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Federal right of way renewal for trans-Alaska pipeline signed
Petroleum News Alaska Staff
Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski jointed Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton Jan. 8 at a signing ceremony at the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C., to renew the federal trans-Alaska pipeline system right of way. The signing included the secretary’s record of decision and eight separate 30-year right of way renewal agreements.
“This is a great day for Alaska and for the nation,” Murkowski said in a statement. “The TAPS pipeline today carries 17 percent of domestic oil production — and has flowed as much as 25 percent — as it has every day for the past 30 years, with no major incidents. With the signing of these renewals, we acknowledge the forward thinking of those who designed and constructed the pipeline system, as well as the competent operation of it.”
Murkowski said the oversight provided by the 13 state and federal agencies in the Joint Pipeline Office has worked well. “The JPO provides efficient, effective oversight to make sure the pipeline is operated in a safe, environmentally-sound, and financially productive manner. The TAPS pipeline has carried more than 14 billion barrels of oil, generating more than $400 billion in economic benefit to the nation. So, the JPO’s oversight is a cooperative effort of which we can justifiably be proud,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski also acknowledged the participation of the many Alaskans who spoke out during the renewal process. “There was a concern expressed about many aspects of the renewal, from the desire to have a citizen’s oversight group, to whether the pipeline divides Alaska,” Murkowski said.
“I believe those concerns have been more than adequately addressed, the public process works, and we will continue to be vigilant in our oversight of the operation and management of the pipeline,” he said.
The state signed its right-way-agreement renewal Nov. 26 for the pipeline to operate on 344 miles of state lands for 30 more years on Nov. 26 in Anchorage.
It took 70,000 workers and three years to complete the 800-mile, $8 billion pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to the Port of Valdez. Oil first began flowing through the line on June 20, 1977.
Norton, Fineberg disagree on safety At the signing ceremony Norton praised the engineering and safe operation of the 800-mile pipeline that runs from the North Slope to the Port of Valdez. The system, she said, was put to an unintentional test Nov. 3 when a 7.9 earthquake struck the area, something pipeline critic and environmental consultant Richard Fineberg says raised concerns that the line might rupture if a larger earthquake strikes the same fault.
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