A new federal report says the group overseeing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline needs to update its operations.
The multiagency group, called the Joint Pipeline Office, was created after the Exxon Valdez oil spill more than three decades ago. The goal was to monitor the safety of the system, which includes the 800-mile pipeline and Valdez Marine Terminal, where North Slope oil gets loaded onto tankers.
"It all comes down to preventing another spill, another disaster, like the Exxon Valdez," said Brooke Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council. "There is a lot of interest in unleashing America's energy potential, and we want to ensure that development continues as safely as possible in our state."
The report, released last week, comes from the Government Accountability Office, a Congressional watchdog agency. It found that the Joint Pipeline Office has scaled back its safety oversight of the pipeline over time and recommends that the office document its shared goals, clarify responsibilities for each participating agency and identify any potential gaps in safety oversight.
The Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council is one of the federally mandated citizen oversight groups that advises on safety at the marine terminal in Valdez. Several years ago, the council commissioned a report that found wide-ranging safety issues at the terminal after an incident that damaged tank vents there.
In response, Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Sullivan initiated the federal report. It says that the agencies that make up the joint office – including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Department of Natural Resources and others – have been collaborating on spill drills and inspections. But the report points out that the office has reduced some of its oversight activities, such as field inspections. It also says the Joint Pipeline Office has not produced public reports for most of the 20 years since it closed its physical office.
"When those types of communications then cease, that's less transparency, less access to information that the public has," Taylor said.
The agencies that make up the joint office — and their roles in it — have also changed in the past three decades. The report said that a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities can lead to gaps in oversight, especially at the Valdez Marine Terminal.
In fact, when a fire started at the terminal in 2023 near one of the tanks during cleaning, the office acknowledged that no single agency was responsible for oversight of such incidents, according to the report.
Taylor said an independent review would have helped examine what caused the fire and what should be done to prevent incidents like that.
"There's still questions we have around that incident, and without a regulatory body, it's limited in what we can really learn from it," Taylor said.
Taylor said the members of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council were encouraged to see the recommendations for the joint office to clarify their goals and responsibilities. But she said the council also felt that the federal report fell short of capturing the scale of the problems with monitoring the pipeline system.
"There have been, on multiple levels, for many years now, reductions in staffing and budget and resources that are potentially leading to gaps in oversight at this point," she said.
Taylor said the council hopes to continue working with government officials, regulatory agencies and industry representatives to examine the gaps in oversight and address those concerns.
Michelle Egan, a spokeswoman for Alyeska Pipeline, said in an email that the company appreciates the report and is committed to working with regulators to ensure the safety of workers and operations.
