One of the major campaign promises President-elect Donald Trump and his Vice President-elect JD Vance (I’m still not tired of typing that out) made on the campaign trail was to lower the cost of energy for all Americans. That and gaining control of our borders may be the two most important tasks facing the cast of “Trump II – This Time It’s Personal” when they walk into the White House in January.
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Well, as I’ve always said, you can’t talk about energy policy in the United States without talking about Alaska. Here in the Great Land, a state-owned development corporation, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, has voted to invest in legal fights over the Biden administration’s locking down of oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as well as the Ambler Road project.
But here’s the thing: With a new sheriff in town as of January, it may not be necessary.
The board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority voted unanimously Thursday to spend up to $750,000 on outside legal help related to both projects.
The Biden administration rejected the proposed Ambler Road earlier this year, a decision that AIDEA is challenging in court. AIDEA is also challenging the administration’s decision to cancel the results of a 2020 oil lease sale in ANWR and is preparing for a new sale to be held later this year.
AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro noted that the results of the November election, sending former President Donald Trump back to the White House, may change the federal government’s policies on both projects, but until that change occurs, the corporation needs to prepare.
“Based on what occurs here coming up in the next few months, there may be little to no need to use those funds,” Ruaro said.
It’s not just the incoming Trump administration that’s making a difference. Alaska’s own Congressional representation is very likely to be changing as well. While the ranked-choice system has yet to play out, it’s looking a lot like Republican Nick Begich III is going to be replacing Democrat Mary Peltola, and with good reason.
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See Related: Alaska’s Mary Peltola Signs on With Far-Left MoveOn.org: Watch What Your Local Pols Are Up To!
Most Americans, especially if they are concerned about the cost of energy (and who isn’t?), are familiar with the ANWR North Slope projects as well as the famous Alaska Pipeline that conveys the product thereof to Valdez, from where it is shipped to refineries in the lower 48. The Ambler Road project, formally known as the Ambler Mining District Industrial Access Project, proposes to build an industrial haul road from the Dalton Highway in northern Alaska to the Ambler Mining District, which contains deposits of strategic minerals including copper and cobalt.
The Biden administration has previously clamped down on both projects.
See Related: Hours After Trump Won Election, Biden Made Another Radical Move on the Environment
The development of Alaska’s mineral resources is actually enshrined in the state’s constitution and has been since Alaska became a state.
“Whether to develop Alaska’s natural resources, including developing access to those resources, is an issue that was decided back at statehood. It’s embedded in our constitution. It’s not up for popular vote or revisiting now,” Ruaro said.
He referred to Article VIII of the state constitution, which says that it is state policy “to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest.”
“Individuals may think it’s the weight of public comment on one side or the other that should prevail, but the issue of whether to develop resources was made back at statehood,” Ruaro said.
“So we have that mandate. Individuals are certainly able to comment one way or the other. But the mandate is there until it’s not there. We should pursue it aggressively.”
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Alaska has that mandate – and, soon, the support of a resurgent Trump presidency. This will be a good development for American energy, for Alaskan jobs – and for every American who has to worry about taking out a second mortgage to fill their car up with gasoline.
