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8195 Kenai Spur Highway
Kenai, Alaska 99611
Phone: 907-283-7222
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Cook Inlet Navigator e-News
September 2019
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UPDATE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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The CIRCAC Board of Directors met in Homer on September 6, with a full agenda of presentations from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Tim Robertson from Nuka Research who provided an update on the Pipeline Assessment project.
Hilcorp submitted its presentation--including an update on their Cook Inlet operations, seismic testing and the decommissioning of the Drift River Oil Terminal--in writing. Hilcorp has set up a hotline number for subsistence users to share information on seismic activity and is also hosting daily phone calls with subsistence users and local mariners with information about vessel location and activities. Seismic work is expected to be completed by October 31. The phone number is 907-777-8599.
Progress is being made to dismantle the Drift River Oil Terminal. The facility's pipes and storage containers are now oil-free. The oil in the ground, however, is a long-term Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation remediation clean-up project. We are proud of the role we played to advance the Cross-Inlet pipeline and Drift River Oil Terminal removal.
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The U.S. Coast Guard covers a lot of ground in Alaska
Captain Sean MacKenzie, Commander Sector Anchorage; Captain Patrick Hilbert, District 17 Chief of Prevention (photo); and Lt. Edward "Kahi" Kaaua, Supervisor of the Homer Marine Safety Detachment gave the Board a broad but detailed overview of the U.S. Coast Guard's operations in Alaska, including mission, search and rescue, current and future assets, and jurisdictional responsibilities.
Congress has approved six USCG national security cutters to increase America's presence in the Polar region, the Bering Sea and the Arctic to 365 days a year. Captain MacKenzie, while speaking about CIRCAC’s work and progress within Cook Inlet, commended the Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee for taking ownership of the Ice Guidelines formerly managed by the USCG.
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Cook Inlet Pipeline Assessment is Progressing
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Tim Robertson of Nuka Research reported steady progress with the Cook Inlet Pipeline Study, having completed Phases 1 and 2 (regulatory framework and a validated inventory). Phase 3— Panel of Experts' review and recommendations—is ongoing. Under the charter, the Expert Panel is to recommend measures to reduce risks of failures that could threaten structural integrity. The Panel has met once in person and multiple times by teleconference. They have developed 230 scenarios associated with the potential loss of integrity and are scoring them by likelihood and consequences—environmental, social, and economic impacts. The Panel will review their differences and then meet September 31/October 1 in Anchorage to develop recommendations. We expect a report to be forthcoming by year's end.
With a grant to CIRCAC from the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Nuka developed a
website
with background information on Cook Inlet pipelines, and conducted a survey, public webinar, and public meeting. Questions from the participants pertained to emergency response, information/data, infrastructure, Inspection/Maintenance, Other/General. Nuka’s presentation is posted on CIRCAC's web page,
here
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CIRCAC Program Highlights
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Environmental Monitoring Program
This month, CIRCAC's Director of Science and Research, Sue Saupe, is providing training for regulators and industry in the Cook Inlet Response Tool and ShoreZone.
NOAA Coastal and Oceans Resources Center is developing a "Human Impressions" exhibit modeled after the Coastal Impressions ShoreZone Exhibits.
There are new reports of range extensions for Macrocystis kelp on the other side of Cook Inlet caused by warming temperatures. These beds are very dense and could retain oil during a spill, which could hamper clean-up efforts. The kelp is an essential habitat for forage fish and otters in heavy weather.
Working with contractors and the Protocol Control Committe, staff reviewed and commented on several permits, including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Marine Mammal Take Permit for Hilcorp activities over the next five years, as well as seismic work. CIRCAC still has concerns that were not resolved by the NMFS. Chief among them, the permit should contain, but does not, a requirement for additional passive acoustic monitoring in Cook Inlet.
The permit also proposes, without discussion, a quarter-mile causeway in Chinitna Bay. CIRCAC's comments are at
www.circac.org/wp-content/uploads/Taking-of-marine-mammals.pdf
CIRCAC is also not satisfied with the APDES General Oil and Gas Permit for Cook Inlet and the Individual Permit for the Osprey Platform. We believe they are oversimplified and contain misinformation; the permits would also increase the sources and total contaminant loadings to Cook Inlet. We are awaiting comments to our concerns from ADEC.
Prevention, Response, Operations & Safety
The Ice Monitoring System of Cameras has two new cameras—one on A Platform and one on Granite Point Platform. Another new camera is in the works for the Tyonek Platform. We are testing the GRID (Geographic Resources Inventory Database) program during a drill on October 26 with Marathon. Staff is developing new Geographic Response Strategies for stream crossings along the truck route used by tank trucks carrying crude oil from the BlueCrest Cosmopolitan Facility.
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8195 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai, Alaska 99611
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