2014 Annual Report Was Produced by the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force

2014 Annual Report Was Produced by the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force

PACIFIC STATES / BRITISH COLUMBIA OIL SPILL TASK FORCE ANNUAL REPORT 2014 The 2014 Annual Report was produced by the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force Graphic design: Sarah Bergmann Typeface: Calibri TABLE OF CONTENTS 12 Table of Contents 3 Preface 6 Our Mission 8 Who We Are 9 Looking Back 21 Our Current Work: Prevention 29 Our Current Work: Preparedness and Response 33 Our Current Work: Communications and Outreach 36 Jurisdictional Overviews: 37 Alaska 39 British Columbia 41 California 44 Hawaii 46 Oregon 48 Washington 50 Appendix: Task Force Recommendations, 1990 1 PREFACE This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oils Spill Task Force. The organization was launched in 1988 by the Governor of Washington and Prime Minster of British Columbia shortly after the oil barge Nestucca collided with its tug along the Washington coast. Less than a year later, the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound in 1989 led to Alaska, California, Oregon and California joining the Task Force. In 2001, Hawaii became a member, creating a broad coalition of western Pacific states and provinces united in their efforts to prevent and respond to oil spills across the West Coast. During the first year of its existence, the testimony and policy recommendations of Task Force members helped create the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the first comprehensive policy on oil spills in the United States. Several years later, the Task Force provided recommendations for the Canadian Shipping Act Amendments of 1993, which like OPA 90, resulted in a suite of new rules for Canadian marine transport. These two federal policies were instrumental in laying the foundation for oil spill prevention and response rules, regulations and guidelines across the United States and Canada. 3 4 Since its inception, the Task Force has worked closely with The state and provincial leaders at the time of the Task industry, non-governmental associations, federal and state Force formation: agencies, Tribes and First Nations and non-profit organizations to develop strategies and tools for protecting marine and • WA Governor Booth Gardner inland waters from oil spills. This collaboration has resulted in • AK Governor Steve Cowper improved off-shore ship navigation and safety, reduced spills • OR Governor Neil Goldschmidt from small vessels to large ships, and increased cooperation in • CA Governor George Deukmejian transboundary spill prevention and response planning between • B.C. Prime Minister W.N. Vander Zalm Canada and U.S. This year, the Task Force completed a thorough review and update of its five-year strategic plan to ensure the plan addresses on-going as well as emerging risks of oil spills from vessels, pipelines and rail. In addition, we added restoration of the environment, preservation of communities, and supporting the economy as core objectives of the organization. Our new 2014-2019 Strategic Plan was adopted in June 2014. LOOKING BACK In this Anniversary Report, we look back at the past 25 years of accomplishments and achievements of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, offering you a glimpse of the Task First Task Force Members, Prince William Sound, AK 1989 Force’s legacy of leadership, partnership and collaboration in our ongoing efforts to protect coastal and marine waters from the threat of oil spills. We have chosen a handful of projects to The first Task Force members (left to right): highlight; they provide a sampling of the breadth and scope of the Task Force’s efforts. • Michael Kahoe California Environmental Affairs Agency CURRENT AND FUTURE WORK • Fred Hansen Oregon Department of Environmental Quality We also offer highlights of our current work, plus a view of • Denis Kelso what’s ahead and where the Task Force is focusing its attention. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation With emerging oil products, changing methods of transporting • Richard Dalon energy, and evolving response technology and approaches, British Columbia Ministry of Environment challenges in oil spill prevention and response continue to be • Christine Gregoire 4 present and the work of the Task Force continues. Washington Department of Ecology 5 OUR MISSION: No Spilled Oil The mission of the Oil Spill Task Force is to strengthen state and provincial abilities to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from oil spills. 