FREE ESSAY ON SOUND PROGRESS--EXXON VALDEZ 5 PGS

SOUND PROGRESS--EXXON VALDEZ 5 PGS

Joel Sharrer
November 11, 1999
Research Paper #1
S. Rheingans
Sound Progress
The Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound of Alaska proved to be a disaster
on many levels. The coastline, wildlife, and people of the all area were all devastated
by the spill. Ten years later, the area is showing remarkable progress. Because of the
cleanup efforts and new regulations, the Sound is getting ever closer to recovery.
A few minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989, the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh
Reef in Prince William Sound. A few minutes later the coast guard received a radio
message from the ship's captain, Joseph Hazelwood: "We've fetched up - ah - hard aground
north of Goose Island off Bligh Reef, and - ah - evidently leaking some oil. We're going
to be here for a while."(Knickerbocker, Big Spill 12) That radio call was the beginning
of the worst oil spill in United States history. The "some oil" that Hazelwood was
referring to ended up being an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil. The oil covered
nearly 1,300 miles of shoreline and eventually reached beaches 470 miles away.
(McAllister C14). 
At the time of the spill, officials had no immediate plan for cleaning up the oil. The
spill struck in a remote part of a state where the population of caribou easily
outnumbers people. Spokesman for the Govoner's office David Ramseur agreed. "You need a
lot of people and a lot of equipment, and we don't have enough."(McAllister C14) At the
time, that statement was sadly true. The area just wasn't prepared to handle a spill of
that magnitude. 
Other than the coastline, the spill also effected the local residents of the area,
primarily the region's wildlife. The spill ultimately killed more than 250,000 seabirds,
at least 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 150 bald eagles, and 14 to 22 killer whales,
along with billions of herring eggs. (number6) This proved to be equally detrimental to
the 7,200 human residents of Southern Alaska. The fishing port at Cordova was the
nation's seventh most lucrative fishing harbor the year before the spill. It averaged $44
million in revenue each year. Four years after the spill in 1993, it slipped to number 51
with earnings down $19 million from 1988. The city also faced other severe losses. A
former mayor committed suicide, and the city has gone through six mental health
directors. (Murphy E1) 
Clean up efforts were almost as massive as the spill itself. During most of 1989, the
focus of the project was containing and cleaning up the spill and rescuing oiled
wildlife. Specially rigged boats called Skimmers were used to remove the oil from the
water. Containment buoys called boons were set up to prevent the oil from reaching the
salmon hatcheries that were an essential part of the area's economy. (Opdyke B1) Efforts
including thousands of workers and a fleet of private fishing vessels worked admittedly
to clean up the spill. After the initial clean up in 1989, there was still a lot of work
to be done. In 1990, the shoreline was once again evaluated and a special technique
called bioremediation (applying fertilizers to oiled shoreline to speed up
oil-metabolizing microbes) was used on the sections of the sound where oil still
remained. (Opdyke B1)
All told, the spill proved to be the most costly in history. In addition to the 2.2
billion dollars it had to spend on the cleanup, Exxon was now faced with thousands upon
thousands of civil law suits. A settlement reached between Exxon and federal and state
governments cost the corporation nearly a billion dollars. In September of 1994, a jury
found in favor of 40,000 people, including commercial fishermen, and other Alaskan
residents, and awarded them 5.3 billion dollars in damages. (Rueters F8) According to
Exxon lawyer John Daum, "The award is 200 times the largest award ever affirmed by any
federal court anywhere."
All of this money presented a new question, how to spend it? Legal mandates made sure
that the billion-dollar settlement would be spent on projects related to the recovery of
the region. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC) had the job of doing just
that. The EVOSTC decided to spend the money on the acquisition of threatened habitat
along the Prince William Sound to protect it from logging and other developments. Other
EVOSTC projects include scientific studies, continued shoreline cleanup and educational
projects. (Reuters F8)
Today the sound has made drastic improvements from its devastated state in 1989. Almost ?
of the wildlife species effected by the spill have completely recovered, and another ? is
nearing complete recovery. (Murphy E1) Hatchery fish have recovered to about 87% of their
numbers before the spill. Frank Sparow, Exxon's vice president for environment and safety
feels confident in the recovery, not only by the wildlife but also by the inhabitants of
the region. 
". . . We did make every effort to compensate those people that were damaged . . . One of
the very first things we did was to ask fishermen in Cordova 'What's your annual fishing
revenue?' They'd say 'X.' And we'd say, 'For a start, here's X.'" (Murphy E1) 
Along with the monetary compensation for fishermen, Exxon also set up job placement and
training centers in Cordova. This was an extremely helpful tool, considering that the
major industry in the city had been debilitated by the spill. 
Probably the most important thing to come out of the Exxon Valdez Spill, were the
significant improvements that have been made in oil spill prevention and response
planning. These programs include: satellite tracking of tankers in the area, escort
vessels to aid in navigating the channel, legislation that requires a double-hull
structures for all tankers that enter the sound; a step that would have likely reduced
the amount of water that spilled from the Valdez by ?. (Richards B1) The one thing that
officials in Prince William Sound will never be criticized for will be their lack of
preparation. Today, there are contingency plans for oil spills in the sound that include
a scenario for a spill of 12.6 million gallons. The combined ability of skimming systems
to remove oil from the water is now 10 times greater than it was in 1989. Supplies and
vessels for cleaning up oil are now stockpiled and drills are held in the sound each
year. (Richards B1) "We have an extremely safe system here" feels Vince Mitchell, vessel
operations team leader for the Ship Escort/Response Vessel System. "It's been a continuos
improvement process. . . We're really focusing on prevention. That's where the real
benefit is." (Knickerbocker, Preventing 12)
Prince William Sound will never be returned to the way it was before the spill. But
things are moving in the right direction. With the money received from settlements, the
wildlife, inhabitants, and environment are on a steadfast track toward recovery. With
money received through court settlements the EVOSTC has been able to protect 650,000
acres for wildlife habitat. (Knickerbocker, Preventing 12) Most importantly, the area has
become aware of the fact that preparation is paramount in the protection of the sound.
Through proper training and adequate response techniques, industry officials are now able
to feel confident in their oil spill prevention measures. While it hasn't recovered yet,
the sound is constantly improving and will some day soon regain it's former grander. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
Knickerbocker, Brad. "Preventing Another Monster Oil Slick." Christian
Science Monitor: 23 March 1999: 12 
Knickerbocker, Brad. "The Big Spill." Christian Science Monitor: 22 March 
1999: 12
McAllister, Bill. "Killer Spill." Washington Post: 25 March 1999: C14
Murphy, Kim. "Alaska Struggles to Recover, 10 Years After Exxon Valdez." Las
Angeles Times: 20 March 1999: E1+
Opdyke, Jeff. "In The Wake Of Valdez." Wall Street Journal: 26 August 1999: 
B1
Reuters, J. "Exxon Spill Funds Spent Properly." Washington Post: 13 September
1998: F8
Richards, Bill. "Exxon Is Battling a Ban on an Infamous Tanker." Wall Street
Journal: 29 July 1998: B1