The citizens' council that oversees the Valdez pipeline terminal and oil shipping operations says it will do a major review of how well the pipeline company is maintaining the facility in light of recent oil spills and other problems that have come to its attention.
Perhaps most importantly, the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council has hired the company's own former chief operating officer to do the review.
Dan Hisey left Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. in 2005 after six years. He was second-in-command of the operation.
Hisey said Wednesday he has hired another recently retired Alyeska executive to help him give the Valdez terminal a thorough review. The audit is expected to begin later this month.
Mark Swanson, executive director of the citizens' council, called the review one of the most important efforts the council is undertaking in its role of making sure the facility is being safely operated and well-maintained.
"This is the highest priority we're doing," Swanson said. "We'd be really derelict in our job if we didn't take a close look" at how well Alyeska is staying on top of potential problems such as corrosion or equipment failure.
The review is expected to cost about $100,000 which Swanson called "not an insignificant part of our budget."
Law requires Alyeska to fund separate oversight
The citizens' council was put in place after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and is funded by Alyeska under a federal law. The council conducts its own studies and scientific research projects and closely monitors oil-shipping operations in Valdez and at the terminal but does not have a role with the trans-Alaska pipeline itself. The council has no enforcement authority but does have the legal ability to conduct reviews such as this maintenance audit and make recommendations.
Recently, Alyeska has questioned some of the expenses the council has incurred, particularly relating to work the council did on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.
Environmental groups and some critics of Alyeska have been urging the government to conduct an independent review of the pipeline in light of spills, system failures and safety concerns raised by employees in the last year. So far, independent examinations of the pipeline haven't been launched, although U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked for a "third-party" study overseen by Alyeska that officials have said is in the works.
Swanson said the council has been talking about a broad review of how well Alyeska is maintaining the Valdez terminal for some time. A major spill last year at Pump Station 9 got the group's attention and the board approved the audit in September. It was supposed to begin in January but Alyeska had another spill forcing it to shut down the entire pipeline for repairs.
Besides the spills, Swanson said the council has learned of other potentially serious problems at the terminal. One that could have been very dangerous involved pressure relief valves on oil storage tanks that failed and allowed fumes to escape and flow down around the tank. The fumes are combustible and could have ignited and they're dangerous to breathe, too, Swanson said.
The council later found out that there had been no routine inspection of those valves, something the council brought to Alyeska's attention, he said.
Leaks also were discovered in drainage areas involving industrial wastewater, and Swanson said those were not being routinely inspected, either.
Those examples as well as other incidents prompted the council to wonder what other systems at the 34-year-old facility also were being overlooked when it came to regular inspection and maintenance. Swanson said a paperwork audit in 2007 found that Alyeska did a good of of maintaining equipment and systems that were "on the radar screen" and now the council wants to check on things that might be slipping through the cracks.
Swanson said he and other council representatives met with Alyeska on Wednesday and that the company is expected to cooperate with the council in the audit.
Hisey said the review will begin with a thorough look at maintenance records and other paperwork but will also include physical inspection of equipment and talking with employees at the facility.
The audit is expected to be finished by mid-summer.
Alyeska spokeswoman Michelle Egan said Wednesday the company is working with the council on the audit and is in the process of lining up documents that can be sent to the group electronically to get it started. Other documents will need to be reviewed at the terminal, she said.
Alyeska is also trying to get a better feel for the scope of the project because the company is still dealing with some issues remaining from the shutdown in January, primarily a special pigging operation that is still going on and the company is still focused on, she said.
"I think we're in the process of moving it forward," Egan said about the audit. "It's been somewhat challenged by the work we have in progress" from the January shutdown.
Contact Patti Epler at patti(at)alaskadispatch.com