8-24-17 House Committee Supports Interior's Monument Review - And, So Do We!

8-24-17 House Committee Supports Interior’s Monument Review — And, So Do We!

Chairman Rob Bishop

Washington, D.C. – Today, Chairman Rob Bishop issued the following statement in reaction to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s final review of national monument designations under the Antiquities Act (Act):

“I am encouraged by the recommendations to revise previous designations that were inconsistent with the law and outside the Act’s size limitations. It is my hope that President Trump takes this opportunity to begin realigning uses of the law with its intended purpose. It’s also incumbent on Congress to pursue reforms to the Act that ensure it is being used to protect antiquities while providing meaningful local input in the designation process and reasonable continued public access to these iconic areas. Ultimately, only Congress can restore integrity to this law and prevent future abuses.”

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Our response to the House Resource Committee meeting this morning (i.e. with later edits):

I would suggest that the Chairman and Committee carefully review the following:

1. We should specifically review the abuse and federal overreach characterized by many monument and other withdrawals made by Secretary Cecil Andrus in President Carter’s administration, including the fact that the Arctic National Wildlife Range’s 19 million acres were converted from Range status to Refuge status, now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Also the “boot” at the southern edge of the Brooks Range was created out of thin air for the sole purpose of denying road access from the TAPS Haul Road to Anaconda’s $9 billion in proven, massive sulfide deposits. Mining and forestry industries, along with oil & gas resources, are much more constrained by federal action than was envisioned at statehood.

2. The federal government withdrawal program and growing plethora of regulations have constituted a ‘taking’ and literally broken the ‘statehood compact’. That is, prior to 1959 when Alaska’s people voted for statehood they knew that they would be a ‘sovereign’ state. In addition to the 104 million acres transferred to state jurisdiction, they knew/assumed (i.e. not unreasonably) that their continued access to federal lands would continue under an established multiple use policy. But federal statutes and regulations and withdrawals since then have adversely affected the ability of the state to financially survive beyond the Prudhoe Bay discovery. Federal overreach has affected citizen access not only to federal lands but also to state lands. Thus, it seems the Committee might revisit the negative impact of federal actions on Alaska’s statehood compact. The committee should also consider how it might protect the ability of Congress better control acts of overreach by a rogue administration.

I am grateful for the current administration’s just and reasonable effort to review the ability of one person (the President and/or the DOI Secretary) to so disastrously affect Alaska’s statehood status.

I am also grateful to the Chairman and Committee for reviewing all of the monument and related issues.

Sincerely,

Dave Harbour

Publisher

www.northerngaspipelines.com

Commissioner Emeritus, NARUC

Chairman Emeritus, Alaska Oil & Gas Congress

(907) 227-7110

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.