Environmentalists unhappy with clean air permits for Shell

April 01, 2010

The EPA approved clean air permits for Shell Oil for drilling in the Chukchi Sea. (File/KTUU-DT)

by Jackie Bartz
Thursday, April 1, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Shell Oil is another step closer to exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea after the Environmental Protection Agency approved clean air permits on Thursday.

The company wants to start its exploratory drilling this summer, but environmental groups could derail that by tying up the permits in a legal battle.

The EPA claims the permit requirements will reduce particulate emissions by 72 percent and sulfur dioxide emissions by 99 percent.

Environmental groups argue that the government rushed those permits, and another lawsuit could be on the horizon -- the exploratory drilling is already tied up in court.

Shell leased the offshore acreage in a 2008 sale, under the Interior Department's five-year lease program.

Several environmental groups sued, claiming the government didn't properly study the environmental impact of drilling. An appeals court agreed.

On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a revised environmental analysis, which he will present to the court.

If the appeals court decides the study contains enough scientific research about drilling, the court could dismiss that lawsuit.

Shell Oil President Marvin Odum says that if his company can overcome these hurdles, he plans to drill this summer.

"Well this is a really important step for us as a company and of course for the ability to explore offshore Alaska," he said from Houston, Texas. "The approval of the EPA permit was absolutely critical, particularly for the 2010 timeline, and I think it's good news for Alaska as well."

"Within in this exploration plan, MMS (Minerals Management Service, part of the Department of the Interior) failed to look at noise impacts to bowhead whales and walrus. Bowheads are central to the Inupiat way of life. They failed to do a public and through environmental analysis," said Betsy Beardsley with the Alaska Wilderness League.

Over the next 30 days, people can chime in on the analysis and the permits the government issued Thursday, and file an appeal to the EPA

The appeal would be handled by the environmental appeals board, a separate section of the EPA. Depending on the outcome of that, the decision could then be appealed to a federal court.

Contact Jackie Bartz at jbartz@ktuu.com

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