Community-Based Oil Spill Response in Alaska
Presentation Abstract
Community-Based Oil Spill Response in Alaska
The community-based response concept is based on the assumption that a spill response is most effective when initiated immediately. Providing the resources to do so benefits both the local community and the larger response organizations. In the years since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, significant work has been done to build local spill response capacity in communities within the spill-impacted region and beyond.
Models for community-based oil spill response range from the “fire house” model, where a distributed force is strategically stationed within a region to provide first-strike response similar to other types of emergency services. The fire house approach centralizes control of the overall response system within a single entity, which is then available to support industry and government in an on-call model.
Community response teams are another approach that creates response capacity within interested communities, opportunistically training and equipping interested communities to carry out certain oil spill response functions. Responders may be volunteer or paid, and some level of initial and refresher training is required. Spill response equipment may be owned by the communities, or owned and maintained by other interested parties (spill response organizations, government, industry).
Hybrid models that combine elements of these two models have been proposed and implemented in various parts of the world. This paper will review several examples and will report on efforts to implement different approaches to community-based spill response across coastal Alaska.
Keywords: community-based response, fire house model, Alaska
Session Title
Community perspectives on oil spill planning and response
Conference Track
Fate and Effects of Pollutants
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Oil spills--Alaska--Prevention--Citizen participation; Oil spills--Alaska--Management--Citizen participation
Geographic Coverage
Alaska
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Community-Based Oil Spill Response in Alaska
2016SSEC
Community-Based Oil Spill Response in Alaska
The community-based response concept is based on the assumption that a spill response is most effective when initiated immediately. Providing the resources to do so benefits both the local community and the larger response organizations. In the years since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, significant work has been done to build local spill response capacity in communities within the spill-impacted region and beyond.
Models for community-based oil spill response range from the “fire house” model, where a distributed force is strategically stationed within a region to provide first-strike response similar to other types of emergency services. The fire house approach centralizes control of the overall response system within a single entity, which is then available to support industry and government in an on-call model.
Community response teams are another approach that creates response capacity within interested communities, opportunistically training and equipping interested communities to carry out certain oil spill response functions. Responders may be volunteer or paid, and some level of initial and refresher training is required. Spill response equipment may be owned by the communities, or owned and maintained by other interested parties (spill response organizations, government, industry).
Hybrid models that combine elements of these two models have been proposed and implemented in various parts of the world. This paper will review several examples and will report on efforts to implement different approaches to community-based spill response across coastal Alaska.
Keywords: community-based response, fire house model, Alaska
