Cook Inlet

The Anchorage Fire Department responded to a 9-1-1- call at about  8:00 o'clock Friday evening about a person on a raft in Cook Inlet being in distress. Fire officials say the man was in an inflatable raft and was being swept out by the tide while trying to paddle to Fire Island. AFD launched a rescue boat and picked up the man and his raft and took him back to the Port of Anchorage. Officials say he was not injured and they say they are glad he was wearing a life jacket.

by The Associated Press Sunday, April 18, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A minor earthquake occurred in the Cook Inlet area Saturday. The earthquake hit at 6:28 p.m. and had a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. It was centered 52 miles west of Seldovia, or 62 miles southwest of Homer. There were no reports the light earthquake was felt or caused damage.

by The Associated Press Tuesday, May 11, 2010 KENAI, Alaska -- Gov. Sean Parnell has signed a bill designed to give Cook Inlet petroleum exploration a boost. The new law is aimed at stimulating drilling deeper into Cook Inlet and expanding gas development in existing fields while making changes to the state's production tax laws. Parnell signed the bill Monday in Kenai. Kenai Republican Sen. Tom Wagoner says it's now up to petroleum companies to use the incentives.

by Ted Land Wednesday, January 27, 2010 JUNEAU, Alaska -- Rep. Charisse Millett hopes the feds will pay attention to what she calls a threat to Alaska's economy. The Anchorage Republican introduced a resolution on the House floor Wednesday which opposes the designation of Cook Inlet as a critical habitat for beluga whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering protecting 3,000 square miles of Cook Inlet, but Millett says this will only harm Southcentral Alaska's economy, as the state would have to meet new environmental regulations.

Chevron announced plans Tuesday to sell its assets in Cook Inlet -- but what does that mean for the future of oil and gas development in the inlet? Chevron's decision comes as production in Cook Inlet oil and gas fields is on the decline. Large energy companies like Chevron typically lose interest in such investments -- and that's when smaller operators jump in. “We had been discussing these plans with Chevron for some time now, so it was not a surprise,” said Kevin Banks, director of the state’s Division of Oil and Gas. Banks says the inlet still contains large amounts of oil and natural gas, but exploration and production have declined.

The State Medical Examiner's Office has released the names of the five commercial clam diggers who died in Cook Inlet. Officials say the bodies of 42 year-old Roberto Ramirez, 34 year-old Jose A. Sandoval, 36 year-old Avelino Garcia, 24 year-old Jose Revera, and 31 year-old Ramon Valdiva were found in Cook Inlet. According to Alaska State Troopers, 42 year-old Noel Garcia, another man in their work party, said the 22-foot aluminum skiff was overloaded and began taking on water due to windy conditions and rough seas.

Work continues this holiday weekend on a laying a fiber-optic cable across Cook Inlet. Crews based on the IT Intrepid, a telecom cable-laying ship, have been placing line under the water since last month with cable in shallow areas being buried.  Their work began in Homer, the starting point for GCI’s “Project Terra - Southwest.” Workers have now reached the halfway mark, between Homer and the Lake Iliamna area, on the opposite shore.   ...

Representatives from three utilities addressed the House Special Committee on Energy Wednesday about increased demand for natural gas in South Central Alaska.  The consulting firm Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska predicts a drop in natural gas supply in Cook Inlet from just less than 100 billion cubic feet to 60 billion cubic feet by next unless new discoveries are made. ENSTAR General Counselor Moira Smith says the utility had to draw from reserves during a bitter cold December to meet demand.

In the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' second day in Anchorage, lawyers battled over the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists say Cook Inlet's oil platforms dump billions of gallons of pollution into the inlet, while the Environmental Protection Agency says it issued discharge permits to the oil companies in accordance with state guidelines. Cook Inlet Keeper and several other groups want the EPA to reissue a permit for oil and gas platforms in Cook Inlet. Attorneys claim Cook Inlet is the only place in the country where oil platforms can discharge pollution into the water.  According to Cook Inlet Keeper Executive Director Bob Shavelson, the pollution is a combination of oil and water that is run through a rudimentary treatment process before being dumped into the inlet.     He says it's a violation of the Clean Water Act. Court papers say the EPA relied on flawed analysis by the state.

Mayor Sullivan wants your input on developing Ship Creek, an area in between downtown and Government Hill, right next to the Port of Anchorage - a project with a price tag of $4 million. There will be three meetings this week in the evening on April 16, 17, and 18 to discuss a master plan for developing the area . On Monday, Mayor Sullivan announced that KlingStubbins, based out of Cambridge, MA as the head firm to develop the master plan, along with local engineering firm USKH and international development company Boston Global Investors.

