By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Legislation before Congress to rewrite rules for Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing nationwide stands to threaten many marine resources, an Alaska conservation group said June 29.

"House Bill 4761, the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006, would immediately cut in half the 200-mile zone around the U.S. coastline which has been protected from oil and gas leasing by long-standing Congressional moratorium and presidential withdrawal," said Eric Siy, executive director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council.

It would also provide states with huge financial incentives to allow offshore development within the remaining 100 miles, Siy said.

The focus of AMCC's concern is potential impact of oil and gas exploration and development in the Bristol Bay region, known for its rich biological diversity and fisheries valued by commercial, sport and subsistence fishermen. Bristol Bay and the eastern Bering Sea sustain the world's largest wild sockeye salmon run. The region also is a valuable commercial source of cod, pollock and red king crab, and an important juvenile nursery for Pacific halibut.

The North Aleutian Basin Planning Area, which includes Bristol Bay and the eastern Bering Sea, is currently among the areas under a presidential withdrawal for leasing. Even so, the federal Minerals Management Service has included the area in its draft five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing.

If enacted, HR 4761 would lift the presidential withdrawal immediately, eliminate the requirement for separate environmental impact statements for individual sales and establish new obstacles for the area's protection, Siy said.

The Resource Development Council for Alaska, which represents dozens of firms engaged in the oil and gas industry, supports increased access to Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf and the proposed lease sale schedule, with certain environmental stipulations.

The RDC also has said that areas most affected by oil and gas development should be allocated a share of the government revenues that development generates, said Carl Portman, deputy director. "Revenue sharing is important," he said.

Offshore exploration and development would then be allowed to proceed within the 50- to 100-mile zone, unless a state Legislature passes and the governor signs a bill requesting no leasing in a specific area. The state's request would need to be renewed every five years, and in passing a bill, the state would turn down a 50 percent share of the royalties. States would be offered a 75 percent royalty share as an incentive to pass legislation that would allow oil development within 50 miles.

"New lease sales should move forward only after proper local stakeholder consultation, planning and environmental analysis is undertaken," Portman said. "Any leasing plan should consider conflict avoidance measures to minimize impacts to other resource industries and subsistence harvesters, reasonable stipulations to protect scientifically verified, environmentally sensitive areas should be incorporated into the plan," he said. "The final plans should ensure industry's footprint is minimized and that biological resources, traditional lifestyles and the environment are protected."

According to Portman, OCS development has an outstanding safety and environmental record spanning decades.

"Development has co-existed with other industries, including fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and Cook Inlet," he said. "And the National Academy of Sciences recently determined that less than 1 percent of all oil entering the seas is from drilling and exploration activities."

Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.