SENATE RESOURCES COMMITTEE March 22, 2000 3:10 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Rick Halford, Chairman Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chairman Senator Pete Kelly Senator Lyda Green Senator Georgianna Lincoln MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Jerry Mackie Senator Sean Parnell COMMITTEE CALENDAR CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 39(RES) Encouraging the United States Congress to pass S. 2214, a bill opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible exploration, development, and production of its oil and gas resources. -MOVED CS SJR 39(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 54 Relating to urging the exclusion of national forests in Alaska from President Clinton's proposal for withdrawal of roadless areas in the national forest system. -MOVED HJR 54 OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION SJR 39 - No previous action to consider. HJR 54 - No previous action to consider. WITNESS REGISTER Senator Drue Pearce Senate District F Alaska State Capitol Juneau, AK 99811 POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of SJR 39. Ms. Susan Schrader Alaska Conservation Voters Alaska Conservation Alliance P.O. Box 22151 Juneau, AK 99802 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SJR 39 and HJR 54. Mr. Jim Sykes P.O. Box 696 Palmer, AK 99645 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SJR 39. Ms. Pam LaBolle, President Alaska State Chamber of Commerce 217 Second Street, #201 Juneau, AK 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HJR 54. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 00-13, SIDE A Number 001 SJR 39-ENCOURAGING CONGRESS TO OPEN ANWR CHAIRMAN HALFORD called the Senate Resources Committee meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. and announced SJR 39 to be up for consideration. SENATOR PEARCE said SJR 39 was introduced by the Rules Committee at her request. U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski has introduced S. 2214, a bill that calls for opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to responsible exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources. SJR 39 supports Alaska's role in providing the nation with a major portion of its domestic oil and encourages Congress to pass S. 2214. It further resolves that the legislature opposes any effort to make the coastal plain a national monument. There is concern that President Clinton will use the Antiquities Act for further Alaskan withdrawals, including ANWR, before he leaves office this year. SENATOR LINCOLN said that a similar resolution [HJR 11] passed last year. She distributed a proposed amendment that contains the exact language that was included in the previous year's resolution. The proposed amendment reads as follows. Page 2, following line 30, insert: WHEREAS the state will ensure the continued health and productivity of the Porcupine Caribou herd and the protection of the land, water, and wildlife resources during the exploration and development of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and Page 3, following line 6, insert: FURTHER RESOLVED that oil exploration and development activity be conducted in a manner that protects the wildlife and the environment and utilizes the state's work force to the maximum extent possible; and be it SENATOR LINCOLN moved to adopt the amendment. SENATOR GREEN objected for the purpose of discussion. SENATOR PEARCE said she has no problem with the amendment. SENATOR TAYLOR asked how the state is ensuring the continued health of the herd and whether it has a policy with Lloyd's. SENATOR PEARCE said there is mitigation on the North Slope within the present Prudhoe Bay Unit and other units, which disallows some activities during calving and other important seasons for the central herd. She assumed that it has always been the promise of the state that any adverse effects on the Porcupine herd during the exploration, which takes place during winter when the caribou aren't there, will be mitigated. She was sure the same sorts of policies would continue and the ANWR project will require State and Borough permits as well. The caribou herds have been an on-going concern of the people of the North Slope, particularly the people in Kaktovik who utilize the herd for a portion of their food each year. They feel comfortable that impacts on the herd can be mitigated. CHAIRMAN HALFORD asked if the objection was maintained. There being no further objection, the motion to adopt the amendment carried. CHAIRMAN HALFORD announced the committee would take public testimony. Number 500 MS. SUSAN SCHRADER, representing the Alaska Conservation Voters and the Alaska Conservation Alliance (ACV-ACA), mentioned that all Americans, as well as the 22,000 members of the ACV-ACA, enjoyed the lower fuel prices last year and now feel the pinch of higher prices. ACV-ACA members do not, however, believe that drilling in ANWR is the answer to the current situation. MS. SCHRADER brought some polling results to the committee's attention, and particularly some results that relate to a "Whereas" clause on page 2, line 28, that states, "The vast majority of Alaskans support development in the coastal plain." She felt that is a profound overstatement. Earlier this year, the ACA contracted with Ivan Moore Research to conduct a telephone survey of 500 Alaskans. Only 50.7 percent of those polled supported drilling in ANWR; 41.7 percent favored protecting caribou and bird habitat; and 7.6 percent were neutral. She repeated it is a bit of an overstatement to suggest that 51 percent is a vast majority. These results were very much in line with other polls conducted in Alaska by ACA in years passed. Another question was whether respondents favor state funding of Arctic Power Group. The results showed that only 41.6 percent favor state funding, while 46.6 percent did not support this use of state funds. 