Alaska Department Of Environmental Conservation News

An air circulation operation has begun on the 410-foot general cargo vessel Genius Star XI which is currently at anchor off Dutch Harbor, Alaska.The vessel, carrying lithium-ion batteries, caught fire on Christmas Day. In response, the crew released carbon dioxide into hold No. 1 and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.The purpose of the air circulation is to increase air flow in the cargo holds so that personnel can enter. Additional technical experts are enroute to evaluate options for conducting visual inspections.

Removal operations for a tug partially submerged at the National Guard Dock in Gastineau Channel, near Juneau, Alaska, are scheduled, weather pending, to be conducted this week and into the weekend, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Melino’s Marine Services, the contracted salvage company, plans to remove the vessel utilizing a barge and crane system that are currently enroute from Bellingham, Wash.The operation is expected to take multiple days pending weather conditions. Once the vessel is removed…

A unified command consisting of the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and Western Towboat, continues to lead the response efforts for the grounded tug in the Neva Strait, which initially occurred Monday morning.The tug owner, Western Towboat, contracted Hanson Maritime, SEAPRO, and Global Diving & Salvage who are currently on-scene and continuing pollution recovery efforts and salvage planning.A total of 3,000 gallons of diesel has been pumped from a ruptured tank aboard the tug…

Clean-up crews were working to contain an oil spill at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System's (TAPS) Valdez Marine Terminal, officials said on Wednesday, but the volume spilled was not preventing tankers from loading at the site.A sump overflow spilled oil into the water at the terminal on Sunday night. By Wednesday, clean-up crews had recovered 574 barrels (24,108 gallons) of an oil-water mix, authorities said.A team composed of system operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co, the U.S.

Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation have established a Unified Command in response to an oil spill 49 miles north of Kodiak in Shuyak Strait, Tuesday. The spill reportedly occurred Monday morning after an abandoned building collapsed during extreme weather conditions. An oil fuel bladder located inside the building fell in the water releasing a max potential of 3,000 gallons of bunker C fuel oil. Coast Guard, ADEC and Alaska Chadux Corporation personnel are currently responding to the fuel release. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted an overflight of the area. The Coast Guard opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted with Alaska Chadux…

The response to potential pollution from the fishing vessel Akutan continues in Captains Bay near Unalaska, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the city of Unalaska established a unified command, and responders are continuously monitoring levels of anhydrous ammonia and removing various petroleum products from the vessel. 5,000 gallons of oily water from the engine room bilge and 1,200 gallons of oily mixture from one of the slop tanks were removed Friday and Saturday.

A crane barge that will be used to hoist a sunken tug in Sitka, Alaska has arrived to the wreck site. The evolution to raise the tug is expected to take up to 10 days, the U.S. Coast Guard said. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Sitka and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation have been monitoring the out-of-service tug Powhatan, which sank at a pier in Sitka, April 19 and slid approximately 300 yards down a bank ultimately settling in 160 to 180 feet of water. The tug's owner, Samson Tug and Barge Company, contracted Southeast Alaska Petroleum for pollution recovery and Alaska Commercial Divers to plug vents and survey the vessel underwater. Since the sinking, an estimated 400 gallons of mixed product has released from the sunken tug.

An out of service tug has sunk at the Samson Tug and Barge Company pier in Sitka, Alaska. The 81-foot vessel Powhatan owned by Samson Tug and Barge Company sank at the pier on the evening of April 19 and subsequently slid under the pier approximately 200 yards along an underwater ledge. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Sitka and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation personnel are responding. Samson Tug and Barge Company is developing a salvage plan and has contracted Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization for oil recovery and Hanson Maritime to dive and survey the tug. The vessel, which has been out of service for over 10 years…

The oil giant British Petroleum (BP) oil and gas well on Alaska’s Northern Slope that blew out on Friday continues to spill crude oil and gas uncontrollably. There have been no injuries or reports of damage to wildlife, but crews trying to secure the well have failed amid frigid winds gusting to 38 miles an hour. Well pressure was monitored throughout the night and excess pressure was bled off to keep it within a safe rang. There was no estimate about volumes of natural gas and oil released. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) said in a statement that asecond leak had been reduced but was still emitting gas. Washington Post quoted Brett Clanton…

