Editor's note: "This Week in Alaska Business History" revisits events that shaped our past.
"Those who cannot
remember the past are
condemned to repeat it."
- George Santayana,
1863-1952
10 years ago this week
Lease sales back on track
Beset by four years of legal challenges, the state's oil and gas lease sales program is now back on track thanks to statutory changes made by the last Legislature.
The changes should get potential litigants into oil and gas lease sale decisions while the state Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas is working on best interest findings, rather than after a finding has been issued, Jim Eason, oil and gas division director, and Ken Boyd, deputy director, said in an interview Oct. 25.
Senate Bill 308 requires preliminary findings in addition to final findings, with two months allowed for public comment on the preliminary finding. For both preliminary and final findings, the division is now required to respond to all comments in writing, and provide the basis for the division's determination of whether the comment was material.
"We were hearing that we don't listen to people's concerns," Eason said - pointing out there's a difference between listening to people and doing what they want to do. The requirement for a written response to comments will "force both sides to say what they believe and why," and also be a good record for the courts to see what the agency person was thinking, he said.
DNR re-issued the preliminary finding for sale 79, Cape Yakataga, to comply with requirements of SB308. The re-issued preliminary finding contains summaries of comments received along with DNR's responses.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, for example, said the preliminary finding failed to address significant hazards, specifically weather and waves in the Gulf of Alaska. In response, DNR concluded: "This comment is material to the scope of this finding and the subject is discussed in the re-issued preliminary finding in sections 'Geophysical Characteristics' and 'Oil Spill Risk, Prevention and Response.'"
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commented that no detail was provided regarding design or operation of transshipment facilities, and as the Gulf of Alaska has turbulent sea storms and is remote from markets and supply materials, it is difficult to respond to spills and other potentially harmful incidents. DNR responded: "This comment is not material to the scope of the this finding. It is not appropriate to speculate, at the lease sale phase, regarding the precise location and size of facilities. ADNR believes this issue has been covered in the revised preliminary best interest finding as much as possible without actual knowledge of where a developable oil field may be located. The specific design and operation of transshipment facilities is outside the scope of this finding because the specifics are unknown at the lease sale stage." Reference is given to sections of the preliminary finding on likely methods of transportation and oil spill risk, prevention and response.
-Compiled by Claire Chandler
