Alaska and Hawaii Senators Unveil Comprehensive ANWR Leigslation

ALASKA AND HAWAII SENATORS UNVEIL COMPREHENSIVE ANWR LEGISLATION

MURKOWSKI, STEVENS, AKAKA AND INOUYE PROPOSE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS, ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE IN BILL

In anticipation of today's Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee mark-up of budget reconciliation legislation, the Alaska and Hawaii Senate Delegations this morning introduced comprehensive legislation to provide full environmental protections and economic assistance to affected communities as part of a measure to open the Arctic coastal plain to oil and gas development.

Alaska Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski and Hawaii Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye today introduced the Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2005. The bill, intended to accompany a reconciliation act provision to open the coastal plain to energy development, codifies all of the environmental and economic provisions that have been proposed over the years to protect the environment, wildlife and residents of the coastal plain from impacts should oil or gas be discovered in the area.

"While Congress, as part of the reconciliation process, will clearly express its intent that full environmental and economic protections be provided to the Arctic coastal plain, this legislation is intended to go one step further and to codify those protections and aid. It simply is an insurance policy that protects the environment and the residents of Alaska when ANWR development proceeds," said Sen. Murkowski, who sponsored the bill.

"We've been after this for more than 20 years and now Congress is prepared to open the Arctic coastal plain to oil and gas development," said Sen. Stevens. "We believe this is the greatest reservoir for oil and gas on the North American continent so it really must be explored and developed. This bill codifies our commitment to the Alaska community and the nation that exploration will be done in a safe and responsible manner."

The measure, similar to traditional House-passed legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to limited development, includes a host of environmental stipulations. It requires that no more than 2,000 acres of the surface of the entire coastal plain - both federal and Native-owned lands -- be impacted by development, that development can result in no "significant adverse impacts" on the coastal plain and that the "best commercially available technology" be employed.

The bill allows the Secretary to designate up to 45,000 acres of the coastal plain as special areas for protection and specifically requires that the 4,000-acre Sadlerochit Spring area be protected for wildlife. It requires that directional drilling be used to minimize surface impacts and includes other restrictions such as seasonal drilling limitations that will prevent impact on caribou and other migratory animals during the Arctic summer.

The bill, which requires that efforts be made to work out Project Labor Agreements to guarantee that Alaska workers benefit from opening of the coastal plain, also sets up a mitigation impact fund to provide aid to communities affected by oil development, most likely the City of Kaktovik and the North Slope Borough.

The bill, which duplicates many of the provisions to open ANWR contained in proposed Reconciliation Act provisions, also clarifies that all Native-owned lands can be opened to oil development, but that they must also be opened under terms of the 2,000-acre surface disturbance limitation contained in the bill. The language also conveys the last 2,000 acres of lands owed to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corp. and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. stemming from the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The bill also calls for the Secretary of the Interior to consult with Alaskans and Kaktovik residents to gain their advice and knowledge before approving development activities on the coastal plain. To facilitate that consultation, the bill creates a State coordinator to be appointed by the Governor and requires that the government pay for a local coordination office to be opened in Kaktovik to make it easier for North Slope residents to express their viewpoints on development to federal agencies.

The Senators said their hope is that this measure will be widely seen as a reasonable clarification of authority and passed by Congress after the main Reconciliation Act clears, opening ANWR to development later this fall.

"Our hope would be that all sides would agree that these provisions make sense to implement provisions to open ANWR. The environmental provisions can be done administratively by the Secretary based upon the authority in the Reconciliation Act, but still spelling out the provisions are useful for the peace of mind of all concerned," said Murkowski.

"For years there has been general agreement on many of the environmental safeguards that should be in place when ANWR is opened. This measure simply spells out those provisions that are vital to make sure that modern technology is used to limit the effects of development on wildlife and the residents of the coastal plain," she said.

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=247457