EVOS: The Cleanup: 10-Day Timeline

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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 10-Day Cleanup Timeline

This timeline summarizes the events following USCG notification that the Exxon Valdez was hard aground on the morning of March 25th for ten days.

March 24, 1989 - Day One
	0030	Commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) and Captain of the Port (COTP), Valdez, Commander (CDR) Steve McCall, was notified of the grounding of the T/V Exxon Valdez by telephone call to his home from the radio watchstander at the MSO's Vessel Traffic Center. As USCG COTP, CDR McCall was the Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) for an oil spill in Prince William Sound (PWS) under the national Clean Water Act and federal, state, and port oil spill contingence plans.
	0030	The USCG MSO radio watchstander telephoned the Alyeska Marine Terminal (AMT) and notified the AMT's on-duty marine operations supervisor of the incident. This set in motion Alyeska's state-approved oil spill contingency plan. As Exxon Shipping Company, the spiller, had no plan of its own, Alyeska was in charge of the response.
	0030	Tugboat Stalwart was dispatched to the Exxon Valdez.
	0042	Port of Valdez was closed to tanker traffic.
	0050	Alyeska notified Dan Lawn, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's (ADEC) oil spill-response official in Valdez, of the tanker grounding. Lawn was the initial state official on-scene and assumed the role of State On-Scene Coordinator (SOSC) until his supervisor, Bill Lamoreaux, regional supervisor of ADEC's South-central Regional Office, Anchorage, arrived in Valdez.
	0100	A pilot boat was made available to transport ADEC and USCG personnel to the scene.
	0115	The Alyeska Valdez Emergency Center was opened by Alyeska's James Wilson.
	0118	Lawn notified USCG CDR McCall he would be accompanying the pilot boat to the Exxon Valdez.
	0120	Lawn called Bill Lamoreaux and requested all area ADEC officials to report to Valdez.
	0125	Frank Iarossi, president of the Exxon Shipping Company was notified of the spill.
	0238	Alyeska orally requested permission to use dispersants from USCG CDR McCall.
	0245	Tugboat Stalwart arrived at the Exxon Valdez to stabilize the ship and rescue the crew if necessary.
	0249	USCG CDR McCall requested assistance from the USCG Pacific Area Pollution Strike Team, San Francisco.
	0310	Alyeska placed all available aircraft at the Valdez Airport on charter.
	0338	USCG officials and ADEC's Lawn boarded the Exxon Valdez.
	0414	The inbound T/V Exxon Baton Rouge was contacted and directed to proceed to the grounding site to begin lightering operations. ETA: 1100
	0450	The International Bird Rescue Center in California was contacted and told to assemble a bird cleaning crew.
	0457	The AVEC requested that the trans-Alaska pipeline be slowed down.
	0519	The AVEC began leasing small boats for assistance with the response.
	0530	Lawn was informed Alyeska that the contingency barge would be on its way soon. However he was not told it had been offloaded for repairs several months earlier.
	0530	10.1 million gallons of oil (242,000 barrels) had been discharged from the Exxon Valdez.
	0600	Alyeska's O'Donnell flew over the tanker to examine the extent of the spill. A person on the tanker informed him, in the aircraft, that boom was not a priority. Normally boom is quickly used to surround a tanker to control oil spillage.
	0620	Jack Lamb, acting president of the Cordova District Fisherman United (CDFU) was notified of the spill.
	0630	CDR McCall advised the AVEC to fax him a formal request for the use of dispersants.
	0630	CDFU members were assembling. With their local knowledge and equipment they could help in a variety of ways. They contacted the USCG and the AVEC offering their 20 boats and crews for assistance. Neither accepted the offer!
	0645	Lawn telephoned Alyeska for an update and to inquire as to why the barge was not yet on scene. He was told it was on the way.
	0727	The oil slick was approximately 100 feet wide by 4 to 5 miles long.
	0842	The USCG received a fax requesting the use of dispersants.
	0950	The contingency barge left the AMT. ETA: 1300
	0954	The AVEC was notified the Valdez animal shelter was prepared for bird cleanup.