Emergency personnel continue their response to the tug boat Samson Mariner which ran aground and spilled fuel while towing a barge in the vicinity of Rosa Reef in north Tongass Narrows, Alaska, Wednesday evening. Approximately 1,100 gallons of diesel spilled from the tug prior to being patched by Alaska Commercial Divers Wednesday night. The Samson Mariner has been refloated and is anchored in Ward Cove alongside the barge it was towing. A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted an overflight with Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan personnel aboard to determine the extent of any possible sheen or environmental impacts. A sheen has been reported in the area and SEAPRO has been tasked with fuel containment and recovery using boom and absorbent pads.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced today that company veteran Craig Tornga has assumed the role of vice president of stakeholder relations for Alaska, and will coordinate with all of Crowley's Alaska business units to leverage relevant company relationships. Tornga will relocate from Houston to Anchorage, and continue to report to Rocky Smith, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum distribution and marine services. “Crowley has been serving Alaska for more than 60 years and we are deeply rooted in the state,” said Smith. “Craig is the ideal person to help us continue to build partnerships with government, regulatory agencies, native Alaska corporations, trade associations, citizen advisory boards and more.

Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Natural Resources joined Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel in responding to the tugboat, Challenger, which sank in Juneau's Gastineau channel September 12, 2015. Global Diving & Salvage and Southeast Alaska Lighterage (SEAL) were contracted and have removed all accessible pollution sources and hazards from the vessel. SEAL replaced the boom around the vessel today. The Coast Guard and DEC will continue monitoring for any further oil seepage and environmental impacts.

A 58-foot fishing vessel ran aground, sunk and spilled oil in Sitka, Alaska, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. No injuries have been reported, and there have been no confirmed reports of impacts to wildlife. The fishing vessel Pacific Venture, a 58-foot seiner, ran aground Tuesday evening and subsequently rolled over around 2 a.m. Wednesday, sinking in approximately 25 feet of water in vicinity of The Twins, roughly half a mile off the mouth of the Indian River in Sitka. The vessel’s owner reports 600 gallons of diesel fuel and 70 gallons of hydraulic and lube oils were on board…

A Unified Command has been formed to respond to a release of diesel fuel from the Jarvis St. Power Plant, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Monday. Coast Guard Sector Juneau, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation pollution responders from Juneau and members of Marine Safety Detachment Sitka are coordinating clean-up efforts with the City of Sitka, National Park Service and tribal organizations. City of Sitka personnel received a report Saturday of diesel washing ashore in Sitka Sound. City of Sitka notified MSD Sitka personnel who responded and recovered approximately 50 gallons of diesel. The source was identified from the Jarvis St. Power Plant, Sunday, which had released an estimated 30,000 gallons of diesel into the storage tank facility's secondary containment.

A Unified Command consisting of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of the Interior, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, City of Seldovia and the responsible party, formed to respond to a 6,000 gallon diesel fuel discharge into the Gulf of Alaska has completed fuel removal from the damaged tank trailer aboard the motor vessel Thor's Hammer Tuesday. Response crews and contractors from Alaska Chadux Corporation removed the 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel remaining in the punctured tank, as well as 28 bags of oily waste collected by the motor vessel Thor's Hammer’s crew. The 6,000 gallons of spilled diesel is no longer recoverable due to weathering and evaporation.

Coast Guard Sector Juneau and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation personnel are investigating the spill of approximately of 50-100 gallons of petroleum products at the Auke Bay Harbor, Monday. Southeast Alaska Lighterage has been contracted to contain and mitigate the spill and they have deployed more than 1000-feet of boom and other absorbent materials to contain and mitigate the spread of the spill. Coast Guard Sector Juneau received a report of a petroleum spill in Auke Bay Harbor Sunday evening and dispatched investigators. “Our primary concern is containing the spill and mitigating damage to the environment,” said Lt. Mickey Sanders, with the Coast Guard Sector Juneau Response Department. The cause of the spill is under investigation.

