Coast Guard Radar Station; Potato Point, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Potato Point, Prince William Sound, Alaska | 1991-Apr-28

Initial Notification: On April 26, 1991, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) Valdez received reports from Alyeska Pipeline personnel of sheen measuring approximately 20 yards wide by 1 mile long near Potato Point in Valdez Arm. There were no vessels in the immediate vicinity. Further investigation revealed that fuel was leaching from the rocks below the generator shack of the USCG Radar Station, which is perched on a natural platform approximately 40 feet above the water. Soundings of the diesel fuel tanks indicated that 3,000 to 3,500 gallons of diesel had been lost. The USCG deployed barrier boom, sorbent boom, and sorbent sweeps to contain and collect as much oil as possible. Further plans included bringing in a backhoe and bulldozer to excavate around the tank and the fuel lines to find the exact source of the leak and to dig a trench on the beach to collect the oil. USCG district 17.