DEC opens comment period on Hilcorp Z Pad permit changes at Milne Point
DEC has preliminarily approved changes to Hilcorp’s Z Pad air permit at Milne Point, and the public can still comment while the notice remains open.
Alaska DEC has given preliminary approval to revisions of Hilcorp North Slope LLC’s air-quality permit for Z Pad at the Milne Point Unit, opening a public comment period on changes that affect what the pad can put into the air and under what limits it operates.
The permit at issue is Air Quality Control Minor Permit AQ1690MSS02. Alaska Online Public Notices lists the application as “Notice of Application for State Air Quality Permit AQ1690MSS02, Hilcorp North Slope LLC, Z-Pad,” putting the revision in front of the public while DEC’s Division of Air Quality weighs whether to move from preliminary approval to a final decision.
For North Slope residents, the practical question is not just paperwork. Air permits set the rules for how a working oil pad can run, and changes at Z Pad matter because Milne Point is still in active development. The unit has seen repeated permitting activity in recent years, including approval for the R Pad in 2023, and Petroleum News reported in March 2025 that Hilcorp was adding more wells to its 2025 plan of development for Milne Point.
That continued buildout sits alongside a record that has drawn scrutiny before. ADEC spill records show a January 6, 2019 drilling-brine spill at Hilcorp Milne Pt Moose Pad that involved 5,166 gallons of drilling muds and brine. Alaska Public Media also reported in June 2023 that Hilcorp was fined again for deviating from permit at Milne Point. Those incidents help explain why air and operating limits at another pad on the unit can draw close attention from people watching industrial activity on the North Slope.
DEC’s comment pages make clear that posted comments will be considered, but the agency will not answer them. The public notice is now open on Alaska Online Public Notices, and comments can be submitted during that window on the permit notice itself. That makes this the point when residents, landowners and other North Slope stakeholders can press DEC to explain whether the proposed Z Pad revisions would change emissions limits, operating conditions or other protections before the agency reaches a final decision.
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