4-7-14

WILD CANADA: This spectacular four-part series on the wildlife and the wild lands of Canada reveals a Canada that few have seen before. 

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This morning, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (NGP Photo) …

This afternoon at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, readers may watch a legislative hearing (i.e. live streaming) in Juneau before the Senate Resources Committee.  One of the items heard will be "Updates From The Field", including testimony concerning Alaska's tax and investment climate by Alaska Support Industry Alliance representatives, Rebecca Logan and Doug Smith (See photos).

 … commented on Rio Tinto's divestment of its interest in the Pebble Partnership.  

Her position is consistent with the view we have expressed over that last two years that EPA's potential, preemptive action is a gross violation of the rule of law and creates a dangerous precedent for any oil and gas, mining, commercial fishing, agricultural, construction or other public works project.

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Here is Governor Sean Parnell's statement, released early this afternoon:  Governor Sean Parnell (NGP Photo) today released the following statement after learning of Rio Tinto’s decision to divest its 19 percent ownership stake in Northern Dynasty Minerals and the Pebble copper and gold project.  “It’s disheartening to see a company like Rio Tinto take its business elsewhere as a result of the current federal regulatory environment,” Governor Parnell said. “Even more troubling is the EPA’s efforts to preemptively veto a project before any proposal has been submitted and before a public permitting process has even commenced. Mining provides thousands of jobs for Alaskans and is a critical sector of our state’s economy. Looking ahead, for Alaska to compete globally for investment dollars, it will require a fairer and more stable regulatory process than what the federal government currently pursues.”

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The EPA's unrelenting ardor is aptly demonstrated by Administrator McCarthy's speech tonight to the US Water Alliance in Washington, National Geographic Headquarters Grosvenor Auditorium, 6 p.m.  She will discuss EPA’s continued efforts to "safeguard our waterways" (if not our economy -dh), including the Agency’s recent landmark proposal to clarify protections for the nation’s streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.  -dh

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Peninsula Clarion/AP by Becky Bohrer.   The House Resources Committee version of a bill to advance a major liquefied natural gas project was starting to take shape Saturday, as members dug into a thick stack of proposed changes.  The committee, with a reputation for finely parsing language, was making slow but steady progress in an amendment process that began Friday. The panel planned to resume work Sunday, after making a slight dent in the stack after hours of meeting Saturday.

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From Robert Dillon, Senate Energy Committee Staff.  The U.S. Energy Information Administration today released the first part of its Annual Energy Outlook for 2014. Under the EIA’s high-resource case for U.S. oil production – that is, a scenario where oil production sees sustained production increases over the next 25 years – net imports drop to zero:

“In the High Oil and Gas Resource case, growth in tight oil production continues for a longer period of time than projected in the Reference case. Domestic crude oil production increases to nearly 13 MMbbl/d before 2035 in the High Oil and Gas Resource case, and net U.S. oil imports decline through 2036 and remain at or near zero from 2037 through 2040.” – EIA.gov/forecasts.

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U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today released the following statement on Rio Tinto’s decision to divest its 19-percent shareholder interest in Northern Dynasty Minerals and the Pebble gold, copper, and molybdenum prospect in Southwest Alaska:

“I appreciate the way Rio Tinto is handling this decision. Instead of simply divesting, it has committed to investing in the education of Bristol Bay’s next generation. This will help ensure that local residents have the skills to get or create the kind of jobs that will allow them to provide for their families.

“I understand that many mining companies are reevaluating their project portfolios right now, but I’m concerned by what else may have prompted this decision. If we want to attract investment to our state and our economy, we need a regulatory system at the federal level that is predictable enough to allow responsible development to go forward – at least to the permitting stage, and without the threat of a preemptive veto from the EPA hanging over it."