- Date: 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, 2020
2020 Valdez Marine Terminal Admin Sump Incident
2020 VMT Admin Sump Incident Fact Sheet 15
- Response crews have continued to make headway on oily water collection. As a result, personnel working overnight were able to reduce the primary boomed area by two-thirds.
- Two things have contributed to reduced collection rates and the smaller footprint: an observed decline in oily water entering the Port and more efficient skimming operations.
- This area has been boomed since April 12 and boom has contained the spill.
- As of 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, approximately 852 barrels (35,784 gallons) of water/oil mix has been collected from recovery activities on the water. Crews are measuring and analyzing the composition of the collected liquids, a process known as metering.
- From those collected volumes metered so far, approximately 511 gallons (12 barrels) of oil has been recovered.
- In addition, 30 gallons of oil (less than one barrel) have been recovered from land to date.
- Metering work continues and the exact volume of oil spilled remains undetermined.
- There were no injuries or incidents reported from the overnight shift work.
- TAPS operations are not impacted. The oil tanker, Polar Enterprise, is expected to arrive at the Valdez Marine Terminal (VMT), this morning (Tuesday).
- Crews continue excavation and investigation of the flow path and primary entry point where oily water is making its way into Port Valdez in the vicinity of the VMT small boat harbor. This is a rocky area near the low tide line, which indicates a flow path below ground.
- The source of the spill was identified as a concrete sump collection well, identified as 58-SU-3, and was isolated and secured on April 13. It is located west of the Emergency Response Building at the VMT, about a quarter-mile uphill from the VMT small boat harbor.
- More than 240 people are involved in the response, locally and around the state.
- All are working in accordance with state, local and Alyeska company policies and mandates in order to protect the health of the workforce and the surrounding communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 15 Vessel of Opportunity boats are on scene; 13 Alyeska work boats are also on scene, including landing craft, inflatables, river boats and others.
- More than 26,000 feet of boom is deployed. Response crews continue monitoring and maintaining boom systems.
- For the safety of response personnel and the public, a Temporary Flight Restriction area remains in place, set at 5,000 feet elevation and one mile in radius over the VMT working area.
For information and updates on the response, check back to this ADEC site.
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