supervisor.

Employees at Power Vapor can work in environments as loud as a 747 jet engine (118 decibels). That level of noise demands safe hearing protection and effective communication tools. After almost 18 years of working in various positions at the Terminal, Smith worried about his team’s hearing protection and communications. When he landed a supervisory position, he stepped up to find a solution.

For implementing safer hearing and communications equipment last fall for the nearly 40 staff working in Power Vapor, Smith and his team were recognized with Alyeska’s 2015 Atigun Award for Health and Safety.