July 20, 1989 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 15693 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS THE "EXXON VALDEZ" SPILL The oil companies made many pledges in broken our promises to the people of the the anxious days nearly 20 years ago when state." declares Theo Polasek, Alyeska's vice Congress was weighing their audacious plan president of operations. HON. GEORGE MILLER to run an 800-mile pipe, filled with hot pe­ Alyeska is owned and funded by seven oil OF CALIFORNIA troleum, across the fragile frozen wilder­ companies. A British Petroleum unit has IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ness. The industry would offer the world's just over 50% of Alyeska <part of it acquired Thursday, July 20, 1989 finest high-tech pollution controls. There in the takeover of Standard Oil of Ohio), would be crack emergency spill-response and units of Arco and Exxon have a bit Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the teams, incinerators to burn off sludge and more than 20% each. Smaller stakes are Subcommittee on Water, Power and Offshore toxic vapors, guages to measure any water held by Mobil, Amerada Hess, Unocal and Energy Resources has embarked on an ex­ dumped in the Valdez harbor. In charge of Phillips Petroleum. A committee drawn tensive investigation of the circumstances sur­ it all would be Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., from the seven, chaired by BP Oil Co. vice rounding the Exxon Valdez oilspill in Alaska. I the consortium set up by the oil companies president Fred Garibaldi, oversees Alyeska have toured the Prince William Sound spill that were about to strike it rich. like a board of directors. One of those members companies, Exxon Alyeska built the pipeline, snaking over area twice, talked with dozens of residents Corp., has come in for a firestorm of blame and government officials, and chaired 3 days and under some of the most treacherous ter­ since the March wreck of the Exxon Valdez rain in the world, for $10 billion. That was of hearings in Cordova and Valdez. Although caused an 11-million-gallon oil spill here. about $5.5 billion above budget, partly be­ the subcommittee's work is ongoing, it is al­ But there is another story about the oil cause of problems such as thousands of sus­ ready abundantly clear to me that much more companies' performance in Alaska over the pect welds that had to be dug up and redone than simple human error is behind the worst past 19 years, during which they have taken because X-Rays of some welds were faked. oilspill and most inept cleanup response in our home what the state of Alaska estimates is When the spigot was cranked open in June Nation's history. $45 billion in profits. It is Alyeska's story. 1977, the focus of Alyeska's operations shift­ Over the course of two decades, the The pipeline operator's track record, as ed to its marine terminal at Valdez-and to shown in internal documents, state records, a dogged pursuit of savings. world's major oil companies have taken home talks with regulators, public testimony and a profit estimated at $45 billion from develop­ interviews with current and former employ­ MISSING INCINERATOR ment of Alaska's North Slope. Yet at the ees, paints a picture of a consortium that Set against a mountain backdrop across same time, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.­ has long pursued a policy of cutting corners the bay from town, the marine terminal is owned and operated by seven major oil com­ on the environment. gray and imposing: 18 mammoth storage panies-has systematically cutback oilspill re­ WARS OF ATTRITION tanks hunched in the snow. Missing, sponse capabilities and resisted virtually every Over the years, Alyeska has gradually and though, are many of the things the oil com­ attempt by government regulators to get them quietly scrapped many safeguards and never panies said the terminal would include to to operate the pipeline and terminal in the ever built others that it told Congress it reduce risks of catastrophe. Alyeska never built 14 of the storage tanks called for in state-of-the-art fashion that they promised the planned. Several past and present employ­ ees say they occasionally fabricated environ­ construction plans approved by Congress in Congress and the people of Alaska prior to 1974. Nor did it build an incinerator to de­ construction. mental records. Alyeska has fought pro­ posed new regulatory controls in long, ex­ stroy toxic sludge produced by the termi­ For example, in a hearing I chaired yester­ pensive legal wars of attrition that have en­ nal's operations. Pipe on other incinerators day on oil spill cleanup technology, not