Best News For Alaska In Twenty Years: Natural Gas Pipeline Package Passed U.S. House
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Fiscal Year 2005 Military Construction Appropriations conference report containing one of the largest federal loan guarantees ever and permitting and judicial review language for the Alaska natural gas pipeline. The legislation is now awaiting approval by the U.S. Senate. At a joint press conference today with Senator Stevens and Congressman Young, Senator Lisa Murkowski called this announcement the best news for Alaska in the last twenty years.
Earlier in the week Senator Murkowski announced that the tax incentives for pipeline construction she requested had been included in the final conference report of the FSC/ETI Jobs bill - that bill also awaits final passage in the Senate. "With these incentives and the high prices for natural gas, Alaska is on its way to seeing the tens of thousands of jobs that a gas project will bring and the billions of dollars of revenues that will benefit the state," said Murkowski.
Upon passage of the language, Congressman Don Young stated, "Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens did something we have been working on for 21 years. Their teamwork got this legislation into a position where we can make it law. I passed it through the House, and now they are going to get it through the Senate."
"After working for more than 20 years to make this pipeline project a reality, we have finally taken steps to make the Alaska natural gas pipeline happen," said Stevens. "The effect of a lack of natural gas has been evident and can be seen at all levels of our economy - producing job losses, trade deficits and constraints on consumer spending and economic growth."
The construction of the pipeline will be the largest privately financed construction project ever undertaken. The project could take up to 10 years to permit and construct. Getting Alaska's gas to market will decrease our dependency on foreign gas and imports of liquefied natural gas while generating more than $40 billion in revenues for the federal government, $50 billion for Alaska and the creation of more than 400,000 jobs nationwide.
The bill:
- Streamlines and clarifies the regulatory process of pipeline construction.
- Encourages private investment while lowering borrowing costs at minimal risk to the federal government through a loan guarantee.
- Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to quickly permit the pipeline once certain requirements have been met.
- Creates the position of Federal Coordinator within the executive branch to facilitate communication between federal agencies.
- A single environmental impact study, expedited judicial review, and the allowance for future pipeline expansion.
Senator Murkowski also worked to make sure the package was structured to apply all financial incentives, loan guarantees and tax breaks to either the Highway Route or the All-Alaska LNG line. Both projects would be treated equally under the final bill, meaning both could compete to receive the benefits under a process to be established by the Secretary of Energy.
"I thought it was important to recognize the vote of the 63% of Alaskans who voted for Proposition 3 in 2002. Tony Knowles has said, 'my way is the highway.' I reply, 'my way is the buy way.' We must work to ensure that we can make our gas available to any willing buyer who can prove they have a viable project. Alaskans spoke, and their delegation was listening," Murkowski said.