It is almost 20 years since the Exxon Valdez accident. It doesn't seem that long ago, but I have young folks who help us in the summer who had not been born yet, and only know what we who were here tell them about it.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a nightmare I will never forget, but I really want to remember it for the changes in prevention that have taken place because of it.

One thing I think we all have learned is that once you spill oil in the marine environment you really cannot clean it up no matter how much equipment you have. We do have more oil clean-up equipment here in Prince William Sound than probably any other U.S. port and that is good.

What we must do is prevent oil from getting in the water. The industry, the Coast Guard, the state, and more importantly, our coastal citizens have all together tried hard to improve prevention measures.

We have better radar systems, GPS (Global Positioning System), AIS (Automatic Identification System), improved Coast Guard Vessel Traffic System, double hull tankers built with modern technology, better electronics and a much improved human work force.

Best of all we have double tug escorts escorting our laden tankers using the most powerful escort tugs anywhere. These tugs are not only the best available technology for escort work, but they also can keep an oil clean-up barge on the leading edge of the oil, where a conventional tug finds it more difficult.

We also have open communication with the oil shippers, Alyeska, the state and the federal government.

Because of the Exxon Valdez accident we now have improvements in the oil transportation system and oil spill response.

All this has cost the oil industry and the state a great deal of money. Knowing the bottom line culture of the industry, I am afraid of losing our escort tugs, for they are very expensive to keep. Both the state and the Coast Guard are thinking of doing a risk assessment to determine the risk associated with the need for the tugs. A risk assessment will show there is very little risk of an oil spill by tankers in Prince William Sound and the cost of maintaining the escorts outweighs their need.

First of all, a risk assessment needs to consider the damage the Sound has already suffered. There is no way you can put a price tag on the damage done to our coastal areas, marine life, our fisheries, the human toll, psychologically and sociologically, and the chemical disabilities and long-term health problems workers suffered. There is just no way a risk assessment, based on percentage of risk and cost of operation, can justify our need for continued prevention measures. Prince William Sound and our coastal areas from Valdez to Kodiak must not have another spill. The only way to ensure that is to continue the system we have in place today. We don't need a risk assessment. We need to continue the prevention measures we have in place today.

This state and we as citizens cannot allow the loss of these measures. Even though there is very little risk today there are still unresolved weak spots in the system. The chance of an accident is slim, but when equipment fails, humans fail, or when the weather is really bad, the risk increases.

We must never allow ourselves to get complacent again regarding oil shipment in any of our coastal areas.

We must retain and improve on the prevention measures which now exist in the Sound.

Prince William Sound cannot handle another major spill. We must do everything possible to prevent it.