Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/17/2021 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 17, 2021
3:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Joshua Revak, Chair
Senator Peter Micciche, Vice Chair
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Natasha von Imhof
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Scott Kawasaki
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Mike Cronk
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Michael Flores - Soldotna
Peter Buist - Fairbanks
Aaron Bloomquist - Copper Center
- CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Jeremy Price - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
WITNESS REGISTER
MICHAEL FLORES, Appointee
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Big Game
Commercial Services Board.
PETER BUIST, Appointee
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Big Game
Commercial Services Board.
AARON BLOOMQUIST, Appointee
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Copper Center, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Big Game
Commercial Services Board.
WAYNE KUBAT, board member
Alaska Professional Hunters Association
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of all appointees to
the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
JEREMY PRICE, Appointee
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Oil and
Gas Conservation Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:32:13 PM
CHAIR JOSHUA REVAK called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:32 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Bishop, Stevens, Kiehl, Kawasaki, and Chair
Revak. Senators Micciche and von Imhof joined the meeting
shortly thereafter.
CHAIR REVAK welcomed Representative Cronk to the committee
meeting.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Big game Commercial Services Board
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
3:33:08 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced the consideration of Governor Appointees
to the Big Game Commercial Services Board (BGCSB).
CHAIR REVAK explained the function of BGCSB is to license and
regulate the activities of providers of commercial services to
big game hunters in the interest of the state's wildlife
resources.
He announced the first appointee for consideration is Michael
Flores of Soldotna. Mr. Flores' initial appointment was to the
license transporter seat on May 21, 2019 and his term expires on
March 1, 2023.
3:34:09 PM
MICHAEL FLORES, Appointee, Big Game Commercial Services Board,
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
(DCCED), Soldotna, Alaska, explained he has been in Soldotna for
30 years, married, and has three children. He noted he owns
three businesses: fishing chartersfishing and huntingone
lodge, and a peony farm.
He provided additional background information as follows:
• Involved in fisheries for the last seven year with the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC), and the
Halibut Commission
• Marine transporter for hunting on Kodiak Island for the
last 19 years
• Very passionate about hunting and that is what brought him
to Alaska as a guide pilot where he guided and flew in the
Bush, and afterwards worked for MarkAir
• His businesses employ approximately 30 people, 6 or 7 are
year-round
• His businesses operate 10 boats in 5 locations on the Kenai
Peninsula
MR. FLORES said he is passionate about hunting and feels like
serving on BGCSB is a good fit for him.
CHAIR REVAK noted his children have military experience.
MR. FLORES answered yes, two sons served in the U.S. Marine
Corps (USMC) and one son continues to serve in the USMC.
3:36:13 PM
CHAIR REVAK asked him to confirm that he has done a lot for
wounded veterans by using some of his guiding services.
MR. FLORES answered yes. He explained he works with the Military
Warrior Support Foundation to take wounded military members out
for a week of hunting on Kodiak Island. He said his intent is to
try and get them engaged back in lifemany have not done
anything since serving in Iraq or other stations.
CHAIR REVAK thanked him for all that he does. He said his
involvement [with wounded veterans] says a lot about his
character.
He asked him what have been his challenges thus far with BGCSB
and what has been his approach to resolve those challenges.
3:37:34 PM
MR. FLORES answered there are some ongoing issues for marine
transporting, some people would like to just get rid of the
whole transporting issue. He said transporting needs
strengthening. He noted [BGCSB] has had discussions with the
troopers and addressed some of the issues they are having.
CHAIR REVAK announced the next Governor Appointee for
consideration to BGCSA is Mr. Peter Buist; initially appointed
to the public seat of BGCSB on May 21, 2019 with term expiration
on March 1, 2021; reappointed and if confirmed his term
extension expires March 1, 2025.
