The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council has voted unanimously to use the $200 million remainder of its $900 million settlement for restoration of damaged ecosystems in Prince William Sound communities impacted by the oil spill disaster.
EVOS Trustees noted in a statement released in mid-October that very little of those funds over the past 27 years have gone to local communities and organizations impacted by the spill.
The council voted to fund $8 million for renovation of the Alutiiq Museum facility, $6.8 million for construction of a new Chugach Heritage Foundation Museum and $2.4 million for support of subsistence resources through Chugach region culture camps.
“The economic and cultural impacts of the spill are irreversible,” said Koniag President Shauna Hegna. “While there’s still work to do to help communities impacted by the spill, we applaud the EVOS Trustees’ decision to fund museum revitalization projects that will preserve and protect invaluable cultural and archaeological resources impacted by the oil spill,” she said.
Executive Vice President Josie Hickel of Chugach Alaska Corp. said that EVOS trustees intended to provide support for those affected by the spill and that she was pleased with their decision to honor that mission to restore spill-affected areas. The Exxon Valdez disaster of March 24, 1989 occurred when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, owned by Exxon Shipping Co., struck Bligh Reef in Prince William, and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean. It is considered the worst oil spill worldwide in terms of environmental damage.
