SCS CSHJR 12(RES): Urging the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to honor the recent lease sales and proceed with permitting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; urging the President of the United States to defend the 2020 Record of Decision approving the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; opposing designation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a National Monument; and urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to uphold sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12(RES) 01 Urging the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to 02 honor the recent lease sales and proceed with permitting in the Arctic National Wildlife 03 Refuge; urging the President of the United States to defend the 2020 Record of Decision 04 approving the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National 05 Wildlife Refuge; opposing designation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a 06 National Monument; and urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to uphold sec. 20001 07 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS, in 16 U.S.C. 3143 (sec. 1003 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 10 Conservation Act), the United States Congress reserved the right to permit oil and gas 11 development and production in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and 12 WHEREAS, in 16 U.S.C. 3142 (sec. 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 13 Conservation Act), the United States Congress authorized nondrilling exploratory activity in 14 the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and
01 WHEREAS sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) requires 02 the United States Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer a competitive oil and 03 gas program for the leasing, development, and production of oil and gas in and the 04 transportation of oil and gas from the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; 05 and 06 WHEREAS sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) requires 07 that at least two lease sales be held by December 22, 2024, and that each sale offer for lease at 08 least 400,000 acres of land with the highest hydrocarbon potential in the coastal plain of the 09 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, allowing for up to 2,000 acres of federal land, equivalent to 10 .01 percent of the 19,000,000-acre refuge, to be covered by production and support facilities; 11 and 12 WHEREAS the 1,500,000-acre 1002 study area of the coastal plain of the Arctic 13 National Wildlife Refuge makes up less than eight percent of the 19,000,000-acre refuge, and 14 development of the oil and gas reserves in the coastal plain of the refuge would affect a 15 limited area, as defined by the United States Congress; and 16 WHEREAS 8,900,000 acres of the 19,000,000-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 17 have already been set aside as wilderness; and 18 WHEREAS the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contains an 19 estimated 7,687,000,000 barrels of recoverable oil and 7,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of 20 natural gas; and 21 WHEREAS the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the coastal 22 plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is predicted to generate 1,430 direct jobs and 23 6,350 indirect jobs annually and 2,480 direct jobs and 10,100 indirect jobs at peak 24 employment; and 25 WHEREAS the 1002 study area is part of the coastal plain of the Arctic National 26 Wildlife Refuge located within the North Slope Borough, and many of the residents of the 27 North Slope Borough, who are predominantly Inupiat, are supportive of development in the 28 1002 study area; and 29 WHEREAS oil and gas exploration and development in the coastal plain of the Arctic 30 National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent land could result in major discoveries that would 31 reduce our nation's dependency on oil produced by hostile foreign nations, help balance the
01 nation's trade deficit, and significantly increase the nation's security; and 02 WHEREAS additional natural gas production from the North Slope of Alaska, 03 including the significant gas reserves expected to be found in the Arctic National Wildlife 04 Refuge, would enhance the energy independence of the state and the nation in the future; and 05 WHEREAS natural gas production from the North Slope of Alaska would enhance 06 the economic viability of the proposed liquefied natural gas project; and 07 WHEREAS development of oil at Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk, Endicott, Lisburne, and 08 Milne Point has resulted in the creation of thousands of jobs throughout the United States, and 09 projected job creation as a result of oil development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National 10 Wildlife Refuge would have a positive effect in all 50 states; and 11 WHEREAS support for development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National 12 Wildlife Refuge by many state residents is predicated on the maximum employment of the in- 13 state workforce during all phases of development and operation; and 14 WHEREAS, at Prudhoe Bay and other locations along the coastal plain of the Arctic 15 National Wildlife Refuge, the oil industry has demonstrated that it can conduct oil and gas 16 activity without adversely affecting the environment or wildlife populations; and 17 WHEREAS the state will continue to strive to ensure the ongoing health and 18 productivity of the Porcupine and Central Arctic caribou herds and the protection of land, 19 water, and wildlife resources during the exploration and development of the coastal plain of 20 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and 21 WHEREAS the Bureau of Land Management's 2020 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas 22 Leasing Program Record of Decision was developed after extensive outreach and consultation 23 with residents of local communities, including residents of Kaktovik, the only Alaska Native 24 community in the Coastal Plain; and 25 WHEREAS the Alaska Native community of Kaktovik received ownership of 92,000 26 acres of private land within the Coastal Plain as settlement of their aboriginal land claims 27 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA); and 28 WHEREAS the United States Congress intended the shareholders of ANCSA 29 corporations, rather than the federal government, to have direct control over the development 30 of the corporations' land and resources for the long-term economic benefit of the Alaska 31 Native shareholders; and