3:39:31 PM
PETER BUIST, Appointee, Big Game Commercial Services Board,
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
(DCCED), Fairbanks, Alaska, detailed his background information
as follows:
• Lived in Fairbanks for nearly 50 years
• He has a couple of degrees
o Biology from Syracuse
o Environmental Resource Management from the State
University of New York
• Currently serving in a public seat on BGCSB
• Retired Alaska master guide
• Retired from a 30-year career with the Alaska Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)
o Worked as a land manager, forester, and wildland
firefighter
• Guided in Alaska for over 40 years
• Served on "the old Guide Licensing and Control Board
• Governor Cooper appointed to the Governor's Task Force on
Guiding and Game in 1988
o Out of the task force the legislature established the
first BGCSB
• Governor Murkowski appointed him to the Alaska Board of
Game in 2003
MR. BUIST said he would like to think he brings an interesting
balance of knowledge and experience to BGCSB. Aside from his
biology background, he understands and has worked in the guiding
industry from many years, served on regulatory boards, worked at
DNR, and is familiar with how land management agencies operate.
3:41:22 PM
CHAIR REVAK noted he has a lot of experience. He asked him what
has been his biggest challenges at BGCSB and how does he intend
to deal with those.
MR. BUIST answered his biggest challenge was catching up after a
three-year hiatus following retirement and giving up his master
guide license. He said there have been mostly regulatory and
statutory changes, as well as changes in the way BGCSB currently
operates.
He noted virtually all the issues BGCSB deals with are
challenging, but probably the most challenging one for the last
year has been trying to test and query new guide applicants
without being present in the same room. The testing process has
been challenging, but BGCSB has done a pretty good job.
He added that he has gone on to BGCSB thinking he has a lot of
guide friends, but he ends up with more guide enemies than
friends.
SENATOR BISHOP thanked him for serving on the board and for
putting himself up again [by extending his appointment]. He said
his reputation and track record precedes him and he is glad he
is serving on the board.
3:43:48 PM
SENATOR KIEHL referenced his extensive resume and thanked him
for all the work he has done over the years for the state.
He pointed out BGCSB is a regulatory board, noting he previously
talked about examining applicants. He remarked he knows Mr.
Buist can hear complaints where some of that gets quasi-
judicial.
SENATOR KIEHL noted an individual raised a question to him about
fairness and whether everybody can get an even shake and a fair
hearing. He referenced some of the "public stuff" Mr. Buist
posted online about "smarmy slobbering sycophants." He asked him
how he can tellquoting him"slobbering orgasmic liberal"from
the regular kind.
MR. BUIST replied he has no idea what Senator Kiehl is talking
about. He said he does use social media occasionally, but he is
not sure if what Senator Kiehl is talking about has anything to
do with BGCSA. He said since Senator Kiehl is talking out of
context, he asked him for an explanation.
SENATOR KIEHL explained somebody sent him some social media
posts and they are concerned about character, the ability to
hear people fairly, and to consider the issues fairly on the
boardif that is a public approach.
3:45:37 PM
MR. BUIST replied he still does not understand the possible
connection to BGCSB. He explained when a person who is trying
for a license comes before BGCSB, the board has specific things
to test and query about. He said in all his years on the board,
he cannot ever remember anyone asking if they were liberal or
not. He remarked he sees what Senator Kiehl is trying to do, but
he still does not think it has anything to do with BGCSB.
CHAIR REVAK asked if anyone has ever accused him of acting
biased during his long history of service.
MR. BUIST asked if he meant biased about how he has performed on
the board.
CHAIR REVAK replied yes.
MR. BUIST answered he does not think so.
CHAIR REVAK asked if he feels biases will play a role in how he
acts in his service on the board.
MR. BUIST replied he does think it has and he does not think it
will.
3:47:04 PM
CHAIR REVAK thanked him for being willing to serve.
CHAIR REVAK announced the next Governor Appointee for
consideration to BGCSA is Aaron Bloomquist. He said Mr.
Bloomquist's appointment will begin March 1, 2021 and expire
March 1, 2025.
3:47:40 PM
AARON BLOOMQUIST, Appointee, Big Game Commercial Services Board,
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
(DCCED), Copper Center, Alaska, detailed his background
information as follows:
• He and his family lives in Palmer during the winter and
spring, summer, and fall in Copper Center where he
operates:
o Alaska Outfitters Unlimited and Fishing Bug Charters:
square4 Provides guided hunting for almost all of
Alaska's big game species
square4 Fishing charters in the Copper River drainage
square4 Sightseeing tours for Princess Cruises.
