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July 13, 2007, Washington, D.C. - Drue Pearce, Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, congratulates Governor Palin and her pipeline team on their work to date under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA).  The bill called for the Governor to publish a Request for Applications (RFA) last week and they did.

“Passage of AGIA triggered a timeline and actions that will advance establishment of the Alaska natural gas resources as a keystone in the North American supply equation,” said Drue Pearce.  “The Governor and her team are showing their commitment to this project by moving quickly to publish the RFA on deadline.  We look forward to providing comments on complying applications and working with the Governor and her team through the next phases of AGIA.”

As the State moves forward with their RFA process, the Federal government is moving forward as well.  The Federal Coordinator is announcing today the creation of the “Senior Intergovernmental Management Team.”  This team will meet at least once a month and will be comprised of U.S. and Alaska government officials.  Representatives are Drue Pearce, Federal Coordinator, for the United States and Marty Rutherford, Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources, for the State of Alaska.  Pearce has also formally invited Canada to participate so the appropriate international protocols are in place if the chosen route goes thru Canada. 

“It is important for the federal government to be ready to handle whatever project is licensed by the State of Alaska.  A lot of preparatory work remains to be done.” the Federal Coordinator said.

AGIA allows for any project route, except the federally banned “over the top.”  The Senior Intergovernmental Management Team will embark upon two major tasks this fall.  The team will formalize the process to be used by government agencies to formulate a single comprehensive comment on the applications received by the State of Alaska under the RFA.  They will also work jointly on a gap analysis.  This analysis will identify environmental and permitting process issues to expedite the FERC pre-filing or ANGTA process and will facilitate timely project permitting by identifying issues for resolution prior to State selection of a licensee. 

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