AK Spill Response Tech Outdated and Underfunded, Lawmakers Warned

"A Valdez-based citizen watchdog group told legislators Tuesday that the state's arsenal of oil-response equipment lags behind modern technology and the state division that enforces the rules for preventing and cleaning up spills has an 'ever-worsening funding shortage.'

The Valdez group, the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Council, and its counterpart, the Kenai-based Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, were among those testifying at a state Senate Resources Committee hearing in Anchorage on Tuesday. The purpose of the hearing was to examine whether the state's rules for oil and gas developers are adequate to prevent and clean up spills."

Elizabeth Bluemink reports for the Anchorage Daily News September 22, 2010.