Despite a Serious Quality Control Crisis,
Big Oil Seeks to Expand Drilling

by Mike Riley


The Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility is a new organization committed to holding industry and government accountable to the legal requirements to protect Alaska's environment today, so that a diverse and sustainable economic future for all Alaskans remains a possibility tomorrow.
We believe it is irresponsible to allow the oil industry or the state of Alaska to aggressively pursue short-term profit at the expense of public health and the environment. We do not oppose the utilization of Alaska's oil and other natural resources. However, natural resource utilization must occur in a manner that protects the long-term health of our workers, public health, and the environment, the foundation of Alaska's economic future.
Unfortunately, this principle has yet to be applied on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. After nearly 20 years of operation, and billions of dollars in profit, Alyeska and its owners continue to ignore both the letter and spirit of the permits that grant it the privilege to operate on public lands. Current oil industry practices on the pipeline, as well as inadequate government oversight, threaten the long-term health of Alaska's marine and freshwater ecosystems and the potential for a sustainable economic future for Alaska.
Over the last decade, a quality control crisis has developed that threatens the structural integrity of the pipeline and portends another Exxon Valdez-scale catastrophe. The crisis is the result of long-standing and well documented technical and management deficiencies, as well as persistent retaliation and harassment of conscientious pipeline employees who speak the truth about these deficiencies. In addition, the failure of federal and state regulators to conduct adequate oversight of the oil industry has exacerbated these problems.
Alyeska and its owners claim these deficiencies have been or are being "fixed," and that whistleblower retaliation is a thing of the past. However, pipeline employees and independent auditors continue to reach the opposite conclusion. Not only do many of these deficiencies still remain, but many of those labeled fixed by Alyeska were falsely labeled as such.
Despite the mounting evidence, pipeline regulators - primarily the federal Bureau of Land Management and State of Alaska's Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation-have been unwilling or unable to force Alyeska to take decisive corrective action. There are strong political and economic incentives for weak regulatory oversight: nearly 25 percent of the U.S. domestic crude oil supply flows through the pipeline, and 85 percent of the State of Alaska's revenues are generated by oil royalties. The result is that regulators often lack the political will, as well as some enforcement tools, to bring the pipeline into compliance.
Last November's election results have made matters worse. With Alaska's pro-industry, anti-environment congressional delegation now in charge of key congressional committees (such as Alaska Rep. Don Young, who now chairs the House Resources Committee), effective congressional oversight of the pipeline has ended. Some progress was made after aggressive congressional hearings in the early 1990s, but workers now report a return to the old management approach that sacrifices worker safety and environmental protection to corporate profits. Meaningful regulatory reform is also unlikely, given the current anti-regulation mood in Congress.
Also thanks to its new found power, Alaska's congressional delegation is now closer than ever to achieving two long elusive goals: lifting the ban on exports of North Slope crude and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration and drilling.
The export ban was imposed as part of the 1973 legislation approving construction and operation of the pipeline. It reflects the primary rationale for the pipeline: improving national energy security by decreasing US dependence on foreign oil. The Arctic Refuge is a vast, pristine wilderness area that provides habitat to polar bears, countless species of migratory birds, and huge herds of caribou. Its 1.5 million acre coastal plain is also considered the most promising site in North America for a giant new oil discovery.
The Alaska Forum believes that each proposal to utilize or otherwise put at risk Alaska's natural resources - including lifting the export ban and opening the Arctic Refuge - should be evaluated on its merits. To be approved, these proposals must meet the highest standards of care for the long-term health of Alaska's workers, public health, and the environment.
As part of their campaigns for passage of these two proposals, Alaska's oil industry and congressional delegation points to what they describe as the industry's "excellent" safety and environmental record in Alaska. But actions speak louder than words. The current quality control crisis on the pipeline belies these claims.
Alyeska and its owners have had nearly 20 years to comply with the permits which allow them to operate the pipeline on public lands. Regardless of the merits of lifting the export ban or opening the Arctic Refuge, the fact remains that the pipeline which transports all North Slope crude oil south to Port Valdez poses a real threat to worker safety, public health, and the environment in Alaska. The condition and operation of the tanker system which delivers the oil from Valdez to markets in the U.S. poses similar risks.
The public must demand full, independently-verified compliance and an end to retaliation against conscientious workers who speak the truth about the condition of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. And Congress must commit itself to consistent and aggressive oversight until such compliance is achieved.

-Mike Riley is the Seattle-based Program Director for the Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility.

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Contents on this page were published in the August/September, 1995 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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