ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on an underwater natural gas pipeline leak in Alaska's Cook Inlet (all times local):

The company that owns a natural gas pipeline leaking in Alaska's Cook Inlet says it's pleased that a federal pipeline safety office has not called for an immediate repair. The estimate of when gas started leaking into winter habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales was issued in a proposed safety order last week by the U.S. A 2012 ProPublica investigation found that only 7 percent of natural gas pipelines are required to undergo regular inspections by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the agency responsible for regulating the industry, which itself has been around since only 2004. "We were looking for direct action, which doesn't seem to be what's going on at this camp," says Tom Freed, a 28-year-old Pennsylvanian who rode down from an Occupy Inauguration protest with a friend in late January. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp. Before then, companies moved oil by horse-drawn wagons, the cost of which far outweighed that of the oil itself.
An investigation by the United States Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finds that the natural gas leak occurring in Alaska's Cook Inlet began earlier than first reported, and represents significant safety and environmental risks. The agency gives pipeline operator Hilcorp Energy until May 1, 2017 to fix the leak, or shut the pipeline down.