The 30-day comment period for the proposed Shepard Point Road and Port Project is over. Thank you to everyone who wrote to oppose this location for the Oil Spill Response Facility! For more information, read below.
Listen to Dune on the radio as he explains why the Shepard Point Project is not about oil spill recovery and why Orca Cannery is a better site for the Cordova area Oil Spill Response Facility.
Click here to listen.
Update on proposed Shepard Point Road and Deep Water Port:
The recent reapplication by NVE to the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) was met with comments by the public during the 30-day comment period ending January 28.
We are now in wait mode as the Corps decides whether to approve the Shepard Point location and the road that will be necessary to build for access to the facility.
Because of our work, the Orca Cannery alternative was added to the docket as a possible alternative. We are confident that the Corps will reject the application and we can then look forward to a saner alternative site for the Oil Spill Response Facility. Read below for a background of the issue.
Look here: Cordova District Fishermen United (CDFU) resolution against the Shepard Point location. Click here to view.
To download resolution: 68291264469471Resolution2010-0120AShepardPointOSRF12.pdf
In Summary: Shepard Point Road and Deep Water Port -
Oil Spill response, YES ~ Shepard Point, NO
The proposed Shepard Point project, a deep-water port of extraction masquerading as an oil spill response facility, has been an on-going campaign for the Eyak Preservation Council (EPC) since 1992.
Although the stated purpose of the Shepard Point Project is to improve oil spill response in the Cordova area of Prince William Sound, project records and statements by Native Village of Eyak clearly indicate the true motivation behind this project is the construction of a deep water port to facilitate extractive resource development in the region, including resource extraction on the eastern Delta.
The Shepard Point project will facilitate a web of threats across the entire Copper River Delta and Chugach National Forest including industrial road building, logging, coal mining via mountain top removal, large-scale tourism, and unrestricted residential development. The result of these threats will be irrevocable destruction of a pristine terrestrial and aquatic habitat for fish, wildlife, and Native culture.
The Eyak Preservation Council, Cascadia Wildlands Project, and other national and local conservation organizations strongly support enhanced oil spill response in Prince William Sound. However, the Shepard Point Project as proposed would not improve spill response and other options are much less environmentally damaging. We are in communication with several government agencies that also oppose this particular site. We will continue to establish partnerships and collaborate with organizations, individuals and state and federal agencies (including the Army Corps of Engineers), to promote preferred locations.
EPC will continue to raise community awareness regarding the true scope of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) proposal, advocate for the viable alternatives, and, in partnership with Cascadia Wildlands Project, litigate if necessary to stop the Shepard Point alternative from being constructed. We have identified at least six other port sites located closer to Cordova with less-severe environmental impacts and which make much more economic sense.
