PUBLIC NOTICE - STATE OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

An application package for an Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan, under Alaska Statute 46.04.030 and in accordance with 18 AAC 75, has been received by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The details are as follows:

Applicant: Oil Search (Alaska), LLC
601 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501

Proposed Activity: Review of a new plan application package for an Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan that is required to commit adequate resources to meet all planning requirements for prevention and response for a realistic maximum discharge from the operations of the North Slope Operations facility’s production and crude oil transmission pipeline operations production and seasonal exploration and development activities on the North Slope of Alaska. Covered facilities include onshore oil production facilities, storage tanks, crude oil transmission pipelines, flow lines, facility piping, and well pads. Oil Search (Alaska), LLC plans to conduct exploration in the Quokka production unit starting in winter 2025. This plan proposes to address response planning standards (RPS) for the following: a production facility with an initial RPS of 82,500 bbls, an exploration facility with a default RPS of 82,500 barrels (bbls), a crude oil transmission pipeline with a calculated RPS of 9,161 barrels, and a storage tank rupture with a calculated RPS of 300 barrels.

Location: North Slope, Alaska, onshore leases, including within the Pikka, Quokka, and Horseshoe Units.

Potential Results: A potential risk exists of oil spills entering the lands or waters of the state as a result of this operation.

Activity identified as: State Contingency Plan Number 25-CP-5290

Any person wishing to submit a request for additional information or provide comments regarding this application may do so electronically via our public notice site at https://dec.alaska.gov/comment/. If you are unable to submit comments via this site, you may submit them in writing to Nicole Allard, Department of Environmental Conservation, SPAR/PPRP, 610 University Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99709-3643, 907-451-2159 (phone), or Nicole.allard@alaska.gov. The submitter’s name and full contents of all submitted comments are considered public records and will be posted online in full during the public comment period. Comments submitted in writing directly to the Plan Reviewer will be uploaded to the public comment site. It is preferable for commenters to submit directly through the public comment site.

The public comment period for this application begins on February 5, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on March 6, 2025. Requests for additional information and comments must be received by 11:59 pm on March 6, 2025. It is the responsibility of the commenter to verify that email submissions are received by the deadline. An additional comment period may be provided in accordance with 18 AAC 75.455(d).
The application package is available for public review on the department’s website at http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/IPP/CPlansUnderReview.

The department will hold a public hearing on the plan application if it determines that good cause exists. Residents in the affected area or the governing body of an affected municipality may request a public hearing by writing to the Department of Environmental Conservation, at the above address prior to February 21, 2025.

The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you are a person with a disability who may need an accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact ADA Coordinator Mike Kruzinski, mike.kruzinski@alaska.gov, 1-907-334-0884; Alaska Relay Service/TTY/TDD 1-800-770-8973/TTY; or 711 prior to February 25, 2025 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.