Forest applies for pipeline at Middle Lake

Forest Oil Corp. has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to upgrade an existing gravel road and construct a six-inch diameter natural gas pipeline for the company’s planned re-entry of the Middle Lake Unit No. 1 well. The well, originally drilled by Gulf Oil Corp. in 1969, is in the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge, east of the Little Susitna River, nearly 25 miles northwest of Anchorage.

About a mile of old roadway between the drill site and the maintained road system of the region requires upgrade, according to a Forest analysts’ call earlier this year.

On Nov. 16 the Corps of Engineers issued a public notice of the application for permit.

According to the public notice Forest will widen the access road from a width of 10 to 15 feet to an all-season road 50 feet wide “to support drilling and production at the prospect site.” A stream crossing will require a bridge or culverts. The pipeline will occupy a four-foot trench and the entire construction footprint would impact about 4.6 acres of wetlands.

As a mitigation measure Forest has agreed to “excavate fill material placed below the ordinary high water line of the unnamed stream during construction of the existing trail.” This excavation will restore stream flow to original levels and enhance the aquatic environment at the site, according to the public notice.

The requested permit will require certification, or a waiver of certification, from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The permit will also require agreement from Alaska’s Office of Project Management and Permitting that activity affecting land or water use in the Coastal Zone complies with the Alaska Coastal Management Program.

Written comments on the permit application must be submitted to the Corps of Engineers within 30 days of the date of issuance of the public notice.

—Alan Bailey