00Enrolled SJR301                                                                                                         
01 Opposing the recent decisions to cancel future lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas                             
02 and to deny the suspension of Shell and Statoil's leases; urging the United States Department                           
03 of the Interior to continue to promote oil exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; urging                         
04 the United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to reconsider and approve                              
05 requests from Shell and Statoil for lease suspensions in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and                              
06 Beaufort Sea Planning Area;  urging the Alaska Congressional delegation to continue its                                 
07 efforts to achieve consistent and equitable outer continental shelf revenue sharing for the                             
08 state; urging the United States Congress to provide a means for equitable outer continental                             
09 shelf revenue sharing across all coastal oil and gas producing states to ensure the states                              
10 develop necessary infrastructure to support outer continental shelf development and preserve                            
11 environmental integrity; and urging the ongoing efforts to develop offshore oil and gas in the                          
12 Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.                                                                                         
13                                          _______________                                                                

01 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
02      WHEREAS the state contains a world-class hydrocarbon basin holding over 30                                       
03 percent of the nation's technically recoverable oil and gas resources; and                                              
04      WHEREAS Arctic Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas development would supply                                      
05 natural gas to the Alaska liquefied natural gas project, ensuring the long-term success of the                          
06 project; and                                                                                                            
07      WHEREAS the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates the                                        
08 existence of 4,300,000,000 barrels of oil in the Chukchi Sea; and                                                       
09      WHEREAS the state has a rich history of developing its resources in a sustainable                                
10 and responsible manner; and                                                                                             
11      WHEREAS the state can demonstrate its history of safely developing its fisheries,                                
12 timber, and oil and gas resources; and                                                                                  
13      WHEREAS it is in the best interests of the state to continue the safe and responsible                            
14 development of resources in the state; and                                                                              
15      WHEREAS, before the sale, lease, or other disposition of state land, resources, or                             
16 property, the state, through the division of oil and gas, issues a best interest finding that                         
17 considers and discusses certain topics, including the reasonably foreseeable effects of the                           
18 disposal on the area's fish and wildlife, historic and cultural resources, and communities, and                         
19 incorporates mitigation measures that are designed to protect the landscape; and                                        
20      WHEREAS the design and evolution of the best interest finding, in many cases,                                    
21 matches or, in some cases, exceeds federal standards imposed in federally controlled areas                              
22 still available for oil and gas exploration and development; and                                                        
23      WHEREAS the state imposes standards to protect the landscape, including limiting                                 
24 the timing and intensity of travel on the tundra so that winter travel on temporary roads will                          
25 do the least amount of damage; and                                                                                      
26      WHEREAS the state enforces strict requirements for oil discharge and contingency                                 
27 plans for all operators on the Alaska North Slope; and                                                                  
28      WHEREAS the state has taken proactive measures, including deferring areas in the                                 
29 state's Beaufort Sea lease sale area where subsistence activity occurs, including areas                                 
30 immediately adjacent to Cross Island, where whaling crews from Nuiqsut have set up their                                
31 whaling camp; and                                                                                                       

01      WHEREAS the state will continue actively to address environmental standards,                                     
02 including modern mitigation standards that protect subsistence activities on the Alaska North                           
03 Slope; and                                                                                                            
04      WHEREAS the federal government has developed plans for leasing on a long-term                                    
05 basis, including plans for annual lease sales in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea Planning                              
06 Areas in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program; and                                         
07      WHEREAS the United States Department of the Interior published a 2017-2022                                       
08 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which proposes one lease sale each in                              
09 the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea Planning Areas; and                                                                    
10      WHEREAS the federal government has limited immediate opportunities in several                                    
11 areas in the Arctic, including, most importantly, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the                              
12 National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska, and the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf; and                                        
13      WHEREAS, under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, the federal                                     
14 government recognizes the effect that oil and gas development in federal offshore areas has                             
15 on the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and recognizes the contributions                           
16 to national energy, security, and economic interests made by sharing with those states 37.5                             
17 percent of revenue from leases covered under phase one of the Gulf of Mexico Energy                                     
18 Security Act of 2006; phase two of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 expands                               
19 the definition of "qualified outer continental shelf revenue" and continues to share revenue on                         
20 an adjacency factor but includes an annual revenue-sharing cap of $500,000,000 that applies                             
21 through 2055; and                                                                                                       
22      WHEREAS the federal government fails to recognize the same effects on and                                        
23 contributions made by other oil and gas producing states adjacent to federal outer continental                          
24 shelf areas, such as this state; and                                                                                    
25      WHEREAS, had outer continental shelf revenue sharing of 37.5 percent been in place                               
26 since 2003, the state would have benefitted from additional revenue, in an amount estimated                             
27 to be between $942,000,000 and $1,300,000,000, for necessary infrastructure, such as marine                             
28 ports, airports, utilities, and housing, and increased state services, such as oil spill and                            
29 emergency response and environmental monitoring and mitigation; and                                                     
30      WHEREAS, on October 16, 2015, the United States Department of the Interior                                       
31 cancelled future outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sales in the Chukchi Sea Planning                            

01 Area and Beaufort Sea Planning Area, scheduled for 2016 and 2017, respectively; and                                     
02      WHEREAS, on October 16, 2015, the United States Bureau of Safety and                                             
03 Environmental Enforcement denied requests from Shell and Statoil for lease suspensions in                               
04 the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and Beaufort Sea Planning Area; and                                                       
05      WHEREAS, by actively managing its property, the state can induce the federal                                   
06 government to continue to pursue hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic; and                                               
07      WHEREAS the state should form a strategic alliance with all affected local                                       
08 municipalities to identify the long-term needs of the state and local entities for rights-of-ways                       
09 for critical infrastructure; and                                                                                        
10      WHEREAS the Department of the Interior needs guidance from the state on the                                      
11 number of lease sales and the timing of those lease sales;                                                              
12      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the recent decisions of                                 
13 the Obama Administration to cancel future lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and                              
14 to deny the suspension of Shell and Statoil's leases; and be it                                                         
15      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                       
16 Department of the Interior to reconsider its actions and continue to promote oil and gas                                
17 exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; and be it                                                                 
18      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Alaska                                              
19 Congressional delegation to continue its efforts to achieve consistent and equitable outer                              
20 continental shelf revenue sharing for this state, as is granted the Gulf States of Alabama,                             
21 Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas; and be it                                                                            
22      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                       
23 Congress to provide a means for equitable outer continental shelf revenue sharing across all                            
24 coastal oil and gas producing states to ensure the states develop necessary infrastructure to                           
25 support outer continental shelf development and preserve environmental integrity; and be it                             
26      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                       
27 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to reconsider and approve requests from                                  
28 Shell and Statoil for lease suspensions in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and Beaufort Sea                               
29 Planning Area; and be it                                                                                                
30      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Obama                                               
31 Administration to support ongoing efforts to develop offshore oil and gas in the Arctic Outer                           

01 Continental Shelf responsibly and acknowledge the need for equitable revenue sharing with                               
02 oil and gas producing states adjacent to federal outer continental shelf areas.                                         
03      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                              
04 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
05 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
06 Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of                                       
07 Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                 
08 Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Loretta Lynch,                                  
09 Attorney General of the United States; the Honorable Sally Jewell, United States Secretary of                           
10 the Interior; the Honorable Hilary Tompkins, Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior; the                            
11 Honorable Daniel M. Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the Honorable                                 
12 John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources                                    
13 Division; Brian Salerno, Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement;                                
14 Richard L. Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO; James P. Hoffa, General President of the                                   
15 International Brotherhood of Teamsters; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                        
16 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                
17 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.