WHAT: The Senate Energy Committee is seeking public comments concerning a bill that includes opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain for exploration and production of oil.
Already, environmental groups are gearing up for battle, and pro-energy advocates say the committee must hear from the rest of Alaskans who want to restore the economy and increase the throughput in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Without those voices, the Senate may make a decision adverse to Alaska’s economic future.
WHY IT MATTERS: This is the best chance in a generation to access the oil-producing area of the Coastal Plain.
WHO’S IN CHARGE: Sen. Lisa Murkowski chairs the Energy Committee. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington State is the ranking member.
WHEN: The hearing will be held on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. EDT in Room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. That’s 5:30 a.m. Alaska time.
Senators will receive testimony on the potential for oil and gas exploration and development in the non-wilderness portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, known as the “1002 Area” or Coastal Plain, to raise sufficient revenue to fund a portion of the federal budget.
The hearing will be webcast live on the committee’s website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the hearing is complete. Witness testimony will be available on the website at the start of the hearing.
The time to comment is now.
HOW TO COMMENT: Send a brief email supporting the ANWR provision to: [email protected] by Wednesday, Nov. 1 in order to be received prior to the hearing.
The committee will accept testimony for inclusion into the record for an additional two weeks following the hearing, but energy advocates are advising “the earlier, the better.”
Address your statement to: “Chairman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.” Send a copy to [email protected].
At the top of your comments, please reference: For Record of November 2, 2017 Hearing
For additional information on the hearing, visit:
https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/11/full-committee-hearing
HELPFUL POINTS:
- Open the ANWR coastal plain (1002 area) to exploration and production. Require timely lease sales • Streamline and simplify the permitting process
- Provide for a 50 percent‐50 percent federal‐state revenue sharing, rather than the 90-10 percent split under current law.
- Alaska favors responsible development and protecting the environment.
- Technically recoverable oil within the ANWR 1002 area (excluding State and Native areas) is estimated to be between 4.3 and 11.8 billion barrels (95- and 5-percent probability range), with a mean value of 7.7 billion barrels.
RESOURCES
Witness list for invited comments
Thanks, e-mail sent. Also sent to my AMAC people for call to action as well.
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