Geographic Response Strategies (GRS) are oil spill response plans tailored to protect a specific sensitive area from oil impacts following a spill. These response plans are map-based strategies that can save time during the critical first few hours of an oil spill response. They show responders where sensitive areas are located and where to place oil spill protection resources.

A workgroup was formed to develop GRS for the Aleutians Subarea. Participants included Local, State and Federal resource trustee agencies and governments, local spill response experts, oil spill contingency plan holders and local individuals with knowledge of the area.

This websitewas used to assist the workgroup in the development of GRS to protect sensitive coastal environments in the Aleutian Subarea from marine oil spills. For this project the Aleutian Subarea has been divided into five Geographic Response Zones, as shown in the map below. 

The workgroup has compiled a list, called a Site Selection Matrix (SSM) and Key, of candidate sites in the entire subarea. The links below will take you to an index map for each zone. At this time sites in the East A and East B Zones have been developed into GRS. When additional funding becomes available the workgroup may consider additional zones in the subarea.

To view an index map and the list of the GRS for the sites selected in the Aleutians Subarea, East A and East B Zones click on the link below. In addition, an index map of each of the other zones is available and will display the candidate sites and the site selected for consideration.

Aleutians Subarea, East A Zone

Aleutians Subarea, East B Zone

Aleutians Subarea, West A Zone

Aleutians Subarea, West B Zone

Aleutians Subarea, Pribilof Islands Zone

The Aleutian Subarea GRS

The Aleutian Subarea Contingency Plan can be found at the following url: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/perp/plans/scp_al.htm. The final Aleutian GRS documents will consist of the following parts, in draft form at this date:

Table of Contents

Part 1. Introduction including:

• Purpose and Scope
• How to Use this Document
• Who to Contact for Input
• How the Document was Developed
• How Sites were Selected

• Aleutians Subarea, East A Zone
• Aleutians Subarea, East B Zone

The Aleutian GRS Site Selection Process

The first step in the GRS site selection process is to identify candidate sites. Candidate sites are identified based on a set of three major site selection criteria.

• environmental sensitivity,
• risk of being impacted from a water borne spill; and
• feasibility of successfully protecting the site with existing technology.

Public comments are also considered during site selection and the sites selected by the workgroup will consider this input. Once GRS site selection is finalized, the workgroup will develop strategies for each site.

The potential GRS locations identified in the site selection matrix were selected based on the following criteria of environmental sensitivity, which are set forth in the Aleutian Subarea Plan:

1. Threatened and Endangered Species/Habitats
2. Marshes
3. Eel grass beds
4. Sheltered Tidal Flats
5. Sheltered Rocky Shores
6. Sea Otter Concentration Areas
7. Harbor Seal Haulouts
8. Sea Lion Rookeries and Haulouts
9. Large Seabird Colonies
10. Waterfowl and Shorebird Spring,Fall or Winter Concentration Areas
11. Eagle Nest Sites
12. Large Anadromous Fish Streams
13. Intertidal Salmon Spawning Areas
14. Hatcheries & Aquaculture sites
15. Herring Spawning Areas
16. Federal Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Natural Landmarks
17. State Refuges, Sanctuaries, and Critical Habitat Areas
18. Cultural Resources/Archaeological Sites
19. Intertidal Sites
20. Subsistence Harvest Areas
21. High Use Commercial Fishing Areas
22. High Use Recreational Areas

Public involvement is essential to ensure that the sites selected and the strategies developed will reflect the environmental protection priorities of local communities, stakeholders, and resource users. The workgroup will be seeking public input to ensure that everyone with a stake in Aleutians is made aware of Geographic Response Strategies and their importance during an oil spill response. If you have local knowledge about the Aleutians Subarea or if you would like more information about Geographic Response Strategies please contact:

dec.spar.grs@alaska.gov

You can learn more about Geographic Response Strategies by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.

This page last updated: July 31, 2008 by Nuka Research & Planning Group, LLC