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Walker drops seismic for statewide 9-1-1
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Gov. Bill Walker said April 2 that he is requesting re-allocation of a fiscal year 2019 budget request for monies allowing the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to participate in acquiring seismic data in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The $10 million was in the supplemental budget and the funds request said the monies would allow the state to work with other interested parties to acquire seismic in advance of a proposed federal lease sale.
In a statement on the re-allocation request the governor said: “One in four Alaskans lacks conventional access to 9-1-1 as an emergency number.” In some parts of the state, he said, callers must dial a 1-800 number to reach help and the number varies by region.
“Ensuring Alaskans have the same level of access to emergency services provided to the rest of the country is foundational to building a Safer Alaska,” Walker said.
In a letter to co-chairs of the House and Senate Finance committees, Office of Management and Budget Director Pat Pitney said the Department of Public Safety accelerated work on the 9-1-1 project and “has developed a solid plan that can be implemented in the next 20 months.”
The capital budget request for the enhanced 9-1-1 system would total $9.5 million and come from a re-appropriation and redirection of existing fiscal year 2019 budget requests, including $1.059 million of an existing appropriation to the Department of Public Safety Academy, a one-time $150,000 request for a feasibility study of the central 9-1-1 center and redirection of $8.327 million of the $10 million request for 1002 area seismic data acquisition.
Some funding for Alaska LNG “These funds are not needed for seismic work at this time,” Pitney said.
She said the governor requests redirecting $1.5 million of the $10 million be redirected to the Department of Revenue and the Department of Natural Resources “to speed legal and financial due diligence as it relates to the State’s best interest in the Alaska LNG project.”
Specifically, those monies would support agency work “required to finalize negotiations and inform decisions that ensure the maximum benefits to the state” from the LNG project, including evaluation of royalty elections, gas disposition, lease modifications “and other decisions relating to North Slope natural gas commercialization. The funding will support the evaluations, negotiations, analysis, and findings surrounding these issues; overall benefits analysis of the project to the state, and opportunities for state participation for Legislative consideration.”
Pitney said DNR Commissioner Andy Mack, Revenue Commissioner Sheldon Fisher and Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth would be providing additional information on “the necessity of the modest due diligence funding.”
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