RESEARCH DONE:
Home
Part
1- Environmental Risk Assessment:After
reading from various sources about the methods of
Mission 2007
environmental/ecological risk assessment, I came
up with a summery that explains the scope of
environmental
assessment, which is outlined below:
Team
1. The
disclosure of the effects of a particular action as well as damage
assessment Damage assessment can range anywhere between
obtaining
counts of dead organisms to combinations of laboratory
Research
toxicity testing,
exposure modeling and field monitoring of sites.
2. The comparison of actions. Usually, when assessing a problem, it is
Sources
useful
to compare a line of action with alternatives. The purpose behind
this method is to enable decisionmakers to balance environmental effects
against their other considerations when making their decision.
Links
3. Prioritization of Hazards: When considering a widescale problem,
it's
extremely difficult to take into consideration all of the problems
right
away. Thus, when conducting an environmental evaluation, it is important
to prioritize the hazards and address the most pressing issues first.
4. Dichotomous Regulations: This is when a yes/no decision has to
be
made
with regardto the use of a particular chemical or the conduction of
a particular process. If that chemical/process is near the threshold of
acceptability, it also becomes important to clarify what the expected
effects are, and what is the likelihood that the threshold would
be
exceeded.
5.
Scaler Regulation: As opposed to dichotomous regulation, here, the
use of a chemical or the carrying out of a process is not either clearly
acceptable or clearly unacceptable. In these cases, a decision needs
to
be made about where (in terms of exposure to doses, how far to go
with a
process) the line between acceptability and inacceptability lies.
6. Explanation of Observed Degradation: Here, instead of starting
with a
particular
action and trying to predict the effects, we start with
observed
environmental degradation and then attempt to find the causal
action.
7. Issue definition and Research Planning: Issue definition is basically
the assessment of a preceived environmental problem where damage to the
environment HAS NOT been demonstrated.
8. Habitat Assessment: This is the assessment of the suitability of an
ecosystem
as a habitat for a particular species.
9. Estimation of the Benefits of Protection or Remediation: This entails
estimating
the benefits of protection (in addition to its cost) and
doing
the same thing for remediation, then deciding which is best.
10.
Protection of Human Health -- self explanatory.
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PART
2- In order to start our task of conducting an environmental impact
evaluation,
we met with
team E on October 10th. They provided us with the priliminary methods of
exploration/production
they are considering, which include the following:
1. Possible Exploration
Techniques:
* Seismic (land and
marine, taking into consideration the three sources
for sound vibrations-
dynamite, thumpers and air cannons)
* Gravity
* Magnetic
* Electrical
Method
2. Possible Drilling
Strategies:
* Tophole drilling
* Directional drilling
* Horizontal drilling
* Extended reach drilling
* Slimhole drilling
* Coil tubing
3. Service operations, how
to get raw materials and dispose of
by-products, etc..
4. Transportaion, detailed
analysis of every possible method.
5. Antennas and other
methods of communication, what are the
environmental
effects ?
6. The effects of accidental
spills and the best way to clean them up.
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PART 3-
Research conducted for mid-term (this has not
been extensively grammatically
checked as I just
used it to prepare for the mid-term), alot of this has been taken from the
following website:
http://tapseis.anl.gov/
A.FACTS ABOUT THE
EXISTING PIPELINE:
1. 800 miles long,
48 inch diameter.
*Buried - about 420
miles
*Aboveground - about
380 miles in areas of permafrost
2. 11 pump stations,
only 7 operating.The 11 pump stations are located
at intervals of approximately
50 to 100 miles
3. Starts at North
Slope 800 miles away from Port Valdez where it
terminates.
4. Crude oil produced on
Alaska's North Slope.
5. In 2001 , rate was 1
million barrels per day.
6. For the 420 miles that
the pipeline is above ground, it is supported
on vertical support members
(VSMs), located about every 60 feet. Valves
are strategically
placed along the pipeline to permit isolation of
sections of the pipeline
and minimize the volume of potential spills.
