Some Cordova officials are concerned with the pending operational renewal of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced on Aug. 26 that it had begun reviewing a proposal that would authorize the pipeline to continue transporting crude oil across the state for another 30 years. The current operational right-of-way agreement doesn’t expire until 2034.
The BLM opened a 15-day comment period for the renewal – from Aug. 26 to Sept. 10 – but after pressure from officials, the agency extended the comment period through Sept. 17.
The proposal needs federal approval since about half the territory the pipeline covers is federal public land.
David Janka, Cordova resident and local representative on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (PWSRCAC), encouraged Cordovans and city leaders to engage with the public comment process. PWSRCAC, formed in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, is a group of locals that advise agencies and policymakers on issues related to the Alyeska Pipeline terminal and associated tankers.
Janka said the more than seven year head start in renewing the Alaska Pipeline permit suggests the BLM is capitalizing on President Donald Trump’s administration, which has long supported the pipeline’s operations.
“This just is a good time for them, the oil industry, to get renewed,” Janka told City Council members during the Sept. 2 meeting. “Personally I’m not quite sure if there’s any chance of getting any significant input in the process.”
He specified, however, that PWSRCAC can only comment on the terminal in Valdez and the tankers out of Prince William Sound.
The 800-mile pipeline, which was first authorized in 1974, has carried more than 19 billion barrels of oil from Alaska’s North Slope to Valdez in the decades since it was built, according to the BLM. In 2025 it moved an average of 463,000 barrels per day.
“The Trans Alaska Pipeline is still an engineering marvel and only growing in its importance to Alaska’s economy and global energy markets,” BLM Alaska State Director Kevin Pendergast said. “We are acting now to secure the pipeline’s future as we work to unlock the energy resources of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
The Alaska Pipeline is operated by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, and owned by three entities: Harvest Alaska, LLC; ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska Inc.; and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company LLC.
As a part of the permit re-up, the BLM is planning on conducting an environmental assessment, as opposed to the more involved environmental impact statement.
“(We’re) really hoping for a comment period on the environmental assessment, if there is one,” Janka told The Cordova Times.
When asked whether or not he was satisfied with the current comment period extension, Janka said PWSRCAC “asked for (a) 30 day comment period,” “so this is disappointing but better.”
The BLM’s permit renewal process also drew criticism from the Center for Biological Diversity.
“The oil burned from Alaska’s pipeline has come with a huge cost to our state’s climate,” Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the center, told state media outlets. “It’s driving declines in salmon and caribou, and contributing to mega-storms that are making communities unlivable. Alaska is facing massive climate disruption, but Trump wants to give the oil companies carte blanche to continue business as usual for the next three decades.”
The pipeline’s original environmental impact analysis nearly 50 years ago noted various “unavoidable effects” of the project – including that it would disturb natural habitat and likely release an “indeterminate amount” of oil into the ocean from tank-cleaning operations at sea off Port Valdez. It also mentioned the main potential environmental threat would come from “unintentional oil loss from the pipeline, from tankers, or in the oil field.”
Officials have said these potential adverse effects, on top of the decades-old infrastructure, is cause for concern. Multiple Cordova City Council members said during the meeting they were “distraught,” “upset,” and “very distressed” after learning of the permit renewal process. Mayor Kristin Smith indicated interest in submitting comments to the BLM.
Meanwhile, PWSRCAC plans to discuss the Alaska Pipeline right-of-way renewal during its board meeting in Whittier from Sept. 17-18.
To submit public comment to the BLM, visit the agency’s website here or send comments via email to [email protected].
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