adn.com | environment : Oil spill is the North Slope’s biggest ever By RACHEL D’ORO, Associated Press Writer
More than 200,000 gallons of crude leaked from a ruptured transit line onto the tundra in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, making the spill discovered earlier this month the largest ever on the North Slope, according to an official estimate released Friday.
The estimated spill size of 202,000 to 267,000 gallons far surpasses the 38,000 gallons spilled in 2001, officials said. …
[I]t was not expected to be as large as the BP spill, said DEC spokesman John Dixon.
“I’d be surprised if it even exceeds 500 gallons,” he said. [mjh: Surprise!] …
To date, workers have recovered 52,920 gallons — or 1,260 barrels — of crude.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski:
But if Arctic oil development was going to harm the environment or wildlife, then I would agree opening it would not be worth the cost. But the vast majority of Alaskans, including Alaska’s Eskimos who know it best, support ANWR’s development because we know 21st-century technology guarantees the land’s protection.
ABQjournal: Wilson Record a Maverick Streak, Not GOP Buckin’ By Michael Coleman, Of the Journal
Those who oppose oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have won some nail-biter victories in Congress in recent years, but Sen. Pete Domenici keeps demanding a rematch.
The New Mexico Republican and chairman of the Senate energy committee maneuvered again last week to open the refuge to oil companies by putting the measure in the federal budget. Domenici keeps using that tactic because the federal spending blueprint is immune to a filibuster….
Domenici told me late last week that America needs Alaska’s oil and he’s willing to take the political heat to get it.
“For those who can’t vote for it because of political reasons, that’s their prerogative,” Domenici said. “But I don’t want to let another opportunity pass on my watch.”
mjh’s blog — Oil and Gas Contributes $179.7 million – 74 percent to Republicans
The Money Behind the Debate Over Drilling in ANWR
Oil companies are hoping their considerable political clout, built up over years of generous campaign giving and lobbying, will put drilling in ANWR over the top. The oil and gas industry has contributed $179.7 million since 1989 to federal candidates and political parties, 74 percent to Republicans. … [mjh: Coincidence?]