Alaska Oil Pipeline Pierced By Bullet

Crews put a clamp over a hole in the trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline on Saturday, slowing a leak that has spewed 285,000 gallons of oil into the tundra over the past three days.

"We got a 99 percent reduction to about a half a gallon per minute," said Mike Heatwole, a spokesman for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) pipeline. He said a more permanent fix could be in place by Saturday night.

In what the governor called "a hare-brained act of violence," a man who had been drinking shot the pipeline Thursday with a hunting rifle. Before the clamp was installed, oil under high pressure sprayed through a small hole onto about two acres of trees, brush and tundra.

Regulators said there was no evidence that any wildlife has been affected by the spill.

Installing the clamp involved the use of a large crane and was made dangerous because of flammable vapors, Alyeska officials said.

Workers had built a series of dikes to contain the spilled oil and keep it away from the Tolovana River, about a mile away.

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Fairbanks. The pipeline was quickly shut down, but oil remained under high pressure in the section of the line that was pierced by the bullet.

The suspect, Daniel Carson Lewis, 37, was arraigned Friday in Fairbanks Superior Court and was being held on dlrs 1.5 million bail.

According to documents, Lewis, who has an extensive criminal background, had been drinking before shooting the pipeline with a .338-caliber rifle. He is charged with driving while intoxicated, weapons misconduct, felony assault and criminal mischief.

When the bullet penetrated the pipe, Lewis fled on an all-terrain vehicle, according to the documents. His brother, Randolph Lewis, remained at the scene and explained to pipeline security officers what had happened.

Daniel Lewis told Alaska State Troopers he was asleep at his home at the time of the shooting and had not been with his brother.

Gov. Tony Knowles said state officials would be taking another look at security along pipeline. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. had beefed up security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Clearly the fact that one person with a rifle can do this much damage is a point of concern in terms of vulnerability," Knowles said.

The pipeline carries about 1 million barrels of oil a day, or 17 percent of domestic oil production. Oil companies on the North Slope were asked to reduce their production by 95 percent during the shutdown.

Indentations from bullets have been found in the line over the years. Pipeline officials said people have shot at the pipeline more than 50 times but never caused enough damage to produce a spill.

In 1978, about 670,000 gallons of oil spilled after a hole was blasted with explosives near Fairbanks. No one has been arrested in that case.

In 1999, a Canadian man was charged with plotting to blow up the pipelin in an attempt to drive up oil prices and reap a profit. He is fighting extradition to the United States on explosives and terrorism charges.

By Maureen Clark
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