Enrolled HJR 20: Urging withdrawal of proposed Bureau of Land Management regulations affecting the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and urging meaningful engagement with tribes, local governments, and affected communities.
00Enrolled HJR 20 01 Urging withdrawal of proposed Bureau of Land Management regulations affecting the 02 National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; and urging meaningful engagement with tribes, local 03 governments, and affected communities. 04 _______________ 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS, in 1923, President Warren G. Harding issued an Executive Order 07 establishing Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 on the North Slope region to provide a potential 08 supply of oil for the United States Navy; and 09 WHEREAS 42 U.S.C. 6501 (Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976) 10 redesignated Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 as the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 11 and transferred responsibility for its administration to the Secretary of the Interior; and 12 WHEREAS the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska encompasses 23,500,000 13 acres, with boundaries extending south from Icy Cape to the drainage divide of the Brooks 14 Range, then following the divide eastward to 156 degrees west longitude, then north to the 15 Colville River, and following the Colville River downstream to its mouth; and 16 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 and 19 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 has 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 (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.