ADEC proposes pipeline discharge permit

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a draft general permit for the discharge of pollutants resulting from the construction, operation and maintenance of oil and gas pipelines in Alaska. ADEC has been preparing the permit under the terms of the Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the system under which the agency has permitting authority for wastewater discharges from Alaska oil and gas operations. The agency requires comments on the proposed permit by Jan. 20.

By remaining within the discharge limits set by a general permit of this type, an operator may be able to avoid the time and expense of having to apply for an individual permit for a specific operation. The general permit will apply to major transmission pipeline systems, and not to short pipeline segments or distribution pipeline networks.

The permit applies to the following types of discharge: drilling fluids and drill cuttings; domestic wastewater; gravel pit dewatering; excavation dewatering; pipeline hydrostatic test water; storm water; wastewater from a mobile spill response; and the disposal of accumulated rainwater or snowmelt from secondary containment areas around fuel storage tanks.

To ensure consistency with individual permits already issued for existing pipelines, ADEC conducted a comparison of the effluent limits in each of these permits. In some cases the new general permit will provide an alternative permitting arrangement to those existing permits.

Regulation of the discharge of effluents is mandated both by the federal Clean Water Act and by Alaska environmental conservation statutes. ADEC says that, in determining the pollutant limits set in the new general permit, it used both national guidelines and best professional judgment, as well as assessing whether the permitted pollutant levels might cause pollution to exceed required water quality standards.

Use of a permit also requires an operator to develop a best management plan for the minimization of pollutant release. And an operator must monitor and report on discharges taking place under the terms of the permit.

- ALAN BAILEY