August 8, 2018-Kenai-The U.S. Coast Guard has recertified the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council for another straight year. CIRCAC was notified of the decision to grant recertification in a letter dated August 2, 2018, from U.S. Coast Guard Seventeenth District Commander, Rear Admiral M.T. Bell. The recertification expires August 31, 2019.
Recertification is a thorough review of the year's activities and our effectiveness in fulfilling our mandates under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). To date, CIRCAC has been granted recertification without exception since opening our doors in December 1990.
Throughout our nearly 30-year history, CIRCAC has worked to faithfully adhere to our mandates under OPA 90 and advance our Mission to represent citizens in promoting environmentally safe marine transportation and oil facility operations in Cook Inlet.
We work diligently to earn U.S. Coast Guard approval and are proud of our unblemished record. Recertification is a confirmation that CIRCAC is effective and integral to advancing safer oil operations and transportation throughout the Cook Inlet.
Among CIRCAC's most notable accomplishments are advancing the first comprehensive navigation risk assessment for Cook Inlet and the Cook Inlet Pipeline Infrastructure Risk Assessment, which is currently under way; creation of the ice camera network to increase maritime safety during ice season; conducting Alaska's first ShoreZone coastal habitat mapping project and developing an online data portal; and compiling an extensive boy of research of Cook Inlet's biology, chemistry,
geomorphology, contaminants, and oceanography.
