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Oil Drilling Contaminates Kenai Refuge
Lycos Environmental News Service ^ | 03/05/2002

Posted on 03/06/2002 2:14:05 PM PST by cogitator

Ameriscan, March 5, 2002

OIL DRILLING CONTAMINATES KENAI REFUGE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 5, 2002 (ENS) - Oil drilling in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska has resulted in more than 350 spills, explosions and fires, according to government studies released by the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) studies also found that oil drilling is linked with high numbers of deformed wood frogs.

The groups' report, "Toxic Tundra," details a contaminants study and a frog study, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The studies point to the need for further study of damage caused by oil production in Kenai and other National Wildlife Refuges, as well as the importance of keeping industrial development out of the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the groups say.

"In spite of all the industry's promises, oil drilling in Kenai and other national wildlife refuges has left behind a disgraceful legacy of contamination, toxic chemical spills, and lasting damage to wildlife and wildlife habitat," said Robert Dewey, vice president for government relations at Defenders of Wildlife. "With such a sorry record, does anyone honestly believe the oil companies' fatuous claims that they'll do better next time, if we just throw open the doors to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?"

Established in 1941 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to protect the large population of moose on the Kenai Peninsula, the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for 200 species of birds and wildlife, including bald eagles, trumpeter swans, brown and black bear, caribou and wolves.

Industrial oil development within the refuge includes almost 200 wells within three oil and gas fields that total 30 square miles. The wells are supported by 46 miles of oil and gas feeder pipelines, a 3,500 foot airstrip, 44 miles of roads and more than 60 individual well pads.

"More than 270,000 gallons of oil, produced water and other contaminants have been released into the wildlife refuge," the report notes. "Groundwater in some areas of the wildlife refuge shows contamination at 10 times the legal limit established by the Environmental Protection Agency."

"Oil drilling in a national wildlife refuge is simply an awful idea," said Lois Schiffer, Audubon's senior vice president for public policy. "There can be no question, in light of these studies, that oil drilling would be a disaster for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

The analysis by Audubon and Defenders of Wildlife is available at:

PDF Document: http://www.defenders.org/habitat/toxictundra.pdf


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: energylist; enviralists
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To: Dog Gone
This is a horribly distorted picture, which is exactly what they had planned when they wrote it.

You are absolutely spot on. Too bad journalists will never give us an honest context, preferring instead to leave much unsaid that might otherwise create a different perspective.

41 posted on 03/06/2002 4:54:55 PM PST by NilesJo
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To: RightWhale
350 oil spills, which total how many gallons? Not counting volume recovered by soaking up with Scottowels.

"More than 270,000 gallons of oil, produced water and other contaminants have been released into the wildlife refuge," the report notes.

By this statement it could be 269,998 gallons of produced water spilled, one gallon of water and one gallon of 'other'.

42 posted on 03/06/2002 5:40:25 PM PST by TC Rider
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To: Dog Gone
And whatever you do, don't remind these wackos that oil seeps to the ocean surface offshore California today like it has for thousands of years.

Yeah, Coal Oil Point has produced oil for gosh only knows how many millinnia before there was even an oil industry.

There isn't much point in trying to reason with econuts. They have a socialist agenda, and facts are just something to be ignored.

43 posted on 03/06/2002 5:58:26 PM PST by Ole Okie
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To: TC Rider
Water produced by drilling a well (horrors) by an oil company is awful, even if it is better water than Culligan bottles. By definition.
44 posted on 03/06/2002 6:36:31 PM PST by Dog Gone
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To: rightofrush
LOL!!

Their demonstration of wielding irrationality and deception gives evidence that they could easily grasp the nanotechnology concepts and the implications at a layman's level.

45 posted on 03/06/2002 6:37:56 PM PST by Zon
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To: Zon
The WWF is a "Green Website"??

Hard to imagine that side of McMahon, the Hulkster, and Macho Man Savage...