11.8 percent did not know. MS. SCHRADER said the most compelling and simple argument against opening ANWR is that 95 percent of the North Slope is already available for oil and gas exploration. The coastal plain of ANWR equals five percent. While the Natives of Kaktovik have consistently supported opening the refuge, the Gwit'chen people spoke in Canada and Alaska and consider the coastal plain a sacred ground. For an estimated 20,000 years, their traditional subsistence lifestyle has depended heavily on the 129,000 caribou of the Porcupine herd, which uses the coastal plain as a birthing ground. Many believe that protection of this herd, the coastal plain, and the Gwit'chen culture makes this issue a human rights one. Opening the refuge will not be a quick fix to the high price of gasoline. During the gas crisis in 1973, it was the desire of people to conserve fuel that resolved the crisis by using more fuel efficient cars. Other solutions to the high price of fuel are out there; opening the last five percent of the North Slope is not the only one. SENATOR TAYLOR said an ice age was underway 10,000 years ago so there were probably no caribou up there, and he just watched a television program about a wooly mammoth skeleton found in that area. He thought she should check some of her facts. MS. SCHRADER responded that it is her understanding that the Bering land-sea bridge was formed and in place somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. The best theory of the anthropologists is that the Athabaskan people migrated across this bridge at that time. Her concern is that those people have been in that area for about 20,000 years and they have been living a subsistence lifestyle. CHAIRMAN HALFORD asked her where she got most of her information on the coastal plain of ANWR. MS. SCHRADER answered that she hasn't been in the refuge itself, but she has been in the Brooks Range. She spent quite a while along the Noatak. The coastal plain is a known birthing area for the caribou herd. CHAIRMAN HALFORD said the coastal plain is a very small portion of ANWR. It's very different from the high country. He noted the coastal plain is a flat, high-level mosquito bog. He couldn't imagine that anyone camps on the coastal plain for any length of time during the summer. MS. SCHRADER said her argument is that the coastal plain is a known birthing area for the caribou herd. She said they are talking about a very small area but it is not barren and it is very critical. CHAIRMAN HALFORD said the exaggerations of the threat of development and modern technology on ANWR does not help her argument because the size of the footprint and the ability to develop in ANWR with minimal impact is there. MS. SCHRADER said the exaggeration is in the resolution. The physical footprint the petrochemical industry has to make to do the exploration may be smaller now, but she can guarantee there would be helicopter and fixed-wing overflights, exploring and 3-D seismic testing during the winter when the polar bears are denning. To risk the last five percent of the North Slope because we're debating who is exaggerating more is shortsighted. She emphasized the importance of oil conservation. CHAIRMAN HALFORD responded that numerically her facts aren't accurate. SENATOR TAYLOR asked Ms. Schrader if she has any numbers to back up her statement that the oil crisis of 1973 was alleviated by the public's conservation measures, such as buying gas efficient cars. MS. SCHRADER said she would get some. She said her point is that fuel conservation by the citizens of the United States will go a long way to helping the current problem. SENATOR KELLY asked Ms. Schrader if she is trying to slow down this resolution. MS. SCHRADER said she didn't think her testimony would make much difference. She hoped it would at least make them pause and think about the many other Alaskans who care about this issue. She thought the committee needs to look at the polling data carefully. Number 1555 SENATOR GREEN said she recalled that the Arctic Power Group presented documented figures that showed the Porcupine caribou herd population tripled since oil development began on the North Slope. MS. SCHRADER responded that her understanding is that Senator Green is talking about a different herd. She wasn't sure to what extent the Porcupine caribou herd migrates into the Prudhoe Bay area. There are several other herds. She offered to get her the correct information. SENATOR LINCOLN thanked Ms. Schrader and said the idea of the committee is to allow people of different voices to be heard on legislation or anything the committee is discussing. She didn't want Ms. Schrader to feel like she was going to be grilled every time she sits at the table. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass SJR 39 from committee with individual recommendations. MR. JIM SYKES, representing himself, interrupted to say that he wanted to testify in opposition to SJR 39. He asked committee members to think about their place as legislators in Alaska and Alaska as a producer of oil for the U.S. Alaska produces about 1 percent of the world's oil and about 20 percent of American production. He appreciated Ms. Schrader's comments about conservation. Some people think we need to increase our production of oil so we can have more energy security. The fact is quite opposite. The more we deplete our reserves, the higher the danger is that we will not have any national defense capability and have no alternatives. In the absence of a national energy plan, the United States needs to be very careful about our resources. He couldn't understand why the State was pushing to open the Arctic Refuge so fast. MR. SYKES quoted from the 1998-99 U.S. Geological Survey Artic National Wildlife Refuge 10-02 Area Petroleum Assessment Report which states, "About 2.6 billion barrels of oil distributed in about three fields is expected to be economically recoverable in the unformed (ph) part of the 10-02 area." That means there is no central location for a huge pot of oil - the oil is spread across the 10-02 area. If one compares the estimated 2.6 billion barrels with the unexplored potential between the Colville and Canning Rivers, which the State owns, it certainly makes sense that should be explored first and those supplies should be used up long before ANWR is considered. ANWR is a very special area and, if there is not much oil there, it should not be high on the priority list. Although the technology has improved, any spill that occurred would have the potential of reaching the coast so it could effect millions of acres. The second area that should be explored is the NPRA. He also thought they