00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 33                                                                     
01 Urging immediate action by the governor, the Alaska Congressional delegation, and                                       
02 state and federal agencies to assist in the restart of oil production in Cook Inlet that was                            
03 affected by the eruption of Mt. Redoubt.                                                                                
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS a period of increased volcanic activity began at Mt. Redoubt on                                         
06 March 22, 2009; and                                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS the proximity of Mt. Redoubt to state population centers, airports, and oil                             
08 production facilities makes the recent volcanic eruptions particularly threatening to Alaskans;                         
09 and                                                                                                                     
10       WHEREAS the eruption cycle that began on March 22, 2009, resulted in massive                                    
11 snow and glacial melt in the Drift River Valley, leading to the flooding of the Drift River; and                        
12       WHEREAS the Drift River oil storage and transfer facility is located in the floodplain                          
13 of the river and in the path of flooding caused by lahars; and                                                          
14       WHEREAS, in an effort to avert a potential oil discharge into Cook Inlet, the Drift                             
15 River terminal was shut down, and the oil in its storage tanks was drawn down; and                                      

01       WHEREAS, because of the complexity of crude oil production in Cook Inlet, the                                   
02 length of time production wells are shut down adversely affects the ability to return to normal                         
03 production levels; and                                                                                                  
04       WHEREAS the Drift River terminal, as a crucial waypoint in the delivery of oil                                  
05 produced from Cook Inlet platforms, is integral to the operation of the Trading Bay and                                 
06 Granite Point facilities, the Tesoro refinery in Nikiski, and future oil and gas development and                        
07 production in the Cook Inlet; and                                                                                       
08       WHEREAS the shutdown of the Drift River facility disrupts oil production on Cook                                
09 Inlet platforms and adversely affects the operation of oil and gas facilities throughout the                            
10 Cook Inlet basin; and                                                                                                   
11       WHEREAS the oil services industries on which these platforms and facilities depend                              
12 have been forced to curtail production and lay off workers as a result of the closure of the                            
13 Drift River terminal; and                                                                                               
14       WHEREAS a prolonged closure of the terminal threatens to cripple the regional                                   
15 economy, with a decline in oil and gas production, potential price increases, and layoffs in the                        
16 oil and gas sector and the industries that support it;                                                                  
17       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges immediate action by the                                  
18 governor, the Alaska Congressional delegation, and state and federal agencies to assist in the                          
19 restart of oil production in Cook Inlet that was affected by the eruption of Mt. Redoubt.                               
20       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
21 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
22 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Ken Salazar, United States Secretary of the                                 
23 Interior; the Honorable Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection                             
24 Agency; Admiral Arthur E. Brooks, Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard District; the                                      
25 Honorable Tom Irwin, Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources; the Honorable Larry                                 
26 Hartig, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation; and the Honorable Lisa                                  
27 Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young,                                    
28 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.