Representatives from three utilities addressed the House Special Committee on Energy Wednesday about increased demand for natural gas in South Central Alaska.  The consulting firm Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska predicts a drop in natural gas supply in Cook Inlet from just less than 100 billion cubic feet to 60 billion cubic feet by next unless new discoveries are made. ENSTAR General Counselor Moira Smith says the utility had to draw from reserves during a bitter cold December to meet demand.

Senate Democrats and Republicans say it's time to let drilling companies access millions of cubic feet of Southcentral natural gas in and around Cook Inlet. Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) says figures from the consulting firm Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska illustrate the extent of the region's demand for natural gas. "The PRA determined 13 to 14 gas wells would need to be drilled every year in order to meet the needs in Southcentral," Giessel said. Giessel chairs the Senate Resources Committee, which took testimony this week from the state Department of Natural Resources estimating there could be 355 million cubic feet of Cook Inlet natural gas in three different fields.

On Halloween eve, Alaskans took part in an energy conservation drill that reduced the amount of natural gas used by 1.5 percent, according to the Municipal of Anchorage. The Mayor's office said residents in Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Kenai were asked to limit energy use for two hours last week. The drill was used to gauge how much energy could be saved during a gas delivery shortfall. If a real shortfall situation occurred, communities would be asked to turn the thermostat to 65 degrees, postpone laundry and dishes, lowering the water heater to warm and minimizing the use of gas ranges and turning off unnecessary lights and electronics.

A Palmer man missing and presumed dead after his plane disappeared on a flight from Soldotna to Palmer was a student pilot believed to have last been over Cook Inlet before his plane dropped off radar, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report. The report, released Thursday, sheds more light on the possible fate of Brendan Mattingley, who took off from Soldotna Oct. 13 in his green, red and white Piper PA-18 Super Cub headed for the Wolf Lake airport in Palmer, but never landed there.

Since the day it arrived in Homer, the Endeavor jack-up rig has been the target of controversy and complaints. Deland Anderson and other people who gathered in Homer Wednesday night to protest,  have been waiting for the rig to leave, and he's frustrated by the lack of answers he's getting from Buccaneer Energy: "It's kind of like a pile of lies in a way" said Anderson.  "It ticks me off, I'm kind of that guy, and I get ticked off when you...

Gov. Sean Parnellrequested a federal disaster declaration from Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank for king salmon fisheries in upper Cook Inlet Thursday, following this year's low runs of the fish statewide. Parnell requested similar declarations from the secretary's office in July for the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers' 2011 and 2012 salmon runs. The federal Magnuson-Stevens Act allows the Department of Commerce to provide aid to states after declared fishery disasters, although federal appropriations are necessary to fund assistance.

Setnetters on the east side of Cook Inlet remain shut down, in a continued effort to conserve king salmon, which are returning in record low numbers.   In an emergency meeting on Thursday via teleconference, the state board of fisheries voted five to two to take no action on six petitions that were filed on Wednesday, asking the board to allow setnetters some opportunity to harvest sockeye salmon, which are abundant this year.    The original petition, which requested the emergency meeting to open the fishery, had been withdrawn.

The Kenai River king salmon crisis intensified on Tuesday.  More than 200 setnetters, who work the east side of Cook Inlet gathered for another emotional meeting at the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association offices on Kalifornski road.   The parking lot was filled, and there was a long line of cars parked on the road.  The meeting room inside was overflowing.  People stood on the steps and outside the building.  Although the setnetters weren't carrying signs as they did in a demonstration at the Kenai park strip on Friday, they continued to air their frustrations about being shut out of a strong red salmon run for the sake of conserving king salmon, which are returning in record low numbers.  The meeting was called by the Kenai Peninsula Fisherman's Association, which represents east side setnetters, who hold  more than 400 permits in the fishery.  They harvest salmon along with other users --  the commercial Cook Inlet driftnet fleet, charter operators, anglers and dipnetters.   The setnetters compare their fishery to a family-run business and say the current closure will ruin them.  Doug Blossom says four generations of his family have setnetted, going back to the territorial days.

Several lower Cook Inlet streams, as well as offshore fishing in some areas of the inlet, will fall under sport-fishing bans and bait restrictions effective Sunday, as state officials continue to respond to shortages in king salmon runs statewide. According to a Monday emergency order from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Anchor and Ninilchik rivers will close to sport fishing effective from 12:01 a.m. Sunday, July 1 through 11:59 p.m. July 15. The sport fishing ban will be followed by a ban on using bait and multiple hooks on the rivers, set to take effect from 12:01 a.m. July 16 through 11:59 p.m. July 31. A separate ban on bait and multiple hooks will affect Deep and Stariski creeks throughout the month of July.