GAO: Safeguards for ANWR Drilling Spotty

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http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03517.pdf

The GAO study released Tuesday said one-fourth of the nation's 575 wildlife refuges have a history of oil and gas production, in some cases dating back to the 1920s. There are 1,806 active drilling rigs in refuges today, producing nearly 24 million barrels annually, said the report by Congress' auditing agency. At some refuges the environmental impact has been negligible, but at others there have been "large scale" spills, disruption of wildlife habitat, abandoned infrastructure and equipment, soil and groundwater contamination, and other ecological damage.

It also said the service, which is charged with protecting refuges, does not have enough people, including managers, with the technical training to "properly oversee oil and gas activities" on many refuges. "Federal management and oversight of oil and gas activities varies widely among refuges," the GAO said. "Some refuges take extensive measures, while others exercise little control or enforcement."

The GAO investigators based their report on interviews, records and visits to 16 refuges. Among those that they visited, investigators cited:

- Soil and vegetation damage from brine spills, mercury contamination and "numerous abandoned wells" at the D'Arbonne refuge in Louisiana. It has 139 wells, 51 of them active.

- Abandoned equipment and infrastructure at the Delta refuge in Louisiana, which has 338 wells, including 178 in use.

- Soil and water contamination from "numerous spills" and the loss of more than 800 acres of wildlife habitat at the Kenai refuge in Alaska, where there are 164 wells, 121 of them active. Contamination from mercury and PCBs also was found there as well as at other refuges.

-At the Anahuac refuge in Texas, which has 50 active wells, there have been seven oil spills reported since 1991, including one that killed more than 800 large fish and 180,000 menhaden, a small but ecologically important fish.


Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., a strong supporter of ANWR drilling and a leader in the energy bill negotiations, frequently has cited oil and gas development in other wildlife refuges, including several large ones in Louisiana. If it can be done there, he has said, why not in the Alaska refuge?

Louisiana refinerys cited for air pollution violations most regarding leaks of benzene and other chemicals.
http://www.shellfacts.com/pdfs/Emissions&Releases.pdf