a abled it to dump pollutants into the envi­ that Alyeska said would be stainless steel in­ single witness defended Alyeska's response ronment in excess of what regulators now stead is of less-expensive-and more easily to the Exxon Valdez spill. Alyeska lacked consider safe. It allowed its defenses against corroded-carbon steel. trained, dedicated cleanup crews, had inad­ a major accident to fall into disrepair. And Alyeska's owners also told Congress there would be a fleet of double-hulled tankers re­ equate and outdated equipment, and failed to many Alyeska statements-both before and after the spill-appear now to have been sistant to puncture. But the Exxon Valdez respond quickly and contain the spill as re­ and almost all other ships that call here quired by their own contingency plan. misleading at best. Alyeska's attitude, critics charge, made an don't have double hulls. Later in this Congress, we will be facing a environmental disaster more likely to occur When oil prices began falling in 1981, the fundamental choice on oil spill legislation: Do than it need have been, and made the owners of Alyeska ordered it to save even we continue to rely on oil company promises Exxon Valdez spill worse than it need have more on costs. In late 1982, Alyeska manag­ or do we make safe and environmentally been. ers prepared what they thought was a lean sound operation a matter of law? Before de­ "Based on my experience with Alyeska," budget and presented it to a meeting of the owners' committee in San Francisco. Ac­ ciding how to answer that question, and prior says James Woodie, who has been both Coast Guard commander for the port of cording to former Alyeska officials who to passing judgment on legislation, I urge my were briefed on the meeting at the time, colleagues to carefully consider the article by Valdez and an Alyeska marine superintend­ ent, "the only surprise is that disaster didn't committee members cited a figure, roughly Charles McCoy, "Broken Promises: Alyeska strike sooner." $220 million, and asked if the budget was Record Shows How Big Oil Neglected the Adds Dennis Kelso, head of Alaska's De­ under that; told it wasn't, they rejected it Alaska Environment" which appeared in the partment of Environmental Conservation: out of hand. Wall Street Journal on July 6, 1989. "Alyeska stands as a monument to a power­ "There was an overall attitude of petty ful and rich industry's fundamental failure cheapness that severely affected our ability [From the Wall Street Journal, July 6, to operate safely," recalls Mr. Woodle, who 1989] to keep its commitments. They have operat­ ed as if they were a sovereign state, with came over from the Coast Guard to run the terminal's arine operations just in time to BROKEN PROMISES-ALYESKA RECORD SHOWS terrible consequences. As a nation, we have see their budget slashed by about a third. "I How BIG OIL NEGLECTED ALASKAN ENVI­ to ask ourselves: 'Can we trust them any­ was shocked at the shabbiness of the oper­ RONMENT more?'" ation." PIPELINE FIRM CUT CORNERS AND SCRAPPED INTERPRETING THE RECORD As cost-cutting deepened, many water-pol­ SAFEGUARDS. RAISING RISK OF DISASTER Yes, Alyeska can be trusted, it insists. It lution controls went down the drain. The ALLEGATION OF FABRICATED DATA defends its performance after the March terminal has a facility to clean the oily bal­ <By Charles McCoy> spill, saying that until the crackup its envi­ last water carried by inbound tankers before ronmental record in Alaska was exemplary: it is discharged into the harbor. According VALDEZ, ALAsKA.-The Alaska oil pipeline more than 8,000 tankers in and out without to former employees and EPA investigative was going to show Big Oil at its environmen­ a catastrophe-providing 25% of the na­ reports, Alyeska never installed a planned tal best. tion's domestic oil supply. "We have not system for continuously monitoring the e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. 15694 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS July 20, 1989 quality of water flowing into the harbor, denied this repeatedly, saying the terminal Ivan Henman, Alyeska's vice president for and dismantled heaters designed to help had produced only 480 cubic yards of sludge environmental operations, contends that separate oil from the water. Alyeska says it in its nine years of operation between 1977 the only thing coming out of the hole was couldn't find a reliable continuous monitor­ and 1985. But Alyeska's records show that nitrogen, a few other harmless gases and a ing system, and the heaters were a mainte­ as early as 1980, it was looking for ways to little water. He says the alarms must have nance nightmare.