Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Water

Lingering Oil found on July 8, 2021 at the northwest bay of Eleanor Island. Photograph taken and provided by David Janka.

For more information, contact:

• Terri Lomax
• 907-269-7635

The Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) occurred on March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound (PWS). An estimated 11 million gallons of oil were spilled in PWS with only approximately 10% of the released oil recovered from beaches and surface water.

During the last 30 years, much of the unrecovered oil has disappeared due to natural processes but a portion of the oil from the spill still lingers in patches beneath PWS, typically in areas sheltered from wave action or in fine-grained sediments covered by cobble. This is called lingering oil and is the focus of a 3-year project the DEC Division of Water has initiated with grant funds from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

After the spill, DEC classified several impacted beaches in PWS as impaired for petroleum hydrocarbons under the Clean Water Act. Today, new information exists that would allow for a re-evaluation of the condition of those impacted beaches and on other beaches not yet identified. This project will review existing literature, update GIS maps, and develop a methodology to evaluate lingering oil within the framework of the Clean Water Act. This will be a data-driven process using contractor assistance on different project pieces.

• Join EVOS LO listserv
• EVOS Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Lingering Oil Literature Review (PDF)
• Alaska's water quality map
• Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council