TsengFilmAnnotation3

Black Wave — The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Canada, 2008, Directed by Robert Cornellier  At the breaking dawn of March 24th, 1989, there was a distress call from the gigantic oil tanker Exxon Valdez, it ran aground, and that call woke up the whole village. Right off the bat the spokesperson from Exxon told the village of Cordova that they had nothing to worry about “You have some good luck and you don’t realize it, you have Exxon and we do business straight,” Exxon said, “ and we will consider whatever it takes to keep you whole.” Twenty years later, the village was still broken, and the herrings the village fished never returned. Over the course of the spill, Exxon leaked out 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, the impact was as long and far as 1,200 miles, which, the film pointed out, would cover the whole west coast of United States. To look at this epitome of the oil disaster, we first have to look at the matrix of the system. We have to know how it got to this state. The Exxon Valdez tanker was supposed to bring the oil down to California, from the 800-mile long [|Trans-Alaska Pipeline] 1that quite literally, crossed the whole Alaska. This is one of the world’s largest pipelines and it ships oil from Prudhoe Bay all the way down to Valdez. It was approved in Nixon’s time, when the oil crisis was in the peak and the price of oil rocketed. When signed, Ted Stevens, then the US Senator of Alaska promised, “Not a drop of oil would touch the Prince William Sound.” To be one hundred percent technical, we can say that the oil spill did not leak out from the pipe itself, and that Senator Stevens was correct in this case, however, several spills happened throughout the course of the Pipeline due to maintenance issues, human disrupt, and accidental gunshot holes2, but the most serious damage, caused by Exxon Valdez running aground was the consequence that cannot be disregarded as “unintentional.” The interesting and intriguing part is, Senator Stevens was also the person who pushed through the [|Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act]3 which advocates the sustainability in fishery yet the pipeline he helped establish has completely destroyed the fisheries of Prince William Sound, in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill, more than 300,000 seabirds, 3,500 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 eagles and 22 orcas died, the fish that fishermen of Cordova relied on, pink salmon and herrings, were completely thrown off the balance, the pink salmon was diminishing in 1991, 1992 and 1993, and slowly made a return after that, unfortunately, the herrings have utterly disappeared. The film has also pointed out a flawed legal system (as we have and will see in every film) that allowed Exxon “refuse” to pay the fine (“Exxon will not pay a penny… until it exhausts every possible mean of legal system.” quoted from one of the Exxon’s corporate lawyers in the film). The back-and-forth litigation of Exxon Valdez’ punitive awards was recorded and reported in many media sources, here is San Francisco Chronicle’s [|coverage]4 on the changes of the awards and settlements. If there was anything that I did not find informatively satisfying, it would have to be the explanation of the legal system in this film, I wish there had been more dissection from a lawyer’s angle to approach the much-dragged on problem, however, the main heroin in the film (and in real life), [|Dr. Riki Ott], a marine biologist turned fisherwoman (this is the first time I used this word, and I’m pleased that it exists.), whose determination on pursuing the justice for the village of Cordova was extremely inspiring. She is the person who every little girl (or boy, in that matter) should look up to and say, I want to grow up to be just like her. The in-depth research Dr. Ott did expanded from the oil impact on the fisheries to the recovery workers’ health issues. I especially appreciated the tone Dr. Ott adopted; it was calm at times and stern when it needed to be, it showed her tight relation to the village where she has now called home, and her expertise in heavy metal toxicology study in marine biology, an excellent way to narrate a documentary. It has been twenty years since that distress call woke up the whole village, twenty years later, Exxon has cleaned up 3 % of the mess they have created, and after a much-too-long legal battle, has finally escaped from the 4.5 billion-dollar punitive award to a much less penalty, during this time, Exxon has bagged in 296 million dollars per year in interest according to the film. We need a stronger, stricter legal system to prevent this from happening again, and we also have to know that finding more petroleum is not the solution to every burning question. I sincerely hope that it is not too late for us to shift the gear, and that distress call from that early morning twenty years ago, should serve as a wake-up call, for the whole human being. Below is the Exxon’s 900-million dollars’ allocation, according to NOAA’s restoration plan. = Restoration Plan  = The Trustee Council adopted a Restoration Plan for the civil settlement funds in 1994 after an extensive public process. More than 2,000 people participated in the meetings or sent in written comments. **Reimbursements: $216.4 million** As part of the settlement agreement, $173.2 million went to reimburse the federal and state governments for costs incurred conducting spill response, damage assessment, and litigation. Another $39.9 million went to reimburse Exxon for cleanup work that took place after the civil settlement was reached. The remaining funds were dedicated to implementation of the Restoration Plan, which consists of four parts: **Research, Monitoring, & General Restoration: $178.0 million** Surveys and other monitoring of fish and wildlife in the spill region provide basic information to determine population trends, productivity, and health. Research increases our knowledge about the biological needs of individual species and how each contributes to the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem. Research also provides new information and better tools for effective management of fish and wildlife populations. General Restoration includes projects to protect archaeological resources, improve subsistence resources, enhance salmon streams, reduce marine pollution, and restore damaged habitats. **Habitat Protection: $374.8 million** Protection of habitat helps prevent additional injury to species due to intrusive development or loss of habitat. The Trustee Council accomplishes this by providing funds to government agencies to acquire title or conservation easements on land important for its restoration value. **Restoration Reserve: $145.1 million** This savings account was established in recognition that full recovery from the oil spill would not occur for decades. The investment fund supports long-term restoration activities after the final payment from Exxon was received. **Public Information, Science Management & Administration: $42.3 million** This component of the budget includes management of the annual work plan and habitat programs, scientific oversight of research, monitoring and restoration projects, agency coordination, and overall administrative costs. It also includes the cost of public meetings, newsletters, and other means of disseminating information to the public such as this website. **Uses of the civil settlement ** Interest/Earnings (Minus Fees Plus Recoveries)  ||   900.8 95.3   || Exxon (for cleanup after 1/1/92)   ||   176.5 39.9   || Annual Program Development & Implementation (APDI) FFY 2003 - FFY 2007 Work Plans & APDI FFY 2008 - FFY 2011 Work Plans & APDI Infrastructure Improvements - Alaska SeaLife Center Archaeological Repository/Exhibits Reduction of Marine Pollution Port Graham Hatchery Kenai River Restoration & Recreation Enhancement  || 158.3 21.2 31.2 24.9 1.8 5.7 0.8 2.1   || Large Parcel Acquisition Small Parcel Acquisition  ||   4.4 347.9 23.1   || Habitat Investment Sub-Account Koniag Investment Sub-Account  ||   95.8 31.9 44.9   ||   References: 1. Trans Alaska Pipeline System [] 2. TAPS’ leaks and malfunction throughout the years [] 3. [|Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act]  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage on the Exxon Valdez lawsuits: [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * All figures in millions of dollars
 * **Total Revenue**  ||  **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">996.1 **   ||
 * Exxon Payments
 * **Reimbursements for Damage Assessments and Response**  ||   **216.4**    ||
 * Governments (includes litigation and cleanup) (a)
 * **Research, Monitoring, & General Restoration**  ||   **246.0**    ||
 * FFY 1992 - FFY 2001 Work Plans &
 * **Habitat Protection and Acquisition**  ||   **375.4**    ||
 * Due Diligence Activities
 * **Investment Trust Fund Balance as of 9/30/10**  ||   **172.6**    ||
 * Research Investment Sub-Account