Goal of the workshop
The citizen volunteers of the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC)
help protect the ecology, sustain the economy and protect the ancient heritage of the San Juan County Volunteer Marine Stewardship Area. Each year we gather professionals to bring focus to important topics.
Major shipping traffic moves in and out of regional ports through the marine waters that make up 72% of San Juan County. The County citizen and government recognize that many advanced technologies and protocols have improved shipping safety, yet analysis requested by the County revealed gaps in assuring that the best response and prevention technologies are in place.
To comprehend the value of safety we must have a foresight of the environmental and socio-economic impact of a large vessel oil spill to the San Juan Islands and the central salish sea. The 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and the 2010 Deep Water Horizon are comparative examples to the potential impact to the San Juan Islands. We will explore the impact of these events and compare other regional models to determine a scope for understanding the potential impacts to San Juan County and the Salish Sea region.
Health Effects Resources
Resources provided by San Juan County Public Health Officer, Dr. Frank James
- Select Summary of City of Vancouver Evidence Page
- Short- and long-term health impacts of marine and terrestrial oil spills
- Health Effects Oil Spills - November, 2014
- Air Quality Impacts from Simulated Oil Spills in Burrard Inlet & English Bay
Resources
- San Juan County Oil Spill Response Capacity Evaluation (.pdf, 20 Mg), 2015, Nuka Research and Planning
- On November 29, 2016, the Government of Canada granted approval for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, subject to 157 required conditions from the National Energy Board (NEB). OVERVIEW and DETAILS of conditions.
- City of Vancouver, BC evidence page on potential environmental, social and economic impacts of oils spills. Video of talk by Jennifer Mayberry
- Oil Spill Response Analysis for Tsleil-Waututh Nation; the City of Vancouver; and the Tsawout First Nation
- Video by City of Vancouver on the cost of an oils spill to the Vancouver "brand"
- Economic Impact of an Oil Spill, Whatcom Watch 2015, Lovel Pratt
- Multi-Year SpillMap card dispersal patterns: A project is a collaboration between Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Georgia Strait Alliance and US partner Friends of the San Juans.
- Salish Sea Oil Risk Mitigation Workshop, 2016 Washington State Department of Ecology
- New Wavier in response to the Bella Bella Spill
- A river that has the same legal status as a person. Whanganui River Claims Settlement Bill. The indigenous Whanganui Iwi have a saying: "I am the river and the river is me."
- Ganges and Yamuna rivers granted same legal rights as human beings.
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas
Workshop Outcomes
Agenda - PDF
Sponsors
Northwest Straits Initiative, Puget Sound Partnership, San Juan County.
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Organizers
MMW Event Committee
David Tribolet, Laura Jo Severson, Laura Arnold, Patti Gobbin, Kathleen Dolsen, Sam Gibboney
Facilitator: David Roberts, Kulshan Institute
Event Support: WWU Resilience Institute
Staff: Arnie Klaus