Alyeska Pipeline Service Company's Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan has been submitted to regulatory agencies for review and approval, and is available for public comment. A brief summary of the plan follows. Please contact Jennifer Ruys at 264-3497 for a briefing on the Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan.

Alyeska Pipeline has a vital interest in ensuring the performance and integrity of the pipeline system during its operational life, including is preparedness for emergency situations such as oil spills. Alyeska's oil spill contingency plan for the pipeline is presently being renewed. There are twelve response scenarios incorporated into the contingency plan. The scenarios cover a range of possible spill sources (pipeline, storage tank), seasons (winter, summer, break-up, freeze-up), environments (land, water, ice), product types (crude oil, turbine fuel, diesel, drag reducing agent), and spill volumes.

Response Strategy

Alyeska relies on a tiered response strategy to respond to an oil spill. Personnel and oil spill response equipment are strategically positioned along the pipeline corridor to minimize response time. If the size of a spill exceeds the capability of local resources, additional personnel and equipment is brought in from adjacent stations.

Personnel — At each operational pump station (Pump Stations 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 12) a seven member, initial response team (IRT) is maintained. Alyeska has additional IRT's strategically positioned along the pipeline to ensure maximum spill response coverage. This includes the services of Alaska Clean Seas on the North Slope, a three-person baseline crew at Pump Station 6, response contracts with the communities of Rampart and Stevens Village, IRTs in Fairbanks and Glennallen, and the resources of the Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS) in Valdez.

Equipment — Oil spill reconnaissance, response and recovery equipment is located at each pump station. At each pump station, an initial response package is also maintained on a high deck trailer for immediate response. The equipment resources of Alaska Clean Seas at Prudhoe Bay and SERVS in Valdez are also available for use on the pipeline.

Leak Detection

Alyeska has an established network of monitoring systems and devices to detect leaks. This network relies on two basic means of leak detection: visual observations and on-line leak detection.

Visual Observations — A minimum of every two weeks an aerial inspection of the pipeline is conducted. This includes areas downstream of buried pipeline stream crossings where sheens of oil or oil layers could be expected to surface from a leak.

On-Line Leak Detection — Alyeska maintains three on-line leak detection systems on the pipeline. These on-line systems are capable of detecting leaks of less than 1% of daily pipeline throughput. If any of these systems indicate a leak, Alyeska immediately initiates a reconnaissance of the pipeline and spill response teams are placed on standby, pending the results of the reconnaissance.

Worst Case Discharge

Alyeska is required by law to calculate the response planning standard (RPS) or worst case discharge that can occur from the pipeline. Alyeska has divided the pipeline into 249 segments and calculated the RPS for each segment. Alyeska recently recalculated the pipeline RPS using the most recent survey data (over 100,000 data points) to calculate the pipeline hydraulic characteristics. As a result of the recalculation, in a number of the segments of the pipeline, the dynamic spill volume has decreased. This is directly attributable to the more refined survey data.

Regulatory Approvals

There are five federal and/or state approvals required for the pipeline oil spill plan. The most stringent requirements are imposed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC). For this reason, Alyeska has chosen to use the ADEC format for the oil spill plan. The oil spill plan provides a cross-reference to demonstrate how the plan meets regulatory requirements.

The plan includes four sections;

a) Response Action Plan

This section provides the necessary information to initiate an emergency response.

b) Supplemental Information

This section provides additional background and verification information.

c) Prevention Plan

This section describes the prevention measures that are in place on the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in detail.

d) Best Available Technology Review

This section involves an analysis of the technology in use on the pipeline to prevent and clean-up oil spills.

Back to top