The council’s board of directors met at the Embassy Suites in Anchorage on January 17 and 18.
Significant agenda items and actions by the board included:
• A presentation on a manufacturing flaw that led to a small leak on one of the crude oil loading arms on Berth 4 at Alyeska’s Valdez tanker terminal. Because all four loading arms on the Berth suffer from the same defect, Berth 4 has been shut down until the extent of damage can be verified and repairs can be made. Because the repairs are difficult during the winter, it appears that some loading arms on the berth will remain out of service for an extended period of time, requiring the terminal to operate with reduced loading capability.
• A report on a long-running series of problems that have prevented Alyeska from completing repairs to the liners for the secondary containment system—diked holding ponds, essentially—around some of the crude oil storage tanks at its Valdez tanker terminal. Alyeska received a notice of violation from the state on the problems in 2008 but, despite a series of repair completion efforts and deadline extensions from the state, the company has yet to resolve the problems with the liners. It is presently in discussions with the state regarding an extension of the deadline to sometime this year.
• A report on a consultant’s study of corrosion issues at the Valdez tanker terminal. The consultant came to mixed conclusions: The terminal was relatively corrosion-free and under good corrosion-management practices in some areas, but suffered from corrosion problems in other areas. However, the consultant did make one overarching recommendation: That all piping at the terminal be made inspectable as soon as possible. At present, much of the terminal piping cannot readily be inspected because it is either buried underground or covered by insulation.
• A briefing from the Coast Guard on the recent grounding of Shell’s Kulluk drill rig.
• Approval of a report on the cost of efforts to control invasive species in Alaska. The report provides an analysis of what public and private groups spent to manage invasive species in Alaska from 2007 through 2011 and also provides a first look at economic effects of invasive species here.
• Approval of a report on proposed measures to deal with the high winds in the Valdez area that occasionally require shutdown of crude oil loading operations at the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. tanker terminal.
• Consideration of a board resolution in support of efforts to revise the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund so that more money flows into it and money from the fund can more easily be used for preventing oil spills. The proposed revisions are backed by Prof. Rick Steiner, who will make a presentation to the board on the subject.