Voices from the Flats – Oil Lust & Dodging Bullets
Bob Shavelson is a reformed attorney with backgrounds in biology, chemistry, and environmental sampling and compliance. He was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Oregon’s Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, and has considerable experience in toxics, the Clean Water Act, and Right-to-Know issues. Prior to joining Inletkeeper in 1996, Bob worked in the United States Senate, Oregon’s Senate Majority Office, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, and the University of Oregon’s Ocean & Coastal Law Center. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the National Waterkeeper Alliance and the Cook Inlet Citizen’s Regional Advisory Council. He holds a BA in Biology & Chemistry from Boston University and a JD from the University of Oregon.
By Bob Shavelson, Executive Director, Cook Inletkeeper
On the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill – and in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Exxon opinion knee-capping everyday Alaskans – we must remember two things: the need to hold oil corporations accountable, and the incredible value our sustainable fisheries hold for our local economies and our fishing families. Senators Begich and Murkowski recently hammered these points home by calling for long term tug vessel escorts for tankers in Prince William Sound . The pain and the lessons of the Exxon Valdez linger.
Or do they? In Cook Inlet , we live in a regulatory backwater. Oil tankers routinely ply our notoriously rough and icy waters without tug escorts, and Cook Inlet is the only coastal waterbody in the nation where the oil industry legally dumps billions of gallons of toxic waste into our rich fisheries each year. But the most glaring recent example of industry and government complacency came when the Mount Redoubt Volcano awoke this past winter.
At that time, Chevron – which operates the Drift River Oil Terminal at the base of the volcano – refused to disclose how much oil remained in its storage tanks. Why? The Homeland Security Act. That’s right. Al Quaida posed a greater threat to our fisheries then a simmering volcano. And our state and federal agencies let them get away with using terrorism as a façade to mask serious threats to Cook Inlet fisheries. When Redoubt’s massive eruption on March 22 sent trees, mud and debris through the facility, Chevron evacuated the facility and finally revealed the truth: over 6 million gallons of oil remained perched above our salmon, cod and halibut fisheries.
Chevron knew the risks. The same scenario unfolded during the 1989-90 Redoubt eruption. Sure, they reinforced the protective dikes around the tank farm and installed a “safe haven” bunker for trapped workers, but as an expert at the Alaska Volcano Observatory noted, the volcanic debris flows (“lahars”) are like “moving walls of cement,” and a reinforced diking system can only do so much against the forces of Mother Nature.
Despite months of warning, there was no actionable plan in place to address a catastrophic spill from the facility. The spill contingency plan required by laws passed after the Exxon Spill didn’t address a 6 million gallon spill, and it didn’t even envision oil from the tank farm hitting open water. Chevron, state and federal agencies took more than a week to activate a Unified Command to coordinate spill prevention and response. And most disturbingly, the initial response priorities were not to protect our invaluable fisheries but instead to ensure the continued flow of oil. That’s right: continued oil production and facility re-start were higher priorities than fisheries protection.
Until April 4. That’s when Chevron tried to bring in a tanker to draw down the oil tanks, and Mother Nature refused to cooperate. Another massive eruption sent lahars through the Drift River Oil Terminal, turning back the tanker. Chevron finally decided to suspend operations. Then – and only then – did Chevron start to remove the oil that threatened our fisheries.
But another problem arose. Not only did Chevron have no plan to protect our fishing economies from a catastrophic spill. Equally important, it had no plan to protect oil industry workers and state revenues when the facility went offline. The Drift River Oil Terminal transports oil from upstream fields, and its closure meant shutting down platforms and facilities throughout Cook Inlet . Chevron knew this. But the only plan it had was to hunker down and hope for the best.
Hoping for the best is not a lesson we learned from the Exxon Valdez. Aside from worker layoffs and their debilitating effects on local families, Alaska lost up to $2 million a month in revenues while the facility remained closed, according to state figures. Meanwhile, Chevron CEO David O’Reilly’s total compensation this year fell to “only” $19.3 million compared to $31.54 million last year.
We dodged a bullet at Drift River . Just like the bullet we dodged in 2006, when tides and ice ripped the tanker Seabulk Pride from its mooring at Nikiski and grounded it with over 5 million gallons of product aboard in the midst of our salmon fisheries.
To hear Chevron and our state and federal agencies recount the story at a August 24 public forum in Kenai, however, you’d think the Drift River Terminal response was flawless. No one from the U.S. Coast Guard, no one from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, no one from Chevron raised a single concern. No oil spilled. No harm, no foul.