01 WHEREAS the residents of Kaktovik recognized in ANCSA have been unable to 02 develop their land in the Coastal Plain because of restrictions in the Alaska National Interest 03 Lands Conservation Act; and 04 WHEREAS the North Slope Borough, representing the residents of the North Slope, 05 including the Alaska Native residents of the Coastal Plain and the larger North Slope area, 06 fully participated in the public process conducted by the Bureau of Land Management in the 07 course of developing the 2020 Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of 08 Decision and supports the decision; and 09 WHEREAS the oil and gas industry has developed directional drilling technology that 10 would allow horizontal drilling within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, responsibly 11 minimizing the impact area of development and offering a possibility of using directional 12 drilling to access oil from outside of the boundaries of the 1002 study area; and 13 WHEREAS the oil and gas industry is using innovative technology and 14 environmental practices in new oilfield developments, and those techniques are directly 15 applicable to operating on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and would 16 further enhance the already high standards for environmental protection in the industry; and 17 WHEREAS the economic prosperity of the state depends on the availability of 18 reliable and affordable energy; and 19 WHEREAS the state promotes the development of renewable and alternative energy 20 resources; and 21 WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature has previously encouraged the use of 22 revenue from development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the development of 23 renewable and alternative energy resources in the state; and 24 WHEREAS the legislative findings and intent in sec. 1, ch. 10, SLA 2015, which 25 declares the Arctic policy of the state, states that "the continuing development of the state's 26 natural resources in an environmentally and socially responsible manner is essential to the 27 development of the state's economy and to the well-being of the residents of the state"; and 28 WHEREAS the Arctic policy of the state, codified as AS 44.99.105, states "It is the 29 policy of the state, as it relates to the Arctic, to uphold the state's commitment to economically 30 vibrant communities sustained by development activities consistent with the state's 31 responsibility for a healthy environment"; and
01 WHEREAS oil and gas development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National 02 Wildlife Refuge has the potential to extend the life of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and 03 increase throughput, which has declined significantly since the peak of 2,033,000 average 04 barrels of oil a day in 1988; and 05 WHEREAS the decline in oil prices and in Trans Alaska Pipeline System throughput 06 has significantly reduced the revenue available to fund state government, depleted state 07 savings reserves, and increased pressure on lawmakers to reduce permanent fund dividend 08 payments to fund constitutionally mandated government services; and 09 WHEREAS development of oil and gas resources directly supports access to essential 10 public services and enables local economic and community development projects in rural and 11 underserved communities across the state; 12 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 13 Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, to honor the recent lease sales in the 14 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the United 16 States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, in considering the 17 adjudication of the exploration and development permitting process, take into account the 18 long history of safe and responsible oil and gas development on the North Slope of Alaska, 19 the enormous benefits development of oil and gas resources in the coastal plain of the Arctic 20 National Wildlife Refuge would bring to the state and the nation, the advances in oilfield 21 technology that continue to shrink the impact area of oil and gas activities, and the support of 22 residents from the North Slope Borough and across the North Slope of Alaska for oil and gas 23 development in a portion of the coastal plain; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that President 25 Biden's administration defend, in the public sphere and in court, the 2020 Record of Decision 26 issued by the Bureau of Land Management that approves the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas 27 Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that President 29 Biden and the Department of the Interior move forward with the permitting process in good 30 faith with leaseholders in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges President Biden to
01 immediately rescind the provisions of Executive Order 13990, pertaining to the Arctic 02 National Wildlife Refuge, to faithfully implement the law and the final agency actions of the 03 Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, and to respectfully listen to 04 the state, the North Slope Borough, and the residents of the Alaska Native communities of the 05 North Slope, including Kaktovik, before taking actions that affect those residents; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges President Biden to 07 take an approach of consultation and engagement on all decisions affecting the state, local 08 communities, Alaska Native tribes and entities, and individual residents; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the designation of 10 the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a National Monument by employing the Antiquities 11 Act; and be it 12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the Alaska 13 delegation in Congress work to defeat any effort to alter or repeal sec. 20001 of the Tax Cuts 14 and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) if the result would adversely affect oil and gas 15 development efforts in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 16 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President 17 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States and 18 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the 19 Interior; the Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. 20 Department of the Interior; the Coastal Plain Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management 21 Alaska State Office, U.S. Department of the Interior; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and 22 the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 23 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.