Cook Inlet Pipe Line applies to remove old pipeline at Drift River

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Cook Inlet Pipe Line Co. is permitting the removal of approximately 2,000 feet of 20-inch pipeline from beneath the channel of the Drift River on the west side of Cook Inlet.

The company recently replaced the pipeline crossing at Drift River using horizontal drilling techniques and is applying to remove the old pipeline, no longer in use.

Cook Inlet Pipe Line said pipeline will be drained prior to removal. The pipeline will be excavated to near the top of the pipe and lifted from one end using an excavator or crane. Excavated materials will be placed on the upstream side of the excavation and dozed back into the excavation once the pipeline has been removed.

The work area in the channel is approximately 50 feet wide by 2,000 feet long. The trench will be approximately 10 feet wide and up to 10 feet deep; some 7,500 cubic yards of sand and gravel would be excavated and side cast.

The work is proposed for March or October of 2002 to avoid major impacts to anadromous fish and waterfowl.