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Vol. 19, No. 36 Week of September 07, 2014
Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry

Coast Guard recertifies Cook Inlet RCAC

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Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

The U.S. Coast Guard has recertified the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council as an alternative voluntary advisory group under the Oil Pollution Terminal and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight and Monitoring Act of 1990.

The recertification, dated Aug. 27, terminates Aug. 15, 2015.

Real Admiral D.B. Abel, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, said the Coast Guard received 54 comments from the public on the proposed action, all “in support of the CIRCAC application for recertification.” Abel said the comments “consistently cited CIRCAC’s broad representation of the respective community’s interests, appropriate actions to keep the public informed, improvements to both spill response preparation and spill prevention, and oil spill industry monitoring efforts that combat complacency as intended by the Act.”

“We are gratified that the Coast Guard has again recognized the importance of our continued presence in Cook Inlet,” CIRCAC Executive Director Michael Munger said in an Aug. 28 statement.

CIRCAC was established in 1990 to provide oversight, monitoring, assessing and evaluation of oil spill prevention, safety and response plans, terminal and oil tanker operations, and environmental impacts of oil tanker and oil terminal operations in Cook Inlet. The council has 13 members representing boroughs, cities and municipalities, Alaska Native, commercial fishing, aquaculture, tourism, recreation and environmental groups in the Cook Inlet region.

Annual recertification

It must recertify every year with the Coast Guard to ensure it is meeting mandates spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and representing interests of communities within the vicinity of oil terminal operations, although a complete application, which the council submitted this year, is required only every three years. For 2015, Abel said, CIRCAC will only need supply a letter describing “any substantive changes” to the information provided this year.

CIRCAC’s primary funding source is a long-term contract with companies operating in Cook Inlet, including: Cook Inlet Pipeline Co., Cook Inlet Energy, Buccaneer, ConocoPhillips, Tesoro, Hilcorp Alaska, XTO Energy and Furie Operating Alaska.

The contract provides for $1.3 million per year with an annual Anchorage CPI increase.

CIRCAC also secures funding from other sources in the course of conducting joint scientific and technical research and spill prevention activities. Sources of external funding include: AK Designated Legislation/Kenai Peninsula Borough; Kenai Peninsula Borough (separate from above); Alaska Legislature (separate from above); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; NOAA/ National Marine Fisheries Service; Tesoro; National Fish & Wildlife Foundation; Prince William Sound RCAC; and U.S. Coast Guard.



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