(for any non-Alaskans) The state is in the process of trying to get a natural gas pipeline built from the North Slope. The oil pipeline was finished in 1977 and ever since has been the state's lifeblood -- taxes and royalties from oil production provides the vast majority of state revenues. For almost as long, Alaskans have been talking about building another pipeline, this one to transport the natural gas from the North Slope and Beaufort Sea. The gas pipeline is expected to cross into Canada, connect with existing Canadian pipelines, and eventually bring gas to the US. It's expected to cost about $20 billion. The last governor, Frank Murkowski, negotiated a deal with the three main oil producers on the slope, but lawmakers didn't like it and it failed. Our new governor, Sarah Palin, is trying to pass legislation that would set up a competitive bidding process for prospective pipeline builders. It's called the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA. The bill lists about 20 criteria to which any applicant must agree. . . .(for everyone) On Monday, the resources committee in the House took up a stack of amendments to AGIA. One of them, pushed by Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, would require any company that wanted to build the pipeline to detail how it would implement "practices for controlling carbon emissions from natural gas systems as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency." (Under the proposal, the governor would then pick a winner based on how much money each project would bring the state and the likelihood it would actually work.)
The amendment seems pretty forward-looking since the EPA only recently learned it could regulate carbon.
The committee is planning to vote on the proposal tomorrow.
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