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Dems float bid to lock up ANWR’s coastal plain Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, proposes ban on oil drilling in 1002 Area; Ted Stevens offers plan to raise CAFÉ standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2017 to reduce greenhouse gases Rose Ragsdale For Petroleum News
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., one of the most strident voices against oil drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is now pushing legislation to convert the 1.2 million-acre strip of barren tundra into permanent wilderness.
Markey, who introduced H.R. 39 with Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., in the House Resources Committee Jan. 5, has introduced similar legislation in each of the last three congressional sessions. However, a Republican-controlled House of Representatives has approved ANWR drilling 10 times in the past decade, only to see the effort die in the Senate, where supporters couldn’t muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a likely filibuster.
This time, with Democrats in the majority and a number of moderate Republicans on record as opposed to drilling, Markey is calling for the House to declare the refuge’s 1002 Area, or coastal plain, permanently off-limits to oil development.
When Congress established ANWR, which Markey called the “crown jewel” of the nation’s Wildlife Refuge System, it set aside the 1002 Area, the northernmost edge of the 19.5-million-acre refuge for possible future oil development. The area is believed to contain 10.5 billion barrels of oil, approaching the size of Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay field to the west. At peak production, the refuge could supply 1 million barrels a day by 2025, according to the Interior Department.
H.R. 39 would remove the 1002 Area designation and make the coastal plain permanent wilderness just like the other 18.3 million acres of ANWR to the south.
“Our addiction to oil is real and enduring and still largely untreated,” Markey said in announcing the legislation. “Drilling in the refuge would amount to a declaration that we remain in denial about this addiction, its impact on our planet and our obligation to future generations.”
Markey also cited the huge oil spill at Prudhoe Bay in 2006 as evidence that drilling proponents are mistaken when they say new oil industry technology can keep ANWR relatively free of the undesirable effects of oil and gas production. However, the Prudhoe Bay field is nearly 40 years old and was built with technology that the industry now considers outdated.
Greens to fight for legislation Environmental groups hailed Markey’s bill as a realistic bid for Congress to put the 1002 area off limits to oil drilling.
“What’s changed is we won’t have those daily assaults” from pro-drilling forces, said Cindy Shogan, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League. “We are definitely on the offense.”
Environmentalists said they plan to mobilize behind the Markey-Ramstad legislation, the same people that have fought drilling proposals in past years.
Two years ago, when Republicans expanded their majorities in the House and Senate, the likelihood of opening the refuge to oil development gained new momentum. It already had been a top energy priority of President Bush since 2001. But a concerted push by pro-drilling forces again fell short in the Senate.
Now Markey is hoping momentum will swing the other way.
Markey bill will face opposition But the Massachusetts congressman will lose that bet, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, a powerful member of the House Resources Committee.
“We don’t see Mr. Markey’s bill going very far, perhaps not even out of committee. Regardless, Cong. Young wouldn’t consider letting it out of the House without a fight,” said Meredith Kenny, Young’s press secretary. “At this point, we don’t think the bill has enough support to pass the House, and we think Mr. Markey knows that. He just wants to make a point.”
Roger Herrera, a longtime Alaska consultant who has lobbied for oil drilling on the coastal plain in Congress, said Markey’s bill comes as no surprise and appears to be more “noise than substance.”
“The chances of him succeeding with this bill are close to zilch, and even in the House where he would need only a simple majority, it wouldn’t be a slam dunk,” Herrera said Jan. 9. “Too many people in Congress are concerned about our energy future to take away what they consider to be a valuable option.”
In announcing his bill, Markey said a better choice than a “temporary solution” like drilling in ANWR for meeting the nation’s energy needs, would be to “increase fuel economy to 40 miles per gallon over 10 years.”
Stevens gets jump with fuel economy bill Ironically, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, one of the strongest advocates on Capitol Hill for drilling in ANWR’s coastal plain, introduced legislation in the Senate a day earlier calling for just such an increase.
Stevens wants to boost Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFE) standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2017, if not sooner.
The United States imports nearly 11 million barrels of crude oil every day, compared with only five million bpd produced domestically.
Working our way out of this imbalance will require both increased domestic energy production and improved fuel economy, according to Stevens.
Noting that Alaska is ready and able to do its part to increase domestic energy production, Stevens said savings achieved by increasing fuel economy standards for the entire U.S. passenger vehicle fleet is essential to the equation.
Stevens’ bill would clarify the secretary of Transportation’s authority to raise and reform current CAFE standards for passenger automobiles, and allow the secretary to prescribe standards for different classes of automobiles based on one or more vehicle attributes. It would require the secretary to issue CAFE standards for any model year at least 18 months before the beginning of that particular model year.
Less pollution another goal The bill also would amend existing criteria that the secretary must consider when determining CAFE standards to include motor vehicle safety, the effect of the standard on emissions and the need of the United States to reduce its dependency on oil. It prohibits any CAFE regulation that would require a “uniform percentage increase” by manufacturers, and requires that any regulation pass a cost/benefit test.
The legislation also requires the secretary of Commerce to establish a national registry system for greenhouse gas trading of credits. Participation in the registry would be voluntary, and any entity conducting business in the United States would be eligible to use the services of the registry. Therefore, automobile manufacturers would be able to contribute or purchase a limited number of emissions credits with other industries that generate greenhouse gases in order to achieve compliance with CAFE standards.
Stevens also noted that increasing CAFE standards will help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
The U.S. transportation sector contributes roughly one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, a statistic that Markey also cited in making his case for prohibiting oil drilling on ANWR’s coastal plain.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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