HJR 19-OIL TANKER ESCORT VESSELS/OIL SPILL ANNIV    10:45:30 AM CHAIR MENARD announced the consideration of HJR 19. ERIN HARRINGTON, Staff, to Representative Alan Austerman, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, said today is the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. There are many people around the state who are keenly interested in HJR 19, which recognizes the spill and supports the continued practice of accompanying each laden oil tanker in Prince William Sound with a two-vessel escort. The Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef 20 years ago today and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. It oiled 1,300 miles of coastline, reaching as far away as Chignik which is 700 miles away. The death toll included 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales, billions of salmon and herring eggs, and many intertidal plants and animals. Many species are still recovering today. In 1990 Congress passed the Oil Spill Prevention Act (OPA-90). It addresses preventing, responding to, and paying for oil pollution. One outcome was that laden tankers with a single hull had to be escorted by two vessels. 10:48:38 AM MS. HARRINGTON said that is not a panacea, and the Coast Guard studied what would have happened if the Exxon Valdez had been double-hulled. It concluded that there would have still been at least a 4-million-gallon spill, which would have been catastrophic as well. Alaska also passed legislation following the spill, so shippers now must have oil spill prevention and contingency plans -- an exhaustive process for preventing and responding to an oil spill. These plans are not set in statute, but the current plan requires a two-vessel escort for all laden tankers in Prince William Sound, single or double hulled. The plans are reviewed every five years, and they can be amended by the Department of Environmental Conservation but are not outlined in law. She provided a photo of a two-tug escort. One tug is tethered to the ship. Without it the tanker can take up to two miles to stop in an emergency. 10:51:16 AM SENATOR KOOKESH asked if OPA-90 will be amended to eliminate the escorts. MS. HARRINGTON said OPA-90 only requires single-hulled tankers to have escorts. The last of the single-hulled tankers will be gone from Prince William Sound by 2012 or earlier. So there will no longer be any federal requirement for the two-tug escorts. She noted editorials in Alaska papers, and there is interest in pursuing legislation that would require the escort regardless of the hulls. SENATOR KOOKESH asked if this resolution will just send a message to Congress to continue the two-tug escorts. MS. HARRINGTON said yes. 10:53:22 AM DOROTHY MOORE, Council Member, City of Valdez, said she is a former history teacher and a life-long resident of Valdez. She is on the city council and is its representative to the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council. She urged passage of HJR 19. "We have 20 years of experience that worked. I don't think we need to fix something that isn't broken. We need to learn from the past to protect Prince William Sound for all of Alaska." TOM KUCKERTZ, Project Manager, Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council, Valdez, said there are 18 member entities on the council. Its mission is to promote environmentally safe transportation of oil from the Alyeska terminal. The system in place has done very well over the past 20 years. "We think that two tugs are very important," and on behalf of the council, he urged passage of HJR 19. CHAIR MENARD asked if anyone is opposing the bill. MR. KUCKERTZ said he knows of no opposition, but the Coast Guard would like to do a risk assessment. His group believes that that is not needed because risk assessments tend to be biased toward those who are paying for them, "but it can be worse than that." The risk is determined by multiplying the probability of something happening by the consequences -- a very small number by a large number. The small number is the one big accident out of the 15,000 tanker trips. So the probability of an accident is determined to be 1 in 15,000. "The folks that want to do a risk assessment will tell you that we don't want to use that number because it is too large - we want to use one in a million. Well, we know it's not one in a million." 10:57:16 AM SENATOR KOOKESH said a lot of money has been spent since the spill to build double-hulled tankers. What was that purpose of that if we will continue to use two tugs? Who pays for the tugs? "I'm all for safety but I'm really thinking that we've maybe crossed that threshold a little bit of a ways back by saying everybody's required now to build double-hulled tankers. I'm sure that's a huge expense to somebody." MR. KUCKERTZ said both tugs are paid by industry. There has always been a single-tug escort. There can be a long discussion regarding the merits and deficiencies of double hulls. The double hulls lessen the release of oil with a low-energy grounding, such as the side-swiping of a bridge by the Cosco Busan [in San Francisco Bay in 2007], and chances are that it would not have leaked if it were double hulled. In a high energy grounding, such as the Exxon Valdez, double hulls could reduce the leak by 60 to 40 percent. "But we haven't really done the experiment." Half of the bottom ripped out of the Exxon Valdez, and a double hull might not have done that much better. Double hulls ride higher in the water, so the oil is under gravitational force to leak more. 10:59:39 AM SENATOR PASKVAN surmised that this is just a resolution because of a federal preemption under the commerce clause. MR. KUCKERTZ said he is an engineer not a lawyer, but he thinks that is the case. He hopes the resolution will help make sure Alaska's resources are protected. JOHN VALSCO, Homer Representative, Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council, said HJR 19 is not against the oil industry. He has seen how oil tax dollars have built Homer's infrastructures. He worked on the construction of the pipeline, and now he and his son both fish commercially. The oil industry has to share Alaska waters with other users. HJR 19 is a first step in codifying using two tugs in Prince William Sound. 11:02:13 AM JERRY MCCUNE, United Fisherman of Alaska, said he is also the president of Cordova District Fishermen United. The groups support this resolution. Prevention is the key. Two escorts make everybody happy and give them the peace of mind that the tanker can be moved or towed. SENATOR KOOKESH asked the additional cost of the tug and what the industry's position is. MR. MCCUNE said he can't speak for the oil industry, but the resolution says they are neutral. 11:03:39 AM SENATOR PASKVAN moved to report HJR 19 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There being no objection, HJR 19 moved out of committee.