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The North Trading Bay sheen reinforces the need to dismantle retired oil & gas infrastructure. This is one more reminder of why having oil and gas in its backyard is a liability to the marine ecosystems Inletkeeper rely on for its livelihoods and wellbeing. Enough is enough. Inletkeeper has to start holding oil & gas operators in Cook Inlet accountable for dismantling retired infrastructure. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/25/2026 MORE INFORMATION: Satchel Pondolfino, Clean Water Lead, 907-235-4068 x26 The North Trading Bay sheen reinforces the need to dismantle retired infrastructure. HOMER, AK - Cook Inletkeeper calls for the relevant authorities to continue investigating the source and cause of the sheen observed in the North Trading Bay area on August 24. This incident shows the risk of allowing half-century-old oil and gas infrastructure to remain standing indefinitely in its waters. Hilcorp's Spark platform, installed in 1967 and inactive since 1992, has been identified as a probable source of the unknown pollutant. This warrants that state agencies conduct a thorough inspection of the Spark platform, its neighbors, and associated pipelines. This should include the integrity of all shut-in wells in the vicinity, if those wells cannot be ruled out as a source of the sheen. Cook Inletkeeper applauds the citizen pilot who alerted officials to the oil sheen stretching five miles across Cook Inlet. "This is one more reminder of why having oil and gas in our backyard is a liability to the marine ecosystems we rely on for our livelihoods and wellbeing," said Satchel Pondolfino, Inletkeeper's Clean Water Lead. "Enough is enough; we have to start holding operators accountable for dismantling retired infrastructure. Hilcorp, the owner of the Spark platform and 15 of the 17 in Cook Inlet, has a well-documented business model of buying old equipment and cutting corners to increase production - a business practice that has resulted in an egregious track record of environmental and safety violations. Though the official source is still in question, this week's spill is another example of the threat aging infrastructure poses to Cook Inlet's fish, wildlife, and coastal communities, and of the need for owners to take responsibility." The State of Alaska has every authority to enforce the dismantling, removal, and remediation of old platforms but has never once required an oil and gas operator to do so, despite the risks, maintenance needs, and the fact that cleanup costs increase significantly the longer they remain inactive. Yesterday's spill is just the latest warning. As Hilcorp's abandoned infrastructure continues to rot, more leaks and spills are inevitable. These disasters are not accidents - they are the direct result of neglect and entirely preventable. Dismantlement has been delayed long enough. "Hilcorp enjoys a free pass in Cook Inlet. While most oil and gas companies pay their fair share, Hilcorp dodges state corporate income tax entirely. They get a Clean Water Act exemption, dumping toxic drilling muds and polluted water straight into Tikahtnu. To top it off, state regulators keep letting Hilcorp put off cleaning up their old, dangerous infrastructure, leaving Alaskans to shoulder the risk," said Bridget Maryott, Inletkeeper's Co-Executive Director. This spill comes at a time when Cook Inlet is slated for extensive lease sales in the federal waters of the lower inlet. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) mandated six new offshore oil and gas lease sales in Cook Inlet, through 2032. While the first of these lease sales, held on March 4, 2026, raised $0 and drew no bids, the Trump administration is proposing five additional lease sales in the Inlet, in addition to the five mandated by the OBBBA, as part of its proposed offshore drilling leasing schedule. Continuing to build out oil and gas infrastructure in Cook Inlet amplifies the risk of leaks, spills, and continued toxic dumping. About Cook Inletkeeper: Cook Inletkeeper is a community-based non-profit organization that advocates for clean water and lands for all, protecting Alaska's Cook Inlet | Tikahtnu watershed and the life it sustains.

Hilcorp seeks federal permit for new North Slope gravel mine; comment closes Aug. 18. Hilcorp Alaska wants to open a new gravel mine in the Putuligayuk River area of the North Slope. The public has until Aug. 18 to weigh in. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District published the permit notice on Aug. 3. It describes a new mine site called Put 29 and an access road about 1,000 feet long and 36 feet wide at the surface. The road would leave an established gravel road that serves Drillsite 15. The plan is dated May 2026. Kristen Hoppe of Hilcorp Alaska is listed as the applicant contact. The notice says the purpose is to develop a new gravel source and access road, which is "necessary for continued oil and gas development, as current gravel sources are being depleted throughout the North Slope." The notice does not state how many acres of wetlands or tundra the mine and road would disturb. It quantifies neither the wetland impact nor any effect on subsistence resources. Conservation-oriented reviewers who have commented on other North Slope gravel filings contend such projects can cause uncompensated wetland loss and warrant stronger mitigation. The notice includes no response from North Slope subsistence users, tribal organizations, or local government about this proposal. It presents only the applicant's account. North Slope oilfield roads, pads, and related infrastructure are built on gravel. Alaska News has covered a series of similar filings this summer, including two ConocoPhillips gravel expansions in the Kuparuk River Unit that were open for comment through late July. Hilcorp became operator of major North Slope fields in 2020, when state agencies approved the transfer of BP's upstream Alaska assets and the formation of Hilcorp North Slope, LLC. In a 2024 state water quality filing for Phase II of its Ugnu Mine Site E, Hilcorp reported 24.2 acres of new wetland impact, for a Phase I and II total of 50.5 acres. The company proposed that no compensatory mitigation was required because the impacts were temporary and minimal. The permit is not approved. Written comments go to Andrew Kastning, the Corps regulatory project manager, at [email protected]. The filing is listed as POA-2026-00362. Gravel comes before everything else the oil fields are built on. AI-assisted, reviewed by editors. Spot an error?