HR 5: Supporting full state participation alongside federal officials in the United States Department of the Interior's "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic Operations."
00 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 5 01 Supporting full state participation alongside federal officials in the United States 02 Department of the Interior's "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic Operations." 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 04 WHEREAS the economic future of the state and the energy security and strategic 05 global position of the nation stand to benefit greatly from development of the state's outer 06 continental shelf; and 07 WHEREAS Shell Oil Company's exploration activities in the Arctic have faced 08 technical setbacks not directly related to drilling, including the recent grounding of the Kulluk 09 rig, that are still being resolved and that are the subject of multiple investigations; and 10 WHEREAS those recent events should be looked on as valuable learning moments 11 from which to determine how better to improve safety during future development; and 12 WHEREAS hundreds of exploration and development wells have been safely and 13 responsibly drilled in state and federal water off the coast of the state, including in the 14 Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; and 15 WHEREAS development of the state's outer continental shelf is a well-understood 16 undertaking, and Alaskans have the benefit of over half a century's experience in managing
01 Arctic development; and 02 WHEREAS the United States Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, in January 2013, 03 directed the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 04 to undertake an "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic Operations" to identify lessons to be 05 learned from the challenges of the past year and to determine means of improving operational 06 security in the future; and 07 WHEREAS the results of the "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic Operations" 08 stand to affect significantly the economic future of the state; and 09 WHEREAS residents of the state have the utmost respect for the unequalled 10 experience of the United States Coast Guard in protecting Alaska's mariners and marine 11 environment, and the House of Representatives anticipates that the Bureau of Ocean Energy 12 Management panel will benefit from participation by the United States Coast Guard; and 13 WHEREAS public servants of the state charged with regulation of development in the 14 marine environment possess world-renowned expertise; and 15 WHEREAS the state is committed to safe and responsible development of energy 16 resources in the Arctic; and 17 WHEREAS the local knowledge, expertise, and passion that state residents hold for 18 the state is indispensable and should be brought to bear on all decision-making processes 19 affecting the state; and 20 WHEREAS it is unacceptable for final decisions on Arctic matters to be dictated to 21 the state by the federal government, and the state must be a full partner in all decisions 22 relating to Arctic development; and 23 WHEREAS the current plan for the "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic 24 Operations" undertaken by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is for an internal review 25 that will include interviewing and taking input from various stakeholders of the state, but will 26 not give the state any direct voice in the content of the review; 27 BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives requests that the state and the 28 residents of the state be allowed to participate in all federal decision-making processes that 29 concern the interests and well-being of residents of the state, including those related to Arctic 30 and outer continental shelf development; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives requests that, rather than
01 state experts merely being interviewed as part of the "Expedited Assessment of 2012 Arctic 02 Operations" undertaken by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a panel of state experts 03 be established and allowed to participate fully in the review alongside federal officials. 04 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Ken Salazar, United States 05 Secretary of the Interior; Tommy Beaudreau, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy 06 Management, United States Department of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 07 and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 08 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.