Drift River response shows successful use of incident command

By Michael Munger
Since Cook Inlet Pipe Line Company has reopened the Drift River Oil Terminal Facility, I think it is time to take a moment and reflect on the response efforts undertaken to evade the threat of a potential oil spill into Cook Inlet.
As we all know, the risk of Mount Redoubt on the Drift River Oil Terminal is not a novel concept. The volcano caused significant damage and flooding at the terminal nearly 20 years ago. However, that incident generated an intensive amount of planning and engineering into the production of a multi-million-dollar system designed to protect the Drift River Oil Terminal tank farm from flooding caused by subsequent eruptions. It is the culmination of these safeguards and proper planning, including the use of the Incident Command System and the Unified Command, which undoubtedly played a major role in the success of this latest response.
It is only in recent times that the Incident Command System and the concept of a Unified Command has become a common practice in managing a response to an oil spill or disaster. Many may recall the inaction and confusion the Exxon Valdez oil spill spawned in 1989. At that time, there was nothing set up to manage an incident of that magnitude and – in the most critical times – nothing was done and misinformation ran rampant. In the instance of the recent situation with Mount Redoubt and the Drift River Oil Terminal, the Incident Command System and the Unified Command were implemented and utilized exactly the way they were intended. Make no mistake, this was a successful response to the lahars threatening a facility and the operations to prevent oil from being released into Cook Inlet. As a result, no personnel were injured and no oil was spilled during the explosive events or during the oil removal and restart operations.
There have been those critical of the actions taken by the Unified Command and have called the reverted disaster at the Drift River Oil Terminal, “luck.” They suggest that it was luck that the terminal’s protective dike system diverted a significant amount of water running down Drift River from impacting the Drift River Oil Terminal tank farm; it was luck that the tertiary containment held back the substantial flooding caused by lahars; and it was luck that the explosive eruptions of Mt. Redoubt weren’t larger, thus causing a greater amount of flooding.
Well, I certainly agree that we were lucky; lucky that we had the level of dedication exhibited by the men and women working on the Incident Management Team and of those working on the ground at the Drift River Oil Terminal. It was their quick thinking and hard work prior to, and throughout the eruption of the volcano that undoubtedly helped keep oil in the tanks and off the ground.
Due to my professional background, I have been involved in many spill responses and incidents. During the Drift River incident, I witnessed one of the most impressive displays of what I would like to label “doing the right thing.” As part of the Incident Management Team during the incident, I was very impressed by the decision by Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co. to suspend operations at Drift River Oil Terminal because of the concerns for the safety to the employees working on the ground. As it should be, the concerns of worker safety trumped everything, including economics. I sincerely believe that the driving force behind this response was truly worker safety and I applaud their decisions and actions in this incident.
The Unified Command should also be commended for their persistent efforts to keep the community informed on the progress of the situation at the Drift River Oil Terminal. Our council, which represents the citizens of Cook Inlet, provided a conduit between the Unified Command and the public, and was briefed on several occasions by the Unified Command. The community was also kept updated through numerous press releases and press conferences and, on two occasions, the Unified Command accommodated the citizens of the Kenai Peninsula by participating in community meetings, which were hosted by Cook Inlet RCAC here in Kenai.
Also, Cook Inlet RCAC worked with the Incident Management Team and Unified Command and our staff acted as an extension of the council and was, in essence, representing the citizens of Cook Inlet at the command center. With all of this in mind, I would attest that Cook Inlet Pipe Line, the United States Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation – who formed the Unified Command – did the right thing and went to great lengths to keep our council and the community well-apprised of the situation.
While I believe that these response operations were a success and that all of those involved displayed an inordinate amount of dedication and professionalism in an extremely stressful and dire situation, I do understand that any operation is not entirely perfect. To that end, the Cook Inlet RCAC is thoroughly reviewing this response and evaluating all of its aspects to find areas that can be improved upon. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from Cook Inlet Pipe Line, the United States Coast Guard, and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and other regulators during this extensive review and look forward to working with them to make improvements and adjustments where it is deemed necessary.

Michael Munger is the Executive Director of the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to represent the citizens of Cook Inlet in promoting environmentally safe marine transportation and oil facility operations in Cook Inlet.

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe via email