A recap upon Alaska's North Slope largest “non-accidental” illegal discharge of hazardous waste.
There was a time in history, before the EXXON Valdez wreck, wherein oil field workers would come to odds with so-called environmentalists. It was “Oil Men verses the Green Guys”. I was an oil worker and at the same time a “green guy”. I remember many Totem debates with environmentalists down in Valdez, wherein I, along with my co-workers would win out the debates every time. See, what the environmentalists didn't realize or refused to accept was the fact that it takes an environmentalist's attitude in the field to make sure “Big Oil” maintained some semblance of environmental responsibility. Don't laugh! Look, when we were not at work making sure 2-million barrels of the “black gold” was making its way down the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline, for most of us it meant a week or two off the time-clock with unabated freedom surrounded by the greatest wilderness still “wild”. When the “Last Frontier” meant something. It meant spending a whole lot of time out fishing, hunting and hiking. We learned early on that we had to maintain this beauty for future generations, our children, as most of us where raising families during this time period. So we would be fools to let the natural beauty of the “Last Frontier” erode away just for the “black gold”. With that said, we became internal whistle-blowers, making sure that management couldn't pull a fast one to the detriment of the environment. It was the ultimate homegrown oversight. Look, we didn't need the state oversight to police the ways and means of the industry. We were on-sight all the time, official oversight only some of the time. And we were taught to make sure things were done right! Sure there came “accidents”, but what we are seeing today is a pathetic journey down the road to environmental ruins. I am talking the “Independents” that are given tax relief and royalty relief and with that a “license to kill”, leaving all environmental responsibility checked at the door. Case in point: The largest “non-accidental” illegal discharge took place about a year ago. It was at Pioneer Natural Resources' Oooguruk facility, located on Harrison Bay of the Colville River Delta, a gateway to the Beaufort Sea. This is pristine wilderness, the backyard of the Inupiat landholders, not in any shape or form desolation row or a wasteland. But when used glycol could not be sold, it was “shammed” away down-hole, injected out-of-sight without the proper permits. When first reported to the company management, not outside to regulators, PNR representatives denied all such allegations. And to try to discredit the individual worker that maintained a concern over the illegal discharges as defined by EPA guidelines, the attorney representing PNR went crying to the AOGCC, once again denying all allegations. PNR wanted to get it on record that nothing happened, as they supposedly performed their own internal investigation. Didn't we learn in kindergarten not to tell lies? But when evidence to the contrary surfaced, then the management realized they were caught red-handed without a plausible lullaby. So overnight it went from no illegal discharges to over 49,000-gallons of contaminated glycol now reported to the agencies in charge. The entire ship of fools it was! This is the largest “non-accidental” discharge on record for the “slope”. Because the oversight was lacking and could have prevented this had they been performing “oversight”, the regulators fined PNR a measly $10,000-dollars, a pittance and equal to about 20-minutes of crude oil production. As was the discharge a “sham”, so was the fine! At the same time, the Justice Department fined a fish processor $1.9-million in fines, for discharging a far less amount of glycol during a fishing operation in the Gulf of Alaska waters. That fine was based on the fact that the operation did not have the proper permits and the discharge was not an accident. And the fish processor didn't deny the discharge, but self-reported the ordeal, like is required by law. PNR did just the opposite, tried to hide it. The $5,000-dollar fine that PNR received for the illegal – without a permit – dumping, is is in no way shape or form a deterrent. It is a joke. But when we have a panic stricken legislature that wants to fill the void in the pipeline, with the likes of the Independents infiltrating where there was at one time some semblance of environmental responsibility, may as well shut-down the regulators, as it is business “not as usual” in Alaska's oil patch. Maybe the North Slope “wasteland” label will become fact over fiction, as just a few weeks ago and within eyesight the Oooguruk dumping grounds, ENI blasted crude oil out a flare stack at its Nitaitchuq production facility, only tens days after starting up the operation! The Beaufort is within a stones throw. Sorry, no fine! Had this been BP or ConocoPhillips, we would see a completely different outcome. This is a joke but not a joke, because ENI didn't even know who to call! They finally called the State Troopers! They don't even understand the proper reporting criteria, but still they have a permit to drill for oil? Doesn't the state perform a background check on the Independents? Look, I can't get by security on the “slope” without a personal background check, what gives. And this reporting wasn't a mistake, as it appears that it was all supposed to be under-the-table, just the way the Independents want it here in Alaska! They want their cake and eat it too. The fact that the EPA allowed PNR to get away with not even a slap on the wrist with the illegal disposal of 49,000-gallons of contaminated glycol, it is suspect. Hold that thought. It is beyond suspect and goes to show that things have changed on the “slope”, not for the good, but for the worse! There is no oversight, except for someone watching the money flow into the state coffers. May as well shut-down all the regulators, as we will save a whole lot of loot. So much for the environment. I am glad my kids enjoyed it while it was still “virgin” territory!