5 6 In 2014, the Task Force carried out a review of its Strategic • Educate the public and stakeholders on the impacts Plan. Our new 5-year plan (2014-2019) encompasses our of oil spills and issues relating to spill prevention, vision of “no spilled oil” with the addition of a new goal preparedness, response, and recovery addressing recovery. Our intention with this new goal is to support coordination and planning efforts aimed at helping • Identify emerging trends in oil transportation, the environment and communities recover following oil production, and storage in order to assist member spills. agencies with their strategic planning ONGOING GOALS • Serve as a model of proactive regional cooperation and coordination • Prevent spills that impact natural resources in our member jurisdictions, both large spills with significant impacts and chronic small spills with What value is the Task Force to cumulative impacts your organization? • Facilitate communication among member agencies We wanted to hear from our stakeholders how the Task Force has influenced the work of your organizations over the in order to promote policy uniformity and consistency, “past 25 years and where we could improve. Throughout the improve prevention, preparedness, response, and document we’ve inserted a sampling of the comments we recovery capabilities, and maximize efficiency of effort received from our June 2014 stakeholder survey. by sharing ideas and “products” “The Task Force propels us to educate ourselves, our partners and our communities, uniting us in common concerns of oil • Clarify the roles and responsibilities of state and spill prevention, preparedness and response.” provincial agencies with regard to federal agencies “Over the years we have found the Task Force to be of in order to reduce regulatory gaps and overlaps great value both to our company, and to our industry and while avoiding potential conflicts government customers. The Task Force pushes out accurate, timely data, studies and metrics in the areas • Advocate in national and international arenas on of oil spill prevention, readiness and response that is of great overall value.” issues of common concern, building respect through credibility, clarity of purpose, and collaboration “The Task Force is quite Useful for highlighting emerging issues of concern and improving response coordination and • Serve as a catalyst for improvements by working coordinated voice to larger issues.” cooperatively with federal agencies, other states “The task force provides a bridge between the federal RRTs and provinces, Tribes and First Nations, industry, for the West Coast states and essential coordination with response contractors, public interest groups, Canada.” and concerned citizens to create opportunities for policy and technology breakthroughs 6 7 WHO WE ARE Task Force Members Thomas N. Cullen, Jr. (2013-Present) Dale Jensen (2010-Present) Administrator Manager Office of Spill Prevention and Response Spill Prevention, Preparedness & Response Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington Department of Ecology Gary Gill (2010-Present) Dick Pedersen (2007-Present) Deputy Director for Environmental Health Director Hawaii Department of Health Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Larry Hartig (2007-Present) Wes Shoemaker (2013) Commissioner Deputy Minister Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation British Columbia Ministry of Environment Coordinating Committee Members Dale Jensen (2010-Present) Kristin Ryan (2013-Present) Manager (Alternate: Patricia Bower, Graham Wood, Spill Prevention, Preparedness & Response Program Gary Folley) Washington Department of Ecology Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Graham Knox (2006-Present) Steve Sawyer (2005-2010; 2011-Present) (Alternate: Laurie Boyle and Kristin Day) Office of Spill Prevention and Response British Columbia Ministry of Environment California Department of Fish and Wildlife Curtis Martin (2001-Present) Mike Zollitsch (1997-Present) Hawaii Department of Health Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Executive Coordinator Executive Coordinator Support Sarah Brace (2012-Present) Hilary Wilkinson (2012-Present) 8 LOOKING BACK In this 25th Anniversary Report, we provide a snapshot of significant projects from the past two decades of the Task Force. While not a complete overview of all of the Task Force’s accomplishments, these projects represent the significant effort that the Task Force members led and participated in to further the region’s capacity and ability to prevent and respond to oil spills. Many projects were multi-year efforts involving teams or workgroups that produced white papers, guidance documents and policy recommendations. Several projects are on-going while others are complete. For a thorough compilation of the Task Force’s reports, documents and other work products please refer to our website: www.oilspilltaskforce.org 8 9 JEAN CAMERON’S LEGACY The Task Force’s prominence Jean’s policy knowledge and communication skills ensured on the West Coast and that the Task Force tracked and commented on key nationally is due largely to legislation and rule-making

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