Energy bill calls for study of government owned gasline

Steve Sutherlin

The energy bill introduced to the U.S. Senate by Majority Leader Tom Daschle Feb. 15 calls for study of a government owned gasline, as reported by the Dow Jones news service. The bill would require the secretary of energy to study “the feasibility of establishing a government corporation to construct an Alaska natural gas transportation project, and alternative means of providing federal financing and ownership (including alternative combinations of government and private corporate ownership) of the project.”

Another section calls for the government to find ways to encourage the pipeline if private sector companies don’t proceed within six months of the bill’s enactment.

The bill would remove regulatory and legal obstacles in order to speed construction of the project. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be lead agency for environmental reviews, which would have an 18-month completion deadline. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia would have exclusive U.S. jurisdiction for legal claims arising from the project.