46 posted on 03/06/2002 6:45:59 PM PST by F16Fighter
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To: Dog Gone
I like "ecotourism", so rather than having my Alaska trip be a cruise through the Inside Passage with all of the other pollution dumping huge cruise ships (why doesn't anyone complain about them?) I went on a small ship.
We stopped at Kenai (gorgeous!), an area just below ANWR (desolate! like a moonscape) and several Inuit villages. The Inuit villages are really pollution sources - huge barrels of oil, snowmobiles and their summer cousins everywhere, trash, etc.
People are just not getting a fair picture of what this area is like. I applaud Norton's attempt to get the accurate pictures of the area into the public arena. But the media will not help.
47 posted on 03/06/2002 7:05:42 PM PST by speekinout
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To: cogitator
Is this the same {USFWS}that planted the cat hair in the national forrest so they could shut down travel in these parks I say forget it no one believes you lying bastards
48 posted on 03/06/2002 7:10:28 PM PST by solo gringo
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To: F16Fighter
WWF = World Wildlife Fund 
49 posted on 03/06/2002 7:17:30 PM PST by Zon
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To: speekinout
an area just below ANWR

ANWR is on the North Slope. Did you sail all the way around Alaska to Barrow and Prudhoe? By golly, that would be a trip!

50 posted on 03/06/2002 9:43:28 PM PST by RightWhale
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To: Dog Gone
Water produced by drilling a well (horrors) by an oil company is awful, even if it is better water than Culligan bottles. By definition.

It's been a while since I've been to the oil patch, but my recollection is that water is mixed with bentonite to produce 'drillers mud' a lubricant pumped into the shaft.

Bentonite is a naturally occurring volcanic substance that lays over most Wyoming. Commonly used in cat litter, women's makeup, etc.

Wouldn't want any of that to get loose in the enviroment.

51 posted on 03/07/2002 6:25:30 AM PST by TC Rider
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To: RightWhale
350 oil spills, which total how many gallons?

The report says 270,000 gallons.

52 posted on 03/07/2002 7:23:33 AM PST by cogitator
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To: LarryLied
Who cleaned it all up?

Presumably the people living nearby. Quite a bit of it isn't cleaned up; I've been to an atoll in the Pacific that I have to leave unnamed where you can still see rusting landing craft offshore.

As for oil, when it spills, the volatile component evaporates and the heavy component (tar) eventually sinks. If it sinks into the deep ocean, like every other organic material it'll eventually get broken down by bacteria. But that takes time.

53 posted on 03/07/2002 7:26:35 AM PST by cogitator
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To: alaskanfan
Most of these reported incidents are minor in nature, for example a loose hose clamp causes a "spill" of one gallon of antifreeze.

I have no doubt of that. But -- a couple gallons here, a couple gallons there, and eventually it could accumulate into a problem.

54 posted on 03/07/2002 7:29:42 AM PST by cogitator
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To: Antoninus II
That's 350 spills, explosions and fires. NOT 350 spills PLUS explosions and fires. You need to read properly. There is no breakdown in this total. And by today's standard you can have a 'spill' just from a trip out.

The PDF document linked in the article has a timeline of the major events. There was a 2,000 gallon oil spill and a 200,000 gallon oil spill in the timeline.

55 posted on 03/07/2002 7:33:51 AM PST by cogitator
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To: RightWhale
Okay, 349 spills, 1 fire, and no explosions. How many gallons were spilled from oil drilling operations, and how many were spilled when the nozzle fell out of the filler pipe on the pickup truck and the can of Heat fell off the fender?

See reply 55 or read the linked PDF document, which describes the major incidents. The major spill in the refuge was 200,000 gallons of oil.

56 posted on 03/07/2002 7:35:27 AM PST by cogitator
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To: Dog Gone
Even a teaspoon counts and requires an incident report. Never mind that you probably have more "oil spills" on the floor of your garage.

See reply 55 or read the linked PDF docuement for a timeline of major incidents in the Kenai Refuge.

57 posted on 03/07/2002 7:36:51 AM PST by cogitator
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To: Carry_Okie
Crude oil could well serve as a foundation nutrient of the marine food chain in that area. I don't think modern scientists really know and sure as heck wouldn't speak their frank opinions on the record if they did.

Crude oil seeps off of Louisiana have the same kind of organisms that populate deep-sea hot springs on mid-ocean ridges.

Living off Oil

58 posted on 03/07/2002 7:41:40 AM PST by cogitator
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To: tet68
Notice that there is no time frame mentioned

See reply 55 or read the linked PDF document. The major spill in the refuge was a 200,000 gallon spill. Other spills have been 1-2,000 gallons.

59 posted on 03/07/2002 7:43:22 AM PST by cogitator
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To: NilesJo
I believe that many of these so-called spills and explosions happened many years ago, perhaps even before much of the environmental legislation was put into effective practice. I don't believe that over the last 15 years you will find much contribution to pollution

A 5,630 gallon oil spill took place in 1991. The 200,000 gallon spill (which I now note was a mix of oil and "produced water") took place in 1999.

60 posted on 03/07/2002 7:46:23 AM PST by cogitator
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