Response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

This paper reports that the ADEC is the primary State agency responding to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, actively participating in the spill-response effort from the first hours after the vessel grounded. Agency functions included aerial spill tracking, protection of sensitiive resources, cleanup monitoring, logistics and supply, documentation, scientific assessment, cleanup monitoring, and liaison and coordination. After an intense program associated with the 1989 response effort, Spring 1990 surveys revealed a substantial diminution of remaining oil due to winter wave conditions. Oil, however, was found along 396 miles shoreline with 15 miles remaining heavily oiled. Problem areas are being treated as part of the Summer 1990 cleanup program