Alyeska Pipeline has submitted its Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan to regulatory agencies for review and approval. Public hearings on the plan will be held in the following communities by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. As part of the Public Hearing process, comments will be received from parties who have reviewed the plan. Alyeska will then work with the ADEC and other regulatory agencies to resolve the issues raised during the comment period. Please contact Jennifer Ruys at 264-3497 to arrange for a media briefing on the Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan.

Alyeska’s Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan is renewed on a three year cycle. Since 1977, there has been an approved plan in place on the pipeline system. Separate plans exist for the Valdez Marine Terminal and for Tankers transiting Prince William Sound.

Incorporated in the Pipeline Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan are twelve response scenarios which cover a wide range of possible spill sources, seasons, environments, and spill volumes.

Personnel and oil spill response equipment have been 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 can be brought in from adjacent locations. Alyeska has trained personnel in some pipeline corridor communities to assist in a response situation.

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 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.

Leak Detection

Alyeska has an established network of monitoring systems and devices to detect leaks. 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.

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.

Additionally, Alyeska is investigating new technologies to detect small leaks, below current leak detection technology limits particularly in the below ground sections of pipe.

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.

The following list contains the times for the Public Hearing in each community. An Open House occurs at each location prior to the meeting.

Anchorage Museum of History and Art	May 11, 1998	7:00-8:30 p.m.
Fairbanks FNSB Borough Chambers	May 12, 1998	7:00-8:30 p.m.
Valdez Valdez Civic Center	May 18, 1998	7:00-8:30 p.m.
Copper Center Klutikaah Hall	May 19, 1998	12:00-1:30 p.m.
Glennallen Glennallen School Library	May 19, 1998	7:00-8:30 p.m.
Delta Junction Delta Community Center	May 20, 1998	12:00-1:30 p.m.
Stevens Village Village Council Building	May 26, 1998	12:00-1:30 p.m.
Rampart Village Council Building	May 27, 1998	12:00-1:30 p.m.

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