News & Announcements Archives | Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

Board of Directors: Meeting materials now available

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 by Jennifer Fleming

The Council’s May 1-2, 2025 Board of Directors meeting will be held in-person at the Valdez Convention & Civic Center in Valdez, Alaska. The meeting will also be available virtually and telephonically for those unable to travel.

Join the meeting: Meeting audio and video, including presentations, will be available streaming online via Zoom (available starting May 1 by 8:15 a.m.) or by calling 1-888-788-0099, reference meeting ID 891 9616 4358.

A complete meeting packet will be available for download HERE, on or before April 25, 2025.

Title	View File
1 00 Draft Agenda May 1 2, 2025 PWSRCAC Board Meeting	View File
1 01 Draft January minutes of January 23 24, 2024	View File
1 02 Draft minutes of March 19, 2025	View File
2 01 List of Commonly Used Acronyms	View File
2 02 March 25, 2025 Budget Status Report	View File
2 03 Director Attendance Record	View File
2 04 Committee Member Attendance Record	View File
2 05 List of Board Committee Members	View File
2 06 One Page Strategic Plan	View File
2 07 List of Recent Board and Exeuctive Committee Actions	View File
2 08 PWSRCAC Organizational Chart	View File
3 01 Approval of Resolution Designating PWSRCAC Check Signers	View File
3 02 Approval of FY2026 Contingency Plan Contractor Pool	View File
3 03 FY2026 LTEMP Contract Authorization	View File
3 04 FY2026 Marine Bird Fall and Early Winter Surveys Contract Authorization	View File
3 05 Annual Technical Committee Member Appointments	View File
4 01 PWSRCAC Director Appointments	View File
4 02 Report Acceptance Maintaining the Secondary Containment Liner	View File
4 03 Report Acceptance Marine Bird Fall and Early Winter Survey	View File
4 04 Report Acceptance Vessel Biofouling	View File
4 05 Report Acceptance 2022 VMT Crude Oil Storage Tank Vent Incident	View File
4 06 Federal and State Government Affairs Update	View File
4 07 Community Outreach Annual Report	View File
4 08 Addressing Risks and Safety Culture at the VMT	View File
4 09 Report Acceptance Peer Listener Manual Distribution Plan	View File
4 10 Report Acceptance 2024 Annual Drill Monitoring Report	View File
4 11 Annual Board Committee Appointments	View File
5 01 Program and Project Status Report	View File
CompleteMeetingPacketMay2025	View File

Board meetings are open to the public, and an opportunity for the public to provide comments is provided at the beginning of each meeting.

Funds available for educational projects related to our mission

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025 by Amanda Johnson

The Council works to educate Exxon Valdez region youth about the environmentally safe operation of the Alyeska terminal and associated tankers. Working with area youth is vital to fight complacency that can arise if new generations of citizens are not continually reminded of the need for ongoing oil spill prevention.

To support this effort, the Council invites proposals for facilitating learning experiences with Exxon Valdez oil spill region youth. Youth in this case can include students from K-12 formal education, homeschool students, informal education programs, and either formal or informal college-level education. In the past, the PWSRCAC has also sponsored projects for teachers that benefit area youth.

Now accepting proposals

We are currently accepting proposals for projects taking place during the 2025-2026 school year.

Submittal Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on May 9, 2025
Award Announcement on or before July 31, 2025

Projects should result in better understanding of such topics as: citizens’ oversight, environmental impacts of the operation of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company oil terminal in Valdez and the oil tankers that call there, oil spill prevention and response planning and operation, and/or other topics related to the Council’s mission.

Past and ongoing projects have included:

youth stewardship expeditions into the marine environment via sea kayak and other vessels
youth monitoring for aquatic invasive species
public oil spill science discovery labs
oil spill science and technology outreach
oil spill education website development
K-12 oil spill curriculum writing and testing
travel funding for youth presenting oil spill projects at conferences
oral history projects related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill
other marine stewardship programs for students with an oil spill connection
more information about past projects

Download RFP: Youth Involvement 2025-2026 School Year

Budget Template for Youth Involvement RFP

Questions?