• His business has a hunting concession in:
o The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness
o The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Wilderness
• His business operates hunting services on Ahtna Native
Corporation lands in the Copper River basin.
MR. BLOOMQUIST said he really believes that everyone that uses
wildlife resources in their professionsand otherwise for that
mattershould give back as much as possible. He noted he has
spent "tons of time" on committees, boards, and meetings.
He stated like Mr. Flores, he also has a passion for getting
veterans in the field. He noted he has hosted approximately 60
disabled veterans on hunting trips over the yearsabout half
were severely disabled.
MR. BLOOMQUIST added he has spent hundreds of hours a year
working on wildlife issues in Alaska over the last couple
decades. He said he has served on numerous boards and
conservation organizations in state and federal sanctioned
committees. He stated he believes everyone should participate in
public service and is honored by his appointment to one of two
licensed-guide representatives to BGCSB.
3:49:58 PM
SENATOR STEVENS noted he has recused himself 2 or 3 times out of
200 votes. He asked when he has had to recuse himself.
MR. BLOOMQUIST replied he may be looking at his application for
the Board of Game. He said he is not sure he would ever have to
recuse himself in the BGCSB setting because everything board
members do relates to their profession.
He noted he applied for an appointment to BGCSB or the Board of
Game.
SENATOR STEVENS said his question on recusal relates to the
Board of Game.
SENATOR MICCICHE noted he appreciates his resume addendum and
his full transparency on an unfortunate shot, even though the
application process does require the disclosure.
3:51:53 PM
MR. BLOOMQUIST said those comments means a lot. He stated, "I
guess we probably should all just be open with all of this stuff
and there would be a lot less gotchas, probably."
SENATOR MICCICHE remarked he must have had his bow draw weight
at 90-plus pounds.
MR. BLOOMQUIST replied his setting was only 70 pounds and it
just happened to hit a certain part of the animal.
SENATOR KIEHL noted he mentioned in his materials about some of
the work he did trying to protect wild sheep from pathogens and
his proposals to the Board of Game. He said he realizes his
question references a different board, but he asked him about
whether BGCSB is involved in anyway in some of the discussions
about pack animals and protecting wild sheep populations, and
how he would work on that.
3:53:05 PM
MR. BLOOMQUIST noted he was one of the founding members of the
Wild Sheep Foundation in Alaska. He said he knows BGCSB has
commented in the past on the [micoplasmaovapnemonia] (MOV) issue
getting into wild sheep.
He remarked he is not sure MOV is a good fit to work on a lot,
but he has worked and continues to work behind the scenes on the
MOV issue and any other conservation issues. He said he thinks
he drafted the proposal that brought MOV to the forefront with
the Board of Game.
MR. BLOOMQUIST admitted he has taken some heat over his MOV
proposal because it was a bit of a hammer to get the discussion
going, but that was his intent because the State has been
sitting on the issue for 20 years or more. However, he is not as
involved in MOV as he once was, the Wild Sheep Foundation has
taken over working on MOV and there has been some progress.
He said he is glad to see MOV has moved along, and he will do
what he can to help with it.
CHAIR REVAK thanked Mr. Bloomquist for being willing to serve.
3:55:19 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony.
3:56:09 PM
WAYNE KUBAT, board member, Alaska Professional Hunters
Association, Wasilla, Alaska, testified in support of all
appointees to the Big Game Commercial Services Board.
He noted he is a 45-year Alaska resident and has lived in the
Mat-Su Valley since 1984.
He detailed he earned his registered guide license and started
his own guiding business in 1986.
He said he is serving his ninth year on the board of directors
and currently serves as vice president for the Alaska
Professional Hunters Association (APHA) and is speaking on their
behalf.
He detailed according to APHA's third McDowell Group report on
Alaska's guided hunting industrycompleted January 2021and
shared the following information:
• 420 master and registered guides in 2019
o 250 contracted 1 or more hunts
• Only master or registered guides can be professional
members of APHA
• APHA's professional membership is over 170
• Approximately two-thirds of all contracting Alaska guides
are professional members of APHA
• In addition to master and registered guides, there are 640
assistant guides for a total of 1,060 guides
MR. KUBAT said BGCSB is critical to APHA's industry and the
guides that they represent, the wildlife resource, and the
Alaska public that they serve and help protect. He noted the
importance of getting good candidates to serve on the board and
APHA is very appreciative to Messrs. Flores, Buist, and
Bloomquist. APHA supports all three appointees.