I have been following the Alaskan oil industry for the past 15 years, and the fact is the Drift River Oil terminal incident of 2009 represents the most significant break down in spill prevention and response in Alaska since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in 1989. That break-down put Cook Inlet fisheries and the families they support at extreme risk. Want proof? Go to www.inletkeeper.org, see our timeline of events and judge for yourself. And know this: what we see in Cook Inlet will invariably unfold in Bristol Bay and the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas if we allow our agencies and the corporations that control them to push into those frontier areas to feed our insatiable oil-lust.
mlaiuppa Says:
August 25th, 2009 at 7:02 PM
HamletsMill.
It may be 500 years since Columbus and his crew came to the new world, but our new world society hasn’t been here that long. When did we start to be really influential? 1700s maybe? So if we’re at 300-350 don’t we have another 150-200 to go?
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On the 500 year spectrum I’m going more with by Douglas Rushkoff here in the ideas out of the Renaissance where Kings tried to control the merchant class by giving out “Royal Corporate Charters” that eventually has now led to what I now call the totalitarian corporatist state that we are currently living under. It all blew up in a financial thermonuclear detonation on September 15th, 2008. We are still trying to deal with that fact. Watch his little enlightening short movie!
http://www.lifeincorporated.net/
But you are right in that the Bank of England and fractional reserve banking and it’s social structure has only been with us as a system just 250 years.
I was speaking more in the time line of ideas.
The irony is that the politics we are facing right now were the exact politics of 1900! Who shall have the power to create and destroy money? The government of the people or private banks? The question was side tracked through two world wars and the cold war and the march of technology. Now it is all back with a vengeance Big time!
I am doing a lot of research. How we got here is absolutely fascinating. It was done with zero transparency. And now everyone is going to learn this history in spades. Stay tuned!
Mr. Shavelson, thank you for this information. I read about the Drift River Oil Terminal here (Mudflats) and at other Alaskan blogs after the Mt. Redoubt eruption, but did not know how it all ended. It seems big corporate oil is holding the reins in Alaska and the government there is beholding and will not step up to protect the environment and the fishing grounds. Like others stated before me, this is truly a national issue (if not global) and a light needs to be shown brightly upon it.
I’m astounded at the apathy that exists on issues like this and global environmental issues in general when it comes to our governments and regulatory agencies. I guess money speaks louder than truth.
Thanks to people like you and those who keep “beating the drum” these issues will at least be kept alive in the blogs and hopefully make it to the MSM and eventually to our legislatures.
aoue. I believe there is some sailor’s superstition about renaming ships. If you don’t do it exactly right it’s supposed to be really bad luck. I wonder if that’s why the ship is having such…..problems.
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Now isn’t there oil still at Mt. Redoubt? I seem to remember something about the tanks constructed on the cheap so the outlet is on the side rather than the bottom. And as such, the last bit of oil on the bottom can’t drain. You’d have to pump water in to get the oil to rise and drain. You’d have to do it over and over, like rinsing out a really badly designed bottle. So…isn’t there oil still there? Maybe not enough for Chevron to care about but I’ll bet plenty to pollute the inlet as badly as the Exxon Valdez. Is anything being done?
HamletsMill.
It may be 500 years since Columbus and his crew came to the new world, but our new world society hasn’t been here that long. When did we start to be really influential? 1700s maybe? So if we’re at 300-350 don’t we have another 150-200 to go?
I do not dispute the NOW part of doing something. We need to do so much NOW.
I do dispute the Mayan end of the world in 2012 and the Xtians bringing on the “rapture”.
In the meantime I’m cutting out High Fructose corns syrup and buying cage free eggs.
From teh wiki.
The Exxon Valdiz has been renamed four times and sold twice. It is still in service as an ‘ore-carrier.’
Have a good day.
Peace?
mlaiuppa, I believe the salmon only travel through the inlet from the ocean to the stream it came from to spawn. the farm raised, depending on the farm, are kept captive sometimes in recycled water all their lives. Some farms are trying to do better but you are still better off with wild. And it benefits the natives who catch to sell.
Mad cow? Gee, I hope the stuff I ate from the Canadian fish farm was OK. But if I do get mad cow, it will probably be from the contaminated beef sold to the school system that wasn’t reported until months after I ate it.
The Canadian Farm raised salmon I bought was from Windmill Farms, a supposedly healthy organic type store. One would hope the salmon was OK. It was not artificially colored.
Thanks for that salmon buying guide. I’m going to book mark it and pass it on.
It’s nice to know the salmon isn’t staying long enough in Cook Inlet to become polluted. But I’m still not thrilled with the inlet being used as a toxic dump sewer.
Thanks yet again, Hamlettsmill, I am amazed at how much info is out there. I think we’ve seen what people can do when amassed in a cause; with work, comes hope!
boodog Says:
August 25th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Thank you Hamlettsmill, you are a walking, talking directory of info! In the ‘olden’ days I was very active in the environmental issues of the day. I’ll go read up at the site you provided and see what trouble I can get into…!
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Thanks boodog!
