Doyon says the Rig 26 tundra cleanup is in its final phase

Doyon Drilling says the cleanup where its Rig 26 toppled onto the tundra northwest of Nuiqsut in January has reached its final phase, with soil and water samples now at a state-approved lab. That account comes from the company's own incident page, not from an independent state filing.

The rig and all the heavy equipment were hauled out before summer. An outside environmental specialist has finished the field sampling under a plan the joint agency-and-company response team approved in August, and Doyon says it will bring in a separate firm to investigate what caused the accident.

The drilling module, which moves under its own power, left a gravel road and tipped onto snow-covered tundra on Jan. 23. The state estimated the spill at about 4,000 gallons of diesel and 600 gallons of hydraulic oil. Eight workers were hurt, all treated and released.

Where it happened is the concern. The site sits less than 500 feet from a tributary of the Colville River's Nechelik Channel, in country that is critical polar bear habitat and home to caribou, Arctic fox, muskox and ptarmigan. By early February, crews had recovered about 111 gallons of spilled product held back by sandbags, a snow fence and an ice trail, and the state named Doyon the responsible party.

Nuiqsut residents have long raised concerns in borough planning documents about freshwater security and habitat damage from oil development around the village.

What the state has confirmed independently stops in early February. Its last situation report, from Feb. 4, recorded no ongoing leaks. No agency filing since then verifies the sampling, the equipment removal or the final phase Doyon describes.

The lab results will determine whether more cleanup is needed.