ALASKA PIPELINE SPILL

ANCHORAGE, Oct. 5 -- Oil spewed like a geyser from the trans-Alaska oil pipeline more than 24 hours after a man shot a hole in the line. Crews struggled to stop the leak and clean up an estimated 280,000 gallons of oil which under high pressure sprayed through a small hole onto about two acres of trees, brush and tundra. The workers were considering using a crane to install a hydraulic clamp over the line to cover the hole, but flammable vapors in the area made the operation dangerous. The man suspected of shooting the pipeline with a .338-caliber rifle, Daniel Carson Lewis, 37, was arraigned on charges of criminal mischief, driving while intoxicated, weapons misconduct and felony assault. State Police had no motive for the shooting but said Lewis had been drinking. "It does not appear to be an act of terrorism," trooper spokesman Tim DeSpain said. Lewis, who was being held on $1.5 million bail, was arrested Thursday, four hours after the leak was discovered. Gov. Tony Knowles said state officials will take another look at security along the 800-mile pipeline. "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. A surveillance helicopter had spotted the spill about 75 miles north of Fairbanks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14382-2001Oct5.html

Editor Note (Sklar) The man that shot the hole. There is about 5 miles of oil uphill from the hole and the pressure was about 250 psi at a cost of $40,000 per minute for about four days. The clean-up is in progress on about 2 acres of pristine Alaskan wilderness. Nothing got into any waterways and the ground was almost frozen.