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Valdez nonprofit wins new lease on life Coast Guard recertifies Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council; public comments are unanimous in support Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
The U.S. Coast Guard has recertified a nonprofit group that monitors Alaska’s primary oil terminal at Valdez.
The action coincides with the 25th anniversary of the devastating oil spill resulting from the wreck of the tanker Exxon Valdez on March 24, 1989.
Following that event, Congress mandated the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council.
The council has 19 voting members representing local governments and commercial fishing, tourism and other interests. It sponsors research and offers input to regulators and the oil industry on issues such as spill response readiness.
Council funding comes through a contract with Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the oil company consortium that operates the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline and Valdez tanker terminal.
The council is subject to annual Coast Guard recertification, and every third year it must submit a “comprehensive” application. This was one of those years.
To earn recertification, the council must show it is “broadly representative of the interests and communities in the area” and is meeting its responsibilities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Lawmakers endorse council The Coast Guard’s Alaska commander, Rear Adm. Thomas P. Ostebo, recertified the council with a March 15 letter to the group’s executive director, Mark Swanson.
Swanson himself was once a Coast Guard commander in Valdez, where the council is based.
Ostebo, in his letter, said all 71 public comments received were supportive of council recertification.
“Since your last triennial recertification in 2011, the council has continued its efforts to improve communications and cultivate collaborations through partnerships with industry, government, and local communities,” Ostebo wrote.
The recertification is good until Feb. 28, 2015.
Among those submitting letters in support of recertification were Alaska’s entire bipartisan congressional delegation, plus leading state legislators including House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, and Rep. Eric Feige, R-Chickaloon, co-chair of the House Resources Committee.
State Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, also submitted a letter. He’s an employee of ConocoPhillips, the state’s top oil producer. ConocoPhillips, through its Polar Tankers subsidiary, operates a fleet of double-hull ships that carry North Slope crude from Valdez to West Coast refineries.
“Programs should only survive by demonstrating high performance while supporting a specific and valuable mission,” Micciche wrote. He said the council “has contributed significantly to research, system integrity inspections, ice-detecting radar systems, the coordination of firefighting capabilities and numerous other accomplishments.”
‘Eyes and ears’ Another letter in support came from Crowley Maritime Corp. The Florida-based company, under contract with Alyeska, has tugs at Valdez to escort and assist oil tankers.
“I believe that citizen involvement plays an important role in preventing oil spills and ensuring that strong oil spill response measures are in place should prevention efforts fail,” wrote Crowley’s Charles Nalen. “Since PWSRCAC’s creation, it has provided a voice for citizens to provide advice and input into the safe movement of oil through Prince William Sound. As a citizen in Valdez, Alaska from May 2009 to February 2014 as well as Crowley’s Vice President Valdez Operations I have a great respect for the environmental stewardship of PWSRCAC in their industry advisory role.”
Commercial fishing interests and several municipal and tribal governments also offered support for recertification. A resolution from the Valdez City Council said “the primary goal of the Prince William Sound RCAC is to prevent complacency in the oil industry and government agencies so that it shall never become a factor in a future oil spill.”
Larry Evanoff, Chenega IRA Council president, said in a letter to the Coast Guard: “Chenega Bay was the first community to be hit by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. That incident has had a devastating impact on our way of life. We rely on PWSRCAC to be our ‘eyes and ears’ and look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
Dan Lawn, a former oil industry regulator in Valdez for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, also submitted a letter.
“Over the past several years PWSRCAC has advocated for a better accounting of deferred maintenance, increased frequency and technical rigor for piping and tank inspections, and a review of the adequacy of the remote control capabilities of key systems at the Valdez Marine Terminal,” he wrote.
Some of the council’s efforts recently “have been met with resistance by Alyeska,” Lawn added.
Dan Hisey, formerly chief operating officer for Alyeska, also endorsed recertification. He’s lately done some consulting work for the council.
Hisey said the council’s focus on “protecting Alaska’s environment through positive engagement with industry is a model Alaska should be proud to continue.”
Alyeska and the major owners of the pipeline and terminal — BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil — did not comment on the recertification.
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