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Interior Secretary Arrives in Anchorage After Pro-Development MovesSalazar assured an elite group of Alaskans that the Obama administration wants to take a careful look at oil and gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf.Related Content
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made his third official trip to Alaska today. Salazar comes soon after an executive order by President Obama establishing an interagency task force to coordinate the permitting process for oil and gas development projects in Alaska. Salazar brought along his deputy, David Hayes, who is chairing that working group. They heard from civic and business leaders about long delays in permit reviews, and they promised that Interior and the agencies under its umbrella would strive to do a better job. "Our goal is to ensure that all agencies are working together, implementing their statutory responsibilities, but in a way that is coordinated so that we do not have delays caused by the lack of coordination and lack of communication among the agencies," Hayes said. Salazar assured an elite group of Alaskans that the Obama administration wants to take a careful look at oil and gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf. Salazar's appearance in Anchorage comes just a few days after Shell received preliminary approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement -- an agency within the Interior Department -- for drilling in the Beaufort Sea, possibly in 2012. "I think you can say that this president's agenda for the Arctic is to go ahead, let's take a look at what is up there, and let's see what it is that we can develop," Salazar said. Critics of the administration, including Governor Sean Parnell, have complained of foot-dragging by federal agencies, notably on ConocoPhillips' plan to cross a river in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska to reach an exploration site. "I think there was a consistent message from the business leaders, and it was quite a cross-section of business leaders and labor leaders,” said Margie Brown, president and CEO of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., which hosted a roundtable discussion with Salazar. “We all know we need permitting in this state to do our energy development, but we also need certainty." Despite many frustrations that were expressed during the meeting about the pace of permitting, there also was a sense afterward they had been heard. "I think the secretary heard loud and clear that what we're wanting is this certainty,” Brown said. “He has some initiatives under way already to try to provide that to the developers and people who want to make private investment in the state." So some Alaskans who have been skeptical of Obama's Interior Department are giving it another look. The Interior team was joined by U.S. Senators Mark Begich of Alaska and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, both Democrats. Reed chairs the senate's Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. Alaska's other senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, was expected to join Salazar this afternoon in Fairbanks. Salazar also will travel to Barrow and Denali National Park during his three-day swing through the state.
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lulu said on Thursday, Aug 11 at 2:53 PM
Parnell was a lobbyist for Patton Boggs. Patton Boggs is Sealaska's lobbist.
72215999Dave said on Tuesday, Aug 9 at 9:47 AM
Who is this elite group of Alaskans?
72069179birchbark said on Tuesday, Aug 9 at 3:22 AM
Since the white house is broke, whose paying.
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