01/26/2005 03:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR4 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 4 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HJR 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 26, 2005
3:03 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jay Ramras, Co-Chair
Representative Ralph Samuels, Co-Chair
Representative Jim Elkins
Representative Kurt Olson
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Mary Kapsner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Harry Crawford
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4
Urging the United States Congress to pass legislation to open
the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
Alaska, to oil and gas exploration, development, and production.
- MOVED CSHJR 4(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6
Relating to the labeling of fish products and processed food
items containing fish to identify the country of origin and to
distinguish between wild and farmed fish and fish products.
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HJR 4
SHORT TITLE: ENDORSING ANWR LEASING
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) HAWKER
01/10/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/10/05 (H) O&G, RES
01/18/05 (H) O&G AT 10:00 AM CAPITOL 124
01/18/05 (H) Moved CSHJR 4(O&G) Out of Committee
01/18/05 (H) MINUTE(O&G)
01/21/05 (H) O&G RPT CS(O&G) 5DP
01/21/05 (H) DP: SAMUELS, GARDNER, DAHLSTROM,
ROKEBERG, KOHRING
01/26/05 (H) RES AT 3:00 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as the sponsor of HJR 4.
DEBBIE MILLER
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to HJR 4, stating
that it is inappropriate to development oil and gas on a
wildlife refuge.
FRAN MAUER
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified, as a retired wildlife biologist,
in opposition to HJR 4, stating that the State of Alaska should
not support the degradation of a national conservation area.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR RALPH SAMUELS called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:03:41 PM. Representatives
Elkins, Olson, Seaton, Ramras, and Samuels were present at the
call to order. Representative Kapsner arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
HJR 4-ENDORSING ANWR LEASING
3:03:53 PM
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4, Urging the United States
Congress to pass legislation to open the coastal plain of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, to oil and gas
exploration, development, and production.
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, Alaska State Legislature, speaking
as the sponsor, introduced HJR 4 as a "reiteration of our body's
solidarity in support for the opening of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge 1002 area to responsible oil and gas exploration
and development." He said there is a new Congress and it is
important to reiterate the legislature's support of opening the
refuge for development. He opined that producing additional
reserves of oil and gas on the North Slope is a primary
objective of the state, and that Alaska is very dependent on the
income from such resources. He stated that development can be
done in an "extraordinarily environmentally responsible manner."
He said HJR 4 is just an updated version of what has been passed
by previous Alaska legislative bodies.
3:06:04 PM
DEBBIE MILLER expressed disappointment that the legislature has
passed resolutions in support of opening "the Arctic [National
Wildlife] Refuge to oil and gas development." She said that
there are many Alaskans who believe we have "plenty of room" for
development on state land in the Central Arctic region, which
has significant oil and gas reserves. "We have no business
pushing to open our only Arctic wildlife refuge in the country
that protects...it's there for the wildlife, it's there for the
wilderness. It's not there for oil and gas exploitation." She
expressed concern that no new oil and gas development has been
allowed on any of the 500 federal wildlife refuges in the nation
since 1964. She said the National Wildlife Refuge Administration
Act prohibits that activity because it is not compatible with
the purpose of a wildlife refuge. Ms. Miller opined that
developing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge "circumvents the
federal law."
MS. MILLER urged the committee to dispense with HJR 4 and,
instead, promote the development of alternative energy sources
in Alaska, such as natural gas and hydrogen. She said there is
no need to go into such a sensitive area. She added that she
has a long history of familiarity with this issue, including
exploring the area, writing several books, and participating in
a wilderness assessment of the 1002 area back in the 1980s.
3:09:38 PM
FRAN MAUER stated that he was a retired wildlife biologist and
has worked in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for over 21
years. He urged the committee not to support HJR 4. He said
that it was entirely inappropriate for any state to pursue oil
drilling that would jeopardize the integrity of a "national
conservation area." "It is un-American to do something like
this," he said, and then compared it to the thought of
California pushing for a dam in Yosemite National Park. He
added that the state has wasted many millions of dollars funding
Arctic Power. Mr. Mauer suggested using the money for other
purposes, such as wind generation in Alaska's villages.
3:11:48 PM
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS closed public testimony on HJR 4.
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS made a motion to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 24-
LS0179\G.1, Chenoweth, 1/26/05, which - with additional text
regarding a change to page 2, line 15 of the bill - read:
Page 2, following line 13:
Insert a new clause to read:
"WHEREAS the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, a
transportation facility that is a national asset and that
would cost billions of dollars to replace, would have its
useful physical life extended for a substantial period if
the additional reserves of recoverable oil from the coastal
plain were produced; and"
Page 2, line 15, following "Alpine,"
Delete "Badami"
Insert "North Star"
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS objected for the purposes of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER clarified that Representative Rokeberg,
Chair, House Rules Standing Committee, requested Amendment 1
because there was an "obsolete" reference to the Badami field
that should be replaced by the North Star field. The amendment
[clarifies] that developing oil reserves in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge would extend the life of existing assets, he
said. "We have invested a tremendous amount of wealth in the
existing pipeline--potential replacement would be phenomenal,"
Representative Hawker added.
3:12:55 PM
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS removed his objection, and asked if there were
further objections. There being none, Amendment 1 was adopted.
3:13:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 2:
Page 3, line 29, following "Congress";
Insert "and send electronically to all other
members of the U.S. House of Representatives and
the U.S. Senate"
3:13:44 PM
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS objected for the purposes of discussion.
3:13:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER said he didn't object to an electronic
transmittal of HJR 4.
3:14:11 PM
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS removed his objection and asked if there were
further objections. There being none, Conceptual Amendment 2
was adopted.
3:14:25 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS moved to report CSHJR 4(O&G), as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal note. There being no objection, CSHJR 4(RES) was
reported from the House Resources Standing Committee.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:14:43
PM.
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