Feds alter Cook Inlet standards

PNA Staff

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued new water discharge standards for Cook Inlet oil platforms in early March.

Environmentalists contend the new regulations are ineffective; the oil industry says the federal regs will cost time and money.

The standards reduce the amount of oil and grease that may be dumped along with water back into the Inlet. EPA also set up four zones near shore where discharge and, therefore, drilling is prohibited. The federal agency also reduced the amount of chlorine from toilets that can be dumped into the water.

How much the new regulations will cost is unknown, Roxanne Sinz, spokeswoman for Unocal Alaska Resources told the Anchorage Daily News. Unocal and partner Forcenergy operate 10 of the 15 platforms in Cook Inlet. Cross Timbers Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co. also operate Inlet platforms.

“We haven’t had a chance to assess the costs,” Sinz said. Unocal knew the regulations were coming and has already invested in new oil processing technology at the company’s Trading Bay production facility, Sinz said.

Unocal is rethinking its business strategy to cope with low prices, and how these regulations may affect plans is unknown, Sinz said. An additional cost may be that the regulations require more monitoring by the company. However, Sinz said that most of Unocal’s discharge already meets the tighter restrictions.

The new regulations also prohibit dumping waste water within 1,000 meters of shore in the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, Redoubt Bay, Lake Clark National Park and an area near Port Graham. This change closes those areas to drilling. However, these areas are largely protected from drilling by other regulations, said Jim Hanson, leasing manager at the state Division of Oil and Gas.Hanson said the closures will not affect the area available for the April areawide lease sale in Cook Inlet.

The Associated Press contributed to this article