Gas line bills submitted in Washington

Alaska’s congressional delegation has introduced bills related to natural gas pipeline projects in the state.

Congressman Don Young, R-Alaska, reintroduced legislation related to pipeline training in the state; he introduced similar legislation in the last Congress.

The 2005 Military Construction Appropriations bill contained several sections devoted to the Alaska Gas Pipeline, with many requirements for its funding. The amendment Young introduced strikes some of those requirements so that funding may be requested by the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center in order to start properly training a workforce needed to build a gas pipeline.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska, introduced a bill making a minor technical change in provision Congress approved in 2004 to further construction of a pipeline system to move Alaska’s natural gas to market. The legislation would authorize federal funding to be released immediately upon the request of the governor to fund construction of the training center and broaden the center to allow it to also train oil, as well as gas field workers and environmental response employees.

Murkowski and Begich also reintroduced legislation which would authorize a right of way along the Parks Highway for construction of an in-state natural gas pipeline.

A line passing through seven miles of the Denali National Park and Preserve would following the existing highway, allow for electricity generation from natural gas in park facilities at Denali and allow for reasonably priced compressed natural gas to be available to power park vehicles such as the diesel-powered tour buses which travel 1 million road miles annually.

The senators said that because of the environmental advantages of using natural gas in the park, eight environmental groups have expressed support for pipeline construction along the existing highway right of way through Denali Park.

—Petroleum News