7. About 75% of the
pipeline corridor traverses permafrost. In areas of
unstable soil, the
pipeline is elevated above ground to keep the
permafrost from melting.
About 420 miles of the pipeline is elevated,
and 380 miles is buried.
In particular areas, small portions of the
buried pipeline are refrigerated
(total of 4 miles).
8. Above ground sections
of the pipeline are built in a zig zag
configuration to allow
for expansion or contraction of the pipe because
of temperature changes.
The design also allows for pipeline movement
caused by an earthquake
(TAPS crosses three major active fault lines).
An earthquake monitoring
system provides ground motion detecting and
warning capabilities for
strong events. So if any shifts (whether due to
temperature fluctuations
or earthquakes) occurs, the shape of the
pipeline compensates for
this shift and prevents oil spillage.
9. About 554 elevated animal
crossings were created to allow large
animals to cross the
pipeline without obstruction. At elevated animal
crossings, pipeline
height is at least 10 feet. At 23 other locations,
the pipeline is buried
to allow animals to cross; each buried crossing
is about 200 ft. wide.
B.ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF
THE PIPELINE:
1. Terrestrial Environment:
* Even though mitigation
measures are being taken and specialized
pipelines are used to reduce
the thawing of permafrost when the
pipelines are buried underground,
a significant amount of permafrost
thawing persists.
* Maintenance activities,
corrosion digs and construction projects for
pipeline related facilities
continuously cause localized TEMPORARY land
disturbance.
* If no proper river training
is applied, the pipeline can adversely
affect the behaviour
of rivers.
2. Water Resources and Wastewater:
* Expanding the Trans-Alaskan
Pipeline to reach ANWR means that more
pressure is going to be imposed
on the water resources in order to
support operations
and maintenance activities.
* The wastewater discharges
are a great threat to the environment.
3. Atmospheric Environment:
* Widespread point-source emissions
result in a deterioration in air quality.
4. Biological Resources:
* Vegetation and Wetlands-- There
is a great loss of vegetation and
wetlands under gravel fill nad
changes from water impoundments and
thermokarst.
* Fish -- Impacts on fish include
obstruction of movements in low water
crossings or culverts along
the pipline, injury or habitat loss from
potential oil spills, and recreational
fishing harvests. Obstruction of
movements would be a continuous
problem because of the dynamic nature of
the pipeline and associated
water bodies. Oil spills can impact fish,
although the duration and
extent of impacts are usually limited.
* Birds -- Increased predation
on waterfowl by mammalian and avian
predators may occur if predator
populations increase due to access to
garbage. Oil spills can also
kill large numbers of birds.
* Terrestrial Mammals -- Important
impacts include disturbance and
displacement from preferred
habitats, mortality from roadkills,
increased predator numbers
from access to anthropogenic foods, and sport
hunting. Disturbance and displacement
of caribou during the calving
period is also a potential
impact.
* Marine Mammals -- Important impacts
include disturbance and
displacement during offshore exploration
and development and mortality
or injury from oil spills.
C. MECHANISM OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT OF THE PIPELINE - Understand what
exactly is causing the damages:
* Maintenance is often required
and this, as we previously mentioned,
impacts the ground. Maintenance
takes various forms:
a. Corrosion repair of below-ground
mainline pipe-line.
b. slope/workpad maintenance, pipes
situated in sloping areas require
more frequent check-ups and maintenance.
c. Potential pipe-line replacement.
d. Mainline Below-Ground Valve Maintenance.
e. Remedation of Mainline
Cathodic Protection.
f. River Crossings and River
Training Structure Repairs.
g. Surveillance Actions,
in the summer-- helicopters or
four-wheel-drive trucks on the workpad
and access roads.
in the winter-- snow vehicles
or helicopters.
again , this causes physical
damage and pollution.
h. Fuel gas line maintenance
and repair
i. New material sites/rock
quarries-- basically, damages due to gravel /
rock mining needed to build
the roads that will be required to operate
the pipeline.
