Corps working on EIS for standalone line

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a draft environmental impact statement for the State of Alaska’s proposed standalone in-state gas pipeline project. The corps is the lead federal agency; the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Environmental Protection Agency are participating as cooperating agencies.

The state’s permit application is for a 24-inch diameter, high-pressure pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to Cook Inlet to transport ANS natural gas to in-state markets. Gas off-take would be provided for the Fairbanks area and other locations along the route, the corps said.

The project includes a gas conditioning plant on the North Slope, compressor stations along the line and natural gas liquid extraction facilities to produce utility-grade natural gas.

Two routing options are being considered, both from Prudhoe Bay to Cook Inlet, one via the Parks Highway and one via the Richardson Highway. Two spur line options and two pre-build options are also included in the proposal.

Two sources of gas are included: Prudhoe Bay and Gubik.

The scoping process began Dec. 7 and will end Feb. 5.

The Draft EIS is expected to be available for public review in August.

The project manager for the corps is Serena Sweet; Sweet is also the project manager for the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority Beluga-to-Fairbanks natural gas system draft EIS.

—Kristen Nelson