Best Available Technology
Technology Conference Reports
- Arctic-Cold Regions Oil Pipeline Conference Report Final (2014) (PDF 46M)
- Pipeline Leak Detection 2011 Conference Report (PDF 40.3M)
- 2006 Maintenance and Intelligent Pigging Conferences Report (PDF 11.2M)
- 2004 Best Available Technology Report (PDF 4M)
What Are The Requirements For The Use of Best Available Technology (BAT) in Oil Spill Prevention and Response?
The Alaska Legislature has directed in statute 46.04.030(e) that the oil discharge prevention and contingency plans required for specific types of facilities or operations, "must provide for the use by the applicant of the best technology that was available at the time of the contingency plan was submitted or reviewed. The department [DEC] shall identify the prevention and response technologies that are subject to a best available technology determination. The department may find that any technology meeting the response planning standards in (k) of this section or a prevention performance standard established under 46.04.070 is the best available technology. The department may prepare findings and maintain a list of those technologies that are considered best available."
To meet this requirement, at each contingency plan review or renewal, the department makes a BAT determination on certain plan components, as described in 18 AAC 75.425(e)(4). In addition, in 1997, regulations were implemented for a more general BAT review.
18 AAC 75.447 requires the department to review and appraise technologies that may be used to meet response planning standards, or performance standards by sponsoring a technology conference at least every five years. The technology conference is conducted in cooperation with persons, organizations, and groups with interest and expertise in relevant technologies. The conferences provide interested parties with an opportunity to describe the status of existing technologies in use, as well as technologies that may be considered superior to those in use at that time. The department may also evaluate technologies by engaging in studies, inquiries, surveys, or analyses that warrant consideration.
Since the first technology conference in 2004 the department has sponsored two additional technology conferences. The last one was the Pipeline Leak Detection (PLD) Technology Conference that took place in Anchorage in September 2011. This project consisted of a review of proven PLD technologies and related practices used worldwide, facilitation of a PLD Technology Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Conference report which includes a review and appraisal of the presented technologies. The purpose of the 2011 Conference was to provide entities with expertise in PLD an opportunity to describe the status of existing technologies in use, as well as technologies (including related practices) that may be considered superior to those currently in use.
Additional Resources
For further technical resources please refer to the Technical Documents on the Publications and Conferences webpage.
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