needed to consider that development would happen in a "net" rather than a small footprint. These are very important national arguments. MR. SYKES asked the committee to look at the website of the Union of Concerned Scientists. They have issued a report on how the United States can lessen its dependence on fossil fuels over 80 percent over 30 years without degrading our lifestyle. We simply have to make changes in technology and in the way we do things. Alaska's oil is a drop in the bucket as far as American consumption goes. It should be saved for our grandchildren in case we don't responsibly manage our resources. SENATOR TAYLOR moved CSSJR 39(RES) from committee with individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered. HJR 54-EXCLUDE AK NATL FORESTS FROM ROADLESS POL CHAIRMAN HALFORD announced HJR 54 to be up for consideration. REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS, sponsor of HJR 54, said Alaska has two of the largest national forests in America: the Tongass and Chugach. He objects to a roadless policy for several reasons. First, it's against the law. ANILCA specifically prohibits withdrawals without the express direction of Congress. Second, we just spent over 10 years and $15 million to create the Tongass Land Management Plan, which addresses all uses of the forest. Third, the public process is being followed to produce a plan for the Chugach National Forest. Of concern to many in the Chugach is the spruce bark beetle infestation. If the roadless policy is implemented, it will be harder to manage. The Governor, late last year, wrote a strong letter opposing the roadless plan. SENATOR LINCOLN asked whether, regarding the Further Resolved clause on page 3 that urges the Governor to determine what legal action may be available under ANILCA, he thought this would create an expense for the state. REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS answered that he would have to talk to the Governor's office about that. MS. PAM LABOLLE, President, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, stated strong support for HJR 54. The Chamber requests that the legislature support all efforts to stop the Forest Service's proposed roadless policy and that the State sue the Forest Service to block application of the roadless initiative. The Clinton Administration is making a folly out of the efforts spent to develop the Tongass Land Management Plan. MS. SUSAN SCHRADER opposed HJR 54 saying her members use the Tongass Forest for a variety of reasons - subsistence, recreation, and commercial use. They support the efforts by the Clinton Administration and the U.S. Forest Service to protect the existing roadless areas in the Tongass and Chugach National Forests. The roadless proposal, she explained, does not create wilderness; only Congress can do that. A more practical way to look at this policy is as another tool the Forest Service can use to manage national forests. It will help allow the Forest Service to protect the water quality for the fish and habitat for wildlife and to ensure that there are opportunities for remote recreation. MS. SCHRADER said this roadless policy does not create new parks or refuges, it does not violate the "no more" clause in ANILCA. This policy does not affect existing roads. In fact, the money saved by not building new roads in roadless areas can be used to maintain existing roads in the Tongass and the Chugach. Nationwide, the Forest Service estimates it has an $8.4 million backlog in road maintenance. It doesn't make sense to keep building roads if you can't maintain the ones you have. This policy does not mean an end to the timber industry. Billions of board feet are within roaded areas in the Tongass that will continue to be available. There are 4,600 miles of existing roads in the Tongass. There are no timber-dependent communities in the Chugach or near it. Another concern is that this proposal will affect other rights guaranteed under ANILCA or similar laws. It does not. RS 2477 rights-of-way would still be maintained. If the committee needs a good reason to protect our roadless areas, it can look south to Washington and see what's happened there. TAPE 00-13, SIDE B  Number 2400 MS. SCHRADER noted problems in the Mount Baker and Snoqualmie Forest with landslides, damage to salmon streams, game poaching, and the increased risk of human caused fires. Alaska can do it differently by giving the Forest Service another tool to protect the national forests for the benefit of all its users. SENATOR TAYLOR asked Ms. Schrader if she saw a program on C-SPAN in which the Senate Energy and Resources Committee had Secretary of Agriculture Mike Dombeck (ph) and Undersecretary of Agriculture Jim Lyons answer questions about this policy. Ms. Schrader indicated she hadn't. SENATOR TAYLOR said according to statements made by Mr. Dombeck and Mr. Lyons, Governor Knowles said in his letter that this would be an outrage and a double-cross. Her presentation sounds very different from the comments made by Mr. Dombeck and Mr. Lyons. Senator Craig, who conducted the hearing, was quite shocked to learn that this policy was considered with no public input and that environmental organizations wrote letters directly to the Secretary who gave them to the President. SENATOR LINCOLN said she thinks the Majority isn't keeping Senator Taylor busy enough if he has the time to watch so many TV programs. She asked why the Governor's letter and the Chamber of Commerce spoke only to the Tongass National Forest while HJR 54 speaks to both the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests. SENATOR TAYLOR answered that the reason is because of the timing of when the policies were announced and when the letters occurred. No initial discussion occurred about the Chugach but many issues about the Tongass were pending. The Chugach was included in the roadless policy since that time. Number 2150 CHAIRMAN HALFORD added that some provisions of the resolution apply more to the Tongass, such as timber harvest, and other provisions apply more to the Chugach, such as the beetle infestation problem. SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass HJR 54 from committee with individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered. CHAIRMAN HALFORD adjourned the meeting at 4:05 p.m.