* The second mechanism of environmental
impact is spilling of oil.
* Of course, the actual building
of the pipeline.
D.TWO TYPES OF ROADS POSSIBLE FOR
TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED WITH PIPELINE:
1. Gravel Roads :
In order to build gravel roads
we need to get gravel materials. In order
to do that we need to dig
gravel from river beds, river beds are usually
fresh water ones so this pollutes
or freshwater, or use explosion
techniques. this will deisturb
the ecology of the area and any habitats
of animals as well as vegetation
found in that area. The actual road
will also affect the permafrost
(increased heat and pressure .. higher
chance of thawing..). Workpad
and access-road embankments built over the
relatively warm permafrost
will compress or disturb the vegetative cover
that formerly protected the
permafrost. This would cause the ground to
absorb more radiant head and
would result in the thawing of near-surface
permafrost under the embankments.
In addition to that a scar or
footprint is going to be left
in the areas where the roads are built,
ice wedges will be created . Furthermore,
animals will be affected by
these roads. For example,
migration of birds, crossing of mammals,
etc...
2. Ice Roads :
Ice roads need fresh water,
trucks to dispense this water and low
temperatures to keep the road
frozen in certain areas.
The freshwater is in limited supply,
therefore, using it for building
the roads means less is available
for other needs. Also, we will have
lower water levels under ice,
so water dwelling organisms will find it
harder to survive. There will
be less water for animals to drink. and
since the water level is dropping,
toxicity level is going to increase (
as the concentration of toxic
materials increases). Ice roads are also
high maintainance, and this
maintainance involves alot of physical and
environmental damages. If the ice
roads happen to melt, the mix of what
used to be ice and the exhaust
of vehicles will run off and contaminate
the soil and water which
will not be a very pleasant thing.
For both types of roads ,
trucks cause damages in the following ways:
1. the warming we talked about that
will cause the thawing of the
permafrost near the surface.
2. physical damage, footprints,
the museum effect we discussed.
3. polution
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PART 4 - Priliminary impact evaluation of seismic
exploration: My responsibility within the team was
evaluating the impact of seismic exploration. The following
is my impact evaluation, before incorporating
into our team's final impact evaluation that went into the
final class website
First, a brief overview of what seismic
exploration is. I researched the
impacts of all 3 different types of seismic
exploration and luckily
enough, team E chose the most environmentally
friendly one. Therefore I
will briefly go through the environmental
damages caused by the other
strategies (since our job in mission
is ultimately to prove that the
methodology we are going to use is the
most environmentally friendly)
but I will mainly focus on the one team
E proposed using.
A. OVERVIEW OF SEISMIC EXPLORATION:
Seismic exploration involves sending
sound waves into the ground then
recording how they are reflected and
using this data in interpreting the
geology of the earth's subsurface. It
does not explicitly show where oil
is or is not available, but rather it
helps construct a model of the
subsurface enabling us to predict where
oil can be found. It is very
important for us to realize that even
though it does include a certain
degree of uncertainty, seismic exploration
is the MOST ACCURATE method
of oil exploration.
There are three different types of seismic
exploration:
1. Using explosives
2. By thumping
The main difference between these two
methods is that exploration by
thumping uses 30,000 pound trucks that
generate the vibrations, whereas
exploration using explosives involves
generating the vibrations by
setting off explosives. The particular
specifications of these
explosives and how to set them off are
highlighted by team E in their
proposal, so I won't go through them
again. As I discuss the effects of
oil exploration, I will point out areas
in which the precise type of
exploration produces a different effect.
For example, seismic waves
produce the same effect regardless of
how they are generated. However,
the effects caused by the generation
equipment will differ between
thumping and explosives.
