ANCHORAGE, Alaska – On Sunday, May 30, the Anchorage Daily News published a story about a series of enforcement actions the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (DOT) has taken against Alyeska in recent years.

These enforcement actions are based on investigations of three incidents that the PHMSA characterized as “pipeline failures” and on six standard inspections in 2006 and 2007. Alyeska is awaiting the DOT ruling in all of these cases.

The three incidents covered in the enforcement actions are:

• Loss of scraper pig at Pump Station 7 in December 2006

• Tank 190 fire at Pump Station 9 on January 6, 2007

• Remote Gate Valve 32 spill on January 8, 2007

The Notice of Probable Violations includes other alleged deficiencies in Alyeska procedures that comply with DOT requirements. The DOT also identified additional deficiencies related to Alyeska’s cathodic protection program for the pipeline and those findings include civil penalties. It is important to note that while Alyeska has contested the enforcement actions, all of the concerns the DOT raised have been addressed and Alyeska has modified its processes to resolve any potential deficiencies with its operations. One example of these modifications includes rewriting the Integrity Management Program, IM-244, to better align it with DOT protocols for inspection.

The DOT process allows for pipeline operators to exercise the option of contesting a proposed violation. It is not Alyeska’s standard practice to contest all violations. However, in cases that Alyeska disagrees with DOT’s findings, their proposed remedy, or the size of the fine, Alyeska's only recourse is to contest the enforcement action.

Regarding the timing of these enforcement actions, Alyeska required to respond to DOT within 30-60 days. The resolution of the actions can be impacted by a number of factors like the timing in scheduling hearings and DOT’s issuing a final ruling on the matter following a hearing.

Alyeska takes these enforcement actions very seriously and the company works collaboratively with the DOT and State regulators to ensure it is maintaining the highest standards of integrity on TAPS. The regulatory review process is an integral part of that process and Alyeska will continue to proactively share information with regulators to identify improvement areas for safety, integrity management, and risk management on TAPS.

About Alyeska

Alyeska operates the 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which runs from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope south to the Port of Valdez, the northernmost ice-free port in the United States. The pipeline crosses three mountain ranges and 34 major rivers and streams. Alyeska operates out of Anchorage, Fairbanks and Valdez and at various facilities along the line. Alyeska was created to construct, operate, and maintain TAPS for the owner companies. The current TAPS owners are BP Pipelines (Alaska), ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, Unocal Pipeline Company, and Koch Alaska Pipeline Company.
 

For more information on Alyeska, visit the company’s website at www.alyeska-pipe.com.