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ANWR lobby group plans for 2004 Arctic Power will work for changes in federal energy bill, or try again in 2005 Larry Persily Petroleum News Juneau Correspondent
The primarily state-of-Alaska-funded lobbying group Arctic Power says it will be back next year and, if necessary, the year after that as it continues pushing for congressional approval to allow oil and gas drilling in the state’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
And although the group has enough money to carry on its battle when Congress returns to work in January, it will need more state funds if the Legislature wants the effort to continue when a new Congress convenes after the November 2004 elections, said Al Adams, chairman of the Arctic Power board of directors.
The Arctic Power board met in Anchorage on Dec. 15 and voted unanimously to go on with the lobbying effort, said Adams, a former state senator from Kotzebue. Group hopes for another shot at energy bill The nonprofit organization’s first hope is that the existing Senate deadlock over national energy policy legislation forces the bill back to a new conference committee in search of a compromise acceptable to House and Senate members, Adams said. And, if congressional leaders name a new conference committee, it’s possible ANWR drilling proponents could get another chance to argue for their provision in the bill, he said.
Although the House passed the energy bill by a comfortable margin last month, Senate leaders fell two votes short in their chamber.
The bill does not include a provision to allow drilling in ANWR. House members appeared willing to accept an ANWR provision but there are enough Senate opponents — mostly Democrats and several anti-drilling Republicans — to filibuster and kill the energy bill if it includes language to open ANWR.
Unless congressional leaders name a new conference committee — which would mean reopening the entire 1,100-page bill to amendments, politics and lobbyists — the only choice for the Senate is to accept or reject the measure, without ANWR.
If the energy bill passes as is, without ANWR, or if it fails to pass at all, Arctic Power will be ready to start again in 2005, Adams said. Arctic Power has $419,000 The group had $419,000 in the bank as of early December, he said, enough to finish its work before Congress in 2004. Anything after that will be up to the Alaska Legislature.
If lawmakers want Arctic Power to continue its decade-long lobbying effort to open ANWR, they will need to take action during the legislative session that starts Jan. 12 to appropriate funds to the organization for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2004.
The Legislature has appropriated $12.6 million for ANWR lobbying work since 1991.
Adams said Arctic Power would meet with the governor to discuss the issue before going to the Legislature.
Longtime Arctic Power lobbyist Roger Herrera will continue in 2004, Adams said. Herrera says he is likely to stay on Herrera, who had considered retiring before the start of the 2003 session in Congress, confirmed he is likely to give it another try. “It makes common sense to stay completely flexible to see how the wind blows,” he said.
In addition to Herrera, Arctic Power will continue with one full-time staff member in Anchorage and one in Washington, D.C., Adams said.
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