Arctic work group addresses spill response

Three senior officials from the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement have recently participated in meetings of the Arctic Council’s Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response Work Group, BSEE has reported. The meetings, held in Montreal on June 13 to 15, included reviews of Arctic spill response projects that the work group has been tasked with carrying out. In addition to BSEE, the U.S. delegation involved in the work group includes representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Energy.

The Arctic Council is an international forum of Arctic nations, currently chaired by the United States.

BSEE Oil Spill Preparedness Division Chief David Moore, who was accompanied by Alaska Region Director Mark Fesmire and Regulations and Standards Branch Chief Lakeisha Harrison, described to the spill response work group a simulation of a collision off the coast of Norway between a bulk carrier and a shuttle tanker. Although the U.S. Coast Guard has yet to report on a final evaluation of this exercise, the exercise did demonstrate international cooperation in locating and offering limited response equipment and personnel, Moore reported to the group.

Moore also reported on progress in a project to examine the limitations and viabilities of mechanical recovery, in situ burning and dispersant systems in response to oil spills in the Arctic region. The objective of the project is to evaluate how effectively various oil spill response systems could be deployed in various parts of the Arctic, using information from historical records about Arctic sea conditions, BSEE said.

BSEE is also leading an initiative to develop a database of government and privately owned oil spill response equipment and well capping devices held within Arctic Council member states.

A workshop, held as part of the Montreal meetings, addressed the production of a report on spill prevention standards, an initiative being led by the United States and Norway.

“BSEE - along with USGS, USCG and DOE - supports the Arctic Council on efforts relating to oil spill preparedness and other issues of common concern among Arctic nations,” BSEE commented.

- ALAN BAILEY