00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6 01 Relating to legacy wells and legacy well sites; urging the United States Department of 02 the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to open new areas of the National Petroleum 03 Reserve - Alaska for environmentally responsible oil and gas development; and 04 requesting the Office of the Governor to increase nationwide awareness about legacy 05 wells and well sites. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 WHEREAS the United States Navy and the United States Geological Survey drilled 08 approximately 137 wells on federal land in northern Alaska between 1944 and 1981, all of 09 which are now abandoned; and 10 WHEREAS the United States Bureau of Land Management is the current operator of 11 the abandoned wells, now referred to as legacy wells; and 12 WHEREAS only 17 of the legacy wells have been properly plugged and reclaimed; 13 and 14 WHEREAS 10 of the legacy wells were determined by the Alaska Oil and Gas 15 Conservation Commission to be of no concern because they were drilled to less than 50 feet 01 in depth, were drilled solely for soil stability data, did not encounter hydrocarbons, were never 02 cased, and have healed and revegetated; and 03 WHEREAS the remaining legacy wells are out of compliance with the regulations 04 adopted by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; and 05 WHEREAS at least 10 of the legacy wells out of compliance with the regulations 06 adopted by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission currently leak hydrocarbons, 07 have leaked hydrocarbons in the past, or have a high potential to leak hydrocarbons in the 08 future; and 09 WHEREAS three of the legacy wells can no longer be found; and 10 WHEREAS the changing geography of the Arctic puts additional legacy wells at risk 11 of being lost before remediation can occur; and 12 WHEREAS the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has repeatedly 13 reminded the federal government of the obligation to plug legacy wells properly and to 14 reclaim legacy well sites; and 15 WHEREAS the legacy wells that have not been properly plugged and reclaimed pose 16 a significant risk to surface vegetation, groundwater, fish, land mammals, and sea mammals; 17 and 18 WHEREAS wood and metal debris and deteriorating buildings at the sites of the 19 legacy wells litter the landscape and detract from the natural beauty of the Arctic region; and 20 WHEREAS the federal government has received $9,480,946,486 from lease sales in 21 the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska and the outer continental shelf of the state and 22 should use a portion of those funds to plug and reclaim legacy wells in the state; and 23 WHEREAS the state cannot impose fines on the federal government for violating the 24 regulations of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, but if it could do so, the 25 fines would exceed $8,000,000,000; if the statute of limitations were disregarded, the fines 26 would exceed $40,000,000,000; and 27 WHEREAS both state and federal regulations require the plugging and reclamation of 28 legacy wells, and the federal government would not allow a private entity to remain in 29 violation of those regulations; and 30 WHEREAS the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska was created in 1923 specifically 31 for oil and gas leasing, exploration, and production; and 01 WHEREAS the United States Congress mandated a program of oil and gas leasing 02 within the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska in 1980, opening the petroleum reserve to 03 future development; and 04 WHEREAS future oil and gas production from the National Petroleum Reserve - 05 Alaska could boost throughput in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and create new jobs and 06 revenue for the state and the federal government; 07 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 08 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to plug legacy wells properly and to 09 reclaim the legacy well sites as soon as possible in order to protect the environment in the 10 Arctic region; and be it 11 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 12 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to work collaboratively with the 13 Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and other entities in the state to plug legacy 14 wells and reclaim legacy well sites; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 16 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to comply with state regulations and 17 to use best practices when plugging legacy wells and reclaiming legacy well sites; and be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 19 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to consider turning over the 20 responsibility for plugging legacy wells and reclaiming legacy well sites to an entity that 21 could perform the work in compliance with federal and state regulations with greater cost- 22 effectiveness; and be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 24 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to take more action to plug legacy 25 wells and reclaim legacy well sites safely so that the Arctic environment suffers no further 26 harm; and be it 27 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 28 Office of the Governor to disseminate information through appropriate national news outlets 29 and by other available means to increase awareness nationwide of the dangerous conditions of 30 the legacy wells and legacy well sites in the state and the federal government's failure to plug 31 the legacy wells properly and reclaim the legacy well sites; and be it 01 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 02 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to open new areas of the National 03 Petroleum Reserve Alaska for environmentally responsible oil and gas development that will 04 increase throughput in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and ensure the state plays an even 05 larger role in making our country energy independent. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 07 the United States; the Honorable Ken Salazar, United States Secretary of the Interior; the 08 Honorable Mike Pool, Acting Director, Bureau of Land Management, United States 09 Department of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark 10 Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the 11 Alaska delegation in Congress.