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Congressional delegation, governor object Meeting requested with president to discuss Alaska’s management of Arctic; Palin says request based on ‘false premises’ Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska’s congressional delegation and its governor have registered strong objections to a letter from 67 House Democrats, urging President Obama to make the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge wilderness, suspend oil and gas exploration and leasing in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas and close additional areas of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas development.
In a March 24 letter to the president Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich and Rep. Don Young said there are significant federal lands in Alaska and federal waters off the state’s shores and requested a meeting with the president to discuss “Alaska’s management of the Arctic.”
“Alaska has been a good partner in the management of our natural resources on these lands and waters and has provided much to our nation in regards to energy and fisheries,” the delegation said.
With climate changes in the Arctic the delegation said it has been working “proactively with federal and state agencies to determine the best way to protect this unique ecosystem.” They noted that while Alaska holds a special meaning for the rest of the country, “to us, Alaska is more than just an environmental symbol. It is where we live, work and raise our families.”
The delegation said they have “taken the lead in protecting the Arctic and promoting conservation efforts using the best available science. Far too often, though, talk of implementing ‘science-based precautionary management’ in the Arctic is in reality simply code for ignoring the scientific evidence, shortchanging the process and trying to stop all commercial activity in the region.”
Energy imperatives Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin emphasized American energy security.
She said the recommendations in the letter from the 67 House Democrats “are based in a false premise that could lead to bad public policy.”
“Industrial development in the Arctic is not out of control,” the governor said. Arctic development is subject to “in-depth analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, a stringent permitting process, and close oversight by state and federal officials.”
The governor said ANWR is the most promising unexplored petroleum province in North America and has the potential to provide a secure source of energy for decades to come.
The recommendations would also prohibit oil and gas developments in large parts of NPR-A, set aside by Congress to further such development — and where there are already off-limit areas established.
Since there have been oil and gas lease sales in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, a suspension of exploration activities on existing leases could raise issues of financial liability for the federal government.
Since commercial development in the Arctic is preceded by extensive studies, “... the recommendation for further studies and an independent task force becomes an excuse to keep anything from happening until sometime in the indefinite future. We are all concerned about climate change and its effects, but the people of Alaska and the nation have the ingenuity to address these issues as prudent development occurs.”
Residents of the North Slope were mentioned in the letter, the governor said, but a large majority of North Slope residents support onshore oil and gas development, including the coastal plain of ANWR, because 30 years of development have shown it can be done safely and because revenues from such development help fuel the local economy.
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