Oil Spill

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, June 19, 2008 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In anticipation of a ruling by the Supreme Court on the punitive damages settlement following the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, Channel 2 News has compiled a breakdown of some interesting numbers related to the case: The amount of the Alaska coastline covered in oil from the Exxon Valdez spill equals California's entire coastline. If the amount of oil spilled were placed in gallon-sized milk jugs, and they were placed side-by-side, they would stretch the entire length of the pipeline, with more than 100 miles left over.

by The Associated Press Monday, May 3, 2010 JUNEAU, Alaska -- Gov. Sean Parnell's administration is offering support to Gulf Coast states following the recent oil spill. Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow says Parnell's chief of staff Mike Nizich is making himself and the Alaska Department of Law available to answer questions or to offer any insights. She says he's made the offer to counterparts in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Crude oil remains on some Alaska beaches 21 years after the Exxon Valdez hit a reef and ruptured cargo tanks that discharged 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound.

State lawmakers are preparing for a federal decision on offshore drilling. The Senate Resources Committee held an oil-spill preparedness hearing Tuesday, as part of an effort to be ready if regulators allow drilling off Alaska's coast. Alaska has hosted many similar meetings this summer in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar holding a town hall meeting in Barrow, and the presidential commission investigating the spill holding a listening session at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Obama administration approved Shell's oil spill response plan for the Beaufort Sea on Wednesday. It was one of two outstanding federal permissions the company needs to proceed with its Arctic offshore drilling program this summer. Shell is still waiting for an EPA air permit for one of its drilling rigs. The company plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas starting in July. Environmental and some native groups have challenged the process, saying that there is no way to effectively clean up an oil spill in the Arctic.

by Ted Land Monday, June 28, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- BP says it's working to move an oil cleanup system from an Alaska down to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP spokesperson Robert Wine confirms that the company purchased an Ocean Buster oil skimmer from Shell Oil. Wine says the company can easily pack the containment boom and ship it to the gulf, where the company plans to install it on a different vessel. The skimmer is part of Shell's Nanuq oil spill response vessel, currently docked in Seward.

by Megan Baldino Monday, June 14, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- University of Alaska Anchorage Chancellor Fran Ulmer says she's honored to be named to President Obama's commission on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The White House made the announcement Monday. Ulmer says she will try to work as a bridge between Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, since Alaska has a lot of expertise on spill cleanup after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Because the post is voluntary, Ulmer will also remain UAA chancellor.

by The Associated Press Wednesday, July 21, 2010 SOLDOTNA, Alaska – An estimated 630 gallons of oil have spilled in a pipeline corridor on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Alaska. The Department of Environmental Conservation says a survey crew discovered the spill in the Swanson River Oil Field Tuesday. Chevron notified authorities and shut down its active crude line in the area. The cause of the spill hasn't been determined, though agency spill responder Steve Russell says the leak has apparently stopped.

by Lori Tipton Tuesday, May 4, 2010 VALDEZ, Alaska -- The coastline in states bordering the Gulf of Mexico is still being threatened by crude oil that continues to gush from three leaks. In Alaska, many residents living in communities around Prince William Sound say they know all too well the devastation being felt by those who work and live in the Gulf. Some Valdez residents say the disaster in the Gulf is like déjà-vu.  "We still have a lot of oil out there and it's still doing damage," said Stan Stephens, owner of Stan Stephens' Glacier and Wildlife Cruises.

by The Associated Press Friday, April 30, 2010 NEW ORLEANS -- British Petroleum downplayed the possibility of a catastrophic accident at an offshore oil rig that exploded and caused the worst U.S. spill in decades along the Gulf Coast. In its 52-page exploration plan and environmental impact analysis for the well, BP repeatedly suggested it was unlikely, or virtually impossible, for an accident to occur that would lead to a giant crude oil spill and serious damage to beaches, fish, mammals and fisheries.

by Jason Lamb Tuesday, June 15, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) has put together a "how-to" guide based on 20 years of hindsight after the Exxon Valdez spill. The council says their guide, which is hundreds of pages long, is getting more and more popular by the day.  "There are many Alaskans who have not only personal experience but expertise, and I'm hopeful that I can connect that with the people in the gulf and the work of the commission," said Fran Ulmer.