Please contact Outreach Coordinator Maia Draper-Reich at education@pwsrcac.org.

More about the Council:

Future funding opportunities

There are two deadlines each year to submit proposals for educational project funding. You may subscribe to our email list for new Requests for Proposals to receive notifications when these are issued by the Council.

Anchorage meeting and events, January 23-24

February 11, 2025January 15, 2025 by Hans Odegard

The Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council will held a Board meeting in Anchorage Thursday and Friday, January 23-24, 2025.

All meeting documents

The Council conducted regular business during the meeting, including updates from Council ex officio members, staff and committees. Other topics included on the agenda were:

An activity report by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company on the Valdez Marine Terminal and Ship Escort Response Vessel System operations, including a presentation on their Risk and Safety Culture Assessment Management Action Plan Closeout Report.
An update from Council staff on the renewal of the Valdez Marine Terminal contingency plan and subsequent request for informal review relating to concerns about analysis of the East Tank Farm secondary containment system liners.
A presentation on volatile organic compound and hazardous air pollutant emissions from the 2022 crude oil storage tank vent incident at the terminal.
A report on additional information requested by Alyeska related to the Council’s 2023 “Crude Oil Storage Tank Vent Damage” report, which outlines concerns related to worker safety in the aftermath of the 2022 tank vent damage incident.
Reports on the results from the Council’s Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program 2024 sampling for hydrocarbons and a pilot study to analyze 23 metals in sediments collected adjacent to the Valdez Marine Terminal and Gold Creek reference site.

Council Board meetings are routinely recorded and may be disseminated to the public by the Council or by the news media.

Media Release

Paid internship opportunity: Marine Environmental Monitoring

January 14, 2025December 24, 2024 by Amanda Johnson

Two people work with sapling equipment aboard a vessel. An oil tanker can be seen in the background. — Council staff members collect water samples for analysis as part of the Environmental Monitoring Program.

The Council is looking for a college student located in Valdez, Alaska, to support its Environmental Monitoring Program until June 2025. The final project of this paid internship will connect the program’s goals as well as the intern’s area of interest.

Who: Open to a college or graduate student in Valdez, AK.

What: An internship to complete the following activities and deliverables:

PWSRCAC Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Project (LTEMP) fieldwork preparation activities and participation
- Fieldwork will occur in early May and June 2025
Weekly journal documenting your experience and progress
Final project connecting to LTEMP research priorities and your interests
- A poster documenting your project
- A presentation of your project and poster at the Environmental Science Symposium during UAA/PWS College finals week
Drafting an internship manual
A post-program reflection.

When: The internship will last from January or February 2025 until June 2025.

Special requirements: You will need to be present in Valdez for fieldwork through June 15, 2025. The internship includes travel funds to return to Valdez to participate in field work if you need to leave at the end of the semester.

Mentorship: Dr. Danielle Verna and Maia Draper-Reich from PWSRCAC and Dr. Amanda Glazier from PWS College will work with you to accomplish the tasks of the internship and learn about oil spills and related environmental science more broadly.

Stipend: You will receive a $2,500 stipend to assist with out-of-pocket costs, such as gear, transportation, and final project costs.

Opportunities: Tuition is available for PWS College students to receive academic credit for this internship. Funding is also available for you to attend a relevant conference event related to the internship to further your educational goals. Use of conference funding is optional.

Application: Please submit a resume and cover letter to education@pwsrcac.org by January 8, 2025 to apply. Interviews will be conducted in person at the PWSRCAC office in Valdez during the week of January 13, 2025.

Contact: Reach out to Maia Draper-Reich (education@pwsrcac.org, 907-273-6235), PWSRCAC Outreach Coordinator, if you have any questions.