Crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock transit through ice near Mackinac Island Tuesday, January 24. The crew of the Hollyhock was participating in a project led by the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center, showcasing techniques for removing spilled oil from a frozen environment. (U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Schofield) Seeking to encounter icy conditions like those in the Arctic Ocean, members of the United States Coast Guard and several other agencies trained in the Straits of Mackinac and Moran Bay to practice techniques for recovering spilled oil and other hazardous materials from icy waterways. Researchers want to be ready to handle those conditions in the Great Lakes and in the Arctic, as oil drilling is getting underway in Alaska. The practice run near St. Ignace Monday, January 23, through Wednesday, January 25, brought in researchers from all over the country.

“We’re trying to replicate what would happen if oil contaminated the water,” said Kurt Hansen, project manager for oil spill research at the United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Connecticut.

The objective, he said, is prepare for an oil spill.

“We want to understand the real problems, what equipment to use, what works, and what doesn’t work.”

Mr. Hansen said the Coast Guard decided to host the training in St. Ignace about two years ago. They needed a place where conditions are similar to the Arctic Ocean. Coast Guard ships in the Great Lakes have icebreaking capabilities, which were a necessary factor. Detroit was also considered as a training site, but the Straits was considered to be a better option. Ice wouldn’t be solid in the Arctic, instead, it would be mixed with water, just like the ice has been here recently.

The Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock and the commercial tugboats Reliance, Nickelena, and Erika Kobasic are moored at Coast Guard Station St. Ignace Tuesday, January 24. The four vessels participated in a project that demonstrates capabilities for removing spilled oil from an icy environment. The only difference to consider is that the drill is in fresh water and a recovery in the Arctic would involve salt water.

Spills in the Great Lakes are very rare, said Mr. Hansen.

“We want to be proactive so we’re ready if anything happens.”

As Shell is preparing to drill in Alaska, he said, the U.S. government wants to be prepared for an oil spill in that region. They want to allow those who will use the equipment to recover oil from icy water to have practice and collaborate with one another on how to best manage the task. This is the first oil recovery drill the Coast Guard performed in icy water.

In August 2011 Shell was issued a conditional exploration permit from the federal agency that oversees offshore oil development. The permit would allow the corporation to drill four wells over two years in Camden Bay of the Beaufort Sea, north of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The company was issued an air quality permit from the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2011, authorizing drilling beginning in July 2012.

The Coast Guard wants to develop a set of prototypes for the scenario where a spill happens in icy water. The goal last week was, Mr. Hansen said, “to have an operating procedure to work under these conditions to put into our plans for an emergency.”

To make that happen, four Coast Guard districts worked together with the crews of one Coast Guard cutter and three commercial vessels, the National Strike Force Coordination Center, and Enbridge Energy Partners, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the oil spill response organization for this area, Marine Pollution Control. The USCG cutter Hollyhock was brought up from Port Huron for the drill. It is one of only 16 cutters capable of oil removal in the country.

The group used a hypothetical leak to simulate a spill. They got permission from the state of Michigan to release oranges and peat moss into the water. Mr. Hansen said both float on the water similar to the way oil would. The oranges are easier to see and the moss is a bit more difficult.

The drill was centered on an oil pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy, which runs underneath the Straits of Mackinac. The company provided people and equipment for the exercise, including boom, skimmers, and a helicopter.

Subject matter specialists came to St. Ignace from all over the country to collaborate.

“The best and the brightest,” according to Petty Officer 3rd Class George Degener. “There are big implications of this training based on what is going to happen in the northern regions.” He said it’s important the government is prepared to respond and everything is in place to react appropriately.

He also stressed the importance of having a plan if a spill occurs in the Great Lakes.

“The environment here is very important,” he said. “There’s an enormous fresh water supply. It’s vital we respond appropriately if something happens.”

If a spill were to occur, the main course of action would be to use oil skimming, buoyant booms, or to light the oil on fire, burning it up. Mr. Hansen said that if estimates are correct, a new boom acquired from Applied Fabrics Technologies should remove 90% to 95% of the oil from the water.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was on hand to observe the drill and offer suggestions.

Ryan Blazic, the department’s Water Resource Division emergency response coordinator, said they were there to be another voice to add to the process.

“This is important because the DEQ and Coast Guard would be working together if there were a large scale event in the Great Lakes.”