“Today is absolute confusion. They found a lot of oil north of Perry Island in Wells Passage. Equipment is starting to break down. So there are less and less skimmers working. The oil is getting so spread out they cannot handle it. Here is a whole month gone by without a real understanding of those in charge how big Prince William Sound really is. I’m dedicating the rest of my life and spare time to the protection of the environment.”
Stan Stephens, long-time council volunteer, passed away on Saturday, September 21, 2013.
Stan was integral in helping form the council, and was an active volunteer from 1990 until his retirement from the board of directors in 2012.
Stan’s passion and commitment to the health and well-being of Prince William Sound was extraordinary, and his efforts over the years were truly commendable.
In May 1995, Stan was presented with a glowing citation by the Alaska State Legislature for his contributions to Alaska as the president of the council.
“Mr. Stephens has devoted thousands of hours and unbounded energy to RCAC’s mission. He has been an example for all Alaskans of how citizens can constructively influence decisions that affect their lives and communities,” the citation says.
Stan led the council’s effort to convince regulators and the oil industry that a system to control tanker loading vapors was needed at the Valdez Marine Terminal, which led to the completion and start-up of such a system in 1998. He advocated the use of advanced tractor tugs to increase the safety of tanker traffic in Prince William Sound, and this effort was rewarded in 1999 with the advent of two new tractor tugs to assist and protect tankers carrying North Slope crude. Prince William Sound now has a total of five tractor tugs facilitating the safe oil transportation in the Port of Valdez.
In 2012, as he retired from the council’s board of directors, Stan wrote about the history and the importance of the council in protecting the waters of Prince William Sound for our newsletter. The following appeared in the May 2012 edition of The Observer:
Prince William Sound citizens’ council is a very important experiment that must succeed
By STAN STEPHENS
Long before the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, a number of other Prince William Sound residents and I were concerned about pollution in our waters and air in Port Valdez. We really got very little support in our concerns no matter where we took them.
John Devens, mayor of Valdez before and during the spill, appointed an ad hoc committee to look into both the pluses and negatives of the oil industry to our region. There were both Alyeska employees and concerned Valdez residents on the committee. I was appointed chair of the group.
It was interesting and sometimes slightly heated. We pushed for air and water tests which showed no negative impacts and the people of Valdez were told there was no problem to their health. Many people questioned the validity of the tests. The city and state tended to take the side of the industry, even though it was obvious that the workers at the Alyeska terminal were breathing bad air. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation oversight person was harassed and criticized for doing his job. Everything was weighted to protect big oil. The vapors released into the air from loading close to two million barrels of oil daily were terrible. The Ballast Water Treatment Facility was dumping the equivalent of two barrels of oil a day into Port Valdez and the tankers would pump cleaning fluids into the ballast water system.
We had a number of tanker spills before the Exxon Valdez. In the worst one, on January 3, 1989, during loading operations the Thompson Pass spilled a reported 1,700 barrels of oil into Port Valdez due to a 12 foot crack in one of the cargo tanks. The Coast Guard, Alyeska, and the state all congratulated themselves on cleaning up that spill. Only the ad hoc committee disagreed. A few months later the committee met one evening and discussed the need for an oil cleanup co-op, because we knew that, if we had a big spill, Alyeska, the Coast Guard and the state couldn’t handle it. About an hour after we left the meeting, the Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef.
The rest is history and doesn’t need to be repeated. Because of the outrage worldwide, Congress saw the need to do something.
Many of the residents of Cordova and Valdez pushed hard for a citizens’ oversight group and Congress agreed. Together, they worked to form the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. This is a courageous group to which we in the Sound and the downstream communities owe a great deal.
The citizens’ council must live on. We have had our growing pains but we have done many good things, and are constantly developing programs that benefit the citizens and Alyeska.
We pushed hard to have controls installed so that the vapors released from the loading tankers were captured. We never let up on doing something about the ballast water treatment system that was polluting our water and air. Today we are getting close to a closed system with very little going into our water or air.
The citizens’ council worked hard to get and maintain the best oil-spill response system in the world, using local fisherman as the back bone.
The council pushed hard for tanker escorts with the best available technology then available. Today, we have the safest system on the water for the movement of oil. It still could use improvements, but it is a fairly safe system.
We set weather limits for Valdez Narrows and Hinchinbrook Entrance with the help of the Coast Guard, the tanker companies and the state.
We have done so much more with our different committees, like trying to get the truth about dispersants. Our technical committees have been the backbone of the council board and have been in on the beginning of most changes.
No one likes to have someone looking over their shoulder, but I think our council has learned how valuable and how hard working and committed the Alyeska work force is.
It is not the work force or the local leadership that causes needed work to be left undone with the oil industry. It is the culture of the oil leadership that only understands and works to increase profits for stockholders. They will put off spending money for prevention programs, work programs and safety programs to satisfy their board and stock holders. History has shown that this oil culture has put off work to the point that it has backfired on them and cost their stock holders billions of dollars.
This culture will not change.
The regulators are still controlled by both state and federal politicians and sometimes are kept from doing their job.
Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council must survive and maintain its integrity and professional direction as long as oil is in the pipeline.
The oil culture will not change. The citizens’ council must not change either.
Upcoming events in celebration of the life of Stan Stephens:
The Stephens family has invited those who knew him to share memories and photos at a website set up in his honor: Keeper of Prince William Sound
The family is also planning several memorial services:
- October 4th, 3:00 PM, Valdez, AK, Stan Stephens Plaza Dedication
- October 4th, 4:15 PM, Valdez, AK, Celebration of Life & Reception @ Valdez Civic Center
- October 18th, Fairbanks, AK, Pikes Waterfront Lodge, Time Coming Soon
- October 19th, Anchorage, AK, Location & Time Coming Soon
Updated information about the memorial services will be posted on the Keeper of Prince William Sound website when it becomes available.