He summarized BGCSB is important to guide business in Alaska, an
industry that brought in $57.4 million new-dollars into Alaska,
provided 1,890 jobs, and donated meat valued over $2 million
most jobs and meat donations occurred in rural Alaska.
3:59:26 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked Mr. Kubat if he could provide the committee
with his written testimony.
MR. KUBAT answered yes.
CHAIR REVAK thanked Mr. Kubat for providing his testimony.
4:00:10 PM
CHAIR REVAK closed public testimony.
4:00:28 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved that the following named appointees to
the Big Game Commercial Services Board be forwarded to a joint
session of the legislature for consideration:
Big Game Commercial Services Board
Michael Flores - Soldotna
Peter Buist - Fairbanks
Aaron Bloomquist - Copper Center
4:00:48 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced seeing no objection, the motion passes.
He read the following statement:
In accordance with AS 39.05.080, a signature on this
report does not reflect an intent by any of the
members to vote for or against the confirmation of the
individual(s) during any further sessions.
4:01:07 PM
At ease
4:02:47 PM
CHAIR REVAK called the committee back to order.
He announced the consideration of a Governor Appointee to the
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC).
He said Commissioner Jeremy Price was initially appointed
October 7, 2019 to March 1, 2021; if reappointed, his term would
expire March 1, 2027.
CHAIR REVAK explained the mission of AOGCC is to protect the
public interest in exploration and development of Alaska's
valuable oil, gas, and geothermal resources through the
application of conservation practices designed to ensure greater
ultimate recovery and the protection of health, safety, fresh
groundwater, and the rights of all owners to recover their share
of our resource.
He said since Commissioner Price has been in his position since
October 2019, he asked him to provide a brief personal history
and spend more time sharing his experiences and accomplishments
since joining the commission and what he intends for the future.
4:04:09 PM
JEREMY PRICE, Appointee, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic
Development, Anchorage, Alaska, said in October 2019, [the
governor] appointed him as the public commissioner and chairman
of AOGCC. He said the past 15 months [at AOGCC] have been his
most enjoyable of his career. He stated working with experienced
and dedicated professionals has humbled him. He thanked the
governor for his AOGCC reappointment.
He said first and foremost, he is an Alaskan, born in Fairbanks
and raised on a homestead in Salcha. He detailed his background
as follows:
• Undergraduate degree in business from Utah State University
• Master's degree in government from John Hopkins University
• Spent his career in public policy roles:
o U.S. House of Representatives
o U.S. Senate
o American Petroleum Institute
o Americans for Prosperity
o Alaska Governor's Office
MR. PRICE said he has spent his career working on solutions to
problems facing Alaskans and has always enjoyed representing
Alaskans and advocating on their behalf. However, out of any
issue he has worked on, oil and gas has been the most enjoyable
and the most interesting and rewarding to him. Over the past 15
months he has taken a very serious and dedicated role [with
AOGCC] and has tried to represent the public as best as he can.
MR. PRICE stated during his short time with AOGCC, he has been
instrumental in helping the commission transition to a digital
application system. Until last year, the commission only
accepted paper applications for permits to drill, geological
surveys submissions, well data, well workover sundries, and
underground injection applications. All previous applications
and data submissions were in paper formusually in duplicate.
However, with COVID-19 pushing the commission to change to a
safer and more efficient process, the commission fully
transitioned to digital which increased AOGCC's efficiency and
reduced operator cost.
He said the longstanding goal of AOGCC is to process permits to
drill within 10 working days. Prior to the conversion to
electronic applications, the processing percentage of permits to
drill within 10 days was around 64 percent. After the switch to
electronic applications, the commission increased its 10-day
processing percentage to 80 percent.
4:06:26 PM
MR. PRICE noted a year ago, AOGCC expected one of the most
active drilling seasons in years. Unfortunately, the oil and gas
industry scaled back their drilling plans due to economic
factors related to COVID-19, resulting in a 53-percent drop in
drilling permits in 2020 compared to 2019. Well interventions
only declined by about 8 percent and a big reason for that is
Hilcorp staying active throughout the downturn by consistently
and frequently repairing broken wells.
