Advance Fast Water Spill Response Tactics

Abstract

ABSTRACT Alaska rivers and streams present many distinct challenges for spill response due to the remoteness of the environment of the 800 miles of Trans Alaska Pipeline traverses through Alaska. The Glacial and non Glacial streams and rivers seasonally produce current velocities that vary from 2 ft/s to 12 ft/s for operating conditions to respond to the event of a spill that may potentially enter them. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has 5 different programs that the Emergency Preparedness Compliance Team actively employs. These Programs have contributed to developing innovative advanced fast water booming containment and recovery tactical responses to potential oil spill scenarios. These programs are the Pipeline C-Plan Equipment & PM Committee, Pipeline Training Academy, Exercise and Lessons Learned, Vessel Operating Committee, and LPS Safety Programs that affect Oil Spill Response. These programs have a strong focus on safety. The development of faster boom has increased the capability of booming extremely fast water that was not achievable in the past. The further development of midstream anchoring systems and shoreline anchor systems has advanced the capabilities of booming rivers that were previously not achievable. There are difficult challenges of fast water river systems that do not present slow or back water eddies for containment and recovery. They have now become achievable using partial deployment of portable light weight dams across a small segment of the river profile to produce these opportunities for recovery. Helicopter slinging operations using the Harbour Buster System to remote rivers of Alaska have also proven to be effective and tested for response capabilities. The techniques used are equally applicable to all regions of the world and have been presented to a network of OSRO's. The presentation will present the development of empirical data gathered from different river velocities and conditions. Using this research data will help predict and calculate boom requirements in each unique condition for Operations and Task Forces in tactical response. Profiling river hydrology is essential to the success of containment and recovery. The profiling assessment will identify key elements for operational and tactic decisions in choosing the optimal location for making diversion and containment boom sets for recover efforts for spill response.