Alaska environment

Clouds and smoke curl around the top of Augustine Volcano on Sunday, June 4, 2017 on Augustine Island, Alaska. The remote island in Cook Inlet is composed of little more than the volcano and its surrounding debris. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Little-studied island holds life, geothermal energy potential

The nearest town is 37 miles of wilderness and ocean away from the shores of Augustine Island, but the island still brims with life. In… Continue reading

Clouds and smoke curl around the top of Augustine Volcano on Sunday, June 4, 2017 on Augustine Island, Alaska. The remote island in Cook Inlet is composed of little more than the volcano and its surrounding debris. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Photo courtesy the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Workers respond to a spill of mixed crude oil and water near the Tesoro Refinery on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 in Nikiski, Alaska. The facility operator discovered the spill Dec. 18 and reported it to the Department of Environmental Conservation. The cause is still under investigation.

Cleanup underway on small oil spill at Tesoro

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating the cause of a recent oil spill near the Tesoro Refinery in Nikiski. On Dec. 18, the… Continue reading

Photo courtesy the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Workers respond to a spill of mixed crude oil and water near the Tesoro Refinery on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 in Nikiski, Alaska. The facility operator discovered the spill Dec. 18 and reported it to the Department of Environmental Conservation. The cause is still under investigation.
Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Landowners band together to restore Dow Island bank

For the past several years, property owners on Dow Island have been watching their land disappear into the Kenai River multiple feet at a time.… Continue reading

Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai bluff erosion project inches forward

In the race between geology and bureaucracy that has constituted Kenai’s bluff erosion mitigation attempts, geology continues to win. The 18-year-old project to halt the… Continue reading

The tide and wind waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.

Kenai bluff erosion cost-share agreement in progress

A cost-share agreement between Kenai and the Army Corps of Engineers for a study relating to Kenai’s bluff erosion is close to realization. According to… Continue reading

The tide and wind waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A row of propertys along Peninsula Avenue Thursday September 4, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska. The city recently bought properties near a crumbling bluff along the Kenai River where erosion mitiation efforts are set to begin.

Kenai acquires five parcels in Old Town

The City of Kenai has acquired five parcels of foreclosed properties on Peninsula Avenue with the intent of using the lots as a staging area… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A row of propertys along Peninsula Avenue Thursday September 4, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska. The city recently bought properties near a crumbling bluff along the Kenai River where erosion mitiation efforts are set to begin.
Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Which moves faster: the geological process of bluff erosion, or the bureaucratic process of project funding? According to a 2007 Army Corps of Engineers report,… Continue reading

Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Army Corps of Engineers and Kenai agree to share cost of bluff erosion study

After two days of meetings in Kenai City Hall between Kenai administrators and regional and national officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, the two… Continue reading

Eroding at roughly 3 feet per year, the Kenai River bluffs encroach on an outbuilding of Paul Karaffa’s property on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 in Old Town Kenai, Alaska. About half of Karaffa’s bluff-top land, on which he’s lived since 1944, has eroded away. The eroded portion is among 22 mostly underwater properties that the city of Kenai is seeking to buy to carry out a bluff-erosion prevention project, tentatively scheduled to start construction in 2019. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai seeks land for bluff erosion project

Kenai is seeking land while the Army Corps of Engineers has set a new timeline and reached a new preferred project design for bluff erosion… Continue reading

Eroding at roughly 3 feet per year, the Kenai River bluffs encroach on an outbuilding of Paul Karaffa’s property on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 in Old Town Kenai, Alaska. About half of Karaffa’s bluff-top land, on which he’s lived since 1944, has eroded away. The eroded portion is among 22 mostly underwater properties that the city of Kenai is seeking to buy to carry out a bluff-erosion prevention project, tentatively scheduled to start construction in 2019. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Hilcorp gas pipeline leaking into Cook Inlet

A damaged underwater pipeline is leaking between 210,000 and 310,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day into Cook Inlet, according to estimates by the… Continue reading

The Bruce oil drilling platform, operated by Hilcorp, stands in Cook Inlet. On Saturday, the company shut in the Bruce platform and its neighboring Anna platform in response to a leaking crude oil pipeline on the Anna platform. (Photo courtesy Ground Truth Trekking)

Hilcorp platform leaking oil into Cook Inlet

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Gov. Bill Walker. It has also been edited to correct a reference to… Continue reading

The Bruce oil drilling platform, operated by Hilcorp, stands in Cook Inlet. On Saturday, the company shut in the Bruce platform and its neighboring Anna platform in response to a leaking crude oil pipeline on the Anna platform. (Photo courtesy Ground Truth Trekking)
This photo provided by Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response, Inc. shows pan pan ice taken during an agency overflight near a Hilcorp Alaska LLC offshore platform in Cook Inlet, Alaska, Monday, April 3, 2017. Officials said an underwater pipeline spill between two production platforms owned by Hilcorp dumped less than three gallons (11 liters) of oil into Cook Inlet. (Derek Samora/CISPRI via AP)

Responders stand down from oil leak

Responders to an oil release from a Hilcorp crude oil pipeline on the west side of Upper Cook Inlet stood down at 9 a.m Monday… Continue reading

This photo provided by Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response, Inc. shows pan pan ice taken during an agency overflight near a Hilcorp Alaska LLC offshore platform in Cook Inlet, Alaska, Monday, April 3, 2017. Officials said an underwater pipeline spill between two production platforms owned by Hilcorp dumped less than three gallons (11 liters) of oil into Cook Inlet. (Derek Samora/CISPRI via AP)

Ice could delay Hilcorp leak response until late March

Hilcorp’s plan to send divers to repair a damaged underwater gas pipeline — which is leaking between 210,000 and 310,000 cubic feet of methane a… Continue reading