For a second year, members of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, based in New London, Connecticut, make their way to the large ice floes of the Arctic Ocean to conduct research and test new equipment and technologies with the aim of expanding our knowledge and enhancing our ability to respond to potential hazards and emergencies brought on by increased vessel traffic through the region. It’s a mission as big and as important as the Arctic itself and one they couldn’t do alone. When RDC members depart for the Arctic, they do so aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy, a 420-foot icebreaker homeported in Seattle, Wash., that serves as a perfect platform for conducting Arctic research.

A team of scientists from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (RDC) will depart from Seward, Alaska, for a technology evaluation in the Arctic aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy Aug. 8, the Coast Guard announced. According to the USCG, the RDC is leading a multiagency team to support Arctic Shield 2014, a 17th Coast Guard District initiative. The purpose of their month-long evaluation is to improve USCG capabilities in the Arctic region, specifically in the areas of boat operations, communications, navigational safety and oil spill response.

A team of scientists from the Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) is to depart shortly from Seward, Alaska, for a technology evaluation in the Arctic aboard the Cutter 'Healy informs USCG. The RDC is leading a multi-agency team to support Arctic Shield 2014, a 17th Coast Guard District initiative. The purpose of their month-long evaluation is to improve Coast Guard capabilities in the Arctic region, specifically in the areas of boat operations, communications, navigational safety and oil spill response. “The RDC plays a key role in charting the service’s future efforts in the Arctic by evaluating new and emerging technologies for applicability to Coast Guard operations in a harsh and remote environment,” said Capt. Dennis Evans, commanding officer of the RDC.

Work crews for BP Plc were clearing contaminated snow on Thursday on Alaska's North Slope after a Prudhoe Bay well line ruptured, spraying a 34-acre area with crude oil and natural gas. Just how much liquid escaped from the line remains under investigation by BP and Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation. It remains unclear whether the leak, detected earlier this week, is connected to a decline in North Slope oil production. BP did not return emails seeking comment. Since the spill occurred, daily North Slope production has dropped about 10,000 barrels per day, from 533,000 to 521,000, according to state tracking data. As of Saturday, however, two days before an inspector discovered the problem, production was at 551,000, according to Alaska's Department of Revenue.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commercial Passenger Vessel Environmental Compliance Program is proposing to issue a 2014 Large Commercial Passenger Vessel Wastewater Discharge General Permit (Permit number: 2013DB0004). This general permit will satisfy the regulatory provisions of Alaska Statute (AS) 46.03.460 through AS 46.03.490 as amended in 2013 by House Bill 80. This general permit will apply to the discharge of wastewater such as treated sewage, treated graywater and other treated wastewater discharges from large commercial passenger vessels operating in marine waters of the state (AS 46.03.462). Large commercial vessels include passenger vessels for hire that provide overnight accommodations for 250 or more passengers…

Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan personnel are working with responders to assess and mitigate pollution from the 60-foot Silver Bay II that reportedly sank at its moorings at the Wrangell Silver Bay logging sawmill along Zimovia Strait Wednesday. Containment boom has been mobilized around the site of the sinking and the owner of the vessel has hired divers to conduct an assessment of the vessel and cap fuel tanks. Dive operations have been placed on hold due to weather, which has delayed the salvage company’s transit and arrival time. Coast Guard personnel are on site and are working with the owner, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and other federal, state and local agency partners to develop a response plan.

The U.S. Coast Guard hosted the 2013 Spill of National Significance Executive Seminar at its headquarters Monday. As a follow up and identified best practice to the 2012 Spill of National Significance (SONS) Executive Seminar, the Coast Guard hosted the 2013 Executive Seminar to explore national level policy issues associated with Arctic spill response and to exercise national-level coordination of Senior Officials during an Arctic SONS. Over 75 senior government officials and advisors representing over 20 federal agencies and departments participated in this year’s SONS capstone event.