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Cook Inletkeeper Energy
Campaign
Oil & Gas/State Leasing
BACKGROUND
The vast majority of Alaska’s
oil and gas resources are publicly-owned, and the state leases
them periodically – according to the Alaska Constitution – for
the “maximum use consistent with the public interest.” State
acreage open for oil and gas leasing includes all uplands,
tidelands and waters that cover state-owned oil and gas
resources, which generally include the waters north of Kalgin
Island in the Upper Inlet, and waters extending three miles out
from the mean high tide line in the Lower Inlet.
The state began leasing oil and
gas in Cook Inlet in 1959, and in response to industry claims
for “predictability,” the Alaska legislature revised the state’s
leasing law in the 1990’s to allow for large tracts to be leased
on an annual schedule for ten year periods. In Cook Inlet, the
annual areawide sale covers roughly 4.2 million acres of
uplands, tidelands and waters, and includes portions of the
Kenai River and important habitats for salmon, beluga whales and
brown bears.
In 1998, Inletkeeper challenged
a state lease sale, arguing successfully the sale was not in the
“best interest” of Alaskans because it included important
habitat for the dwindling Cook Inlet beluga whale population.
That decision, in combination with a later court decision
prompted by Inletkeeper, led the state to delete over 660,000
acres of beluga habitat from state oil and gas leasing in Upper
Cook Inlet. Today, Inletkeeper continues to weigh-in on state
leasing activities, to ensure the most important resources and
habitats are protected for generations to come.
INLETKEEPER’S SOLUTIONS
Inletkeeper regularly comments
on the state’s Cook Inlet areawide lease sales, to ensure lease
stipulations adequately protect the region’s fragile resources,
and to
Identify and work to exclude
sensitive areas where oil and gas development is inappropriate.
For more information on the state’s leasing program in Cook
Inlet, contact
Bob Shavelson or
Lois Epstein.
TAKE ACTION
- Write to
your elected official
- Write a
letter to the editor
- Sign-up
for action alerts on breaking news
- Forward
this page to a friend
- Check
back here for updates
- Join
Inletkeeper!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES & LINKS (links open in new window)
Alaska Division of Oil & Gas – detailed information on
leasing, exploration and production in Cook Inlet and elsewhere.
Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission – drilling and well
data and statistics
Energy Bulletin – Peak Oil – learn about finite oil reserves
and what it means for you.
EPA Underground Injection Control – Information on
subsurface waste disposal.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Oil & Gas Web Site – An
industry-slanted web site with corporate links and historical
information
Oil & Gas Accountability Project – information on coalbed
methane, toxics, groundwater pollution.
Mat Su Coal Bed Methane – Information on coalbed methane
development in Alaska’s fastest-growing region.
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