In the Arctic, sea ice, harsh weather, high seas, darkness and wind may render even that level of cleanup impossible.When pushed to explain this assumption, Shell quickly back-pedaled and said that it will not ‘recover,’ but only ‘encounter’ spilled oil – despite the legal requirement to ‘remove’ spilled oil and the fact that the company has used the unrealistic 90 percent projection to justify its choice of vessels and other equipment to protect the shoreline. The company similarly appears to be back-tracking on commitments it made to the Coast Guard for vessel safety and preparedness. Similarly, the Federal Government violated the law when it approved spill response plans that do not describe all available spill response resources. For example, Shell has publicly touted its Arctic containment system, but the spill plans approved by the government not only do not include that system, but they also fail to explain why Shell expects the system to work in the Arctic Ocean. Nor has the agency ensured that the company is prepared for a late season spill that could continue unabated through the winter. There is a very real possibility that winter sea ice could close in and shut down spill response leaving a blowout uncontrolled for eight or more months. The Federal Government also signed off on the response plans without a basic understanding of the consequences of the spill response choices Shell made. For example, the agency never considered the effects of Shell’s proposal to apply chemical dispersants in the Arctic Ocean, including threats to fish, birds, and marine mammals, among them the endangered bowhead whale. As this lawsuit moves forward, we will continue to seek opportunities to work with local Arctic communities, governmental entities, industry, and others toward a shared vision for the Arctic, and we will not be distracted or intimidated by aggressive or litigious actions taken by companies like Shell. Nor will we allow them to take shortcuts around established review processes and standards. We cannot allow the future of the Arctic Ocean to be risked on the hope that nothing will go wrong.” Pacific Environment, Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Greenpeace, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and Sierra Club filed suit in Alaska federal court today. The lawsuit challenges the federal government’s approval of Shell Oil Company’s Chukchi and Beaufort Sea oil spill response plans. The plans, approved by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), describe how the company says it will prepare for and respond to a major oil spill caused by exploration drilling in America’s Arctic Ocean. A decision in this lawsuit would be the first in a challenge to offshore oil spill response plans in the United States.
For more information, please contact Colleen Keane at 206-734-9300 or ckeane@pacificenvironment.org.
