Resolution 15-035 Requesting the USCG Continue to Maintain and Upkeep the Oil Spill Response Caches Located in Kachemak Bay

CITY OF HOMER

HOMER, ALASKA

               Reynolds, Burgess

RESOLUTION 15-035

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, REQUESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN AND UPKEEP THE OIL SPILL RESPONSE CACHES LOCATED IN KACHEMAK BAY, COOK INLET, AND THE STATE OF ALASKA.

WHEREAS, Homer and other coastal communities in Alaska depend on Alaska’s marine resource for sustenance, recreation, cultural traditions, and livelihood; and

WHEREAS, The commercial, recreational and sport fishery is of critical importance to Homer and the state, providing significant income to the City of Homer, the State of Alaska and its residents through commercial and charter fisheries; and

WHEREAS, The halibut stock, King salmon and other fisheries are in a critical condition after a continuous stock decline over the last decade; and

WHEREAS, Cook Inlet is home to an endangered population of beluga whales as well as killer whales, harbor porpoises, harbor seals, and endangered Steller sea lions. It is also one of the most populated and industrialized regions in Alaska, where the health and habitat of these species are continuously threatened. Potential impacts from oil spills or blowouts on these species, their habitats, their prey species, and on the communities that depend on these species and habitats can be substantial; and

WHEREAS, The extreme difficulties of responding to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil and gas blowout in the easily accessible and warm water climate of the Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2010 highlights the challenges and inadequacy of responding to such incidents in the more harsh, less temperate climate and unfavorable conditions found on waters in Kachemak Bay and off the coast of Alaska; and

WHEREAS, Contrary to claims that such incidents are rare in Alaska, several oil well blowouts have occurred on Cook Inlet rigs since 1962 and there is an average of one oil spill in Cook Inlet every month; and

WHEREAS, Marine waters of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet are dominated by extreme tides and temperatures, where high winds, fog and winter ice can increase the likelihood of the occurrence of an oil spill and can make oil spill clean-up impossible for significant portions of the year; and

               WHEREAS, The threat from such incidents to the unique natural resources of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet is higher than ever, as the industry intends to expand exploratory drilling, primarily in the waters of the northern portion of the Inlet and proposed drilling anticipates sinking wells into previously untapped pre-Tertiary formations containing unknown pressures; and

WHEREAS, An oil spill the size of the one that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico would wreak havoc on the premier commercial, subsistence and sport fishing economies of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet. Nor would the cold water environment of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet soon recover from such an event as evidenced from the still unresolved biological impacts of the Prince William Sound 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill; and

WHEREAS, Alaska is one of the few states in the U.S. that continues to authorize the discharge of oil and gas-related toxic effluent from drilling operations directly into marine waters which exacerbates the potential consequences of blowouts and other incidents; and

WHEREAS, The risks posed by increased oil and gas exploration and development in Cook Inlet mandate the most stringent review and regulation of drilling rigs be conducted by the State of Alaska and the U.S. Coast Guard; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Coast Guard currently provides oil-spill response equipment which is pre-positioned in remote areas to help Homer and other local communities mount an early response to pollution incidents in order to minimize environmental damage; and

WHEREAS, In many cases, U.S. Coast Guard-owned equipment may be the first and only line of defense to respond to and protect sensitive areas during the early hours of an oil spill.  Additionally, other equipment that may be co-located, but owned by private oil spill response organizations, may not necessarily be made available to a community for use on a spill that is not directly related to a client of that private organization; and

WHEREAS, In the event of a large spill, such as Exxon Valdez, all available U.S. Coast Guard equipment in the region will most likely be utilized to get ahead of the leading edge of the spill and to protect sensitive areas; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Coast Guard is recommending decommissioning the Oil Spill Response Equipment caches in Homer and the region due to funding constraints and that this action will seriously threaten the unique resource values of Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet; and

WHEREAS, Due to the remote nature of Homer and other communities in the State that currently have U.S. Coast Guard oil-spill response equipment caches it would be days before response equipment could be brought in from outside the area in the event of a spill; and

               WHEREAS, For the reasons stated herein, the U.S. Coast Guard caches in Homer and other remote Alaskan communities are more critical than similar caches may be in the more populated Lower 48 States.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Homer City Council requests that the U.S. Coast Guard maintain the oil spill response equipment caches in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, and the State of Alaska.

PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Homer City Council this 26th day of May, 2015.

                                                                                          CITY OF HOMER

                                                                                          ______________________

                                                                                          MARY E. WYTHE, MAYOR

ATTEST:

___________________________

JO JOHNSON, MMC, CITY CLERK

Fiscal note: N/A