April 2023

Alaska Area Planning -

April Announcements

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The ARRT Coordinators, Secretaries, and Planners of Alaska’s four Area Committees would like to share the following information with you on upcoming projects and events. Please RSVP or register for meetings - this helps us plan better for meeting spaces and provide you with additional meeting information and materials.

Please Join the ARRT/Area Committee Email List if someone forwarded you this email. You can also update your information on this same website.

Next AWA Area Committee Meeting: Tuesday, May 2^nd

Mark your calendars, the next AWA Area Committee Meeting is being held on the UAA Campus. Topics include a review of the new rick assessment methodology, an updates on the Bering Straight oil spill exercise and geographic response strategy digitization effort, as well as a presentation on the OSRI Potential Places of Refuge Project.

Click Here to Register for the AWA Area Committee Meeting

AWA ACP Worst Case Discharge Scenarios: Concept of Ops for Offshore Facility Oil Spill Response Workshop

May 3 All Day: Beaufort Sea

May 4 Morning: Beaufort Sea

May 4 Afternoon: Cook Inlet

May 5 Morning: Cook Inlet

More Informaiton & RSVP

Risk Assessment & Waste Management Workshop

This two-day workshop held at the Nome, AK, Mini Convention Center on April 24-25, 2023, will bring together local resources managers and stakeholders from the Bering Strait region to share information and discuss concerns for oil spills that could impact residents and recourses in the region.

The USCG and ADEC requests your participation and input to help develop and guide our oil spill response planning and preaprredness activities as part of the Arctic and Western Alaska Area Contingency Plan (ACP). ACP committee members will brief local and tribal representatives on current projects related to oil spill policies and best practice guidance.

More Information & Register for Workshop

PHMSA Grants for Tribes

Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) grant funding opportunities for Federally Recognized Tribes

FY 2023 Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) for Tribes grant funds support planning and training for tribal response members
FY 2023 Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) on Pipeline Safety provides funding to local communities and groups of individuals (not including for-profit entities) for technical assistance relating to pipeline safety.

Technical Assistance Grants Website

HMEP Grant Website

Strait Science -- USCG: Bering Strait Pollution Response Exercise

On March 22, 2023, ARRT USCG Coordinator Mark Everett presented at the weekly University of Alaska Fairbanks, "Strait Science' lecture series on the US Coast Guard exercise coming up this summer to test their ability to respond to an oil spill in the Bering Strait. You can watch a recording and learn about the USCG response planning activities this summer - from community-based events to a live drill in the strait!

Watch the YouTube Video

Email Sector Anchorage for More Info!

Arctic Operations: Year Five!

Coast Guard Sector Anchorage's Marine Safety Task Force deployments begin in May 2023. Starting in summer 2019, Sector personnel collaborated with the AK Civil Air Patrol to better serve regulated facilities across Western Alaska and the Arctic region via a hub and spoke aviation transportation model. Planning began in November 2022 for regulatory mission operational deployments to all parts of rural Alaska this summer. For the second year in a row, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage personnel will also complete joint bulk fuel facility inspections jointly with US EPA and AK DEC in certain parts of the state. Do you have questions regarding this summers planned operation, click the link!

Meetings and Events

Stay informed and get involved with the four Alaska Area Committees. The Alaska Regional Response Team (ARRT) hosts a MEETINGS & EVENTS webpage with upcoming meetings hosted by the ARRT and Area Committees and other events associated with oil spills and hazardous substance response preparedness. This page also has a list of the Working Groups and Task Forces of the Area Committees and their current projects.

Plan Updates:

Alaska Inland Area Contingency Plan: The Alaska Inland Area Committee is seeking any comments or revisions on the Alaska Inland Area Contingency Plan for our 2023 update. If you have any recommended changes, please email them to Mary Goolie and Victoria Colles. The current plan and comment response matrix are available on the Area Committee website.

Regional Contingency Plan: The ARRT Coordinators are seeking any comments or revisions on the Alaska Regional Contingency Plan be submitted to them by May 1, 2023. See email addresses below.

Special Thanks

The Area Committees and the Alaska RRT would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Ms. Catherine Berg. Congratulations on your retirement from 40 years of outstanding federal service to the people of Alaska, the emergency preparedness & response community, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), and the nation.

Alaska's Area Committees

Please see the Area Committee webpages for the most current information on area committee meetings, subcommittee and working group projects and other events.