I forget to give the SEJ “TIP SHEET” link.
http://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/overview
This is a good place to check every now and then to see what is going in. With the growing collapse of print media, environmental issues are NOT being covered as well as they should at the LOCAL level. This is the public “tip sheet” for other journalists but individual citizens and bloggers should also be clued in to this on-line information tool that SEJ has developed.
This country is in very, very big trouble. We are at the 500 year “end of the road” as a society since Columbus stumbled into the immense resources of the “Undiscovered Continent.” This is it. This is the real thing. Our entire economic system has come to the the end of the road and time is running out very fast. We have one more generation left to get educated and think it all out. People have to come through now with the incredible tool of the Internet! As they used to say in the paratroopers “Stand up, hook up.” This is it. There is no more time. A TOTAL RE-THINK of EVERYTHING is now required. NOW.
CRASH COURSE IN ECONOMICS 101 – 21 VIDEOS (4 HOURS)
.h t t p: // www. chrismartenson. com/crashcourse
ELLEN BROWN EXPLAINS THE LAST 350 YEARS – 5 VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU0XiklHPMc
.h t t p : // www. webofdebt.com/
.h t t p : // webofdebt. wordpress.com/
DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF EXPLAINS THE LAST 500 YEARS – 1 VIDEO
Life Incorporated: How The World Became A Corporation, And How To Take It Back.
by Douglas Rushkoff
.h t t p: // lifeincorporated.net/
STUDY THE HISTORY OF THE 300 YEAR OLD FRACTIONAL RESERVE BRITISH BANKING SYSTEM MODEL THAT STILL RULES US TODAY – 5 VIDEOS
.h t t p: // www. youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8
When I sadly read of such short sighted thinking by greedy corporations, I
must conclude that we are a doomed species.
If we went to Chevron CEO David O’Reilly’s home and wanted to dump
toxic waste into his swimming pool, do you think he would object? If so
why would he allow Chevron to dump toxic waste into Cook Inlet? It is
exactly the same thing just on a much larger scale.
We must demand responsible behavior from corporations!
Those that do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it…
DD
mlaiuppa–Also, this: http://anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/responsible-salmon-buying-guide/
mlaiuppa–no, the farmed stuff really IS that bad (and the fish don’t stay in Cook Inlet for their whole life, so they don’t get nearly as much exposure as you think): http://anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/farmed-fish-may-pose-risk-for-mad-cow-disease/
Thank you Hamlettsmill, you are a walking, talking directory of info! In the ‘olden’ days I was very active in the environmental issues of the day. I’ll go read up at the site you provided and see what trouble I can get into…!
Off Topic but… SarahPAC questioned By FEC
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/palins-pac-gets-questions-from-fec-about-problems-in-finance-report.php
A good write up AKM, and a very worthy cause.
As for greedy mega corporations, we will never eliminate greed from the world. But, what we can do is educate people and help encourage a different mindset amongst the masses, the millions of ordinary United States citizens need to become more ‘aware’. We need to spread a different way of life, ‘things’ don’t equate to happiness or replace quality life. Life should not boil down to all work, spend everything you make buying unnecessary ‘stuff’, that uses natural resources to create, then you throw away the ‘stuff’, and you die. Sorry, lol, kinda morbid and cold, but really that’s what my heart tell me, we need simplicity and community.
We need to bring back the simple, down to earth healthy lifestyle and get away from the workaholic, self centered, wasteful and environmentally damaging lifestyle. JMHO
Keep heart and keep up the pressure. The modern environmental movement started when an oil platform blew out in the Santa Barbara/Channel Islands area. There was oil on the shore and throughout the area 40 years ago, an environmentally sensitive area because warm and cold currents mix. People keep fighting to prevent more stupidity, and it is a constant battle. Just don’t give up. You’ll get discouraged, and someone will pull you back up, and then you’ll pull them up when they get down. Get organized and fight–to put it crudely, pooping in your own back yard will only ruin where you live.
Thankyou Mr. Shavelson. Another bullet dodged, but for how long and how can we avoid or prevent them from whizzing our way in the first place.
I ate my first salmon two weeks ago. It was Canadian farm raised salmon from a Windmill Farms, a health food grocery store.
I’ve read it’s better to eat wild salmon as the farm salmon isn’t as good for you and may contain toxins. And to avoid Atlantic salmon.
Today I almost bought a piece of wild salmon at Albertson’s. It said product of the U.S. Caught in Cook Inlet. It was a lovely dark orange as compared to it’s pale, farm raised counterparts.
I passed.
Today I read about the toxins being dumped in Cook Inlet.
That was a close call.
Maybe the farm raised stuff isn’t all that bad?
boodog Says:
August 25th, 2009 at 9:05 AM
akm, this is something that touches all of us, Is there a way to keep this from being yet another scathing article of news? It seems there are a lot of voices in this fight but not much seems to come of it. A bunch of flailing after a report of a spill or underhanded tactic by a Big Oil company, but no sign of change. They are just too big. Any ideas how to change up this fight for our environment? I know a lot of Alaskans are fighting hard to stop this land raping, and it just gets worse.
