00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 11                                                                    
01 Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and supporting the                                       
02 continued practice of accompanying each oil tanker through Prince William Sound with                                    
03 at least a two vessel escort.                                                                                           
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS March 24, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil                                      
06 spill; and                                                                                                              
07       WHEREAS the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the worst oil tanker spill in the history of                             
08 the United States, discharging 10,800,000 gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound and                            
09 contaminating approximately 1,300 miles of Alaska coastline; and                                                        
10       WHEREAS, since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Alyeska Pipeline Service                                    
11 Company and the crude oil shippers have created a world-class oil spill prevention and                                  
12 response system in Prince William Sound; and                                                                            
13       WHEREAS the oil tanker vessels transiting Prince William Sound are increasingly of                              
14 a double-hulled design, as required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990; and                                               
15       WHEREAS the Prince William Sound oil tanker escort vessels provide immediate,                                   

01 on-scene response should a spill occur; and                                                                             
02       WHEREAS all loaded oil tankers, including double-hulled oil tankers, are currently                              
03 escorted by at least two escort vessels through Prince William Sound; and                                               
04       WHEREAS the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 mandates that only single-hulled tankers of                               
05 5,000 gross tons or more be escorted by at least two escort vessels while in Prince William                             
06 Sound; and                                                                                                              
07       WHEREAS there is no assurance in any state or federal law or regulation that each oil                           
08 tanker in Prince William Sound will continue to be escorted by at least two escort vessels                              
09 capable of providing immediate spill prevention and response; and                                                       
10       WHEREAS, since the implementation of the two-vessel escort system in Prince                                     
11 William Sound, there have been no major oil spills, and potential accidents have been reduced                           
12 to near misses; and                                                                                                     
13       WHEREAS double hulls are not a perfect prevention measure, and it would be                                    
14 imprudent to alter a proven oil spill prevention and response program based solely on                                   
15 improvements in oil tanker vessel engineering and design;                                                               
16       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the continued practice                                
17 in Prince William Sound of accompanying each loaded oil tanker, whether single-hulled or                                
18 double-hulled, with at least two escort vessels.                                                                        
19       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
20 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
21 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Janet Napolitano, United States Secretary of                                
22 Homeland Security; Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard;                                  
23 the Honorable Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska; Kevin Hostler; President and Chief Executive                             
24 Officer, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company; Anil Mathur, Chief Executive Officer, Alaska                                 
25 Tanker Company; George P. McShea, Jr., Vice-President of Operations, Polar Tankers Inc.;                                
26 Stu McRobbie, Vice-President of Operations, SeaRiver Maritime; Tim Plummer, President,                                  
27 Tesoro Maritime Company; Jeff Williams, Environmental Manager, Chevron Shipping                                         
28 Company; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S.                                           
29 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
30 delegation in Congress.