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

AUGUST 23, 2011                                                                                                                   or MEGAN HERMANN (202) 224-7875

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed an agreement between federal regulators and companies invested in the responsible development of Alaska's offshore resources in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

 

"This agreement recognizes both our need to continue to gather information about the waters that surround us and the fact that it is through responsible exploration by industry that we will get that information," Murkowski said. "We should always strive to gather more information about the Arctic, but we cannot let the incomplete nature of our knowledge be used as an excuse to block exploration.  Through responsible exploration we can increase our understanding of the Arctic. The combination of real-time information gathered by exploration companies, federal and state scientists, and the traditional knowledge of the Inupiat who have lived in and off of these waters for thousands of years will help us safely develop our energy resources while ensuring the highest protection of the environment."

 

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