Shell Oil could be gambling big with its latest move. Its Kulluk drilling ship left Dutch Harbor on Monday, heading to the Arctic on an uncertain journey. Shell says its second ship, the Noble Discoverer, should also leave Dutch Harbor sometime this week. Despite this, federal permits are not yet in hand to drill individual wells -- and an oil spill response barge, the Arctic Challenger, sits in a Bellingham, Washington shipyard. Drilling cannot begin until it's stationed in the Arctic.    Finally, Shell says, all of the pieces are coming together.

The Obama administration is preparing to open up more areas in Alaska's Arctic to offshore oil and gas exploration, as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar officially handed his plan off to President Obama and Congress Thursday. In a Tuesday morning teleconference from Norway, Salazardetailed a proposed five-year offshore lease plan that includes areas in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The potential lease sale in the Chukchi would take place in 2016. The lease sale for the Beaufort is planned for the following year.

Residents in Cordova will soon have an impressive place to gather for meetings and city events with its new city center. The building will house city offices, a museum, the library, and it will also have space for performances in its location along 1st Street in downtown Cordova. The city has planned the center for more than a decade, but it was only in the past few years that the city was able to come up with the money. “This stems out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the city of Cordova was very negatively affected by that and this is a goal to sort of help the community rebuild part of that economic base that we lost in that oil spill,” Cordova City Manager, Mark Lynch said.

The Obama administration approved Shell's oil spill response plan for the Beaufort Sea on Wednesday. It was one of two outstanding federal permissions the company needs to proceed with its Arctic offshore drilling program this summer. Shell is still waiting for an EPA air permit for one of its drilling rigs. The company plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas starting in July. Environmental and some native groups have challenged the process, saying that there is no way to effectively clean up an oil spill in the Arctic.

A fleet of vessels and people are about to head north to Alaska to take part in Shell's historic planned offshore Arctic oil drilling project. This could be one of the busiest summers in recent history for the people of the North Slope, as Shell is very close to its goal of exploring for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. If you know where to look, there are definite signs that something big is on the way. Environmental groups are stepping up their game, so too is the U.S. Coast Guard.

Members of the Arctic Council wrapped up a three day meeting in Girdwood to discuss a proposed international oil spill agreement on Thursday. Last May, representatives from eight Arctic nations formed a task force to produce an agreement that would prepare for and respond to oil pollution incidents in the Arctic. Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell says the agreement is needed because of the high number of oil, fuel and ore shipments made through the Bering Sea. “We urged the group as they're meeting to pay very close attention to communities, the coastal communities, people who depend on subsistence resources, people who depend on whaling or sealing, or going after walrus to make sure that any oil spill response in the arctic works very closely with community members,” Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said.

Opponents of Shell Oil's plans to explore for oil in arctic waters say Alaskans should pay attention to what's happening in Nigeria, where Shell has shut down its Bonga Oil Field. The well is located about 75 miles offshore, but Shell says it wasn't the source of a spill that sent about 1.7 million gallons of oil flowing into the ocean. Shell says the fuel spilled on Tuesday, while it was loaded onto a tanker. Since then, it's spread about 115 nautical miles and is expected to reach Nigeria's beaches on Thursday.

Shell Oil Company's exploration plan for summer 2012 offshore drilling in the Chukchi Sea was conditionally approved by the Department of the Interior on Friday. Among the conditions in the approval is a measure which requires Shell to cease drilling in areas where there may be oil, 38 days before the start of November, a time when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) anticipates the sea will freeze over. The open water season in the Arctic, during which exploration is feasible, lasts just a few months, July through October.

There is expected to be heated public testimony Wednesday night about the Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) hearing. Public testimony starts at 7 p.m. at the library in Anchorage. Supporters and people concerned about drilling in the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf are expected to give testimony. Lease sale 193 was challenged in court by environmental groups and Alaska Native organizations. That led to the U.S District Court for the District of Alaska asking for further analysis.

Alaska has lost a major voice in Valdez news. Valdez radio station KVAK says newsman Pat Lynn died Saturday at the age of 75. Lynn’s wife of 50 years Jean, his son Richard and daughter in-law Amanda were at his side. Patrick Karl Lynn was born in Quebec on Jan. 18, 1936. He migrated to the U.S. in 1958 and began his journalism career in 1962 with the Pacifica Tribune, under publisher Bill Drake. He then served as editor of the St. Augustine Record in Florida through the late 1960s.