 Formalizes Approach to Maintain Alaska Leadership in Safe Transportation of Oil April 18, 2002
"The best available technology requirement is an integral part of managing oil exploration, development, and transportation in Alaska," Knowles said. "We have had great success in applying the best available technology to bring state-of-the-art tractor tugs to assist tankers in Prince William Sound, and improve well-head source control techniques and leak detection technologies. The best available technology determinations have continually improved Alaska's spill prevention and response system and made it the best in the world." SB 343 adopts a consensus-developed approach to the use of best available technology, clarifying a recent Alaska Supreme Court decision that found ambiguity in the law upon which the current approach is based. The bill formally adopts the same methods for determining best available technology that were developed in 1997 and include the involvement of government, industry, regional citizens' advisory councils, and the environmental community. This bill validates those consensus-developed and effective methods, sustains the same level of rigor for contingency plan reviews, and supports the ability of the Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate new technologies and incorporate them into future contingency plans. "Oil and gas leasing activity in Alaska has steadily increased over the years, and that, plus aging fields in Cook Inlet and the North Slope, necessitates that we use the best tools to ensure that this development is done in an environmentally responsible manner," Knowles said. "This policy has served us well in the past and is essential as we help meet the energy needs of the nation in the future." Noting that policies are only as good as the resources to implement them, Knowles also called on the Legislature to fully fund state oversight agencies and approve his Oil Safety and Development initiative to increase well inspections and testing; air and water quality monitoring; and compliance with fire and safety codes.
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