3. Using airguns-- this method is only
relevant when we are talking
about OFF SHORE EXPLORATION, which is
not really the case in most of the
exploration needed in ANWR, thus it is
not really taken into
consideration. However, an extremely
interesting fact I came across
while researching is that the seismic
waves sent into the sea seriously
damage the hearing of fish, according
to a joint American-Australian
research team led by Professor Arthur
Popper of the University of
Maryland. Although this is not directly
relevant to our area of research
it does put forward an important question:
What similar serious damages
to land dwelling animals could be caused
by seismic exploration that we
do not know of? Obviously the possiblity
of damages we are unaware of is
huge and there is a chance of these damages
being done.
B. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF EXPLORATION:
A very useful tool that I relied on when
conducting my evaluation is the
Seismic exploration that was conducted
along the coastal plain of the
Arctic Refuge during hte winters of 1984
and 1985. It is important to
note that exploration during the winter
causes less damage to the soil
and vegetation than does the exploration
conducted during the summer.
Team E did not specify when they intend
to explore in their proposal, so
it is my advice that all exploration
activities take place during the
winter. Despite the fact that it is minimized,
damage continues to
occur.
Strong winds usually blow the snow into
depressions, leaving the higher
areas with thinner snow cover and making
them much more suceptible to
impacts from vehicle tracks. After the
1984-85 seismic exploration 1400
miles of trails that have been made by
drill, vibrator and recording
vehicles impacted the tundra in ways
that will be outlined below. In
addition to the trails left by the exploration
equipment, trails were
also created by D-7 Caterpillar tractors
that pulled ski-mounted
trailer-trains between work camps.
In 1999, 15 years after the exploration
conducted a significant amount
of the trails persisted. Some of them
became troughs that are visible
from the air (all vegetation removed).
In other trails, the amount and
type of vegetation present changed. This
implies that the entire
food-web dependant on this vegetation
is affected and altered. Animals
can be displaced out of their original
habitats if their source of food
is no longer available. In other areas,
permafrost melted and the trails
remained wetter than they previously
were.
Here, a difference between seismic exploration
by explosives and seismic
exploration by thumper trucks comes into
play. As using explosives uses
less vehicles (no thumper trucks), the
physical TRAIL produced is
minimized. However, the explosives still
involve digging 12 meter holes
in the ground, which will undoubtedly
cause much more severe damage to
the tundra, only this damage is not in
the form of a connected extensive
network like that caused by thumper trucks,
it is more localized. In
their recommendation, team E proposed
the use of snowmobiles by the
teams who are going to drill the holes
where explosives will be placed.
This further contributes to minimizing
the trail and is a good choice.
As team E explained in the overview section
of seismic exploration,
there are different types of maps that
can be constructed. In the
1984-85 exploration, 2-D maps were construced.
With the advancement of
technology, it became possible to construct
3-D maps as well. Team E did
not specify which type of map they intend
to construct, so I will
highlight the difference between both
types from the environmental
perspective. First of all, 3-dimentional
subsurface image creation
requires a much denser grid than that
required for 2-D. The 1984-85
trails were usually four miles apart,
whereas the 3-D seismic trails
that are currently impacting areas where
they are in use are about half
a mile (or less) apart. This means that
the tracked vehicles will
basically blanket the area. 3-D crews
are twice the size of 2-D crews,
so more than twice the tracked vehicles
are out on the tundra (more
equipment and more bulldozers to transport
the camps). Furthermore, the
turns that the heavy equipment need to
make are much tighter in 3-D
seismic than they are in 2-D seismic,
so the damage made to vegetation
and the tundra in general is greater.
So far, I have been speaking of general
damage to the tundra vegetaion
and to animals. The following are more
precise effects of winter
exploration (the strategy I'm advising);
Even though the caribou and birds are
usually absent from the 1002 Area
during the winter months, there are several
species that are adapted to
the harsh conditions and that remain
in the area during the winter.
These species are likely to be affected
by the seismic exploration
activities. They include primarily muskoxen
and polar bears, but there
are also other species including wolverine,
arctic fox and arctic
grayling. In addition, the sensitive
arctic tundra vegetaion is
affected.
