00                 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 7(RES)                                                               
01 Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the                                  
02 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, development, and                                            
03 production; urging the United States Department of the Interior to recognize the private                                
04 property rights of owners of land in and adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;                               
05 relating to oil and gas exploration, development, production, and royalties; and relating                               
06 to renewable and alternative energy technologies.                                                                       
07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
08       WHEREAS, in 16 U.S.C. 3142 (sec. 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands                                     
09 Conservation Act), the United States Congress reserved the right to permit further oil and gas                          
10 exploration, development, and production within the coastal plain of the Arctic National                                
11 Wildlife Refuge; and                                                                                                    
12       WHEREAS the oil industry, the state, and the United States Department of the                                    
13 Interior consider the coastal plain to have the highest potential for discovery of very large oil                       
14 and gas accumulations on the continent of North America, estimated to be as much as                                     

01 10,000,000,000 barrels of recoverable oil; and                                                                          
02       WHEREAS the "1002 study area" is part of the coastal plain located within the North                             
03 Slope Borough, and many of the residents of the North Slope Borough, who are                                            
04 predominantly Inupiat Eskimo, are supportive of development in the "1002 study area"; and                               
05       WHEREAS oil and gas exploration and development of the coastal plain of the refuge                              
06 and adjacent land could result in major discoveries that would reduce our nation's future need                          
07 for imported oil, help balance the nation's trade deficit, and significantly increase the nation's                      
08 security; and                                                                                                           
09       WHEREAS the state's and the nation's future energy independence would be                                        
10 enhanced with additional natural gas production from the North Slope of Alaska, including                               
11 what are expected to be significant gas reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and                            
12       WHEREAS the development of gas reserves on the North Slope would enhance the                                    
13 economic viability of the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline; and                                                     
14       WHEREAS domestic demand for oil continues to rise, while domestic crude                                         
15 production continues to fall, with the result that the United States must import additional oil                         
16 from foreign sources; and                                                                                               
17       WHEREAS development of oil at Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk, Endicott, Lisburne, and                                     
18 Milne Point has resulted in thousands of jobs throughout the United States; and                                         
19       WHEREAS projected job creation as a result of coastal plain oil development will                                
20 have a positive effect in all 50 states; and                                                                            
21       WHEREAS North Slope production is declining; and                                                                
22       WHEREAS the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, a transportation facility that is a                                   
23 national asset and that would cost billions of dollars to replace, would have its useful physical                       
24 life extended for a substantial period if the additional reserves of recoverable oil from the                           
25 coastal plain were produced; and                                                                                        
26       WHEREAS, while new oil field developments on the North Slope of Alaska, such as                                 
27 Alpine, Northstar, and West Sak, may temporarily slow the decline in production, only giant                             
28 coastal plain fields have the theoretical capability of increasing the production volume of                             
29 Alaska oil to a significant degree; and                                                                                 
30       WHEREAS opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge now                                    
31 will allow sufficient time for planning environmental safeguards, development, and national                             

01 security review; and                                                                                                    
02       WHEREAS the 1,500,000-acre coastal plain of the refuge makes up only eight                                      
03 percent of the 19,000,000-acre refuge; and                                                                              
04       WHEREAS the development of the oil and gas reserves in the refuge's coastal plain                               
05 would affect only 2,000 to 7,000 acres, which is less than one-half of one percent of the                               
06 coastal plain; and                                                                                                      
07       WHEREAS 8,900,000 of the 19,000,000 acres of the refuge have already been set                                   
08 aside as wilderness; and                                                                                                
09       WHEREAS the oil industry has shown at Prudhoe Bay and other locations along the                                 
10 Arctic coastal plain that it is capable of conducting oil and gas activity without adversely                            
11 affecting the environment, including wildlife populations; and                                                          
12       WHEREAS the state will strive to ensure the continued health and productivity of the                            
13 Porcupine caribou herd and the protection of land, water, and wildlife resources during the                             
14 exploration and development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and                            
15       WHEREAS the oil and gas industry is developing directional drilling technology that                             
16 will allow horizontal drilling in a responsible manner by minimizing the development                                    
17 footprint within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and                                                               
18       WHEREAS directional drilling technology may be capable of drilling from outside of                              
19 the boundaries of the 1002 study area; and                                                                              
20       WHEREAS the oil industry is using innovative technology and environmental                                       
21 practices in the new field developments at Alpine and Northstar; and                                                    
22       WHEREAS those techniques can operate on the coastal plain and would provide even                                
23 greater protection than current traditionally high standards; and                                                       
24       WHEREAS the continued competitiveness and stability of the state and its economy                                
25 require that the Alaska State Legislature enhance the national trend for renewable energy                               
26 development; and                                                                                                        
27       WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature encourages the use of revenue from the                                     
28 development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the development of renewable and                                 
29 alternative energy resources in the state;                                                                              
30       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
31 Congress to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge                           

01 to oil and gas exploration, development, and production as quickly as possible; and be it                               
02       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges that oil and gas                                       
03 exploration, development, and production activity be conducted in a manner that protects the                            
04 environment and the naturally occurring population levels of the Porcupine caribou herd, on                             
05 which the Inupiat, Gwich'in, and other local residents depend, that uses directional drilling                           
06 and other advances in technology to minimize the development footprint in the 1002 study                                
07 area, and that uses the state's workforce to the maximum extent possible; and be it                                     
08       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
09 Congress to pass legislation opening the 1002 study area, for oil and gas development while                             
10 continuing to work on measures for increasing the development and use of renewable and                                  
11 alternative energy technologies; and be it                                                                              
12       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
13 Department of the Interior to recognize and respect the rights of Native landowners in and                              
14 adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 study area, including the rights of the                            
15 Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation to develop their land                            
16 and resource entitlements received under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and other                              
17 agreements; and be it                                                                                                 
18       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes any unilateral                                       
19 reduction in royalty revenue from exploration and development of the coastal plain of the                               
20 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and also opposes any attempt to coerce the State of Alaska                              
21 into accepting less than the 90 percent of the oil, gas, and mineral royalties from federal lands                       
22 in the state that was promised to the state at statehood.                                                               
23       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
24 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
25 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ken Salazar, United States Secretary of the                                 
26 Interior; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the                                 
27 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the                                       
28 Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Mitch McConnell,                                
29 Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ron Wyden, Chair of the Energy and                                    
30 Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S.                                      
31 Senator and ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the U.S.                                    

01 Senate, the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senator, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                      
02 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the                              
03 113th United States Congress.