	1000	A urine sample was taken from Hazelwood, Cousins and Kagan. Lab tests found a .1% alcohol content in the Hazelwood sample and none in the others.
	1130	The Exxon Valdez was determined to be un-seaworthy and that if it came off the reef it would roll over within 30 to 90 seconds.
	1200	A request for the use of in-situ burning was given to the USCG.
	1200	The slick was three miles wide and five miles long.
	1200	The CDFU again informed Alyeska that 75 boats, equipment and people were ready to respond, some from a town just 15 minutes away from the Exxon Valdez. They were told they would be called back. They never got the call!
	1200	The Exxon Baton Rouge was along side the Exxon Valdez for lightering operations.
	1230	The contingency barge arrived at the spill site. The contingency plan required the barge be on scene within five hours... It had taken thirteen! It arrived with equipment to cleanup a spill of approximately 10,000 gallons. The spill was already at 11,000,000 gallons.
	1510	A trial dispersants use was approved
	1730	Bill Lamoreaux arrived in Valdez and assumed the role of SOSC.
	1737	Frank Iarossi arrived at the Valdez airport from Huston, Texas.
	1800	A dispersants test was conducted and results were unfavorable.
	1800	Only two skimmers were in use out of the seven skimmers and thousands of feet of boom that had arrived at the scene.
	1800 - 1930	A press conference was held at the Valdez Civic Center.
	185X	An in-situ burn permit was issued by ADEC for this evening.
	1900 - 2030	Exxon conducted a press conference
	2010	After hours of maneuvering the Exxon Baton Rouge was tied to the Exxon Valdez. Lightering preparations began immediately.
	2200	Three tug boats were dispatched from the spill area to deflect icebergs from the Exxon vessels.
	2215	The first lightering hose was connected.
	2359	Estimated amount of oil spilled: 250,000 barrels (10.5 million gallons). Alyeska had deployed eight vessels, one barge, and 20,000 feet of boom.
March 25, 1989 - Day Two
	0612	The first dispersants spraying plane arrived in Anchorage from Phoenix with equipment and two crews so that one would be fresh and ready to start upon arrival at Valdez.
	0736	Lightering began between the Exxon Valdez and Baton Rouge.
	0824	Oil was again seen leaking from the starboard side of the Exxon Valdez. Lightering was immediately stopped. It was determined that the grounding damaged the internal piping system on the Vessel.
	0833	The trans-Alaska Pipeline was slowed to 768,000 barrels per day. At this rate the AMT had storage capacity for seven days worth of oil.
	0945 - 1110	During a meeting with several agencies Exxon announced it was assuming financial responsibility for the spill as well as control of the cleanup efforts.
	1200	Exxon officially relieved Alyeska Pipeline Service Company of cleanup responsibility.
	1330	The FAA in Anchorage was mobilizing a seven-person air traffic control team to set up a temporary control tower at the Valdez Airport. (Uncontrolled Valdez Airport had seen 440 flights the previous day. Its historical average was 20 flights a day)
	1600	A dispersant test conducted at this time was deemed inconclusive. Those witnessing the test were unable to tell if any change in the oil slick occurred.
	1658	Another dispersant test was conducted. Several witnesses declared it a success but CDR McCall was unable to get quality video of the test and was thus unable to approve further use. His concern was that he would need to show others that the dispersants were working, to back a decision for the use of dispersants.
	1930	Mechanical cleanup crews reported that 1,200 barrels of oil had been recovered.
	2000	Another dispersant test was conducted with "cautiously optimistic" results.
	2015	First bird rescue operation was conducted by Exxon.
	2045	A burn test was conducted with 100 square feet of tarry residue remaining. An estimated 15,000 gallons of oil were consumed. This was the only time in-situ burning was allowed.
	2243	Lightering operations were resumed using two USCG submersible pumps.
	2359	Visual observation placed the leading edge of the oil slick 16.5 miles southwest of Bligh Reef.
March 26, 1989 - Day Three
	1100	A dispersants test was conducted and deemed unsatisfactory.
	1130	Another dispersant test was conducted and unsatisfactory. Calm weather on Friday (25th) and Saturday (26th) prevented sufficient mixing of dispersants and oil, thus resulting in poor test results.