1.Muskoxen:
The population of muskoxen in the 1002
area is approximated to be about
250 muskoxen living all year long. The
survival of muskoxen is
influenced by environmental conditions
such as the depth of snow, which
is in turn greatly influenced by seismic
exploration activities. In
general, the following effects are feared
if exploration is to be
conducted in the 1002 area:
a. Displacement of muskoxen from their
winter habitat.
b. Due to this displacement, there will
be greater energy needs.
Muskoxen need to reduce their activity
and movement during the winter in
order to preserve their energy and survive.
c. Decreased body fat in females. This
body fat must be maintained
during the winter if they are going to
rear a calf.
d. Greater chances of predation.
e. As a consequence of the above, there
will be decreased calf
production and less survival of the animals.
2. Polar Bear:
As previously mentioned, seismic exploration
involves the movement of
vehicles in grid patterns all across
the tundra. Maternal polar bears
with their newborn cubs can be chased
out of their winter dens by the
noise and vibrations and all of the human
activities that come along
with the exploration activities (particularly
the explosives).
Anticipated negative effects include:
a. Human-bear encounters that can be
fatal to either party on many
occasions.
b. Increased mortality of cubs due to
harsh winter conditions that
they're not prepared for.
3. Vegetation:
Again, as previously mentioned, seismic
exploration involves a large
number of vehicles driving across the
tundra in a grid or network. The
snow covering the vegetation in the 1002
area is often shallow and
therefore it doesn't provide great protection
to the vegetation and soil
underneath. The impact from the seismic
grid will depend on the
following:
a. Type of vegetation. Trails in
shrub-dominated tundra have the
slowest rate of recovery, whereas trails
in sedge-dominated tundra
recover well.
b. Texture and ice content of the soil.
c. The shape of the surface.
d. The depth of the snow, snow depths
of at least 25 cm are required to
minimize disturbance.
e. The type of the vehicle. Surprisingly
enough, camp move trails
persist much longer and produce a more
scarring effect than seismic
trails, due to the greater pressure exerted
by camp move trails.
Studies conducted by The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) after
the 1984-85 exploration showed the following
effects:
a. The depth to permafrost was greater
on disturbed sites than nearby
controls.
b. Increased thaw depths.
c. Increased trail subsidence.
d. Shifts to wetter conditions.
e. Formation of distinct ruts.
f. Invasion of grasses.
g. Decreases in shrub cover.
h. Long-term disruption of the soil thermal
regime.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
PART 5
- Final complete impact evaluation:
1. Non-seismic exploration
Due to the fact that magnetic and gravitational
exploration do not give off magnetic waves, the only effects produced by
this method are caused by the service operations associated with the method.
The effects are:
Due to the airplanes used, there will
be noise pollution. In addition to that, the nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide
produced will reduce the air quality. Mild, wide-spread, short-term.
Any surface operations necessary will
be conducted by using very low impact vehicles, thus producing no significant
damage.
2. Seismic Exploration
A very useful tool that we relied on when
conducting our evaluation is the Seismic exploration that was conducted along
the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge during the winters of 1984 and 1985.
Also note that 3-Dimensional subsurface
image creation requires a much denser grid than that required for 2-D. The
1984-85 trails were usually four miles apart, whereas the 3-D seismic trails
that are currently impacting areas where they are in use are about half a
mile (or less) apart. This means that the tracked vehicles will basically
blanket the area. 3-D crews are twice the size of 2-D crews, so more than
twice the tracked vehicles are out on the tundra (more equipment and more
bulldozers to transport the camps). Furthermore, the turns that the heavy
equipment need to make are much tighter in 3-D seismic than they are in 2-D
seismic, so the damage made to vegetation and the tundra in general is greater.
