This website describes the process used to develop Geographic Response Strategies (GRS) to protect sensitive coastal environments in the Prince William Sound (PWS) Subarea. The PWS Subarea is defined as that area south of 63.30° North latitude, west of the Prince William Sound Subarea and east of the Cook Inlet Subarea, including adjacent shorelines out to the 200 nm territorial sea.

In March of 2002, a workgroup was formed to develop GRS’ for Prince William Sound. Participants include State and Federal resource trustee agencies and local spill response experts. Currently, March 2009, the workgroup is scheduling meetings to begin the process of selecting additional sites for GRS development.  Access the workgroup page for additional information on the meeting.

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.

The PWS Subarea has been divided into five Geographic Response Zones, as shown in the map below. The Copper River Delta Flats Zone strategies are being developed through a separate Work Group process.

This map identifies the PWS Geographic Response Zones. Click on a zone in the index map to view a detailed map of that zone. Text links to the zones are listed below the map.

• Northeast Zone
• Northwest Zone
• Southwest Zone

• Southeast Zone
• Copper River Delta Zone

Over the course of this project, the workgroup has selected 78 sites from the list of candidate sites for GRS development. An additional 20 sites were selected by the workgroup in February of 2010 in the Northeast and Southeast zones. Prior to designing the plans, additional input by local communities and stakeholders in PWS is being sought by the workgroup. This will allow for additional selections and inclusion of local knowledge regarding these sites. If you have additional input or a candidate site in PWS, submit it at mark@nukaresearch.com.

To see the locations of the sites go to the zone page and view the index map. Each of the selected sites is listed below the index maps with an accompanying map that displays the resources that are reported as present. Over the review period that concludes March 31, 2010, these need to be reviewed by the workgroup to ensure all the resources are displayed and they are in the correct location. These maps direct the tactics group when they survey the sites. To see the entire list of candidate sites, consult the site selection matrix (61.9KB pdf). The site selection matrix and site selection key (28.5KB pdf) summarize the resources at risk for each site. The site selection process involves a consideration of environmental sensitivity, risk of being impacted from water borne spills; and feasibility of successfully protecting the site with existing technology.

The PWS GRS

The Prince William Sound GRS document consists of the following parts:

• Table of Contents (413KB pdf)
• Part 1. Introduction (2.2MB pdf)
• Part 2. General Protection/Collection Tactics (1.1MB pdf)
• Part 3. Site-specific Geographic Response Strategies
• Introductory Text and Index Maps (2.6MB pdf)
• To view/print the individual site strategies, go to the specific zone page:
  

Northeast Zone
Northwest Zone
Southeast Zone
Southwest Zone
Copper River Delta Zone

• Part 4. References (411KB pdf)
  

The PWS GRS Site Selection Process

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

If funding permits, GRS may eventually be developed for all candidate sites. However, most GRS projects are carried out in phases, where a smaller group of sites (usually around 20) are selected for initial GRS development. GRS sites are selected on the basis of three major criteria:

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

Public comments are also considered during site selection, and additional sites may be selected by the workgroup based on this input. Once GRS site selection is finalized, the workgroup will then develop draft strategies for each site.

In Prince William Sound, the workgroups for each sub zone consider potential GRS locations based on the following criteria of environmental sensitivity, which are set forth in the Prince William Sound Subarea Plan:

• Threatened and Endangered Species/Habitats
• Marshes
• Eel grass beds
• Sheltered Tidal Flats
• Sheltered Rocky Shores
• Sea Otter Concentration Areas
• Harbor Seal Haulouts
• Sea Lion Rookeries and Haulouts
• Large Seabird Colonies
• Waterfowl and Shorebird Spring,Fall or Winter Concentration Areas
• Eagle Nest Sites
• Large Anadromous Fish Streams
• Intertidal Salmon Spawning Areas
• Hatcheries & Aquaculture sites
• Herring Spawning Areas
• Federal Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National Natural Landmarks
• State Refuges, Sanctuaries, and Critical Habitat Areas
• Cultural Resources/Archaeological Sites
• Intertidal Sites
• Subsistence Harvest Areas
• High Use Commercial Fishing Areas
• High Use Recreational Areas

Public involvement is essential to ensure that the sites selected and the strategies developed reflect the environmental protection priorities of local communities, stakeholders, and resource users. The workgroup is seeking public input to ensure that everyone with a stake in Prince William Sound is made aware of Geographic Response Strategies and their importance during an oil spill response. If you have local knowledge about PWS 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: February 18, 2010 by Nuka Research & Planning Group, LLC