WASHINGTON, D.C. – After months of negotiations, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced language in the 2012 Interior spending bill to return authority over air emissions from offshore activity in the Arctic to the Interior Department. 

“This language is one of the most important steps Congress can take to ensure that responsible development is allowed to go forward in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas,” Murkowski said. “Transferring air quality authority from the EPA to Interior will place Alaska’s Arctic leases on a level playing field with the Gulf of Mexico and provide a level of predictability, without compromising environmental protections, for those companies willing to invest in the production of America’s energy.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently has jurisdiction to issue air quality permits on Alaska’s outer continental shelf. However, in the Gulf of Mexico the Interior Department handles air quality compliance. The language written by Murkowski provides regulatory parity for the Beaufort and Chukchi seas with the western and central Gulf of Mexico. 

Murkowski is the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, giving her both authorizing and appropriating power over the Interior Department.

The House of Representatives unveiled the year end appropriation bills early Thursday morning.

“We’ve had lots of help on this issue,” Murkowski said. “Congressman Young has been at his best, Chairman Fred Upton and Rep. Cory Gardner have been champions on energy security issues, and none of this would have been possible without the leadership of Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye and House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson.”

Murkowski has been working for months to resolve systemic problems with the EPA’s permitting process for offshore oil and natural gas exploration. Murkowski decided to transfer authority for air quality to Interior after watching Shell, which has already invested nearly $4 billion in preparing to explore the Arctic shelf off the coast of Alaska, wait more than five years in a still unsuccessful bid to obtain valid operating permits from the EPA. By contrast, Interior has, on average, processed permits within a matter of months.

Murkowski said the transfer fix proved the simplest and most straightforward of the solutions she considered, and would not compromise environmental safeguards since the Interior Department has more than 40 years of experience handling compliance issues.

“While much work remains to be done to improve federal oversight of offshore exploration and production, today marks a major step forward for Alaska and the nation,” Murkowski said.

Murkowski has vowed to continue to work with her Senate and House colleagues to correct the problems inherent in the EPA review process in this Congress and the next. Murkowski has said she believes all areas of the United States’ outer continental shelf should be treated equally.

“I cannot overstate the potential for jobs, revenue and energy security that Alaska’s offshore reserves offer,” Murkowski said. “As the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard testified before Congress last week, the homework is finished and we are ready and waiting to move forward with safe and responsible exploration of Alaska’s huge energy resources.”

Watch video of Murkowski talking about the transfer language by clicking on the image below.

For further information, please contact Robert Dillon at 202.224.6977 or robert_dillon@energy.senate.gov or Megan Hermann at 202.224.7875 or megan_hermann@energy.senate.gov.

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