Dear Interested Citizen: The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Restoration Plan represents the culmination of a long process of public involvement and program development, begun soon after the T/V Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council charged staff with the responsibility for developing an effective plan to use the civil settlement funds obtained from Exxon Corporation "for the purposes of restoring, replacing, enhancing, or acquiring the equivalent of natural resources injured as a result of the Oil Spill and the reduced or lost services provided by such resources." The Trustees approved and released a Draft Restoration Plan for public comment in November 1993. In June of 1994 a Draft Environmental Impact Statement was released which reviewed potential effects of implementing the plan. Through July a series of meetings in the oil spill area took place. The public comment period closed on August 1,1994. The Final Environmental Impact Statement includes some changes from the Draft, made at the suggestion of the public. See Chapter 5 for information o