All Alaskan Gas Line

By Erick Cordero
Dear Legislators,
I write to encourage you to treat the All-Alaska Gas Line as a real option in the fight to bring Alaskan gas to market.

First of all, let me state that the most important consideration is to get a gas line built. We need this line to provide low-cost energy and create high-tech jobs in state as well as to drive the transition to lower-carbon energy sources throughout the country.

Members of my community in the Mat Su Valley are feeling the tight pinch of high energy prices just like the rest of the state. We need short- and long-term solutions for our national energy crisis, and I believe Alaska is in a position to make something happen.

There are many gas line proposals in consideration, and I believe that all of them have their merits. However, my first priority is bringing Alaskan gas to market in the next ten years, and I believe there are significant problems with the TransCanada proposal. I am also concerned that the Legislature is focused solely on the AGIA process and the new Denali proposal, at the expense of a functional, viable alternative: the All-Alaska Gas Line.

We are an owner state, and we own these resources. It's Alaska's gas, and it should be Alaska's gas line. Let's take control. Let's own this process. The All Alaska Gas Line is a way for Alaskans to control their resources and take the power out of the producers' hands.

This whole process has been contaminated by the record of the Murkowski administration: back door deals, tax breaks for producers, corrupt transactions where no one knew what was going on. In those days the producers said building a gas line wasn't economical and wasn't practical. We know now that that isn't true. Governor Palin's AGIA process has spurred the producers into action. The Denali Pipeline proposal would never have become reality without the impetus of AGIA.

However, there are elements in the TransCanada proposal that cause real concern. First of all, TransCanada has stated that construction of the McKenzie Line in Canada would be their first priority. Also, there are First Nations land claims that have yet to be resolved. We need assurances from the Canadian government that the line can and will be built: there is no guarantee that this project can be made to happen from the Canadian government.

Building spur or bullet lines within Alaska will allow us to provide low cost energy to communities throughout the state, creating jobs and stimulating much-needed economic development.

In the end, we must do what's right for Alaska, and I simply ask you to give full consideration to an All Alaskan alternative.

Sincerely,

Erick Cordero

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