Congressional Delegation Confirms Time to Open ANWR is Now

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION CONFIRMS TIME TO OPEN ANWR IS NOW

Senator Lisa Murkowski today joined with the members of the congressional delegation she recently hosted in ANWR to discuss what the group saw on their trip to Alaska's coastal plain.

"A week ago, I said I was looking forward to leading the delegation to show them how we in Alaska do exploration and production in a first class and first rate way - and that's what they saw," Sen. Murkowski said. "[The members of the delegation] walked away very impressed with the technology that's been developed over the last thirty years."

Murkowski said that the delegation was able to compare the size of the footprint created by the thirty-year old production facilities at Prudhoe Bay and the new facilities at the Alpine oil fields. The group examined the ice roads that connect drilling facilities during the long winter on the coastal plain and visited with the residents of Kaktovik - the only village in ANWR to hear local concerns over possible production.

At today's press conference with Sen. Pete Domenici (NM), Sen. John Thune (SD), Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, Murkowski also noted that contrary to the claims of Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), who did not go on the trip to Alaska, the delegation did, in fact, walk on the 1002 area of the coastal plain - the only area of ANWR proposed for oil and gas leasing.

Senators Domenici and Thune commented that a first hand account of production in Alaska gave each of them renewed confidence that the time to open ANWR is now and that production can proceed with minimal impact to the environment. "…In spite of the fact that I had learned a lot about ANWR, I learned a lot more by actually being on the ground and having the issues explained on site. I'm led to the conclusion that if you look around the United States and other places oil might be developed…the most environmentally clean place to drill and produce oil is ANWR," Domenici said. "In the end it will be the cleanest location for exploration and development that we will ever see."

"What we are talking about on the North Slope of Alaska, after seeing it first hand, is responsible development…reflective of the values and the cultures and the tradition of the people who live there," Sen. Thune said.

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=233308