He explained other big top-line items that AOGCC tracks, oil
production was down in 2020 by about 4 percent or 7 million
barrels compared to 2019primarily due to production cut over
the summer and into the fall. Regarding enforcement and
compliancedespite COVID-19 challengesAOGCC inspectors still
managed to perform nearly 6,000 inspections and witnessed tests,
which is slightly above the annual average over the last 10
years. However, AOGCC expects activity to stay flat in 2021.
MR. PRICE said regarding regulator changes, AOGCC just finalized
a change to its bonding regulation that provides more time for
operators to meet the new bonding amounts. Thus far, two
operators have sued over those bonding amounts that went into
effect in 2019the Department of Law is handling those cases.
However, the AOGCC regulation provided greater time for operator
compliance with the new bonding amounts from four years to seven
years, and the commission adjusted the amounts to provide a
smoother transition as an operator increases its wells.
MR. PRICE noted AOGCC is trying to better understand any risks
associated with production wells without underground and
mechanical integrity testing since well completion. AOGCC is
working with operators to better understand the available
mechanical integrity test data. The commission's concern is with
well casing integrity due to subsidence, erosion, and corrosion
especially with older gas-lift wells. The commission is also
working with operators to proactively address idle wells shut
for long periods of time to avoid "orphan wells."
He summarized he is profoundly grateful and humbled by his
opportunity and responsibility with AOGCC. He said he is
passionate about Alaska, his desire to serve Alaskans, and the
rights of Alaskans to responsibility develop their resources for
the benefit of the people.
4:09:20 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI thanked him for serving on AOGCC for the last
year. He asked him whether he filled out the Boards and
Commissions application to become a commissioner.
MR. PRICE answered that he will check with Boards and
Commissions to verify if he missed filling out the form.
SENATOR KAWASAKI noted all the other commissioners filled out a
form via Boards and Commissions. He said the form certifies an
applicant's information as true, accurate, and complete.
MR. PRICE apologized for his oversite and will follow up with
the committee.
CHAIR REVAK asked Mr. Price to provide the form to his office
for distribution to committee members.
4:10:42 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI noted he worked about eight years for U.S.
Senator Murkowski and Congressman Young in Washington, D.C.; a
year at the [American Petroleum Institute], and now seeks
[legislative confirmation] to serve as the public member on the
AOGCC. He asked him what kind of unique experiences does he
bring to the jobother than the two other commissionersat
AOGCC.
MR. PRICE answered the role of the public commissioner should
have an understandingby statuteof the oil and gas industry. He
said his experience for working on oil and gas issues is in
terms of public policy throughout his time in Washington, D.C.
He noted in Alaska he worked on energy issues with Americans for
Prosperity and frequently testified in support of various
decisions by the federal government when lands were opened to
resource developmentthe [National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska]
(NRA), [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] (ANWR), or other
things.
He stated as far as his experience in oil field practices
technology, it was a new level of education he had not gone
through and the learning curve was steep. However, AOGCC staff
fortunately brought him up to speed and the process has been
exciting, but his experience has been more oil and gas policy at
a higher level versus the oil field itself.
4:12:20 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI noted he received letters of support from his
fellow AOGCC commissionersboth have a lot of experience on an
engineering leveland his presence on the commission is good.
He pointed out he served as the deputy chief of staff at the
beginning of the Dunleavy administration, and he did not serve
very long. He asked him why he stepped down.
MR. PRICE answered that he stepped down strictly for the AOGCC
opportunity. He said he is a big fan of the governor and was
lucky and fortunate to spend some time with him and in that role
working with agency commissioners.
He noted prior to the governor's election, he was interested in
the AOGCC role. The former chief of staff for the governorthe
individual who hired himheld the AOGCC position many years ago
and that was something he talked to him about.
MR. PRICE said he did not expect the AOGCC position to open as
soon as it did, but if the position had not opened, he would not
have left.
4:13:50 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked if he could enlighten the committee on the
legacy wellsabandoned wellsin the NPRA.
