U.S. Senator Mark Begich

Secretary Salazar, distinguished guests and fellow Alaskans.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important public meeting about energy development in Alaska’s offshore areas.

Mr. Secretary, a special thanks to you and your team for visiting Alaska so soon after your appointment by President Obama. We take that as an excellent sign of your commitment to Alaskans, given the enormous jurisdiction you and your department have over Alaskan lives and resources.

For more than a quarter century, our state has prided itself as America’s energy storehouse. To help fuel our nation’s economy, we have produced 15 billion barrels of oil from Prudhoe Bay and another billion barrels of oil and 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from Cook Inlet, much of that from the off-shore.

Alaskans know how to do development the right way, and we are proud of the cutting-edge technologies we have developed and employ to produce energy for our state and nation.

At the same time, Alaskans cherish this spectacular country in which we live, some of which you got to see yesterday in Bristol Bay. We are strongly committed to protecting our wild lands and waters and the fish and wild life which thrive on them.

Alaska Native people living along our coasts have been dependent on the fish and marine mammals and the health of the marine ecosystem for thousands of years for their subsistence way of life.

Mr. Secretary, the challenge in front of you and your department is maintaining that careful balance - between the need to develop Alaska’s energy resources which create jobs for Alaskans and energy for our nation, while protecting Alaska’s environment.

We thank you for undertaking this review, for providing expanded opportunity for Alaskans to comment and for visiting our state to see it first-hand.

Certainly everyone participating in this meeting has strong opinions on the proposed OCS five-year program. I do too, and it would be easy for me to tell you what I think you should do.

In the spirit of cooperation you bring to this issue, I’ll restrain myself. But I will outline the principles I believe you should take into account as you consider the future of the OCS program in Alaska.

First, continued oil and gas development must be a key part of a national energy policy. I applaud the Obama administration’s focus on renewable energy sources and conservation.

But oil and gas will continue to supply the majority of this nation’s energy for a long time. I believe most of it should come from secure, reliable domestic sources, especially Alaska.

Second, dramatic climate change is underway and is being felt in Alaska more than any other state.

The implications are enormous – for how, when and where we develop offshore, for fish migration patterns, for new maritime routes, for Alaska Native people who depend on subsistence resources. These effects must be considered in our long-term OCS policies.

Third, decisions must be based on sound science, not politics. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council already has closed Arctic waters to fishing – a decision I support – pending further scientific studies.

Continuing research must be a part of any development program for the OCS to better understand and protect vital marine resources.

Fourth, local people must have a voice in development in the OCS waters near their communities. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. North Slope residents have carefully balanced their relationship with whales and other marine mammals of the Arctic for thousands of years.

We must listen to the voices of these residents as this five-year program is reviewed.

Fifth, a portion of the benefits of OCS development should accrue to the states in whose waters it occurs. Frankly, Alaska has not received its fair share of OCS revenues under the law passed by Congress in 2006, costing our residents $900 million.

I am working to change that, so those funds can be used to help our coastal communities prepare for new oil and gas development and adopt new energy efficient technologies.

Secretary Salazar, I don’t envy the task ahead of you. But I stand ready to work with you and Alaskans to strike this careful balance for the people of our state and nation.