The Pipeline Lives

As its supporters see it, the trans-Alaskan pipeline would be a veritable lifeline, bringing the vast oil riches (10 billion barrels) of the North Slope to an energy-starved U.S. To its foes, the 789-mile pipe is a monster that could leak and pollute the Arctic wilderness.

For three years, various environmental groups have fought the project to a standstill in the courts. They have argued that the Interior Department's ninevolume, 3,000-page "environmental-impact statement" failed to examine all the possible effects on plants and wildlife; they have charged that the Administration did not explore sufficiently the possibilities of a trans-Canadian line, which would eliminate the dangers of oil spills from tankers plying between southern Alaska and the West Coast.

They won their most remarkable victory when a federal appeals court last February stayed all construction plans because the right of way required by the pipeline was wider than the 54 ft.

authorized by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920.

The pipeline forces, which include both the Administration and the oil industry, were not to be stayed. They pushed through the Senate last week a bill that authorized the pipeline by removing the restrictions of the 1920 act and barring any further court action on the environmental statement. The vote on court action was a 49-49 tie, broken by Vice President Agnew, but the overall measure sailed through by 77-20. If the House agrees, construction on the $4 billion pipeline could begin within six months, and oil could start to flow south by 1977. But the environmentalists are nothing if not stubborn. They plan to lobby against similar action by the House--and, if necessary, go back to court to raise new challenges.

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