MR. PRICE replied AOGCC had a good last season, the commission
works mostly with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in taking
care of NPRA legacy wells. AOGCC's engineering staff reviews
legacy well plans, and the commission tries to ensure the proper
plugging and abandonment of the wells. AOGCC can provide
additional information on the wells completed last summer and
the amount of many wells. Every season the commission removes
approximately a half dozen wells off its list.
He noted there is federal legislationpassed by the U.S. House
last yearthat might be of assistance. There is big interest
amongst states, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission,
and Congress in taking care of "orphan wells" in various parts
of the countrywhere drilling started in the mid-1800s, so there
are a lot of wells. Pennsylvania has thousands of wells that
need plugging, so there could be a national effort that Alaska
might be able to dovetail on.
SENATOR BISHOP thanked him and noted he would talk to the
chairman about a further update.
4:15:43 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE asked him if he has any conflicts of interests
either personal, financial, or under the Ethics Act.
MR. PRICE answered no.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if he has been convicted of a misdemeanor
within the past 5 years or a felony within the past 10 years.
MR. PRICE answered he has never been convicted of misdemeanor or
felony in his life.
SENATOR MICCICHE noted the other form [that Senator Kawasaki
addressed] is a certification of accuracy and completeness. He
asked him if he certifies the accuracy and completeness of his
comments as well as the resume that he provided for the
committee today.
MR. PRICE answered yes.
4:16:59 PM
CHAIR REVAK noted the federal administration's agenda related to
oil and gas and asked him what challenges does he see in the
coming years.
MR. PRICE answered there are a number of challenges, some
pertain more to DNR jurisdiction, but AOGCC will feel its impact
via drilling activity based on how policies shakeout with the
federal government and the courts. Alaska only has so much
control when so much is federally managed, so that is a concern.
He noted hearing talk about hydraulic fracturing bans and
related topics, but he is not concerned with that. The prior
administration tried a similar ban, but a federal district judge
in Wyoming struck that down. However, there are other ways to
impede development. Locally, AOGCC wants to be vigilant on
ensuring operators operate safely, protecting the public, and
protecting the environment.
MR. PRICE said he will make sure AOGCC gets as many inspections
as possible of the safety valve systemsthe blowout preventers
and that the industry does its practices in a safe mannerthat
is always a priority. AOGCC will try to be as fair as possible
when adjudicating decisions in a way that Alaskans want the
commission to do it; that is where he sees his role in trying to
represent the public in the best way he knows how when the
commission faces a policy call.
He noted as oil fields decline and leases change hands to
smaller operators with shallower pockets, the commission wants
to make sure no one cuts corners, things continue in a safe and
responsible manner, and plugged wells no longer have an economic
use.
MR. PRICE said there are a lot of challenges ahead and the
aforementioned challenges are just a few of them.
CHAIR REVAK stated he looked forward to speaking with him more
in the future.
4:20:46 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony; finding none, he closed
public testimony.
4:21:14 PM
At ease
4:21:59 PM
CHAIR REVAK called the committee back to order.
4:22:08 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE moved that the following named appointee to the
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission be forwarded to a
joint session of the legislature for consideration:
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Jeremy Price - Anchorage
4:22:20 PM
CHAIR REVAK said without objection the motion passes.
He read the following statement:
In accordance with AS 39.05.080, a signature on this
report does not reflect an intent by any of the
members to vote for or against the confirmation of the
individual(s) during any further sessions.
4:23:08 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Revak adjourned the Senate Resources Standing Committee
meeting at 4:23 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Michael Flores.pdf |
SRES 2/17/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Michael Flores |
| SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Peter Buist.pdf |
SRES 2/17/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Peter Buist |
| SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Aaron Bloomquist.pdf |
SRES 2/17/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SRES GOV Appointee BGCS Aaron Bloomquist |
| SRES GOV Appointee AOGCC Jeremy Price.pdf |
SRES 2/17/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SRES GOV Appointee AOGCC Jeremy Price |
| SRES GOV Appointee Jeremy Price AOGCC Support Letters 2.16.21.pdf |
SRES 2/17/2021 3:30:00 PM |
SRES GOV Appointee AOGCC Jeremy Price Letters of Support 2.16.21 |