Legislature(2009 - 2010)BUTROVICH 205
03/27/2009 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB54 | |
| SJR16 | |
| HCR2|| HCR3|| HCR4|| HCR5 | |
| SB71 | |
| SB108 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SJR 13 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 2 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 4 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HCR 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 71 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 54 | ||
| = | SJR 16 | ||
HCR 2-IN-STATE GAS PIPELINE
HCR 3-IN-STATE GAS PIPELINE
HCR 4-IN-STATE GAS PIPELINE
HCR 5-IN-STATE GAS PIPELINE
3:49:39 PM
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced the consideration of HCR 2, HCR 3,
HCR 4, and HCR 5. He thanked the sponsor for working with his
office and Senator McGuire's office on the language and to
consolidate the four resolutions into one.
REPRESENTATIVE JAY RAMRAS, Alaska State Legislature, said the
Senate committee substitute (CS) [to HCR 2] contains language
that articulates how to go about building an instate gas
pipeline.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if the CS represents the original intent
of the four concurrent resolutions.
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS replied the Senate CS has a little more
economy of language than he might care for, but he is reasonably
satisfied.
3:52:36 PM
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI said there wasn't any intention to change any
intent. Consolidating the resolutions made logistical sense in
the interest of moving the concept forward.
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said he doesn't want to dilute the
expression to the executive branch to make every effort to move
this along as expediently as possible. He applauds hiring Harry
Noah as coordinator of an instate gas pipeline and appreciates
that the first thing he will do is to determine if an instate
line is superior to further exploration of Cook Inlet. To that
end, a notable change is on page 4, line 17, where the date is
changed from November 2010 to June 2011. This is the date by
which Mr. Noah wants this finished. The Senate CS dilutes the
explicit instructions to the executive branch, but he is
satisfied with the compromise. This will create an attainable
legacy for the governor.
3:55:28 PM
SENATOR FRENCH referenced the whereas clause on page 3, line 16,
and asked who is asserting that "the collective demand for
natural gas in the Interior and Southcentral is anticipated to
expand from 200,000,000 cubic feet a day to approximately
700,000,000 cubic feet a day during the period 2010 to 2025."
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS replied that came from an Enstar
presentation to the House Resources Committee.
SENATOR FRENCH referenced the further resolved clause on page 4,
line 5, which talks about volume in terms of cubic feet per year
and asked what that roughly translates to per day.
3:56:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS replied a 500 mcf per day line translates
to about 180 bcf per year. The residential and light commercial
use in the Railbelt would be about 60 bcf per year, Agrium is
anticipated to be about 60 bcf per year if it comes back on
line, and potential expansion from the USDS would be another 60
bcf per year. That would fill the line and provide the lowest
tariff for the users.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if that was the impetus for selecting 500
mcf per day usage from an instate bullet line.
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said yes.
SENATOR FRENCH observed that the new June 1, 2011 date for
taking action bridges from one administration to the next. He
asked the thought process for that selection.
3:58:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said he struggled with that policy issue.
The House maintained that a November 2010 date was critical
because of the election cycle and the open season for Denali and
TransCanada, but June 1 2011 is the date Harry Noah spoke of.
The change was an accommodation to Mr. Noah, but November 1,
2010 is probably more relevant. I would be open to an amendment
changing the date back to November 1, 2010, he said.
SENATOR FRENCH said he'd leave that suggestion in the hands of
the chair. He asked if the administration has provided further
input regarding how it will respond to this request.
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS replied he appreciates that it is easier
to move one consolidated resolution through the Legislature, but
a benefit of the four distinct resolutions is that they offered
an incremental and explicit point of view to the executive
branch for building an instate gas pipeline.
4:01:11 PM
CO-CHAIR MCGUIRE observed that to up the timeline by nine months
might set the administration up for failure. This is the most
important thing we can do for Alaskans and these instructions
provide direction and continuity if there is a new governor, she
said. Should the committee desire, there could be an
accompanying letter to echo the Senate support and the
incremental and instructive methodology that Representative
Ramras envisioned, she added.
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI said he'd be happy to work with her on
that.
SENATOR HUGGINS said the topic of instate gas generates lots of
interest, but it's tricky. The fact that Harry Noah is working
on this is good because people think he can make it happen. The
essence of the discussion today is that the economics of the
bullet line project have to work. What is more, we'll get a good
look at Cook Inlet.
4:05:17 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS said he heard .5 bcf mentioned, but he's certain
that Alaskans will say to move as much gas as it takes to make
the pipeline work because all they want is gas that's
economical. For that reason he doesn't feel constrained by that
number, regardless of what AGIA says. Another thing to keep in
mind is that Mr. Noah is also working on statewide distribution,
not just gas for those who live in the Railbelt. Then there are
the wild cards including gas to liquids and a place for the
petrochemical industry along the railbelt. Finally, he agrees
that it is important that this vision extends beyond the current
governor. This is meaningful to all Alaskans, he said.
REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS said what is not included in this
resolution is any mention of the tremendous capability for small
ships to move large quantities of LNG to small communities in
Southeast, Kodiak and Dillingham. Doug Ward [of Alaska Ship and
Dry Dock in Ketchikan] will be making a presentation here next
week about the potential for using small ships to deliver LNG to
gasify clusters of industrial users in these small communities,
he said.
PAUL KENDALL, representing himself, said he and the people who
think like he does don't want to be subjugated to natural gas
and they don't want to pay for it. They want equal funding to
develop Cook Inlet, Knik Arm and Turnigan into a world-renowned
research site for renewable energy.
4:14:53 PM
CO-CHAIR MCGUIRE moved to adopt the Senate committee substitute
(CS) for HCR 2. There being no objection, version T was before
the committee.
CO-CHAIR MCGUIRE moved to report the Senate CS for CSHCR 2 from
committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
note(s). There being no objection, SCS CSHCR 2(RES) moved from
the Senate Resources Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HCR 2 - Bill Packet.pdf |
SRES 3/27/2009 3:30:00 PM |
|
| SB 108 - Bill Packet.pdf |
SRES 3/27/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 108 |
| SB 54 - Bill Packet.pdf |
SRES 3/27/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 54 |
| SB 71 - Bill Packet.pdf |
SRES 3/27/2009 3:30:00 PM |
SB 71 |
| SJR 16 - Bill Packet.pdf |
SRES 3/27/2009 3:30:00 PM |