Face to Face
Steve Hood
Prince William Sound Response Coordinator

If you looked up ‘True Alaskan’ in the dictionary, you might find a picture of Steve Hood, 16-year Alyeska employee and about as Alaskan as they come.

Steve’s parents arrived in Valdez in the early 50’s when Valdez was a valuable deep water port for the military. Ammunition and all other military support requirements came by ship to Valdez and were then trucked north. The Hoods started a trucking firm and commercially fished.

Q. Your title is Prince William Sound Response Coordinator. What does that mean? What are your areas of responsibility?

A. I am responsible for compliance with spill response plans and readiness. All personnel must be properly trained, all equipment in place and ready to respond. A typical response would be responding to a spill of hydraulic or diesel spill from equipment or base operations, but we have very few emergencies. We do a lot of training, both on land and river operations in support of the pipeline. One of the more fun training sessions is the wave tank. We put water and oil in the tank and the wave mechanism shakes it up. This trains our folks to adjust the skimmer to get the maximum amount of oil out of the water. We’re a lot like the fire department –– not many emergencies, but lots of training.

Q. How did you get started with Alyeska?

A. I started with Alyeska in 1990 right after the Exxon Valdez spill. Before that I worked construction, was a heavy equipment operator, terminal manager, in the freight business in various capacities, and drove truck including on the Haul Road. I’ve pretty much covered the state at one time or another. My first position with Alyeska was with SERVS, escorting tankers and general oil spill response activities. I grew up fishing with my dad all over the Sound and that proved valuable in helping develop many programs for both onshore and offshore cleanup.

Q. What do you like most about your job? What makes you feel most proud of what you do?

A. I love working out in the field, making things happen. Our training has to reflect diverse skills - a marine spill response is very different from a land-based response.  It takes a real team and I’m proud to be part of that. From an environmental standpoint, I like feeling like I’m doing my part to protect the Sound. There have been a lot of changes in Valdez since my parents arrived in the 50’s. It’s very special to be part of the team that supports Alaska’s base economy and preserves the beauty of the Sound for future generations.