Parnell requests corps reconsideration
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reconsider its Feb. 5 denial of a permit request by ConocoPhillips Alaska for development of CD-5, the company’s oil prospect which lies west of the Alpine field in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
The governor said in a letter to the corps’ district commander that according to federal regulations the decision should have been referred upward from the district engineer to the division engineer for resolution because it is contrary to the written position of the governor of the state in which the work was to be performed.
Parnell said he had made his position in favor of the project well known to the corps, in writing and in a personal meeting.
As an alternative to referring the decision to the corps’ division engineer, Parnell requested that the district reconsider its decision denying the permit request.
The governor said the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has “thoroughly reviewed potential impacts on subsistence users, fish, wildlife, and water quality in the project area and we are satisfied that ConocoPhillips’ plan adequately addresses any concerns.”
ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Lowman told Petroleum News in a March 9 e-mail that the company supports the governor “in getting clarity on the process as outlined in his letter.”
She noted that the CD-5 project “represents more than $600 million in investment, and 400 direct new jobs per year during construction, plus hundreds more support jobs.”
“Until this permit is resolved with the Corps of Engineers, this project cannot move forward,” Lowman said.
ConocoPhillips said in February after the corps issued its decision that it would appeal.
—Kristen Nelson
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