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.
Exxon Valdez tanker leaking oil in Prince William Sound, April 13, 1989. Photo by Charles N. Ehler. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Collection, ARLIS. ARLIS’ EVOS photos
On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a charted rock, Bligh Reef, in Prince William Sound. The grounding occurred after the vessel left the designated tanker lanes to avoid icebergs reported to be in the area.
The tanker spilled an estimated 11 million gallons (257,000 barrels) of Alaska North Slope crude oil, enough to fill 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Below are some of our recommended resources on the history of the spill.
What happened?
The executive summary of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission’s Final Report “Spill, the Wreck of the Exxon Valdez” has a synopsis of the incident and their investigation, which includes details about what went wrong. See also: Full report and appendices(Alaska Resources Library & Information Services (ARLIS) website)
Stats and FAQs:
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC):
The Alaska Resources Library & Information Services (ARLIS) has an extensive collection, including some unique resources such as trial transcripts and audio recordings:
The Spill: Personal Stories from the Exxon Valdez Disaster – This book features interviews with over 60 people who experienced the spill first-hand. They include Alaska citizens; government agency personnel involved with the spill and cleanup; elected officials who dealt with the spill; and oil industry personnel involved in the spill and cleanup. Contact the Council for a free copy: info@pwsrcac.org
History of the oil spill prevention and contingency plan in Prince William Sound – This report details how planning has improved since 1989, describes contentious issues and how they were resolved, notes significant trends, and documents remaining issues. The report also documents changes to the regulations and how regulations have been interpreted at different times.
Exxon Valdez Project Jukebox – The Council worked with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to archive this collection of audio and video interviews of people who experienced the spill firsthand. (UAF website)
Stories from a Citizens’ Council – This publication contains personal reflections on the formation and early years of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.
More questions?
We are happy to help find additional information, please contact us:
The Council’s annual report, Year in Review 2022/2023, is now available. This report covers the many programs and projects we’ve been working on over the past year, such as oil spill prevention and response, environmental monitoring, oil spill contingency plans, operations at the Valdez Marine Terminal, invasive species monitoring, our outreach efforts, and much more. Highlights from this year include:
An assessment of risks and safety culture at the Valdez Marine Terminal
Ensuring the adequacy of secondary containment liners for the terminal’s crude oil storage tanks
Supporting solutions for sustainable funding for state spill
prevention and response
Improvements to how the Council monitors weather and sea currents in our region
Monitoring oil spill drills and exercises
Reexamining the Council’s position on use of dispersants in our region
