A working group of individuals and agencies is using this website to assist in the development of approximately 30 Geographic Response Strategies (GRS) in the Bristol Bay Subarea. A meeting was held on January 18, 2012 in Dillingham to begin the development process for these oil spill response strategies. More information on this meeting is available on the workgroup's page. Additional information and actions taken during that meeting are reflected on the Northern and Southern Zone Pages.
If you would like to be included in the workgroup, contact Mark Janes at mark@nukaresearch.com for more information.
This website describes the process and provides information that will be used by the workgroup to develop GRS’. These strategies are designed to protect sensitive coastal environments from the impact of spilled oil.
Funding for this project came from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEM) Coastal Impact Assistance Program through qualified outer continental shelf oil and gas revenues.
GRS’ are oil spill response plans tailored to protect a specific sensitive area from oil impacts following a spill. These response plans are implemented as a third tier of any water-based response. The first response is to stop the source of the spill and immediately contain it, second is to collect the oil as it is freely floating on the water, third is to protect sensitive coastal areas that are at risk of being impacted by the oil.
These map-based strategies can save time during the critical first few hours of an oil spill response. They show responders where sensitive areas are located and where to place oil spill protection resources. These plans have been developed in other regions of Alaska and they can be reviewed here.
These oil spill response strategies will be part of the Bristol Bay Subarea Contingency Plan. Alaska is divided into 10 regions and each region has a Subarea Contingency Plan that directs the state and federal actions in a response to the release of hazardous substances and oil spills. More information on these plans is available here.
The Bristol Bay Subarea consists of the lands encompassed by the boundaries Bristol Bay Coastal Resource Service Area, the Bristol Bay Borough, and the Lake and Peninsula Borough, including adjacent shorelines and state waters. For the purpose of developing these geographic response strategies the subarea has been further divided into 2 zones, which are shown on the following map.
Each zone has a web page that displays an index map of candidate sites from which a workgroup will select the sites to be developed into GRS. Click the links below to access these sites:
The workgroup that has been formed for the Bristol Bay Subarea includes Local, State and Federal Agencies, spill response experts and oil spill contingency plan holders. In the years 2011-12, 25 GRS are to be developed for the subarea.
The Bristol Bay GRS Site Selection Process
The GRS site selection process begins with the identification of candidate sites. Candidate sites are identified based on a set of three major site selection criteria.
• environmental sensitivity,
• risk of being impacted from a water borne spill; and
• feasibility of successfully protecting the site with existing technology.
The map below depicts some of the risk factors to be used in site selection.
Download (1.1MB) a printable copy of this map and risk layers in pdf format
The workgroup will seek public input for the sites selected. Public involvement is essential to ensure that the sites selected and the strategies developed reflected the environmental protection priorities of local communities, stakeholders, and resource users. Once GRS site selection is finalized, the workgroup oversee and review the development the strategies for each site.
The GRS locations identified in the site selection matrix (click here for the key to the matrix) were selected based on the following criteria of environmental sensitivity, which are set forth in the Bristol Bay Subarea Plan:
• Threatened and Endangered Species/Habitats
• Subsistence Harvest Areas
• Marshes
• Eel grass beds
• Sheltered Tidal Flats
• Sheltered Rocky Shores
• Seal Haulouts
• Sea Lion Rookeries and Haulouts
• Walrus Rookeries and haulouts
• Large Seabird Colonies
• Waterfowl and Shorebird Spring,Fall or Winter Concentration Areas
• Large Anadromous Fish Streams
• Intertidal Salmon Spawning Areas
• Herring Spawning Areas
• Federal Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Natural Landmarks
• State Refuges, Sanctuaries, and Critical Habitat Areas
• Cultural Resources/Archaeological Sites
• Intertidal Sites
• High Use Commercial Fishing Areas
• High Use Recreational Areas
Public involvement is essential to ensure that the sites selected and the strategies developed reflected the environmental protection priorities of local communities, stakeholders, and resource users. The workgroup welcomes public input to ensure that everyone with a stake in Bristol Bay is made aware of Geographic Response Strategies and their importance during an oil spill response.
You can learn more about Geographic Response Strategies by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.
For more information about the Geographic Response Strategies or questions pertaining to this project, please contact: dec.spar.grs@alaska.gov.
This page last updated: May 15, 2012 by Nuka Research & Planning Group, LLC