Alyeska required to improve spill training

The Associated Press

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. will be required to make improvements in its spill-response training program for trans-Alaska oil pipeline employees.

The Bureau of Land Management is requiring Alyeska implement the changes recommended recently in an audit done after a longtime Alyeska spill-response coordinator brought forward concerns. Alyeska operates the 800-mile pipeline and has already started making many of the required changes.

The report spelling out how the changes will be implemented was published by the Joint Pipeline Office. The BLM requirements include establishing a minimum level of spill-response training before new employees are sent into the field, creating uniform methods to document employee training and reviewing training materials to ensure they are current. Hands-on training also will be increased with spill-response equipment and review sessions scheduled of the approximately 60 spill-response training exercises conducted every year.