BLM Opens Brief Public Comment Period on 30-Year TAPS Renewal

by | Sep 3, 2026

Photo by Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management has begun reviewing a proposal that could authorize the Trans Alaska Pipeline System to continue operating for another 30 years.

The current federal right-of-way does not expire until January 2034. Nevertheless, BLM is beginning the renewal process more than seven years early and has provided only 15 days for the public to help determine what the agency will study.

The scoping period opened August 26 and closes at 10 p.m. Alaska Time on September 10, 2026.

BLM has identified the proposed action as approval of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s application to renew the federal right-of-way for 30 years. The authorization would cover the pipeline and associated facilities, including access roads, and allow continued year-round transportation of North Slope crude oil.

Alyeska operates TAPS for its three owner companies: Harvest Alaska, ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company.

What Another 30 Years Could Mean

TAPS is an 800-mile pipeline that transports crude oil from North Slope production fields to in-state refineries and the Valdez Marine Terminal. The system carries oil produced from federal, state and private lands.The current federal right-of-way expires in January 2034. If BLM approves the proposed 30-year renewal, the authorization would extend into 2064.

BLM’s announcement places the proposed right-of-way renewal within the administration’s broader plans for North Slope oil development. The agency specifically referenced efforts to expand access to oil resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The scope of BLM’s review will be important: The agency has not yet explained whether it will evaluate the proposed renewal’s relationship to future North Slope development or focus primarily on the continued operation and maintenance of the existing pipeline.

A decision that could support decades of additional oil transportation should evaluate more than routine maintenance within the physical right-of-way. It should examine the pipeline’s relationship to continued and expanded extraction, greenhouse-gas emissions, climate change, community health, subsistence, spill risk and the long-term condition of Alaska’s lands and waters.

BLM plans a limited environmental review

BLM currently identifies the review as an Environmental Assessment, or EA. An EA is used to determine whether an action is likely to cause significant environmental effects requiring a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement.

The last comprehensive federal environmental review for renewal of the TAPS right-of-way was completed in 2002. Since then, conditions across Alaska have changed substantially.

The North Slope and Interior have experienced accelerating permafrost thaw, changing water conditions, more frequent extreme weather and growing risks to infrastructure. Scientific understanding of climate change and the cumulative effects of oil extraction and combustion has also advanced considerably.

Despite those changes, and the possibility of another 30 years of operation, BLM has not announced that it will prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement.

BLM’s press release is also framed around “safeguarding American energy security” and permitting the pipeline’s “next chapter.” That framing appears to anticipate continued operation before the environmental review has examined the full range of effects and alternatives.

A 2024 petition called for a broader review

In June 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity, Pacific Environment, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility petitioned the Department of the Interior to complete a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for TAPS.

The petition argued that the 2002 analysis is outdated and that BLM should evaluate new information involving climate change, permafrost damage, pipeline integrity, endangered species and other environmental conditions.

It also asked BLM to consider alternatives to an unrestricted 30-year renewal, including:

  • A shorter authorization period
  • Limits on the amount or type of oil transported
  • Stronger safety and environmental requirements
  • Updated bonding and financial-assurance requirements
  • A true no-action alternative
  • Planning for eventual dismantlement, removal and restoration
  • A managed transition for communities and workers affected by future changes in North Slope production

Read the 2024 petition: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/oceans/pdfs/2024-06-12-TAPS-Petition-FINAL.pdf

Fifteen days is not enough

BLM’s scoping period is intended to identify the issues, alternatives and information that should be included in its environmental review. Yet the agency has provided only 15 days for individuals, communities, Tribes and organizations across an enormous geographic area to review the proposal and prepare meaningful comments.

The compressed schedule is especially concerning for rural and Tribal communities that may need time to review technical materials, consult their governing bodies, gather community knowledge and determine whether to request formal government-to-government consultation.

BLM states that requests for Tribal consultation may be made at any time. Government-to-government consultation, however, is not interchangeable with general public comment and should be initiated early enough to meaningfully shape the review.

BLM has not stated whether it will release a draft Environmental Assessment for public comment. Unless another opportunity is announced, this initial scoping period could be the public’s principal opportunity to influence what the agency evaluates.

Issues BLM should examine

A credible review of a proposed 30-year renewal should address:

  • Greenhouse-gas emissions associated with producing, transporting, refining and burning oil carried through TAPS
  • The role of the pipeline in enabling new or expanded oil development across the North Slope
  • Cumulative impacts from federal, state and private oil development
  • Permafrost thaw and other climate-related threats to pipeline integrity
  • Spill prevention, response capacity and long-term cleanup responsibilities
  • Effects on fish, wildlife, water, habitat and subsistence
  • Impacts on communities located near production areas, the pipeline corridor and the Valdez Marine Terminal
  • Environmental justice and public-health consequences
  • Financial responsibility for maintenance, accidents, decommissioning and restoration
  • Alternatives to a full 30-year renewal
  • A realistic plan for the pipeline’s eventual dismantlement, removal and restoration

A decision of this magnitude deserves a transparent process grounded in current science, meaningful Tribal consultation and sufficient time for public participation.

How to participate

Comments may be submitted through BLM’s online portal: https://eplanning.blm.gov/Participate-Now/?id=a160d07b-9fa1-f111-b8dc-001dd802f839&ppid=9660d07b-9fa1-f111-b8dc-001dd802f839

Project information and documents are available here: https://eplanning.blm.gov/Project-Home/?id=9660D07B-9FA1-F111-B8DC-001DD802F839

Reference number: DOI-BLM-AK-9410-2026-0009-EA

Comments must be received by 10 p.m. Alaska Time on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center is reviewing the proposal and will continue monitoring BLM’s process. A potential authorization extending to 2064 should not move forward without a complete assessment of what another 30 years of TAPS operations could mean for Alaska’s communities, climate, lands and waters.

Learn More

Current BLM review
Environmental review and climate concerns
Pipeline operations and oversight