Strong winds usually blow the snow into
depressions, leaving the higher areas with thinner snow cover and making
them much more susceptible to impacts from vehicle tracks. After the 1984-85
seismic exploration 1400 miles of trails that have been made by drill, vibrator
and recording vehicles impacted the tundra. In addition to the trails left
by the exploration equipment, trails were also created by D-7 Caterpillar
tractors that pulled ski-mounted trailer-trains between work camps. In 1999,
15 years after the exploration conducted a significant amount of the trails
persisted. Some of them became troughs that are visible from the air (all
vegetation removed). In other trails, the amount and type of vegetation present
changed. This implies that the entire food-web dependant on this vegetation
is affected and altered. Animals can be displaced out of their original habitats
if their source of food is no longer available. In other areas, permafrost
melted and the trails remained wetter than they previously were. Severe,
localized, long-term.
Even though the caribou and birds are
usually absent from the 1002 Area during the winter months, there are several
species that are adapted to the harsh conditions and that remain in the area
during the winter. These species are likely to be affected by the seismic
exploration activities. They include primarily muskoxen and polar bears,
but there are also other species including wolverine, arctic fox and arctic
grayling. In addition, the sensitive arctic tundra vegetation is affected.
Moderate, localized, short-term.
3. Transportation:
a. Rolligons:
Exerts pressure of about 3psi that is
relatively less than an ordinary vehicle. They would, however, still leave
a small footprint on the ground. Mild, localized, short term.
Atmospheric pollution caused by the use
of diesel fuel (see airplanes).
b. Helicopter:
Noise pollution caused by the propellers
of the helicopter will affect bird migration, polar bears, and other animals.
Mild, localized, short-term.
Hazard of encountering birds in the air
which would increase bird mortality and decrease the efficiency of the helicopter.
Mild, localized, short-term.
At times air travel will not be possible
due to extreme weather conditions which can persist for days. As a result,
local storage needs would increase and more pad area would be required. (see
environmental impact of surface operations). Mild, localized, short-term.
Degradation of air quality: see airplanes.
c. C-130 Hercules
Landing on snow cover may put pressure
on the surface. Moderate, localized, short-term.
May affect air quality. Moderate, wide-spread,
short-term.
If an ice strip was used, this would put
a strain on water resources since one million liters are required per air
strip. Severe, localized, long-term.
The option of using synthetic materials
could be a problem if they are not biodegradable or if they are toxic. Severe,
localized, long-term.
4. Drilling
Permafrost destroyed when drill bits driven
into the ground. The area around the drill hole thaws. Severe, localized,
long-term.
The flooding technique of recovering oil
from the wells will have two effects:
- It will use up excess H20 Mild, localized,
short-term.
- Chemicals will circulate into the ground
material. Moderate, localized, long-term.
Benefits of drilling plan:
- Directional drilling and coiled tubing
are the best choice: they will provide a minimal impact on the environment.
Directional drilling allows for the installation of infrastructure beneath
these areas without affecting the delicate ecosystem; animal habitats and
sensitive areas can be avoided as a result.
- Coiled tubing reduced the amount of
waste produced and results in a smaller footprint. Because the joint connection
operations of a convenient drill string are not required, noise levels are
reduced as well.
5. Pipeline
Permafrost thaws around pole-support structure.
Mild, localized, short-term.
Vegetation does not grow underneath sunlight
due to lack of sunlight. Mild, localized, long-term.
Potential fragmentation of habitats. Ex.
Caribou might not want to cross underneath pipeline, and although they are
not highly active around this area, their migratory route still runs through
there. Moderate, wide-spread, long-term.
6.Impact Report: Surface Operations
Of all the aspects of surface operations
(pad construction, camp construction, personnel, dining, lodging, maintenance
shops, water plants, waste water plants) the largest impact will be caused
by the physical existence of the drilling pad. However, all activity has
impact, just varying in terms of duration and geographic scope. The impacts
of this are listed below, along with a rating of significance. The rating
of significance is based on the intensity (magnitude, geographic scope, and
frequency/duration) and the probability of occurrence, with the scale being
high, moderate, or low. Probability of biological impacts is extremely difficult
to predict. Thus, the probability should be evaluated in the context of professional
judgment and past occurrences of impacts. In ANWR this is complicated because
there has been no prior development to reference to.
