EPA opens comment on Cook Inlet offshore exploration discharge permit

EPA is taking public comment through Sept. 21 on a proposed permit that would govern wastewater and other pollutant discharges from oil and gas exploration facilities in federal waters of Cook Inlet.

EPA Region 10 published notice Friday that it proposes to reissue the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit for Cook Inlet exploration facilities. The draft permit would authorize specified pollutant discharges into federal Cook Inlet waters, subject to limits and requirements meant to minimize pollution and protect water quality.

The permit applies to exploration facilities in federal waters, not every Cook Inlet oil and gas operation.

EPA says the current permit, AKG285100, took effect Sept. 1, 2016, expired Aug. 31, 2021, and has been administratively continued since. The agency posted the proposed reissued permit, a fact sheet and a 2026 ocean discharge criteria evaluation along with the public notice.

Comments can be filed through the Federal Register notice or emailed to [email protected] with "Public Comments on AKG51000" in the subject line.

Cook Inlet oil and gas development touches several Alaska pressure points: energy supply, commercial fishing, marine habitat and coastal community oversight. This notice does not approve a specific exploration project. It opens the permit record for the discharge rules that would apply if covered exploration occurs in federal Cook Inlet waters.

Source: EPA Region 10 public notice and Federal Register notice, Aug. 7, 2026.