Alaska Requests Limits on US Offshore Drilling
Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state's coast. While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan. In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped, Walker, an independent, joins governors of several other coastal states after Zinke's unexpected move to exempt Florida from the department's plans soon after the initial announcement.
Treadwell: Obama’s Policies a Threat to Aleutian Islands
Speaking to the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference (SWAMC), Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell said President Obama’s delay on approving the Keystone Pipeline could ultimately threaten Alaska’s Aleutian Islands with greater oil spill risk. “If Canada can’t pipe Alberta oil to the Lower 48, they will ship it to Asia via the Great Circle Route by Alaska,” Lt. Gov. Treadwell said. “President Obama says he cares about protecting the environment,” Treadwell said, “but the richest fishery in the world does not appear to be part of the equation. The lieutenant governor was asked to speak to the group about resource and energy issues facing Southwest Alaska.
Three NOAA scientists honored by White House
The White House yesterday awarded three NOAA scientists with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor given by the federal government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Laboratory. The NOAA scientists are part of a group of 102 scientists from across federal agencies that received the prestigious award. “NOAA is home to some of the world’s leading scientific research and our scientists strive each day to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet,” said NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D.
Industry Urges Senate for Vessel Discharge Legislation
On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.
