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Pipeline right of way renewal on schedule Trans-Alaska pipeline environmental impact statement under way; draft EIS expected out next summer, final EIS and decision by end of 2002 Kristen Nelson PNA Editor-in-Chief
Work is on schedule for renewal of the trans-Alaska pipeline rights of way. Steve Jones, director of the right of way renewal project for Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., says Argonne National Laboratories have started the environmental impact statement for the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management.
Jones told the Alaska Support Industry Alliance Sept. 21 that Alyeska has been working on renewal for several years, but the process officially began May 2 with submission of applications for renewal, including a 600-page environmental process.
Argonne, the contractor selected by BLM to do the EIS, has done numerous EISs and does a lot of work in the nuclear industry and so is aware of the type of scrutiny the pipeline gets, Jones said They are also, he said, aware of the schedule.
Argonne has gotten the tour Alyeska has been working with Argonne since June, when Argonne staff got a tour of the pipeline and facilities. Jones said they saw every mile of the right of way.
The first set of public meetings have been held, with more to follow in Barrow and Fairbanks in October. Argonne and BLM are looking for substantive input, things they ought to cover in the EIS. Physical, environmental, social and economic impacts are considered. Jones said physical and environmental impacts have been known for a long time and that social and economic impacts will probably be a focus.
Argonne will get out a scoping report in mid-November, and in spite of the rescheduling of some of the preliminary public meetings following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, Jones said Argonne is still on schedule to have a draft EIS completed in the July-August 2002 time period.
Schedule aggressive A final EIS and decision are scheduled before the end of 2002.
This is very aggressive, Jones said, and will require attention to the schedule, but he said the federal Council of Environmental Quality told Alyeska at an August meeting in Washington, D.C., that at they are looking for "realistic but aggressive schedules" for EISs.
“In the past,” Jones said, “EISs have expanded to fill the time available. We have a schedule, and BLM, the Joint Pipeline Office and Argonne are all committed to the schedule.” The rights of way expire in 2004.
The Department of Interior is also stressing keeping to a schedule for the EIS. Drue Pearce, senior advisor for Alaskan affairs to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, told the Resource Development Council Sept. 20 that the secretary is taking a personal interest in seeing that the renewal process for the trans-Alaska pipeline system goes smoothly, is efficiently handled and is finished on time.
Public comments so far Alyeska has submitted the bulk of the information so far. At meetings in Anchorage, Valdez, Glennallen and Delta Junction, Jones said, public concerns have ranged from social and economic impacts in the Ahtna area (Glennallen), to considerations of how to deal with spills, vandalism and even a meteor strike on the terminal (Valdez), to calls for public oversight of Alyeska (Anchorage).
Jones said he hopes another level of oversight isn't added. “We already have probably the most regulated pipeline in the world,” he said. Money for dismantlement, removal and restoration also came up. “People want to get their hands on it,” Jones said.
The renewal application is for 30 years, some public comments have been in favor of renewal every year, although, Jones said, most of those arguing for a shorter renewal period were suggesting three to five years.
“I hope we don't end up with perpetual renewal,” Jones said, because that would add both costs and uncertainty to the operation of the pipeline system.
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