ELEVATED PLATFORM
- Support: Steel poles
o Direct impact on permafrost.
Depending on metal used and extent of
insulation from high temperature drilling equipment, thawing may occur.
o Attraction for curious, nesting, or
hiding animals.
:: Significance:
o Intensity
Magnitude: (LOW) Animals might be scared
away from the poles, but since the poles would not block migration, feeding
or breeding it is unlikely that it would directly change the size or geographic
range of an animal or plant population. The permafrost melting could be minimized
with the correct insulation and/or materials.
Geographic Scope: (LOW) The effect would
be site specific at a few locations.
Frequency: (HIGH) The poles would be permanently
in place
Duration: (LOW) The poles will be removed
after the extraction of oil is complete, and therefore will have a finite
life of impact
- Operating Surface: Aluminum sheets
o Damage to tundra vegetation by oil leaks
o Damage to tundra vegetation by shading
Could be reduced by having slots or small
holes in the pad, allowing some light to get through
:: Significance:
o Intensity
Magnitude: (LOW) This depends on the amount
of oil leaked. But since the tundra beneath the platform is already (at least
nearly) dead it seems that the effects from oil spills would be a minimal
addition to any unavoidable vegetation damage. Animals might come in contact
with some leaking oil, but very minimal amounts, and not likely enough to
alter an entire population.
Geographic Scope: (LOW) The effect would
be site specific at a few locations.
Frequency: (HIGH) The platform would be
permanently in place
Duration: (LOW) The pad will be removed
after the extraction of oil is complete, and therefore will have a finite
life of impact
CONSTRUCTION
- Transportation of the pieces: Helicopter
o Flight will create noise that may be
detectable to animals on the ground surface, and occasionally wintering birds
Increased flight elevation will significantly
diminish the severity
o No landing pad will be needed as the
pieces are to be lowered into place.
Will be increased by holes in pad
:: Significance:
o Intensity
Magnitude: (MODERATE) The impact from
the period of construction and removal is understood to be very harsh on
both tundra and animals. However, it would not be enough to directly change
the size or geographic range of an animal or plant population.
Geographic Scope: (LOW) If the parts are
flown in by helicopter, the impact will be site specific at a few locations.
If land transport is used then a larger impact might occur.
Frequency: (HIGH) Personnel or equipment
would most likely be at the site throughout the construction period
Duration: (LOW) Construction will be very
small in terms of the life of the pad, and therefore will have a finite time
of impact. The use of the aluminum platform allows for an even smaller construction
period, than gravel pads, because gravel pads must wait for the completion
of ice roads.
REQUIREMENTS OF PERSONNEL
- Sewage Disposal
o Transport of solids will have noise
effects and need for further development of helicopter/plane landing and
pumping facilities
This will also be a constant need for
gasoline (defeating the purpose of drilling)
o Disposal in or on the tundra will impact
the chemical composition of the tundra, and could be especially harmful if
water sources are affected.
Possibilities for reuse/recycling should
be considered
- Fresh Water
o Fresh water for human use is scarce
on the North Slope. Any large needs would deplete fresh water sources for
animals, thus possibly beginning a chain of impact through the ecosystem
o Wetland ecosystems would be disturbed
by the collection or piping of water from them
Possibilities for desalinization should
be considered
- Food
o Transportation of food would cause impacts.
See below.
o Storage of food might attract animals.
o Disposal of trash. Might attract animals.
Must be flown out eventually (See below).
Note: Possibility in all this for introduction
of an invasive species of plant or animal.
- Transportation: People and supplies
o Noise effects from air travel
o Tundra and animals impacted from landing
pad/equipment
Ideally a helicopter landing-pad would
be on the housing platform adjacent to the drilling platform, to minimize
direct tundra impact.
last updated: December 2nd, 2003