“The integrity of the pipeline depends on the integrity of the companies running it. I’m still skeptical that at the end of the day these fines will make much of a difference. BP thinks these fines are a cost of doing business. If they had taken proper care of the pipeline like they say they do, these spills would never happen.”
Read More →The special session is heading in to its third week, and the House and Senate Finance Committees are still at an impasse over the capital budget. The main point of contention is language the Senate has proposed linking millions of dollars worth of energy projects together in order to prevent the governor from vetoing some of those projects.
Read More →I’ve done my best these past two weeks to share what I learned as an attorney who started my career on a very contentious case – representing the State in its civil prosecution of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill case. Sticking your heels in the mud and drawing lines in the sand doesn’t end disputes – this one’s over the budget. We settled the state’s case with Exxon for $1 billion in 1991 – though the major damages were suffered by individuals who brought their own cases – and by not talking Exxon used its obstinance and power to drag that case out for two decades.
Read More →[Press Release from Sen. FRENCH, Sen. EGAN, Rep. GARA]
JUNEAU- In its latest numbers, the Department of Labor has contradicted claims by the Governor and oil industry members that Alaska oil and gas jobs are in decline. The department confirmed that oil and gas jobs rose to 12,900 employees in March, a 5% increase since last year. But data from the Department of Labor also shows that over 50% of the new jobs on the North Slope are going to workers who live outside Alaska.
Today is the 12th day of the special session, with no discernable movement from last week’s status (see last week’s newsletter). Yesterday in a press conference, the Alaska House Democrats set out a path for a common-sense solution to end the special session. We believe this would require a little give and take from all the parties involved and would result in the Legislature being able to get the job done.
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