Murkowski defends ANWR record; state fights in court to open refuge

Oral arguments were heard Tuesday in the state’s legal bid to crack open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to its first oil and gas exploration in decades, with lawyers jousting in federal court over whether Congress wanted updates on the oil potential of a coastal swath of the 19-million-acre refuge atop Alaska. And in Washington, D.C., an aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that as the new chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Murkowski is strategizing on the best way to convince Congress to open the 1.5-million-acre coastal stretch of the refuge, set aside by Congress in 1980 for hydrocarbon evaluation. Murkowski, a Republican, is facing recent criticism from Democrats and other Alaskans who believe she is not doing enough to open the potentially oil-rich area while she advocates strongly for the Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver tar-sands crude from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Alaska Democratic Party recently argued that the Keystone XL bill would put more oil on the market, hurting oil-dependent Alaska by further bringing down oil prices while promoting development in Canada at the expense of the 49th state. “It’s time for Murkowski to start setting an agenda based on Alaska priorities, not take orders from lobbyists” in D.C., said Mike Wenstrup, chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, in a recent statement. Dillon said Murkowski has not included an ANWR measure in the Keystone pipeline bill she is promoting because that would give President Obama -- who has said he would veto both measures -- a larger target and an easier way out when he seeks to explain why he vetoed Keystone...more