Spill prevention focus of APTT: state panel teams agencies on oversight of pipeline integrity, corrosion prevention.

• Author: Murkowski, Frank H.
• Position: Special Section: Environmental

On March 2, 2006, a North Slope oil field worker discovered a leak in a crude oil transit line operated by BP Exploration (Alaska), which ultimately was found to have spilled thousands of gallons of oil onto the snow-covered tundra.

A substantial leak had occurred despite leak-detection systems and extensive corrosion-monitoring programs. It was clear that we needed to take a good, hard look at our North Slope pipelines and the programs to protect them.

I visited the site of the BP spill on March 24 to see the response firsthand, to ascertain how well the cleanup was progressing and to assure that there would be no lasting impacts. I was encouraged by the aggressive steps taken immediately, and by the measures we continue to implement to ensure that such accidents are a rarity. Alaskans can be confident in the state's ability to respond to spills.

Alaska has done a good job of spill prevention, but we must continue to review our practices and adjust them if necessary.

In April 2006, I called for the creation of an Arctic Pipeline Technology Team (APTT), composed of the Alaska departments of Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The three state agencies--DEC, DNR and the AOGCC--will operate as a steering committee providing overall direction. A broader workgroup that includes federal agency and industry representatives will provide the detailed and technical analysis of specific topics.

The APTT's job is to critically review pipeline-integrity measures and options; to share the best available expertise and resources for that purpose and to extend this collaboration, communication and coordination to others including industry, academia, and federal agencies.

The initial focus of the APTT will be corrosion management, monitoring, inspection and mitigation for Alaska's North Slope pipelines upstream from Pump Station 1 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

The team will review the corrosion management programs to answer questions such as how should the lines be inspected for corrosion and how often? What inspection techniques...