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Environmentalists say oil terminal tanks should be emptied

by Leyla Santiago
Friday, March 27, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mount Redoubt hasn't been the best neighbor to the Drift River Oil Terminal.

This week, melted glacial debris -- called a lahar -- has taken over much of the Chevron property that the terminal sits on.

Some say Chevron is being irresponsible by keeping the oil in the tanks.

"We think there should be a drawn down of the tanks," said Bob Shavelson, Cook Inlet Keeper.

A letter from 12 environmental groups asks the Department of Homeland Security to order the terminal to draw down the 6 million gallons of oil left on the property to prevent an oil spill.

But the U.S. Coast Guard and Chevron say doing that is not a simple task.

"If we should drain the tanks and have amounts of hydrocarbon in there, basically they would become buoyant if lahar fluids came into the dike area," Rod Ficken, the vice president of Cook Inlet Pipe Line Company said. "If we take the oil out of the tanks, the tanks would have to be cleaned. So what's going to happen to all the water that was used in the tanks is going to be contaminated water and it has to go someplace."

They say the risk could be greater if the oil is taken out.

Environmental groups say prevention is more important.

"It makes no sense to leave 6 million gallons of oil at the base of an erupting volcano. We have vitally important fisheries in Cook Inlet that support countless families," Shavelson said.

But Chevron is confident the dike will continue to perform.

Their watchdogs just hope they don't find out otherwise when it's too late.

Contact Leyla Santiago at lsantiago@ktuu.com