04/16/1989 Regular Meeting Part 1Oil Spill Management Council
April 16, 1989 @ 6:00 p.m.
Kodiak, Alaska
WADE: The helicopter arrived with the ADEC man. We talked to Valdez about
arranging some bird picking up for the cleaning stage. ADEC has asked for one
skiff at it's disposal.
JONES: Judy Meidinger has started to contact all of the villages and will
get back to us. She or I will make a trip. We still are planning to go to
Chignik and will take an ADF&G person with us. We will fly over so Fred Byars
can see what they look like to give us some idea if a boom can be deployed`.
Our main reason is to give them a good update on information.
On local air carriers, process is long, and we have to weigh it to see if we
can justify it. They assure me they don't take any shortcuts. I will keep
working on it though. We worked out a way we can fly out of Penn Air.
SELBY: Hermens/MarkAir on list?
JONES: MarkAir is on list. Will check it out. That would give us two
carriers and would help a lot. No flights out of Valdez tonight and doesn't
look good tomorrow.
WADE: I would like to introduce Cameron McKenzie of ESSO Resources in Canada.
MCKENZIE: I have been doing overflight surveillance out of Valdez and Seward.
I am flying with an infra -red camera that identifies oil. Usually in the air 4
to 6 hours a day. Just finished a run from here to Homer. I have seen where
there is oil along the flight path and where there isn't. I have not seen any
oil south of the Barren Islands.
SELBY: Can we get those reports on a regular basis?
MCKENZIE: I have no problem as far as posting them goes.
SELBY: You didn't find any around Cape Douglas?
MCKENZIE: I did Cape Douglas last night. The oil I found was a floating oil
pan north of the Barren Islands.
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SELBY: We have reports today of on -the -ground oil.
MCKENZIE: Did see some oil just south of English Bay, a few miles off shore.
On the flight up, I didn't see any on shore. A pan of oil looks the same size
as a fishing boat from the air.
SELBY: How big does it take for your equipment to pick it up?
MCKENZIE: It has to be a far sized just to pick it up. But it positively
identifies it as oil. That is very helpful. It will take a 30' chunk to pick
up. I also have another camera, as soon as it is operational, to pick up
sheen. Infra -red detects simply surface.
PAGE: Two flights today, and they went to Cape Gull area, Shuyak Island,
and some over there. Put down in four different places at Katmai and walked
around but no oil. Light sheen was seen off Cape Gull. A C130 went to Barren
Islands and east. Saw oil close to shore in Kenai Fjords --large particles of
mousse. 100' by 200'.
KEISTER: Two large patches by Fort Dick. Has worked its way back east.
PAGE: The Elizabeth L made a report of a large mousse patch further south.
General observation is nothing close to Kodiak of any significant size. Sent
boats accompanying the Morganthal to break it up. Russian skimmer will be here
in about 19 days. .Feel the best place to operate it is Gore Point area as it
is open seas. The park service say some oil in Sequoi Bay. Not sure how
heavily concentrated. I asked my helicopter crew to put down in Sequoi Bay,
and they didn't see any. Apparently, you need to be in right spot to see it.
There is a piece of mousse by Contact Point, 20 miles north of Cape Douglas.
Major portion in Chugach Islands.
BRODIE: Have you been working with DEC on procedures to clean up. Have you
developed a kit to go on boats?
PAGE: We are just taking snares and absorbant pads. Seems to be a benign
and effective way of picking up this stuff.
SELBY: Just one vessel going to Cape Douglas?
PAGE: Apparently Mark Kandianis couldn't get two. He has one now.
WADE: I asked him to hold up.
GOULD: Looks like we're being passed up and it's going there.
BYARS: Some of the area further up in bays can be protected.
SELBY: How good would the boom be?
BYARS: I don't remember priorities.
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SELBY: Are we loading boom on the Peggy Jo?
MADDEN: Yes, we are loading boom like on the Ruff 'n Ready.
PAGE: I think some boom is prudent to have on both. Seems like a large
stretch and would be ambitious to boom it all. I would rather wait until we
have something solid. The best would be to keep a patch in until it is cleaned
up.
WADE: Do you think we should go ahead with second boat?
PAGE: We still don't have that good a handle of what we are seeing. The
pilot's summary was "I just wasn't seeing oil."
GOULD: If we are getting heavy stuff on shore and off Kenai, probably what
is happening is it is moving with currents.
SELBY: The thing that worries me is we don't have the stuff to pick it up.
PAGE: We can get something over there. What we do have we can keep looking
at and will be easy enough to handle the absorbant materials.
SELBY: I don't want to get a setup with a boom over there holding something
with nothing coming.
PAGE: We have westerly winds at 15 to 20 knots, which is good because it
will keep it off shore.
SELBY: I will be comfortable if we could get two boats over there with
enough equipment.
WADE: We are going ahead with second boat.
SELBY: How much on Ruff 'n Ready?
MADDEN: 2,600' on Ruff 'n Ready. 2,200' of 16" on Peggy Jo.
SELBY: Could get boom to Geographic Harbor and Swikshak Lagoon.
FISH & GAME: Have people ready to go out on boats. Will get together with
Mark Kandianis.
PARKS: Second resource boat went to Katmai today. Third and fourth ready
and will be deployed. Third boat to Katmai coast. They are being deployed out
of Homer. Latter two are 90' class boats.
PAGE: We need to find out and get coordinated and find out what they are
doing.
PARKS & PAGE to discuss later.
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DASH: Exxon will be pretty much be taking over what we are doing by
tomorrow.
BRODIE: Have you any information on sample Mr. Erickson took.
KEISTER: No, but the more I look at that sample, I am inclined to believe it
wasn't from the Valdez spill. Mousse doesn't stick to anything when it's
70-80% water as it is now. When a rock is dropped in, the rock would come out
with water beads and no oil. Also, it is fairly benign at this point.
DEC: Possibly second bird has been picked up at Ouzinkie.
MADDEN: I was told one dead bird and they are bringing it in for assessment.
DEC: I reported it to Fish & Game.
BRODIE to KEISTER: What about sites opening up soon for setnetters and these
obscure patches being picked up in nets. It is an effect that is further down
the line.
KEISTER: Is a possibility that a set net will pick up some that will ruin that
catch.
SELBY to WADE: We need to discuss the long range effects on the setnetters.
Oil Spill Management Council 4 4/16/89 @ 6 p.m.
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