USACE Preparing EIS For Controversial North Slope Drilling Project; Reaction From Grandmothers Growing Goodness

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing an EIS for a North Slope Alaska drilling site that critics worry will threaten fish and other wildlife in the nearby Colville River.

The Army Corps’ public notice on the description of the EIS explains the proposed project:

CPAI proposes to further develop hydrocarbon resources from its existing oil and gas leases in the Colville River Unit. The CD8 Project would target the Narwhal reservoir and include construction of a new 15-acre drillsite on a gravel pad, a 0.5-acre tie-in pad near Colville Delta 4 North (CD4N), a 6-mile gravel access road from Colville Delta 4 (CD4) to the drillsite, and 21 total miles of pipelines on 2.5 miles of new vertical support members (VSMs) and 5.4 miles on existing VSMs connecting to existing Colville River Unit infrastructure, and associated utilities.

Drillsite facilities would include wellhead shelters and drilling material storage and well work equipment. The drillsite is sized to accommodate up to 40 wells. Tie-in pad infrastructure would include a pig launcher and receiver, a metering skid, pipe rack, laydown area, and a communications tower.

The Project would potentially recover 90 million barrels of oil. The applicant would produce multiphase product from the drillsite and transport it to the Alpine Central Facility via multiphase pipelines for processing. Water and gas separated from the oil would be transported back to the drillsites via water and gas injection pipelines to be reinjected back into the subsurface formation to help maintain pressure and enhance oil production. These construction activities would permanently impact approximately 65.9 acres and temporarily impact approximately less than 0.1 acres of aquatic resources. For a more detailed Project description, please refer to the Project website, www.CD8EIS.com, to review the complete application.

Here’s some reaction from Grandmothers Growing Goodness:

The drill site, designated as CD-8, would be located on Kuukpik-owned lands, approximately two miles away from Nuiqsut, between the Ni?liq Channel and the Colville. The CD8 Project would require the construction of a new 15-acre drill site, a 6-mile gravel access road, and 21 total miles of pipelines in the largest and most productive river delta in northern Alaska. 

“Our community is unified in its opposition to ConocoPhillips’ proposed oil and gas drill site in the Colville River. This project exposes our village to unreasonable risk from blowouts, which we have already experienced twice in the past 15 years. We rely on the fish in the Colville River and this project threatens one of our most important sources of food. The air pollution from this new drill site, which will be visible from the school, jeopardizes our health and our community. The industry’s repeated demonstrations that it is unable to prevent a disaster from occurring should be enough for the Army Corps to stop this project,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness.

Throughout the next couple of weeks, the Corps will hold five public meetings for community members to ask questions and provide input, with three meetings held this week and two scheduled for next. The scoping comment period ends on October 21st.