03/27/2000 01:05 PM House RES

HB 359 - DEPT NAT RES ADMIN APPEALS/ OIL & GAS                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Number 0094                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HUDSON announced  that the first order  of business would                                                              
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 359,  "An Act  relating to notice  requirements                                                              
for certain final findings concerning  the disposal of an interest                                                              
in  state  land  or  resources  for   oil  and  gas;  relating  to                                                              
administrative  appeals  and  petitions   for  reconsideration  of                                                              
decisions of  the Department of  Natural Resources;  and providing                                                              
for an effective date."                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Number 0152                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
BOB  LOEFFLER,  Director,  Division  of Mining,  Land  and  Water,                                                              
Department   of    Natural   Resources   (DNR),    testified   via                                                              
teleconference from  Anchorage.  He  explained that the  bill does                                                              
two things.   First, it provides for a uniform  appeal process for                                                              
DNR.  Second,  it fixes a technical error that  sometimes confuses                                                              
the public  with respect to oil and  gas notices.  Right  now, the                                                              
appeal  process  in  DNR  is  split   between  Title  38  and  the                                                              
Administrative  Procedure  Act;  those two,  passed  at  different                                                              
times,  tend to  create duplicative  and overlapping  requirements                                                              
that apply to different things.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LOEFFLER explained  that as  a  result, there  is an  appeals                                                              
process that  gives someone  multiple bites at  the apple  for the                                                              
same  issue.  In  most cases,  one can  appeal a  decision to  the                                                              
director,  then  to  the  commissioner;   then  one  can  ask  for                                                              
reconsideration by the commissioner.   This takes up a lot of time                                                              
but frequently  has little public  benefit.  This bill  fixes that                                                              
by creating a  uniform appeal whereby there is one  appeal, to the                                                              
commissioner, and that is it.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. LOEFFLER explained a second problem:   different appeals apply                                                              
to different  types of  decisions.  With  disposals, there  is one                                                              
bite of the apple; with nondisposals,  however, there are multiple                                                              
bites  and the  timelines are  slightly different.   This  creates                                                              
confusion  for  the public,  especially.    Furthermore,  it is  a                                                              
problem when a project has multiple  permits, with some being some                                                              
disposals and some  nondisposals.  Therefore, this  bill creates a                                                              
straightforward  administrative  appeals process.    There is  one                                                              
appeal to  the commissioner, and a  person has 20 days  to appeal.                                                              
Mr. Loeffler said  he believes the uniform appeal  process will be                                                              
better for the public and for his own staff.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LOEFFLER deferred  to  Jim Hansen  to  explain the  technical                                                              
error relating to oil and gas notices.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Number 0454                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
JIM HANSEN,  Lease Manager, Division  of Oil & Gas,  Department of                                                              
Natural Resources,  testified via  teleconference from  Anchorage.                                                              
He stated:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     What  Section 4  of this  bill does  is repeal  noticing                                                                   
     under [AS  38.05].945(a)(3)(B).   A number of  years ago                                                                   
     the  Ninth Court filing  notice statute  was changed  to                                                                   
     require a preliminary best-interest  finding prior to an                                                                   
     oil  and  gas  lease  sale.    And  there's  a  noticing                                                                   
     requirement for that finding.   When that was done, they                                                                   
     left  in  the  requirement to  notice  a  final  written                                                                   
     finding.   The final written  finding is noticed  at the                                                                   
     same  time the preliminary  finding  is noticed, but  by                                                                   
     leaving this  (a)(3)(B) in the  law, it requires  us, 30                                                                   
     days  prior  to  issuing the  final  finding,  to  issue                                                                   
     another notice saying we're issuing a final finding.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     At  the time  the  finding is  issued,  we  ... issue  a                                                                   
     notice  of  sale,  so  essentially   the  public  has  a                                                                   
     preliminary finding  notice and a notice of  sale to let                                                                   
     them know that there is going  to be a sale.  The notice                                                                   
     that there  is going to be  issued a finding, to  us, is                                                                   
     kind of an  unnecessary expense.  It costs  in excess of                                                                   
     $5,000 - up to $10,000 - to  do these notices.  And just                                                                   
     to let  people know there's  a final finding  coming out                                                                   
     30 days prior to it, when they've  already been informed                                                                   
     90 days  prior to  it, to us,  is unnecessary, which  is                                                                   
     why  we   believe  this   specific  statute  should   be                                                                   
     repealed.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Number 0711                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER  indicated that  the bill serves  a purely                                                              
administrative function and he has no objection to it.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HUDSON said he views HB  359 as a streamlining process to                                                              
get rid of duplicative reporting.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Number 0798                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  COWDERY  made  a   motion  to  move  HB  359  from                                                              
committee  with  individual  recommendations   and  attached  zero                                                              
fiscal  note; he  asked for  unanimous  consent.   There being  no                                                              
objection,  HB  359  moved  from   the  House  Resources  Standing                                                              
Committee.