Fairwater Tankers asks state to renew Cook Inlet crude tanker spill plan

Fairwater Tankers Alaska LLC has asked the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to renew the oil spill plan for two crude tankers that call at Nikiski, with Mark Curtis listed as the applicant. Public comment opened Tuesday and closes at 11:59 pm Dec. 9.

The tankers California and Washington carry Alaska North Slope crude from the Valdez Marine Terminal in Prince William Sound across the Gulf of Alaska and up Cook Inlet to the Kenai Pipeline Company dock in Nikiski, making about 12 trips a year, according to the DEC public notice. Each ship can hold up to 818,425 barrels of crude but is limited to 499,999 barrels of cargo and slop in Cook Inlet. The vessels are usually in state waters for at least 48 hours on each run from Valdez to Nikiski.

The plan, formally an oil discharge prevention and contingency plan, must commit enough resources to prevent and respond to a realistic maximum discharge from the tankers' operations, the notice says. It states that a potential risk exists of oil spills entering state lands or waters as a result of the operation. The DEC approved-plan listing shows the current plan expiring Aug. 2, 2027.

Cook Inlet supports commercial and subsistence fisheries, according to the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, one of the citizen councils created under federal legislation after the Exxon Valdez spill. A 2017 NOAA report on drilling in the inlet, citing the state's spill database, counted 79 Cook Inlet-area spills since July 1, 2013, totaling 477,942 liters, mostly from vessels and harbor activities and from exploration and production facilities.

Hilcorp's request to renew its plan for 12 Cook Inlet platforms is open for comment through Dec. 1.

Comments can be submitted through the DEC public comment site. The application package is available on the DEC website.

Residents of the affected area, or the governing body of an affected municipality, may request a public hearing in writing before Nov. 24. DEC will hold one if it finds good cause.