|
Creation of Regulatory Commission of Alaska moves forward in Juneau Merger of Alaska Public Utilities Commission, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on hold pending study Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
On May 14 the Alaska Legislature sent to the governor two bills making fundamental changes in the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Senate Bill 133 reorganizes the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, renaming it the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, moves the AOGCC in with the RCA and provides for a study on merging the two commissions.
Senate Bill 134 replaces the AOGCC’s current source of funding with a regulatory cost charge and adds four employees to the AOGCC’s professional staff. Both bills were sponsored by Sen. Drue Pearce, R-Anchorage.
As originally drafted, SB 133 repealed both the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Alaska Public Utilities Commission effective July 1, and replaced them with a single commission. Changes along the way Changes made in the Senate before final passage included changing the name of the new agency from the originally proposed Alaska Energy Commission to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and requiring a study of the functions of both the APUC and the AOGCC before consideration of merging the two agencies.
Legislative Budget and Audit will do the study which will be delivered to the governor and Legislature in January.
Under SB 133, employees of the new Regulatory Commission of Alaska will report to the chairman of the commission. Employees of the APUC report to an executive director.
The legislation also imposes a time management system on the commission — all work could then be tracked back to the industry for which it was performed, enabling the state to better determine who should pay for the work of the commission. The commission would also be required to establish timetables for its work.
AOGCC funding source, quarters, to change The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation will move into the same quarters as the Regulatory Commission of Alaska by July 1, 2000. The Department of Administration has said it hopes to have the AOGCC — presently housed in its own building which is badly in need of repairs — moved well before the end of the year.
After that time the two commissions would share record keeping facilities and clerical staff.
AOGCC’s funding, which has been based on a tax on production, will now be a regulatory cost charge based on the number of active wells in the state and the volume of oil or gas which is produced from those wells and the volume of oil, gas, water and other fluids — including waste slurry — injected into the wells.
The commission will also be able to allocate expenses of investigations or hearings among the parties, including itself.
The commission will set the regulatory cost charge each year so that the total amount to be collected approximately equals the appropriations made for its operating costs.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association opposed SB134. Judy Brady, AOGA’s executive director, told the House Finance Committee May 5 that AOGA supported adequate funding for the AOGCC, but was concerned that SB134 created a practically unlimited tax source and also that because it included injected fluids in the calculation it would overburden low producing fields.
Brady said AOGA also wanted to see a discussion of the duties of AOGCC and said the organization was concerned about what the agency does and doesn’t spend money on.
| 