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U.S. Senate nixes trans-Alaska oil pipeline environmental lawsuits Omnibus spending bill includes money to cap old NPR-A wells, Arctic Energy Office funding to test steel, ways to minimize gasline construction impact Steve Sutherlin PNA Associate Editor
The U.S. Senate adopted a rider to the omnibus federal spending bill which would shield the new trans-Alaska Pipeline right of way agreement from lawsuits and judicial review.
The amendment, added by Sen. Lisa Murkowski and co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens, states that the recent environmental impact statement for the pipeline is deemed sufficient to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. It guarantees that the trans-Alaska oil pipeline cannot be forced to shut down next year because of legal challenges over renewal of the pipeline’s federal right-of-way for another 30 years, Murkowski said in a statement.
“We have just gone through a very, very extensive $40 million environmental impact statement process. The record clearly establishes that there was a very thorough and very complete review of the line,” Murkowski said. “If there is a legal challenge we’ll spend millions of taxpayer dollars on legal fees.”
Murkowski said, in general, she supports the right for court reviews of environmental statements, but TAPS always has been a unique project since Congress in 1973 specifically deemed that the pipeline met all environmental standards when it approved its construction.
“Since Congress created the law requiring certain environmental reviews, Congress can deem those requirements met by certain actions,” she said.
The FY03 Omnibus Appropriations bill passed the Senate 69-29 Jan. 23. It was sent Jan. 28 to a joint House-Senate conference committee to be reconciled with the House version of the bill.
Stevens adds Alaska energy items to budget bill The omnibus federal spending bill provides funding for the Department of the Interior, including $1 million to Bureau Of Land Management for capping wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Senate Committee Report stated a number of wells in NPR-A were improperly capped and require additional work to prevent leakage and oil spills.
The bill also includes, at Stevens' request, $5 million for the Arctic Energy Office, including $2 million to develop and test new technology for steel required to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline, and to identify new techniques to minimize impacts on the environment during construction.
"To date, the producer group has spent more than $100 million studying the economics of this project. This money will help jumpstart the development of the tools and techniques necessary to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline,” Stevens said. “Because of the enormous size and length of time required to build this project, it is important that we take steps now to minimize any construction delays.”
Part of the appropriation will fund a study of commercialization of coal bed methane and other coal technologies in Alaska.
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