Alyeska seeks 26 more acres along Sag River for riprap stockpiles

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company wants to stockpile rock at four points along the Sagavanirktok River to protect a stretch of buried Trans-Alaska Pipeline against erosion of the riverbank.

To do that, the company is asking the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to add about 26.1 acres of state land along the river's east bank to the pipeline's right-of-way lease. The department published notice of the application Wednesday, July 22.

The four stockpile areas sit 77 to 82 miles south of Deadhorse. They cover about 6.1 acres at pipeline milepost 82.5, about 10.9 acres at milepost 81, about 4.7 acres at milepost 78.25 and about 4.4 acres at milepost 77.5.

State Pipeline Coordinator Anthony Strupulis wrote that the riprap would serve "to intercept an unforeseen rapidly eroding bank towards the pipeline."

This is the second Sagavanirktok River filing this year. An earlier application sought about 7.9 acres for a buried rock sill at milepost 28.3 and a staging area near Franklin Bluffs, after a late spring breakup thinned pipe cover at a relic oxbow.

The department is soliciting public input on the proposed lease amendment as part of its administrative review. State records identify the right-of-way lease as ADL 63574.

The notice is a request, not an approval. The amendment could change after the comment review.