Alaska's senators set eyes on drilling Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

New legislation was filed in the first week of the congressional session to unlock a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development.

U.S Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan introduced the Alaska Oil and Gas Production Act, S. 49, saying in a press release, drilling ANWR would lead to more robust energy independence for the United States and more revenues for Alaska’s economy.

The bill calls for development of a sliver of land on the top of ANWR, called the 1002 area. Although ANWR is a total of 19 million acres, the bill is said to be written so only 2,000 surface acres of land in the Arctic coastal region of the refuge could open up to oil drilling.

According to the United States Geological Survey, and estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil could be recovered in the 1002 area, one of the largest existing untouched oil fields in America.

“The landowner, ASRC, the people of the North Slope, the overwhelming majority of Alaskans support this, now it’s up to the congressional delegation to convince enough of their colleagues in the House and Senate that this makes sense for Alaska and also the rest of the country,” said president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Kara Moriarty.

For decades, oil and gas proponents have advocated for opening ANWR, to no success. Now with a Republican controlled Congress and a Republican president soon to be sworn into office, some are seeing the stars align.

Reaction to the renewed efforts to drill in ANWR has been mixed.

“It's not the long term solution that Alaska really needs to have that fiscal solvency that we're going for,” said Alaska campaign representative for Sierra Club, Alli Harvey.

Harvey said environmental conservationists across the country have mobilized in the past to fight legislation like this bill. She argues an undrilled ANWR is important for the entire country, even for those who will never set foot in the Arctic.

“It's this wild untouched place that really speaks to our values of clean air, clean water and this intact landscape that's so rare to come upon in our day-to-day lives that we want to keep it for future generations,” said Harvey.

Governor Bill Walker was quick to praise the decision to introduce the legislation. In the hours following the announcement, his office promised to do everything it could to help provide infrastructure to access the 1002 area.

“With an oil pipeline that is three-quarters empty and an over $3 billion budget deficit, drilling in the 1002 would fill [the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System] and bring much needed revenue to our state coffers,” Walker said in a statement.

The bill is expected to begin in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, a committee chaired by Sen. Murkowski.