SJR 16: Expressing support for environmentally sound and culturally sensitive development of the oil and gas resources in federal waters offshore of Alaska's coast as a means to ensure energy independence, security for the nation, and jobs for Alaskans; and urging the United States Congress to provide a means for consistently sharing with all coastal energy-producing states, on an ongoing basis, revenue generated from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf, to ensure that those states develop, support, and maintain necessary infrastructure and preserve environmental integrity.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 16 01 Expressing support for environmentally sound and culturally sensitive development of 02 the oil and gas resources in federal waters offshore of Alaska's coast as a means to 03 ensure energy independence, security for the nation, and jobs for Alaskans; and urging 04 the United States Congress to provide a means for consistently sharing with all coastal 05 energy-producing states, on an ongoing basis, revenue generated from oil and gas 06 development on the outer continental shelf, to ensure that those states develop, support, 07 and maintain necessary infrastructure and preserve environmental integrity. 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS there are presently 697 active oil and gas leases off Alaska's coast, 10 covering more than 1,500,000 hectares; and 11 WHEREAS the United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management 12 Service, estimates there are nearly 27,000,000,000 barrels of oil and 132,000,000,000,000 13 cubic feet of natural gas that are technically recoverable offshore of Alaska; and 14 WHEREAS environmentally responsible and culturally sensitive oil and gas
01 development in federal waters off Alaska's coast would significantly decrease reliance by the 02 United States on foreign oil and gas, making the United States more energy independent and 03 enhancing our national security; and 04 WHEREAS, under the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, the federal government 05 shares with the states 50 percent of revenue from mineral production on federal land within 06 each state's boundaries; and 07 WHEREAS the shared mineral production revenue is distributed to the states 08 automatically, outside of the budget process, and is not subject to appropriation; and 09 WHEREAS, other than in water immediately adjacent to a state's coastline, there is 10 not a similar authority for the federal government to share federal oil and gas revenue 11 generated on the outer continental shelf with adjacent coastal states, despite the vital 12 contribution made by those states to our nation's energy, economic, and national security 13 needs in support of production from the outer continental shelf; and 14 WHEREAS the states that sustain this critical energy production and development 15 deserve a share of the revenue generated because they provide infrastructure to support 16 offshore operations and because of the environmental effects and other risks associated with 17 oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf; and 18 WHEREAS, under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, the federal 19 government recognized the contributions made by Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 20 Texas to national security and agreed to give them 37.5 percent of revenue from oil and gas 21 development in newly leased federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico; and 22 WHEREAS other coastal states, including Alaska and California, also support and 23 should receive, on a regular and ongoing basis, a fair share of revenue generated through 24 development on the outer continental shelf as compensation and reward for their contributions 25 to the nation's energy supply, security, and economy; and 26 WHEREAS, since statehood, oil and gas production from the outer continental shelf 27 off Alaska's coast has generated millions of dollars in revenue for the federal government; and 28 WHEREAS the February 2008 lease sale in the Chukchi Sea generated an additional 29 $2,600,000,000 in revenue for the federal government; 30 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports environmentally sound 31 and culturally sensitive development of the oil and gas resources in federal waters offshore of
01 Alaska's coast as a means to ensure energy independence, security for the nation, and jobs for 02 Alaskans; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 04 Congress to provide a means for consistently sharing, on an ongoing basis, revenue generated 05 from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf with all coastal energy-producing 06 states to ensure that those states develop, support, and maintain necessary infrastructure and 07 preserve environmental integrity. 08 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 09 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 10 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ken Salazar, United States Secretary of the 11 Interior; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 12 Honorable Steny H. Hoyer, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 13 Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 14 Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, 15 Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Chair of the U.S. Senate 16 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the 17 Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, 18 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the 111th United 19 States Congress.