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boodog,
My youngest sister is the Executive Director of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Philadelphia, PA. She is also a Mudflatter from time to time. Their site is a good place to check in with from time to time to see what is happening across the world regarding environmental issues.
http://www.sej.org/
Before there can be political action on any issue there has to be factual information from solid investigative journalism. This is what SEJ promotes worldwide. Please, everyone, check there from time to time to see what is going on and how you can help in any way by researching yourself.
I very much appreciate this article on the Mudflats here today so I can try to educate myself about what you are all facing in Alaska. There are major policy issues like this all across the world. Now that we have the incredible power of the Internet, change is going to come to this world. It is a hard fight but we now have the tools to get solid and factual information to people so they can make a difference.
Please, everyone, be aware of the Mudflats Representatives and Media Links Page I made so each of us can contact our government and the mass media on these issues as everyone sees fit from time to time.
https://themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7931.msg79320.html#msg79320
Hey InJuneau, that link was good news. Just hope that the last of the oil gets out sooner rather than later.
Anyone who expects a big corporation to act responsibly is being optimistic to be polite about it. MASSIVE fines, compensation (much bigger than the cost of making their installations safe) and strict enforcement of existing controls is the only way to curb them. The people who are paid to control the activities of the corporations and fail to do so are, in my view, the ones who are really at fault and I see them often as the ones who also give out the most disinformation in order to cover up their shortcomings.
Why, oh why, does it always come down to money over the environment? So sad. One would think that Redoubt would have gotten their attention, but it seems it didn’t.
I wonder what Sarah would say- perhaps it will be her next ghostwritten facebook piece.
THanks for the link Newfoundland, I’ll be going to check it out. I think the question is not WHO thought oil tanks on a volcano was a good idea, but WHO actually let them go ahead with building them. I have a lot of good ideas too, but….I’m sure somebody would stop me!
Posting again for the NOAA – PPI – Next Generation Strategic Planning.
There are other things we can do, and I know that this group will come up with other links, but here is a chance to tell NOAA how you feel about the idiot licenses given to oil companies. I mean, oil tanks on a Volcano plain. Who thought that was a good idea? I took the time to fill out NOAA’s questions, and you can bet that I put that one in there. I’ve posted this before, have no idea where, but I did put my answers to their questions on that posting. Here’s the link.
http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/ngsp.html
A big-ol thanks to Bob and all who fight to hold big oil accountable and work to protect our valuable fisheries. It is your work that (we can only hope) will prevent history from repeating – wait for a catastrophe and then act.
I hope Mt Redoubt holds out for another year. I, for one, cannot wait for this country (no, all countries) to become far less dependent on oil. We already have better, cleaner options, but Big Oil will have the money to fight this for many years, I am afraid. It would be so sad to come to our senses after it is too late.
This is interesting news from KTUU on this very topic: http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10987049
No new oil to be stored near Mount Redoubt
Associated Press – August 25, 2009 12:24 PM ET
KENAI, Alaska (AP) – Kenai officials told residents at a town hall meeting that current plans call for no additional crude oil to be stored near Mount Redoubt.
Some things just do not chance. Big companies just to not care about the people that do the real work or the damage that they do along the way as long as the dollars keep rolling in. How very sad.
Is the legislature afraid to pass more stringent laws against the Oil Corps that provide AK its revenues?
Seems AK is held “hostage” by Big Oil doesn’t it?
boodog – good question. a great first step is to contact Larry Dierick ([email protected] ), who heads up the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s spill prevention and response efforts. Ask him: why didn’t ADEC require Chevron/CIPL to include a tank farm spill to open water in it’s c-plan? How come facility re-start was a higher priority then fisheries protection until April 4, when chevron made the decision to suspend operations? Why did chevron wait until april 17 to file it’s notice of non-readiness, conceding they could not address a spill, and will adec be pursuing civil or criminal penalties? What specific spill response assets were available in cook inlet on march 22 to address a catastrophic release from the facility? Why were dispersants considered a viable response tool when they are not designed for use in onshore or nearshore conditions? The changes to the facility’s c-plan are substantial, so why has ADEC cut the public out of c-plan reviews? Bob Shavelson, Cook Inletkeeper
I heartily agree with boodog. There has to be something we can do.
akm, this is something that touches all of us, Is there a way to keep this from being yet another scathing article of news? It seems there are a lot of voices in this fight but not much seems to come of it. A bunch of flailing after a report of a spill or underhanded tactic by a Big Oil company, but no sign of change. They are just too big. Any ideas how to change up this fight for our environment? I know a lot of Alaskans are fighting hard to stop this land raping, and it just gets worse.