Ramras asks for clarification

Alaska Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, wants clarification on what triggers the treble damages clause under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.

The damages clause was included in AGIA to give potential applicants for the AGIA license assurance that the state would not jump ship after the license was awarded — or if it did, that the AGIA licensee would be compensated.

Ramras said in a Nov. 3 statement that he is working on a resolution to be pre-filed for next year’s Legislature asking the governor and the commissioners of the departments of Natural Resources and Revenue and the AGIA licensees to develop an agreement on exactly what triggers AGIA’s treble damages clause.

AGIA provides that the state will pay treble damages to the licensee if the state supports another gas pipeline moving more than 500 million cubic feet a day.

The draft resolution also asks that the state and the licensee sign a memorandum of understanding to ensure AGIA doesn’t hinder pursuit of a small-diameter in-state gas pipeline.

Ramras said in a Nov. 3 statement that he wants the MOU to address three things: whether a state-subsidized or sanctioned small-diameter line carrying more than 500 million cubic feet per day of gas would trigger the damages; he also wants to know whether the state “can have a discussion on fiscal certainty if all the shippers stay outside of AGIA without incurring the treble damages”; and the third issue is whether damages would be on the net or the gross.

“The administration states again and again that the path forward is through the AGIA model, but there are significant unanswered questions and Alaskans deserve concrete answers,” said Ramras, who is a candidate for Alaska lieutenant governor in the 2010 elections.

—Kristen Nelson