FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              CONTACT: ROBERT DILLON (202) 224-6977

MAY 12, 2011                                                         MEGAN HERMANN (202) 224-7875

                                  

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following comments in response to the Forest Service’s proposed settlement in the legal fight over implementation of the 2001 roadless rule in the Tongass National Forest: 

 

“While the proposed settlement language provides limited protection for a few specific hydroelectric projects, it does nothing for the dozens of hydro projects currently under consideration at FERC, let alone the hundreds of potential hydropower sites in the region,” Murkowski said. “It also doesn’t take into account the need for roads to build transmission lines to connect these power sources to local communities or make any mention of completing the rest of the Southeast intertie, which Congress approved more than a decade ago.”

 

Murkowski said the proposal also doesn’t address the needs of the region’s struggling timber industry for adequate timber supplies.

 

“Simply put, this proposal does little to safeguard the economy of Southeast Alaska,” Murkowski said.

 

Murkowski is the ranking member of both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee.