Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Resource Status 17 Years Post-Spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred as a result of the grounding of the T/V Exxon Valdez on Bligh Reef, Alaska on March 24, 1989. Approximately 11 millions gallons of the tanker’s cargo of Alaskan North Slope crude oil was spilled into the open water of Prince William Sound. Many of the resources and services injured by the spill were still classified as injured in 2002, 13 years after the spill. As part of the provisions outlined in the restoration plan for the spill area, Integral was retained to perform an independent information synthesis and evaluation of the condition of resources and services 17 years after the spill.
Activities included development of a database containing over 500 publications and reports; validation of lingering oil studies; and development of a related conceptual exposure model as a framework for resource assessment. This effort resulted in a comprehensive and understandable synthesis of 15 years of studies for 18 different resources (birds, mammals, fish, inter- and subtidal communities, sediments), and 4 services (commercial fishing, recreation, passive use, subsistence use). Integral also provided recommendations on the 2006 recovery status of resources and services as well as candidate research and restoration projects.
To support this independent evaluation effort, Integral conducted a large number of interviews, technical meetings, and public meetings that involved a diverse range of stakeholders. We interviewed and met with scientists working for Exxon and for Trustee agencies; communicated and coordinated with scientists representing NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, USGS, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, universities, and consulting companies; provided technical briefings to the Trustee Council, the Governor of Alaska, and the Public Advisory Committee; and presented scientific information at public meetings throughout the state of Alaska.
Integral staff successfully met the challenges associated with this project. These included 1) the efficient review and prioritization of a very large body of research, 2) maintaining an independent scientific perspective while facilitating open technical communication on potentially divisive technical topics, 3) adapting methods for communicating technical information to diverse audiences, 4) completing a large and complicated effort in a short time frame, and 5) producing a sound and technically defensible report on complex and, in some cases, controversial technical topics.
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