Alaska: The next energy frontier?

August 21, 2015 | By Jaclyn Brandt

Alaska is getting a lot of attention in the energy industry, partially because U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska, is now the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. But the remote communities of the state offer an opportunity to look into providing power in all types of locations.

Ketchikan, Alaska, Sen. Murkowski's hometown. Credit: Gildemax/Wikimedia Commons

Sen. Murkowski, along with fellow Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan -- chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife -- hosted a joint Senate oversight hearing earlier this week in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley to look at what effects the federal government's regulatory practices have on the state of Alaska -- including mitigation and land use requirements, and whether they delay or prevent the development of energy growth in Alaska.

"Here in Alaska and in the Lower 48, we have reached a point where federal agencies are unreasonably binding the hands of well-intentioned, environmentally principled, hard-working Alaskans," said Sen. Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "Whether it's the layering on of new regulations like the recent 'Waters of the United States' rule, unreasonable mitigation ratios, or something else, here in Alaska it often looks like the goal of the federal government is to stop new development in its tracks – rather than help it to responsibly advance."

The senators heard testimony on the effects of regulation on energy growth in Alaska, and whether there is anything that can be done to grow the industry in the state. Some of those that testified included witnesses representing the state of Alaska, the energy industry, and Alaska Native corporations (ANCs). They testified about "the devastating effects of excessive federal regulation and to highlight the successes of state, local, and Alaska Native efforts to balance conservation and environmental issues with increased development," according to U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Ed Fogels, deputy director of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, said the federal government should view the state of Alaska as an equal partner "and have some acknowledgment and consideration of its expert perspective in implementation." He asked regulators, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to increase coordination with the state, as well as transparency, when it comes to permitting.

Deantha Crockett, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, said there was too much uncertainty in federal policies.

"We are seeing multiple policies coming from multiple field offices through multiple levels of management: land planning, regulatory enforcement, permitting and otherwise," Crockett explained. These policies are introduced in draft form, to which the mining industry scrambles to digest the multiple volumes of thousands of pages of new policies governing our operations. Many times these policies do not come to fruition or are not finalized, yet are used by the agency as legitimate land management tools."

Sen. Murkowski said responsible natural resources development will be important for Alaska's future economy, and asked federal agencies to "stop putting in place regulations and requirements that create uncertainty, suffocating investment."

"Teaming up with Sen. Murkowski for this hearing provides an opportunity for a broader examination of multiple federal mitigation requirements that, when layered on top of one another, dramatically increase costs, paralyze projects from getting off the ground, and discourage investment in our state," said Sen. Sullivan. "As Alaska works to develop its land and its economy, it's imperative that accommodations are made to account for our state's geographic distinctiveness. That's what Sen. Murkowski and I will continue to fight for in D.C."

For more:
- read the testimonies

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/alaska-next-energy-frontier/2015-08-21