GENERAL INTEREST — Quick Takes
Corps of Engineers approves ConocoPhillips project
The US Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. for the CD-5 Alpine Satellite Development Project within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
The Dec. 19 action culminates a nearly year-long review that included an analysis of engineering alternatives and supplemental technical information from state and federal agencies.
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires ConocoPhillips to use the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.
The CD-5 permit authorizes construction of a drilling pad, a 6-mile access road, 4 bridge crossings, 2 valve pads with access roads, and new pipeline support structures.
The permit also includes 22 special conditions intended to minimize the impact to the environment within the Arctic Coastal Plain. ConocoPhillips also agreed to pay mitigation fees to the Conservation Fund to compensate for unavoidable losses to aquatic resources, the Corps said.
The Corps evaluated practicable alternatives that included underground and above-ground pipelines. Additional information from ConocoPhillips, along with opinions from government agencies, documented that an aboveground pipeline posed less of a risk of damage to the aquatic ecosystem in this particular case.
Col. Reinhard Koenig, commander of the Corps's Alaska District, said the ConocoPhillips proposal "will provide year-round quick and effective pipeline monitoring, leak detection, and spill response."
A spokeswoman in ConocoPhillips's Anchorage office said that in coming months, ConocoPhillips plans to evaluate and incorporate the permit's terms into the project plan.
Deputy US Interior Sec. David J. Hayes also noted issuance of a final permit will allow construction of pipelines and a bridge over the Niqliq River.
"The Department of the Interior will continue to work with industry to develop the abundant resources in the NPR-A—protecting critical habitat for millions of migratory birds and calving areas for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou and safeguarding Native Alaskans' subsistence needs, while guiding sensible, productive energy exploration and development," Hayes said.
DOI appropriations bill in House omits some plans
Appropriations legislation introduced in the US House on Dec. 14 would set budgets for the US Department of the Interior and eight other federal departments for the rest of fiscal 2012, which began on Oct. 1. But the measure also would drop the Obama administration's proposal to increase oil and gas fees at the US Bureau of Land Management by $38 million.
BLM would receive $1 million, $5 million less than the previous year. The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management would receive $60 million to review offshore exploration plans and issue drilling permits. The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement would get $76 million, including $15 million for oil spill research. It also would be authorized to collect $62 million in inspection fees, with dedicated funding for approving permits and hiring inspectors and engineers.
The measure also contains provisions directing DOI to expedite permit approvals for new offshore energy production, and prohibiting implementation or enforcement of Interior Sec. Ken Salazar's order for BLM to review its holdings and designate "wild lands" for possible future designation as wilderness.
US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), the Energy and Natural Resources Committee's ranking minority member, separately said DOI's appropriations bill before the House contains language that would move authority over offshore Arctic air emissions from the US Environmental Protection Agency to DOI. Doing so would make the situation there comparable to the Gulf of Mexico without compromising environmental protections, she maintained.
She said she decided to propose transferring the authority after watching Shell Offshore Co. wait more than 5 years to receive valid operating permits from EPA after investing nearly $4 billion to prepare to explore its leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. DOI, by contrast, processes such permits in a matter of months, Murkowski said. She believes that all areas of the US Outer Continental Shelf should be regulated equally, she added.
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