Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Valdez
On to Valdez. This picturesque little town lies at the head of Port Valdez, a natural fjord that
cuts inland for 17 km /11 mi from Prince William Sound. Renowned as an area of remark-
able natural beauty, home to pristine shorelines, prolific populations of wildlife and some of
the world's best fishing. The 2007 Halibut Derby winner was 340 lbs!
Valdez is also the southern terminus of the Alaska pipeline, the location where monstrous
tankers come in to load up on crude. On March 24, 1989 the tanker Exxon Valdez struck
Bligh Reef. An estimated 11 million gallons spilled, contaminating 2080 km /1300 mi of
shoreline. As many as 500,000 birds were killed as were nearly 5,000 sea otters and count-
less other creatures. The fisheries were devastated. People's livelihoods and their faith in
justice drowned beneath that slick.
When we were first there in 2008, the financial compensation due claimants had still not
been satisfactorily settled - tied up in court cases that were making no one but the lawyers
rich. According to what I read there, an Anchorage judge awarded $5 billion to the 32,000
claimants in 1994, five years after the spill.
Exxon appealed. In 2006 the award was halved to $2.5 billion. Exxon appealed again and in
2008, 19 years after the spill, the US Supreme Court reduced the award to $507.5 million
plus interest. This is to be shared out between the 32,000 fisherman, fish processors, Alaska
natives and attorneys.
Meanwhile, according to the Homer News, Exxon profits in 2007 were $40.6 billion. There
is a LOT of bitterness about this.
The spill was a brutal blow. Valdez had just begun to recover from the shattering 8.6 Richter
earthquakethathaddevastatedthetownonMarch27,1964.Thefront30-40feetofthetown
and its harbour area simply vanished into the sea as the tsunami wiped out the waterfront
and everyone working on the docks.
In the nearby Indian village of Chenega, the children's Friday movie was delayed so they
were sent out to play. Cavorting on the beach in front of the village, the children were
scooped up by the massive wave action and washed out to sea.
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