Consultant Has Concerns With Gasline Contract
4 June 2006I am unabashedly reproducing here an information release from the office of Rep. Les Gara because it factually reports on the conclusions of a consultant hired by the Legislature re the Governor’s proposed pipeline contract. Just one more red flag on this issue which seems headed down the path of being railroaded through the legislature with minimal public input like the disasterous SB 141, the highly flawed legislation that terminated the pension system for Alaska public employees, teachers, firefighters, police, and other civil servants. These issues are just too important to ram past the people of Alaska for reasons which seem to have little to do with our wellbeing.
Pipeline expert says governor’s contract has ‘fundamental flaws’
JUNEAU – A memorandum sent from one of the Legislature’s consultants today points out serious concerns with provisions of the governor’s proposed gas pipeline contract with major oil producers.
The memo, written by a legislative consultant Donald Shepler, stated, “Overall, I believe the draft Contract has fundamental flaws that could result in delays in completing a pipeline and could unnecessarily raise the cost of shipping on the pipeline. I also fear that the Contract as drafted provides inadequate assurance that the pipeline will ever be expanded to its full potential capacity.â€
The 27-page opinion was prepared by the firm of Greenberg Traurig at the request of legislators. It raises several questions about the contract including the fact that the Murkowski Administration has failed to provide the principal limited liability company agreements to the Legislature and the lack of a requirement for state consent to material changes in the qualified project plan.
The memo is limited in scope to pipeline regulatory issues, and further analysis on other gasline issues is expected from the Legislature’s experts.
For more information, or for a copy of the memo, contact Rep. Les Gara at (907) 465-2647 or Frank Ameduri at (907) 465-3842.