BP agrees to $20 million for Prudhoe spill 11/04/2007
BP will pay $20 million and plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Water Pollution Act for the largest oil spill ever on the North Slope, Justice Department officials said Oct. 25. Th...

High-stakes clash looms 09/30/2007
Former Alberta premier's chilling prediction; test of wills could undermine key U.S. source
He doesn't always spread a welcome message these days among Canada's oil patch leaders, but ignoring him is not an option. Peter Lougheed led the beginnings of an Alberta political dynasty as the prov...

Shell gets EPA air permits for Beaufort 06/24/2007
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued air quality control minor permits for Shell's planned drilling program in the Beaufort Sea. There are separate permits for operations by the Kulluk...

Kyoto gets second chance 04/08/2007
Parties holding balance of power in Canada's parliament make sweeping amendments to clean air legislation; add to petroleum industry unease
Canada's fractured Parliament has seen the three opposition parties gang up on the government by forcing through a drastic reworking of plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Holding the balanc...

Enviro clean-up time in Canada 01/14/2007
Prime minister dumps embattled environment minister, says more must be done; uneasy industry waits for action on greenhouse gases
The Canadian government has done an about-face on its environmental priorities, dragging the oil and gas industry back into the unknown. Conceding his administration had lost control of the issue, Pr...

Alaska opposes suit to reduce emissions 01/07/2007
A dozen states are in court trying to force the federal government to reduce automobile emissions that contribute to global warming, but Alaska, where the effects are most apparent, is not one of them...

EPA fines Flint Hills for clean air violations 12/17/2006
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Flint Hills Resources Alaska $15,867 for Clean Air Act emergency planning violations at the company's North Pole refinery The company has also agreed...

Talking tough, but no big stick 10/15/2006
Canada responds to oil and gas industry's plea for 'intensity-based' greenhouse gas targets, tells private sector it will have to shoulder burden
The buzzword as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper outlined the bare bones of his government's major environmental initiative was "intensity," which will resonate with the petroleum industry despi...

Ultra-low sulfur diesel is here 04/30/2006
Switch-over looms for Alaska highways, equipment, but cost, accountability uncertainties linger; DEC working with industry
After years of talk and trepidation, Alaska's diesel sector is ready to convert to using an ultra-low sulfur product in most mobile engines, including trucks and construction equipment. The switchover...

EPA lifts gasoline additives requirements 02/26/2006
States no longer have to add corn-based ethanol or MTBE to gas; agency eliminates mandate from 1990 Clean Air Act for metro areas
States no longer will have to add corn-based ethanol or MTBE to gasoline to fight pollution - a requirement that costs as much as 8 cents a gallon - under rules announced Feb. 15 by the Environmental...

EPA wins dispute with state of Alaska over Red Dog emission permits 02/01/2004
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 21 in a 5-4 decision against the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in a dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency over emission permits sought by...

DEC's Ernesta Ballard says enough is enough 11/16/2003
Alaska commissioner is fed up with environmentalists, says too much time is spent in litigation, too little in land management
The head of Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation angered environmentalists by saying more than enough acres are being managed for conservation and land set-asides aren't necessary for env...

Pressure on to pass energy bill 11/02/2003
Alaska's gas pipeline price support and language to open ANWR likely out of bill, heavy oil credit still possible
It's been almost three months since much of the nation saw just how dark life can be without electricity, and the president and the nation's utilities chose Halloween week to start pushing hard on con...

Sen. Murkowski gets ethanol exemption for Alaska 04/20/2003
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has convinced U.S. Senate Energy and Public Works Committee members to exempt Alaska and Hawaii from a proposed nationwide requirement that refineries add ethanol t...

Unocal licenses gasoline patents to Williams 06/25/2001
Unocal Corp. and a unit of Williams said June 5 that they have signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement giving Williams the right to produce and blend cleaner burning gasolines using formulations pa...

AkPIRG launches summer campaign to end Alaska's use of "dirty diesel" 06/25/2001
Alaska Public Interest Research Group wants end to Alaska's exemption to 1990 Clean Air Act, but refiners say U.S. guidelines impractical for Alaska
The Alaska Public Interest Research Group intends to knock on 50,000 doors in Alaska this summer in a campaign to end Alaska's use of "dirty diesel" fuel. AkPIRG canvassers are currently active in An...

Device cuts diesel soot by 55 percent, say Alaska inventors 02/28/2001
Hydrogen oxygen generator technology ready to reduce particulate emissions of stationary diesel engines; designed to help older engines meet tier one diesel standards at fraction of engine replacement cost
A pair of Alaska inventors has developed a device that they say is ready to use on stationary diesel engines to reduce exhaust pipe particulate emissions by up to 55 percent. The Hydro-Gen combustion...