and a turn-around time of Ik. 5 to 15.5 days will be required to transport 

 the initial 1.2 million bpd of crude oil. Tanker traffic and congestion 

 will increase even more if the El Paso LNG proposal is approved. The 

 transportation of LNG may create a significant safety hazard due to the 

 highly flammable nature of the substance.'*'' 



OCS impacts will not disappear when the oil fields stop producing. 

 Excess infrastructure capacity will exist and welfare transfer payments 

 are likely to increase. Per capita income levels could fall as unemploy- 

 ment levels grow. Wildlife, fish, and marine life damaged by OCS related 

 activities will be slow to repopulate to former numbers. Sea life, in 

 particular, will probably be impacted for years after production has 

 ceased due to the persistence of oil in the environment. 



Many local communities and native citizens living on the northern 

 Gulf do not want OCS operations to occur because of the many environmental 

 and social costs of OCS development. 1 * 5 Some communities, however, have 

 indicated an interest in accommodating the oil industry. Two, in particular, 

 are Cordova and Juneau. 1 * 6 

 5.2.3 Lower Cook Inlet 



Description of the Region ** 7 



Located in southcentral Alaska, Cook Inlet is a large tidal estuary 

 which flows into the Gulf of Alaska (Fig. 5). This estuary is shallow, 

 averaging only 200 ft. deep. Cook Inlet is surrounded on three sides 

 by four major mountain ranges. Five active volcanoes border the inlet 

 to the west making tsunamic and volcanic risk a problem. Earthquakes 

 are also a hazard. 



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