[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 69 (Monday, April 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2485-S2486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OPENS ALASKA ACT
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, Senator Sullivan and I introduced a
bill, S. 883, the Offshore Production and Energizing National Security
Alaska Act of 2017, to lift a damaging Federal moratorium, reopen
Alaska's energy-rich Arctic waters to responsible production, and
ensure our home State receives a fair share of the revenues from
development off our coasts.
[[Page S2486]]
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic contains 22
percent of the world's undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and
gas resources. The Federal Government projects that the Beaufort and
Chukchi Seas alone contain an estimated 23.6 billion barrels of oil and
104.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Yet, despite that prolific
potential, the Obama administration spent much of the past 8 years
systematically putting the region off limits.
It began with the cancellation of lease sales scheduled for our
Arctic Outer Continental Shelf. It continued with critical habitat
designations, the imposition of burdensome new rules, and a constantly
shifting administrative approach that seemed designed to make
commercial operations impossible. We saw new withdrawals in our Arctic
OCS in early 2015, followed by a decision by President Obama, just days
before he left office, to withdraw nearly all of the region from future
leasing. Those decisions ran directly contrary to the views of the vast
majority of Alaskans, who overwhelmingly support the responsible
development of our Arctic OCS. Those decisions ran contrary to the
promises made to Alaskans, at statehood and repeatedly in the years
since then, that we would be allowed to access our resources to help
build our State. Those decisions have already cost Alaskans jobs and
revenues and today continue to deprive us of a golden opportunity to
provide for our families, end our economic recession, and refill our
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
Our bill, the OPENS Alaska Act, recognizes our needs and
opportunities in Alaska, it rejects the heavy-handed decisions made
against our State in recent years, and it puts our policies for the
Arctic OCS on a better track.
First, it repeals President Obama's so-called 12(a) withdrawal of
nearly all of the offshore Arctic. This is a simple necessity, before
leasing can occur. It is not a statement about the President's current
legal authority to amend, modify, or revoke a withdrawal made under
section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. I believe our
new President has all the authority he needs to revoke the Alaska
withdrawals, and I hope he will do just that. If he does, precedent
will be on his side. In the meantime, our legislation makes clear the
position of Alaska, which is that we do not support the withdrawal and
want it gone by any possible legal means.
Next, our bill would create a new nearshore Beaufort Planning Area.
The State of Alaska currently conducts annual lease sales in the area
from zero to 3 miles offshore. The establishment of a separate planning
area in the adjacent nearshore zone will provide a real, near-term
opportunity to provide vital throughput into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
System, known as TAPS, because of its proximity to existing
infrastructure. Projects in this area are easier, faster, and less
expensive.
Our bill would also provide for additional lease sales in the
Nearshore Beaufort Sea and Cook Inlet Planning Areas. By lifting the
withdrawals in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, those areas would be
eligible for leasing in the next Five-Year OCS Leasing Program or a
supplement to our current program. Frequent and predictable lease sales
are needed to create stability and certainty for investors, Alaska, and
the United States.
It is also important that Alaska and Alaskans receive fair
compensation for any exploration, development, and production that
occurs in the Arctic OCS. Under current law, no matter how much energy
we provide for the rest of the Nation, Alaska will receive none of the
revenues. That arrangement is widely recognized as unfair, and so my
bill devotes a reasonable share of the revenues that will only be
generated as a result of this bill, and as a result of the waters that
are only part of the United States by virtue of Alaska, with our State.
We have divided revenue sharing into two time periods, from 2017 to
2027 and from 2027 onwards, to reflect our differing needs during the
exploration, development, and production phases. During the initial 10-
year period, our bill proposes that 7.5 percent of the revenues be
shared with the State and 7.5 percent of revenues be divided between
coastal political subdivisions. The division between coastal political
subdivisions is based on distance from the lease tracts, with 90
percent of the funds going to areas within 200 miles and 10 percent
reserved for coastal political subdivisions that are beyond 200 miles
but determined by the State of Alaska to be staging areas.
In addition, our bill would allocate 2.5 percent of the revenues it
generates to fund competitive grants for workforce development in
support of OCS development, 2.5 percent to fund the North Slope Science
Initiative, 2.5 percent to the Secretary of the Interior to support
offshore development and the establishment of pipeline rights-of-way on
Federal land associated with Beaufort and Chukchi development, and 2.5
percent to the Tribal Resilience Program established by the act. The
remaining 75 percent would go to the U.S. Treasury, to help pay down
our national debt.
Following the initial 10-year period, we propose to divide the
revenues slightly differently, with 50 percent going to the Treasury,
30 percent to the State, 7.5 percent to coastal political subdivisions,
and 12.5 percent to the Tribal Resilience Program established by the
act. These divisions do not apply to what is known as the 8(g) zone,
such as the Nearshore Beaufort, where Alaska currently receives 27
percent of revenues.
The Tribal Resilience Program established by our bill, which is
national in scope, would provide grants for a number of critical
purposes. These funds could be used to relocate villages or communities
experiencing or susceptible to coastal or river erosion, to construct
infrastructure to support emergency evacuations, to restore or repair
infrastructure damaged by melting permafrost or coastal or river
erosion, to install and manage energy systems that reduce energy costs
and greenhouse gas emissions, and to construct and maintain social or
cultural infrastructure that supports resilient communities.
The OPENS Alaska Act will allow our home State to produce more of its
vast offshore energy resources, which is a priority for the vast
majority of Alaskans. It will help us create good jobs, generate
billions of dollars in new revenues, and ensure a stable footing for
our State for generations to come. I urge the Senate to recognize the
improvements this bill makes to our current policies and to join
Senator Sullivan and I in supporting its passage in this Congress.
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