- Date: 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, 2020
2020 Valdez Marine Terminal Admin Sump Incident
2020 VMT Admin Sump Incident Fact Sheet 8
- As of 2 p.m. Friday, approximately 690 barrels (28,980 gallons) of water/oil mix was recovered. Crews have begun measuring and analyzing the composition of the recovered liquids, a process known as metering.
- Crews have metered approximately one-third of those recovered emulsified liquids;
- From those recovered volumes metered so far, approximately 5 barrels (209 gallons) of oil was recovered.
- Metering work continues and the exact volume of oil spilled remains undetermined.
- An oiled bird has died, bringing the total deceased to two.
- The source of the spill, isolated and secured on Monday, was a sump located about a quarter-mile uphill from the VMT small boat harbor.
- Oily water is still entering Port Valdez in the vicinity of the harbor as the spill makes its way downhill. Boom and skimming operations are containing and controlling the additional oily water coming into the harbor. Noticeable sheen has been almost entirely within the boomed areas throughout the week.
- More than 220 people are involved in the response, locally and around the state.
- More than 21,000 feet of boom has been deployed.
- 19 Vessel of Opportunity boats are on scene, including four that joined today for additional sensitive area protection.
- 13 Alyeska work boats are on scene, including landing craft, inflatables, river boats and others.
- Friday, as a precautionary measure and to prevent wildlife disturbance, a team of four vessels and a task force leader began placing boom around two other sensitive areas in Port Valdez: Saw Island and Seal Island. Booming to protect two sensitive areas in Port Valdez – the nearby Solomon Gulch Hatchery and the Valdez Duck Flats – was completed Wednesday and the areas have been monitored since.
- Statement from Mike Day, Incident Commander and Alyeska representative in the Unified Command: "We train hard to protect wildlife in these challenging situations, and any loss is difficult. We will continue being deliberate in our decisions and work, especially on difficult tasks like identifying the flow route of the spill. We will remain focused on the safety of response personnel and our communities, and the protection of the environment."
- Statement from Commander Michael Franklin, Federal-On-Scene Coordinator and United States Coast Guard representative in the Unified Command: "The Unified Command has been working together to protect the health and safety of the response workforce and the community while aggressively responding to this incident. We have been faced with unique challenges but together we are able to overcome them and will continue to work diligently to contain and clean-up this spill as quickly and efficiently as possible."
- Statement from Crystal Smith, State On-Scene Coordinator and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation representative in the Unified Command: "DEC and other state agencies, such as the Department of Fish and Game, are working with the response to ensure that Alaska and Alaskan’s interests are protected. In particular, there has been a proactive decision to set up boom around environmentally sensitive areas that are nearby, in order to keep them from being impacted if the sheen leaves the response area."
For information and updates on the response, check back to this ADEC site.
Indicates an external site.