Latest Cook Inlet Spill Reinforces Dangers Fossil Fuels Pose to Alaska

Anchorage, AK -- Over the weekend, Hilcorp, the company responsible for an ongoing three-month long methane leak, announced that it had spilled oil in the Cook Inlet. The cause of the spill continues to be investigated, and the layer of ice over the Inlet makes it difficult to investigate and impossible to fully clean up.

This spill comes as Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are looking at ways to circumvent President Barack Obama’s designation to permanently protect the Arctic Ocean from offshore drilling.

In response, Sierra Club Arctic Campaign Representative Alli Harvey released the following statement:

“Hillcorp’s latest disaster is just one more reminder that offshore drilling operations can never be made safe. This oil spill threatens wildlife, Alaskan waters, and communities along the Inlet -- and regardless of what Hilcorp promises to do, it can never be undone.

“Offshore drilling is not in the interest of Alaskan waters, communities up and down our coasts, nor the world’s climate, which is why President Barack Obama was right to permanently ban it in the Arctic Ocean. Rather than trying to undo this ban, Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans should be focused on protecting our waters and preventing further Arctic ice-melt.”

###