Trustees for Alaska appeal Prudhoe Bay contingency plan

Kristen Nelson, PNA editor-in-chief

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said July 21 that it has received and granted a request from Trustees for Alaska on behalf of Sara Callaghan Chapell of the Sierra Club for an ajudicatory hearing for contested conditions in the oil discharge prevention and contingency plan issued to BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. for Greater Prudhoe Bay.

DEC said the Sierra Club request contested response planning standard volumes, maintenance, seasonal drilling restrictions and response capability, leak detection, secondary containment, equipment lists, actual spills and well capping.

DEC issued the c-plan and the associated conditions April 30.

The request for hearing lists a number of issues proposed for consideration at the hearing. DEC said the exact issues to be considered at the hearing will be determined by the hearing officer.

Trustees for Alaska requested a reversal of DEC’s approval of the Prudhoe Bay oil discharge prevention and contingency plan May 30.

“The Sierra Club does not believe that there are any factual issues in dispute, and therefore does not believe an ajudicatory hearing is necessary or appropriate for this matter. In any event, the Sierra Club does not believe that it is required to exhaust any administrative remedies prior to filing a judicial challenge to an illegally approved oil spill plan,” Trustees said in its request to the commissioner.

The request for a reversal of the c-plan approval is made “out of an abundance of caution,” Trustees said.

Lengthy comments to DEC on the c-plan in February and April were signed by Jenna App of Trustees on behalf of Sara Callaghan Chapell of the Sierra Club’s Alaska field office, Pamela A. Miller of Arctic Connections, Melanie Duchin of Greenpeace Inc. and Arthur Hussey and Deb Moore of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.