00                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18                                                                    
01 Urging withdrawal of proposed Bureau of Land Management regulations affecting the                                       
02 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and urging meaningful engagement with tribes,                                     
03 local governments, and affected communities.                                                                            
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS, in 1923, President Warren G. Harding issued an Executive Order                                         
06 establishing Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 on the North Slope region to provide a potential                             
07 supply of oil for the United States Navy; and                                                                         
08       WHEREAS 42 U.S.C. 6501 (Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976)                                        
09 redesignated Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 as the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska                                  
10 and transferred responsibility for its administration to the Secretary of the Interior; and                             
11 WHEREAS the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska encompasses 23,500,000                                               
12 acres, with boundaries extending south from Icy Cape to the drainage divide of the Brooks                               
13 Range, then following the divide eastward to 156 degrees west longitude, then north to the                              
14 Colville River, and following the Colville River downstream to its mouth; and                                           
15       WHEREAS the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska falls entirely within the                                      
01 boundary of the North Slope Borough and includes the communities of Atqasuk, Nuiqsut,                                   
02 Utqiagvik, and Wainwright; and                                                                                          
03       WHEREAS Alaska Natives have continuously inhabited the region that includes the                                 
04 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for over 10,000 years; and                                                         
05       WHEREAS President Biden has signed multiple Executive Orders directing federal                                  
06 agencies to elevate and honor tribal self-determination and the government-to-government                                
07 relationship between tribes and the federal government; and                                                           
08       WHEREAS there are nine federally recognized tribes on the North Slope and five                                  
09 federally recognized tribes in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and                                          
10 WHEREAS federally recognized tribal governments have a nation-to-nation                                               
11 relationship with federal agencies; and                                                                                 
12 WHEREAS President Biden's Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination                                        
13 with Indian Tribal Governments) and Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening                                 
14 Nation-to-Nation Relationships both require meaningful consultation and collaboration with                              
15 tribal officials and require tribal voices in policy deliberations that affect tribal communities;                      
16 and                                                                                                                   
17 WHEREAS the federal government is directed to consult with Alaska Native                                              
18 Corporations on the same basis as tribes, and Alaska Native Corporations own land within                                
19 and directly adjacent to the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and                                                  
20 WHEREAS North Slope municipal and tribal governments, Alaska Native                                                   
21 Corporations, and other Alaska Native organizations have requested the proposed Bureau of                               
22 Land Management regulations restricting development within the National Petroleum Reserve                               
23 in Alaska be withdrawn pending meaningful tribal consultation, public meetings, and                                     
24 stakeholder engagement; and                                                                                             
25 WHEREAS President Biden directed federal agencies to consider the potential                                           
26 benefit and harm of federal regulations, including in relation to wages and inequality; and                             
27 WHEREAS employment with Alaska Native Corporations and their subsidiaries and                                         
28 high unionization rates in the energy industry directly contribute to better wages and lower                            
29 rates of economic inequality; and                                                                                       
30 WHEREAS the 2020 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan                                        
31 and Environmental Impact Statement estimates that the exploration, development, and                                     
01 production of oil and gas in the reserve could generate 3,600 direct jobs and 2,750 indirect                            
02 jobs annually over a period of 30 years; and                                                                            
03 WHEREAS state royalties from oil and gas development in the National Petroleum                                        
04 Reserve in Alaska are allocated to the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Impact                                      
05 Mitigation Fund, which is used to provide the local communities of Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk,                             
06 Nuiqsut, Wainwright, Utqiagvik, and the North Slope Borough with grants to mitigate                                     
07 impacts related to oil and gas development; and                                                                         
08 WHEREAS resource development in the state has benefited rural communities by                                          
09 bringing family-supporting jobs and wages, increased educational opportunities, safe water                              
10 and wastewater facilities, and expanded health care services to those communities; and                                  
11 WHEREAS, because of resource development and associated revenue and                                                   
12 infrastructure investments, compared with the national average, rural areas of the state                                
13 experienced greater increases in life expectancy between 1980 and 2014 in locations where                               
14 resource development activities, including oil and gas development, mining, and fisheries                               
15 operations, have occurred; and                                                                                        
16 WHEREAS continued development of the state's renewable and oil and gas resources                                      
17 with rapidly advancing carbon sequestration deployment ensures that the state can meet its                              
18 own energy needs and contribute to national security and global decarbonization goals;                                  
19 BE IT RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the authority of a                                             
20 legislative body and further recognizes that regulations are not intended to usurp codified law;                        
21 and be it                                                                                                               
22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature affirms the importance of                                          
23 consultation among the federal government, tribal governments, local governments, and                                   
24 Alaska Native corporations regarding proposed federal regulations; and be it                                            
25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature concurs with local tribal                                          
26 governments and indigenous stakeholders that consultation regarding the proposed Bureau of                              
27 Land Management regulations affecting the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was                                      
28 insufficient given the potential economic impact of withdrawal of land from development and                             
29 effects on the ability of tribal and local governments to fund basic infrastructure with property                       
30 tax revenue; and be it                                                                                                  
31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges withdrawal of the                                            
01 Bureau of Land Management's proposed rule to adopt regulations affecting the National                                   
02 Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, as proposed in September, 2023, asserting that the proposal (1)                            
03 lacks the benefit of consultation; (2) does not align with the congressionally adopted policy of                        
04 oil and gas production, subject to reasonable mitigation measures, as reflected in 42 U.S.C.                            
05 6501 (Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976); and (3) does not serve the public                               
06 interest; and be it                                                                                                     
07 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges that future proposed                                         
08 regulations consider the full economic impact of resource development, including jobs within                            
09 the region and throughout the state, funding for apprenticeship and other workforce                                     
10 development programs, employment of Alaska Native corporation shareholders and tribal                                   
11 members, and effects on wages for working class Alaskans; and be it                                                     
12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges that future proposed                                         
13 regulations by the federal Bureau of Land Management align with the congressionally                                     
14 adopted policy of oil and gas production, subject to reasonable mitigation measures, as                                 
15 reflected in 42 U.S.C. 6501 (Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976); and be it                                
16 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges that future proposed                                         
17 regulations by the federal Bureau of Land Management consider the role of energy production                             
18 in advancing national security and energy independence for the United States and its allies.                            
19 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President                                   
20 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States and                           
21 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the                                 
22 Interior; the Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning, Director, Bureau of Land Management, U.S.                                  
23 Department of the Interior; Steve Cohn, Alaska State Director, Bureau of Land Management,                               
24 U.S. Department of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan                                 
25 Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of                                
26 the Alaska delegation in Congress.