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Arctic Power - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

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May 24th
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Home arrow News arrow Hastings and Boehner Push ANWR
Hastings and Boehner Push ANWR PDF Print E-mail
Washington DC-  House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings and Alaska Representative Don Young introduced legislation to open the 10-02 Coastal Plain area of ANWR to oil and gas development.  The bill The Alaskan Energy for American Jobs Act, numbered HR. 3407, repeals section 10-03 of the Alaska National Interests Lands Claims Act (ANILCA) to allow oil and gas exploration and production within the 10-02 and commands the Secretary of Interior to lease lands within the 10-02.

The bill supersedes and updates a previous bill HR 49 by Don Young introduced early in Congress last year.  The main differences are the provisions for allowable development footprint and inclusion of special no development zones. 
The main acts of HR. 3407:

  • Allows a surface footprint of no more than 10,000 acres for every 100,000 acres leased.
  • Limit exploratory activity to approximately November 1 to May 1 each year.
  • Allows first lease sale within 18 months of Presidential signature
  • Designates 45,000 acres of land within the 10-02 to be set aside as SPECIAL AREAS free of development.  Special Areas will be chosen by villagers of Kaktovik, members of North Slope Borough and the State of Alaska.
  • Horizontal drilling from outside Special Areas under Special Areas may be permitted.
  • 4000 acres of Sadlerochit Spring to be off limits to development
  • Secretary of Interior will offer 50,000 acres within the 10-02 within 22 months of signature.
  • Secretary shall offer 50,000 acres for lease at 6, 12 and 18 month intervals thereafter from first lease sale.
  • Secretary shall offer 4 additional lease sales no less than 2 years after first scheduled lease sales. 
  • 12.5% royalty from oil production from leases to go to Federal Government
  • Secretary can temporarily close parts of the 10-02 to oil and gas activity for passage of wildlife during migration seasons.
  • No significant adverse environmental effect may come to the lands or ecology of leased areas.
  • Comply with all Federal, State and local laws protecting environment and under guidelines established by 1987 Environmental Impact Study on 10-02.
  • All lands used by lessees must be restored to original state after relinquishing leases.
  • Lessees must use best commercially available technology in developing leases.
  • Oil from leases within the 10-02 is prohibited from export.

 

The Speaker of the House John Boehner has coordinated to add the ANWR provision to a larger bill HR.7 the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act once HR. 3407 passes out of the Resources Committee.  HR. 7 will contain two other provisions: one on opening up more Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore areas and the other to promote oil shale development.  The three provisions of HR. 7 are expected to make it to the floor and will most likely pass the House making it the 12th time the US House has passed legislation supporting development of the 10-02.  Should HR. 7 pass the House it will meet tough times in the US Senate against Chairman Bingaman from New Mexico of the Senate Energy Committee, and the Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Both are opposed to pursuing a oil as a national energy source and both are opposed to allowing exploration in ANWR.  It is uncertain how the national pressure for jobs and energy, which is how HR7 will be politically advertised, will play on the reception or potential passage of the bill in the Senate.  The President has stated he does not support development in ANWR and yet has ordered annual oil and gas lease sales from the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska about 100 miles away to the west.

The announcement on HR 3407 can be viewed here:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr3407ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr3407ih.pdf

The announcement on HR 7 can be viewed here:
http://johnboehner.house.gov/Blog/?postid=269424
and here:
http://naturalresources.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=269694

 

 
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