The operator of the Trans Alaska pipeline system says it has received federal approval to restart the 800-mile line after a spill this week. The line has been shut down since Tuesday, when Alyeska Pipeline Service Company said a power failure during a planned shutdown allowed several thousand barrels of oil to spill into a partially filled storage tank. Alyeska spokeswoman Michelle Egan says the shutdown was the pipeline’s longest in at least a decade.
Egan says the company received authorization from the Federal Department of Transportation to resume. Egan says that will be sometime later today. The pipeline will be returning to full capacity within the next 24 hours.
Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage
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