U.S. Coast Guard members from Sector Anchorage returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson last week after conducting Marine Safety Task Force missions out of Bethel from August 22nd through the 30th.
The teams comprised of six Coast Guard marine inspectors and two Environmental Protection Agency inspectors visited 20 communities and inspected 50 bulk fuel storage facilities, with transportation from Bethel to more remote communities provided by three Alaska Army National Guard members and three Civil Air Patrol pilots. Coast Guard and EPA inspectors also held a government initiated unannounced exercise August 25 at Crowley Fuels in Bethel.
Coast Guard inspectors met with representatives in each community and discussed opportunities for federal compliance with facility managers and operators in the communities of Akiachak, Bethel, Chefornak, Chevak, Eek, Goodnews Bay, Kasigluk, Marshall, Mekoryuk, Mountain Village, Napakiak, Newtok, Nunapitchuk, Oscarville, Pilot Station, Quinhagak, Russian Mission, Sleetmute, St. Mary’s and Toksook Bay.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Holman, a team leader on the deployment, said:
“Thanks to support from both the Civil Air Patrol and Alaska Army National Guard, we were able to travel to 20 communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and surrounding area. Being able to visit these communities and discuss with facility operators ways of attaining federal compliance greatly enhances our ability to protect both the people who live there and the maritime environments they rely on for subsistence.”
Inspectors flew from Anchorage to Bethel on the 22nd, where the teams flew out of Bethel daily, either aboard an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter or a Civil Air Patrol plane.
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