EPA Orders Alyeska to Investigate Leak At Pump Station; Pipeline Allowed to Restart

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The operator of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System was granted permission to restart the 800-mile pipeline Jan. 11 after the Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order detailing a series of response and investigation actions the company must take.

The pipeline, operated by Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., was shut down Jan. 8 after oil was discovered leaking into a basement of one of the buildings at Pump Station 1, the intake station at Prudhoe Bay. The shutdown required North Slope oil producers to cut back production to 5 percent of normal levels.

Alyeska’s pipeline operations are overseen by a ...