Energy legislation must address AK issues

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, has sent a letter to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging more consideration of Alaska’s needs and priorities in energy legislation moving through Congress.

“With the Senate soon to turn its focus to an energy plan designed to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, foster development of new jobs and new businesses and begin to slow the pace of climate change, I write to bring your attention to the fact that none of the various proposals for economy-wide legislation sufficiently addresses Alaska’s unique situation,” Begich said. “It will benefit no Alaskan to slow the advance of climate change’s effects if they can’t afford to rebuild their eroding village, meet a payroll or heat their home.”

Referencing Alaska climate change impacts, such as eroding shorelines and thawing permafrost, while also commenting on the exceptionally high energy costs in rural and Interior regions of the state, Begich pointed out that the viability of Alaska’s statehood was predicated on the state’s ability to raise revenues from natural resource development. Those natural resource-related revenues currently amount to more than 85 percent of the state budget he said.

Alaska has four major priorities in any federal energy and climate-change legislation, Begich said. Those priorities consist of:

• Expanded incentives for the delivery of Alaska natural gas to market;

• A mechanism for the state sharing of revenues from offshore oil and gas development;

• Funding to help Alaska communities deal with climate change impacts such as village relocations and infrastructure rebuilding, and with high energy costs; and

• Increased funding for government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard for Arctic and climate research, recognizing the strategic importance of Arctic assets and the need for international leadership in the area.

—Alan Bailey