	1330	2,000 barrels of oil had been recovered.
	1430	A very successful dispersant test was conducted. At this time higher seas were entering the Sound.
	1500	The Alaska National Guard was activated to assist with cleanup efforts.
	1500	NTSB investigators arrived at the Exxon Valdez to inspect the vessel
	1600	A dispersant test was conducted with satisfactory results.
	1700 - 1845	Dispersants were approved for use in Zone One.
	1800	3,004 barrels of oil had been recovered.
	1830	Alaska Governor Cowper declared a state of emergency.
	2100	Approved burning operations were canceled due to increased wind velocity.
March 27, 1989 - Day Four
	0600	Winds overnight had raged up to 73 miles per hour. Planes were unable to fly. The Exxon Valdez had move on the reef to a new heading of 220 degrees, 12 degrees difference, due to winds.
	1015	First surveillance plane took off from Valdez airport.
	1330	Exxon was made aware that beach cleanup crews would be needed. Several islands eastern edges had been heavily oiled.
	2359	Oil was observed 37 miles southwest of Bligh Reef. The slick had moved 20.5 miles in one day.
	2359	2,275 barrels of oil had been recovered.
March 28, 1989 - Day Five
	0000 - 0300	During a meeting with cleanup Brass and Fisherman it was admitted that the slick would not be stopped. Priority was changed to protecting sensitive areas.
	0600	Preparations to reopen the AMT were begun.
	1120	A request by Exxon for in-situ burning, made an hour earlier, was approved.
	1330	Burning operations were unsuccessful due to high water content in the oil.
	1400	The AMT was reopened to vessel traffic. Tankers were required to have two tug escorts and avoid the Exxon Valdez and any cleanup operations.
	2100	The Exxon Baytown received orders to report to the spill site and prepare to lighter oil from the Exxon Valdez one the Baton Rouge was at capacity
	2359	The southwest edge of the spill now reached 52 miles from Bligh Reef.
	2359	Five skimmers were operating and had recovered a total of 3,000 barrels, 725 for this day.
March 29, 1989 - Day Six
	0800	The first beach cleanup crew left Valdez for Knight Island.
	1200	Sawmill Bay protection became a priority.
	1600	The first lawsuits were filed in Alaska Superior court by two fisherman.
	1728	Exxon San Francisco was dispatched to the Exxon Valdez from the AMT to participate in lightering.
	2042	Exxon Baton Rouge now at capacity.
	2359	5-6,000 barrels had been recovered. Seven skimmers were now operational.
March 30, 1989 - Day Seven
	0300	Joseph Hazelwood was fired from the Exxon Shipping Company. It was determined that he was too drunk to operate the tanker at the time a urine sample was taken, nine hours after the spill.
	1300	Total expenditures for spill cleanup were $868,904.
	1518	Lightering to the Exxon San Francisco started.
	2359	Three birds and two sea otters had been sent to cleaning stations.
	2359	The leading edge of the slick was now 90 miles from Bligh Reef.
March 31, 1989 - Day Eight
	1700	Governor Cowper accepted an offer from the Soviet Union to send a 425-foot, 11,400 ton skimmer to PWS.
	1700	Ten otters had been received by the cleaning facility.
	2359	Thirteen skimmers were now operational and a total of 8,200 barrels of oil had been recovered.
April 1, 1989 - Day Nine
	1045	Suffolk County, N.Y., police failed to find Hazelwood at home in Huntington, Long Island, when attempting to serve an Alaska arrest warrant. (Two more attempts were also unsuccessful.)
	2100	The Alaska State Ferry Bartlett, was anchored in Valdez where equipment was being loaded. The vessel was to serve as a floating operations base in Sawmill Bay.
	2359	59 birds and 32 otters had been received at the cleaning facility.
	2359	Total spill expenditures now at $1,932,244.
April 2, 1989 - Day Ten
	1300	Exxon San Francisco was filled to capacity.
	1900	The Exxon Baytown was alongside the Exxon Valdez to continue lightering operations.
	2200	Lightering to Exxon Baytown started.
	2359	150 birds had been received at the cleaning facility, no additional otters had been received.
	2359	Twelve skimmers were operational and had recovered a cumulative total of 10,000 barrels of oil.

All times are approximate Alaska Standard time and only ten days are summarized in this timeline.

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