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Legacy Award Honor Roll
Legacy Awards 1999-2006 |
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| 2006 Legacy Awards | |
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2007 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force Members gave their 2007 Legacy Awards at the Clean Pacific Conference which they hosted in Seattle, WA on September 13-14. The following winners clearly epitomize "Legacy" contributions to oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response throughout our region:
 From Left to Right: Dr. Mervin Fingas; David "DC" Carter;the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach as represented by CDR Laura O'Hare, LT Jason Marineau, LTJG Justin Rule, LT Ron Fien, MST2 Justin Hoffer, and MST2 Michel Carreon; the West Coast JAT as represented by Bruce Joab, Charlie Hebert, Ian Zelo, Dale Davis, Dan Doty, Scott Robertson, Mike Ammann. Chris Wilke and Chad Bowechop were not available for this photo. * * * * *  Dr. Mervin Fingas, now retired from Environment Canada's Emergencies Science and Technology Division, has truly made "legacy" contributions to oil spill research for over thirty years. His contributions include the study of oil's physical and chemical properties, the fate and behavior, weathering, modeling, analysis, remote detection, and cleanup and control of oil products. Dr. Fingas has investigated numerous oil spill countermeasures including dispersants, demulsifiers, beach and shoreline cleaning agents, in situ burning, and mechanical recovery. He's developed algorithms to explain the fate and effects of spilled oil and products such as orimulsion. Leading edge trajectory and fate models in both the public and private sector utilize these algorithms today.Under Merv's direction, the Emergencies Science and Technology Division of Environment Canada pioneered a number of techniques such as the swirling flask used to measure dispersant effectiveness, the airborne laser fluorosensors for detection and classification of oil, and the Laser Ultrasonic Remote Sensing of Oil Thickness sensor, which produces absolute measurements of oil thickness from an airborne platform. He also made significant contributions to Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) procedures for mapping contamination during a spill event. Merv's projects have ranged from laboratory bench-scale to mega-scale experiments involving the collaboration of hundreds of scientists from agencies world-wide. The Newfoundland Offshore Burn Experiment - or NOBE - conducted in 1993 off Canada's east coast, is one example. His collaborative efforts have included the Canadian Coast Guard, the Canadian Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, the Department of Fisheries and Natural Resources Canada, CEDRE in France, the UK Marine Pollution Control Unit, and in the U.S., the Minerals Management Service, the Coast Guard, EPA, and NOAA. Moreover, Merv has consulted internationally with organizations such as IMO, the UN Environment Program, and the World Meteorological Organization. Merv has been published in over 600 technical papers, Environment Canada reports, scientific journals, conference proceedings, and the like. He was also instrumental in establishing the annual Artic Marine Oil Spill Program Technical seminar - AMOP - which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Merv Fingas has also been involved on-scene at numerous major oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez spill, where he acted as coordinator of remote sensing activities. He's also responded to or advised on the Nestucca, the Arrow, the recovery of the Irving Whale oil barge, the Braer, the Sea Empress, the Prestige, and the Amoco Cadiz, among others. * * * * *  Chris Wilke of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance has led a collaborative effort - working with various local and state government agencies as well as non-profit organizations - to secure grant funding and implement the Clean Marina Washington Program, which protects water resources and wildlife habitat by promoting environmentally-sound marina and boating practices. The program is a voluntary stewardship program open to all public and private marinas in Washington. To date, the program has certified 31 marinas, primarily in the Puget Sound area, and another 20 marinas have begun the application process by taking the Clean Marina Pledge. Wilke also conducts site visits of the marinas, and as the program expanded, he supervised improved certification standards. Chris has developed a statewide database of marinas across Washington; launched the Clean Marina Washington website; compiled an information packet with pledge materials, a program brochure, an eligibility checklist, and an application worksheet; developed a logo and a marina flag to be flown by certified marinas. In addition, he has persuaded five agencies to partner with him in the development of educational materials and strategies to reach more marinas. Chris encourages certified marinas to set pollution prevention goals and verifiably implement pollution prevention practices, such as:
* * * * *  Chad Bowechop is a policy analyst for the Makah Indian Tribe located in Neah Bay, Washington, where he's in charge of oil spill prevention and response issues. For many years, Chad has been instrumental in helping Washington create a safer marine environment by emphasizing oil spill prevention off the coast of Washington and within the waters of Puget Sound.For centuries, the Makah tribe has drawn sustenance - both physical and spiritual - from the Olympic rain forests, mountains, rivers, and surrounding waters. Today, the Makah Tribe's Usual and Accustomed marine area is located at the marine transportation crossroads of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean. This puts their cultural and natural resources at the entrance to both a U.S. high-volume port complex and Canada's largest port, plus the world's third largest Naval complex, a National Marine Sanctuary, a National Park, a National Fish Hatchery and a National Wildlife Refuge. The son of the late Makah Chairman George Bowechop, who was known as the Jefferson of the Makah, Chad learned first hand from his father and grandfather the importance of the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay, of which his great-great-grandfather was one of the signatories. Chad's efforts in protecting the Washington Coast from oil spills reflect his dedication to protecting the rights that his people reserved in that treaty. Chad Bowechop has been instrumental in the placement of the state-sponsored rescue tug in Neah Bay, and has assisted the state in obtaining funding for this important spill prevention measure. The tug has conducted 34 responses since 1999. That's a possible 34 oil spill prevented. Chad participated in the Washington Department of Ecology's Risk Assessment process for the Strait of Juan de Fuca, ensuring that cultural resources were considered in that process. Because Chad urges continuous improvement and skillfully uses the regulatory and legislative processes to prevent complacency on the part of both industry and agencies, Washington updated its Area Plan with improved response policies that will benefit the state for years to come. Chad is a tireless educator of citizens, federal and state agencies, tribal nations and elected officials on the benefits of investing in spill prevention, preparedness and response. He is passionate, eloquent, and articulate in communicating the importance of the marine environment to the continued well-being of the Makah people. He helps to communicate to non-native people that the Treaty and the rights of his people are not frozen in time, but must continue to develop and evolve. Chad Bowechop's advocacy on oil spill issues has been a constant reminder that if a spill were to occur in this area, it would be difficult to assign a monetary value to the tribe's loss of connection to its culture, history, environment and heritage. * * * * *  David "DC" Carter, who serves as Pacific Area Manager for PENCO as well as the Operations Supervisor for the Clean Islands Council (CIC), has a legacy of accomplishments throughout our region. He began his response career working a maxi-barge along the shores of Knight Island, during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. He also assembled and operated the "BAT Cave" depot barge in support of bioremediation efforts in Alaska's Prince William Sound. Later, in California, DC operated an Oil Spill Response Vessel off Huntington Beach during the American Trader spill. And, as the operations supervisor for CIC, "DC" has led response crews on vessel groundings and oil spills throughout the Hawaiian Islands.In 1992, DC helped introduce Brush Pack skimmers to west coast responders and built or installed the first LORI Side Collectors for the Clean Seas co-op in Santa Barbara, the Clean Coastal Waters co-op in LA/LB, and the Clean Islands Council in Honolulu. DC developed pile cleaning techniques and a portable boom cleaning station. DC has continued to work with manufacturers and the response community to identify improvements to a variety of pumps, skimmers, and response vessels. He also helped build and operate Hawaii's Wildlife Response Modules, which are designed to perform separate functions in a "campus" format that reduces operational conflicts. CIC had partnered with the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain the ADDs pack dispersant system for Hawaii, which DC helped develop and operate. DC's work with PENCO took him back to Alaska in 1999 when two trailing locomotives and ten tanker cars of a southbound Alaska Railroad freight train derailed near Canyon, Alaska. Two of the derailed tanker cars leaked approximately 12,500 gallons of jet fuel into creeks and beaver ponds on both sides of the tracks, as well as adjacent wetlands. PENCO was hired to clean up the stream and ponds. Under Dave's direction, they used steam lances to cut slots diagonally across the ice ponds, then slid booms in and let them freeze in place. When the ice melted at the boom apexes, they were able to recover the fuel. In 1999 and 2003 DC participated in the JVOPS workshops that developed the water injection annulus used to remove highly viscous oils from stricken vessels. DC set-up and operated equipment, took measurements, and added field know-how to the effort. As a result, the Clean Islands Council received the Department of Transportation's Secretary's Team Award at the 2005 International Oil Spill Conference. DC has also been a key member of the CIC training and outreach programs. CIC conducts approximately 50 training courses each year which are available to the entire response community, including Trustee and government agencies, so many front-line responders have honed their skills at training sessions conducted by "DC". The Pacific region has greatly benefited from DC's innovation, energy, and dedication. * * * * *  From left to right: Bruce Joab, CA OSPR; Charlie Hebert, U.S. FWS; Ian Zelo, NOAA; Dale Davis, WA Ecology; Scott Robertson, DCOR; Mike Ammann, Chevron. Formed in 1995, the West Coast Joint Assessment Team (JAT) is truly a team effort. Representatives from West Coast state and federal trustee agencies, as well as representatives from the oil industry, including major and independent oil companies and oil transportation companies, meet regularly to share information and develop a common approach to cooperative Natural Resource Damage Assessments. The group meets three times a year to discuss issues related to cooperative assessments with the specific goals of:
The purpose of the Recommendations for Conducting Cooperative Natural Resource Damage Assessment document is to provide guidance to natural resource trustees and responsible parties on how to initiate a cooperative NRDA, and move from the initial chaotic phase of response to a cooperative injury assessment as soon as possible. It is essentially a pre-plan for establishing a cooperative ephemeral data collection team and identifying what types of samples should be collected, how they should be collected and what they should be analyzed for. Although this document focuses on marine oil spills, the concepts expressed here can apply to other NRDA incidents and environments. The document is believed to be the first of its kind that has been prepared cooperatively by trustees and the oil industry. Even though this is not a regulatory guidance document, it has been endorsed by all of the participating trustee and industry representatives with the hope that it will streamline the collection of ephemeral data and development of a cooperative damage assessment. It is also expected the document will lead to a streamlining of the entire cooperative process which should result in significant cost savings to industry and a more timely initiation of restoration activities. The document has been posted on the NOAA Cooperative Assessment Process (CAP) website under Joint Assessment Teams and links can also be found on the websites of the JAT's cooperating members, including this Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force site. The efforts of the team to produce this ground breaking document and promote the cooperative assessment process and NRDA preparedness - as well as to remain a viable group for over 12 years - are truly remarkable. It is even more remarkable considering the members participate voluntarily and that their participation is generally above and beyond their normal job duties and responsibilities. The active members of the JAT include:
* * * * *  From left to right: CDR Laura O'Hare; Jay Manning, Director of the Washington Department of Ecology, who presented the award; LT Jason Marineau; LT Ron Fien; LTJG Justin Rule; MST2 Justin Hoffer; and MST2 Michel Carreon This Legacy Award honors the cooperative/collaborative spirit exhibited by the USCG Sector Los Angles/Long Beach (LA/LB) in working with other federal, state and local agencies. Southern California presents many unique challenges to oil spill responders and planners. The Los Angeles/Long Beach Sector of the USCG covers areas ranging from pristine environmentally sensitive areas - like the Channel Islands - to highly industrialized areas in and around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Due to the area's large population and amount of industry, there is no shortage of spill incidents in southern California waters. In the past it was not uncommon to see agencies trying to attack the same problem using different tactics and only addressing their particular interest. Now, the entire U.S. Coast Guard staff, from Captain of the Port to field responders, uses the team approach (Unified Command) as often as possible. While the concept of Unified Command is not new, USCG staff responsible for spill response in Southern California has done an excellent job of turning theory into reality. It is now quite common for the USCG to call and ask for participation in a Unified Command to look at problems days before a decision needs to be made. Ever since the 2004 SONS exercise, Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach has been very willing to bring other agencies into the decision-making process early. For example, major revisions have been made to the Area Contingency Plan for Southern California in the past 18 months. It is easy to invite people from all walks of life to come together and discuss methods to deal with oil spills. What is difficult or sometimes impossible, is to get diverse groups to work together to reach a common goal. The USCG Sector LA/LB has made it clear to everyone in this area that response and planning will be done in a professional, organized manner. As the revised response plans were being completed they were tested in drills and exercises. The lessons learned have been incorporated into future drills, so that the same mistakes are not repeated. The Coast Guard oil spill responders have made a big effort to improve communications, and to address problems before they become a crisis. There is a huge difference between following law and policy, and embracing a problem and trying to find solutions. The USCG Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach Environmental/Pollution Response Branch has shown a willingness to seek input, learn from responses, and to improve with each response. The result of this effort has been an increased level of readiness for pollution responses in the Southern CA area. The Task Force is pleased to recognize the USCG men and women that plan for and respond to oil spills in southern California for their outstanding efforts. |
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Legacy Awards 1999-2006 |
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