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 CIRCAC recertified through 2016

CIRCAC's area of concern is Cook Inlet and the areas potentially impacted by oil industry activities within our OPA 90-defined area of responsibility.
For the 24th consecutive
year, the U.S. Coast Guard has unconditionally recertified the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council (CIRCAC).

Rear Admiral D. B. Abel, Commander of US Coast Guard District Seventeen, notified CIRCAC of its recertification in a letter dated August 20. CIRCAC, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, was first certified in 1991 a year after its creation. The certification process is conducted annually by the USCG to ensure that CIRCAC is fulfilling its responsibilities as a federally mandated citizens advisory council. Earning unqualified recertification is a confirmation that CIRCAC is fulfilling its responsibilities as Congress intended.

Under OPA 90, CIRCAC is responsible for environmental monitoring of the terminal facilities and crude oil tankers operating in Cook Inlet located south of the latitude at Point Possession and North of the latitude at Amatuli Island including offshore facilities in Cook Inlet. Read more.

Cook Inlet Navigator September 2015

Meetings scheduled in Soldotna to discuss Unified Plan updates
Harbor Safety Committee to hold first meeting at the Port of Anchorage
(Photo of Homer Harbor: Carla Stanley)
Meet Michael Opheim, representing Alaska Native Organizations
 
The Alaska Regional Response Team (ARRT), made up of 15 federal agencies, and led jointly by the US Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, will meet in Soldotna on Thursday, September 24, to discuss proposed updates to the Unified Plan and its Biennial Work Plan, and to hear reports from spill responders and ARRT members. The meeting will be held at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers on 144 N. Binkley Street, Soldotna from 9AM to 4 PM. More information about the ARRT is available at http://alaskarrt.org
 
The ARRT meeting is being held in conjunction with a meeting of the Cook Inlet Subarea Contingency Plan Committee , which will take place on Wednesday, September 23, from 1PM to 4PM, at the same location , to discuss draft updates to the Cook Inlet Subarea Contingency Plan (SCP) . CIRCAC is participating in the SCP review providing comments, recommendations, and sharing its relevant research and data. The Cook Inlet Subarea Plan consists of six sections that will be updated consecutively by Federal and State agencies and CIRCAC staff to produce updated d raft revisions prior to public review.
 
The newly organized Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee will hold its first meeting since announcing its membership on September 22, at the Port of Anchorage, from 1PM to 4PM. On the agenda will be a review of the committee's purpose and construct, assignment of work groups, including Navigation, Harbor Safety Plan, and proposed Salvage and Marine Firefighting. Also on the agenda will be a discussion of the Charter and Bylaws. The public is welcomed to attend; however, due to security concerns at the port, RSVPs are required.

To RSVP, contact Michelle at:


She will then send instructions for entry and parking
.
Ask Michael Opheim about the medicinal properties of wormwood, devil's club or chocolate lily, and he might be able to tell you, having just attended a class taught by an expert in the field. Growing up on Spruce Island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Michael and his sister were encouraged to explore the Alaska wilderness with a freedom that influenced his appreciation and curiosity about his natural surroundings-a trait which he carried into adulthood.


But in 1974, his sister's love of swimming, a promising new school and job opportunities for his parents drew the Opheim family to Seldovia. There, they continued to carry on a tradition of living close to the land, gardening, fishing and hunting, while his mother worked in the cannery and his father fished and worked on log ships. The majority of Michael's family still lives in Seldovia, which Michael calls a great place to grow up.

Read more
 
 
 
 

Coming up
 
September 22, 2015 - Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee, Port of Anchorage 
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers, Soldotna 
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers, Soldotna
 
October 1 - 31, 2015   CIRCAC's Coastal Impressions Exhibit has been extended at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center to October 31, 2015.
 


December 3&4, 2015 - CIRCAC Board of Directors Meeting, Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage 
Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council
8195 Kenai Spur Highway 99611 
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 907-398-6205 
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