By DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – A year after the disastrous Gulf oil spill, the prospect of a major accident in oil’s next frontier – the icy waters off Alaska’s north coast – has experts even more concerned.
With no roads connecting remote coastal towns, storms and fog that can ground aircraft, no deepwater ports for ships and the nearest Coast Guard station about one thousand miles away – it would be nearly impossible to respond on the scale that was needed last year to stop the runaway oil well and clean up the mess. That means the burden to respond would rest to an even greater degree on the company doing the drilling.
Like a backcountry camper, an oil company drilling off Alaska would have to bring all the equipment needed to the isolated drilling site. And the federal government, at least in the early stages, would be far away from the scene.