Valley should take closer look at gas drilling

"Trust but verify." Those were the words uttered by former President Ronald Reagan as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States ended. There is a lot of validity in that small statement. Trust but verify is the basis of good government regulation and oversight. Trust that an enterprise undertaking a potentially damaging activity will do what they say to minimize risk. Verify that necessary steps to reduce negative impacts are in fact being taken.

The raging debate over coal bed methane extraction in the Mat-Su Borough is an example of how our state government is not only failing to provide necessary oversight but is taking active steps to remove public notice, public process and regulatory oversight designed to protect local citizen interests.

Friends of Mat-Su (FoMS) is an organization that supports responsible development. Coal bed methane is an industry that can provide jobs and a local source of energy for a community if done responsibly. However, mining of coal bed methane is not without risk. In fact the risks are significant. Communities in Montana are waking up to the reality of loss of water and interruption of their way of life. (See State of Montana Cost/Benefit Analysis at www.deq.state.mt.us/CoalBedMethane/CBMBenefitCost.htm) Many of FoMS' members are growing more and more concerned about the lack of state requirements and regulations to ensure that methane is extracted in a safe manner, that our water resources are not damaged by the mining, and that our communities are not left poorer as a result of this industry.

Activities of our state legislators during the past two years are a major source of the growing alarm over this issue. Mat-Su legislators have quietly pushed through bills that diminish requirements for public process, reduced regulatory oversight to a minimum and most regrettably have allowed for local control through local government regulations to be overturned if the state deems it "beneficial" to do so. How "beneficial" will be defined is subject to the Oil and Gas Commission and the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources. The Oil and Gas Commission is a politically appointed board of individuals active in the pro-development Republican Party. There are members of this board who have no background or qualification for judging appropriate methane development, yet decisions on the appropriateness and safety of drilling is left in their partisan hands. There is no balance on the board due to a glaring lack of commitment and understanding of conservation and environmental needs. The Murkowski administration, judging from actions taken since the election, views nonrenewable resources as the only potential revenue source for the state. Environmental concerns are second to the needs of the oil and gas industry.

Further reducing public confidence and trust lies in the fact that Senator Scott Ogan, who is the incoming chair of the Energy Council, is also a paid lobbyist for Evergreen Resources, the company who will produce the first coal bed methane wells in Mat-Su. Mr. Ogan receives a salary from Evergreen Resources in excess of his legislative salary. The bills he co-sponsored and voted in favor of on the senate floor are of direct benefit to Evergreen Resources as well as other companies that will come in to drill for coal bed methane. There is serious question of whether the public's interests are foremost in Mr. Ogan's mind when he receives a paycheck from the industry he is greasing regulatory skids for.

Mr. Ogan has no formal training or education in either geology, petrology or oil and gas processes. It is certainly arguable that his value to Evergreen Resources lies in his position in the Senate and his willingness to sponsor bills that are beneficial to the industry. The glaring appearance of conflict of interest sours the public's ability to feel secure in these changes in regulatory and public notification processes coming out of this administration.

Without proper regulation and oversight, the potential long-term costs to the community far outweigh any of the potential short-term gains that might be experienced. There is no mechanism for a cost/benefit analysis under the rules now in place for coal bed methane extraction. Senators Scott Ogan and Lyda Green, Representatives Kohring, Masek, Gatto and Stoltze, judging by their voting records, are far more motivated to secure protection for the oil and gas developers from that nasty public process than they are to protect their constituents from potential permanent damage to water and lifestyle.

There are currently two public meetings to address this important issue. A meeting will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8, at Big Lake Elementary School, and a second meeting will be held from 6-9 p.m. at Palmer Junior Middle School on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

As a community, we must demand that development in our neighborhoods is done responsibly. Our community leaders are failing us in this regard. As individuals in our communities, we are left to take this on. If you would like more information, contact Friends of Mat-Su (FoMS) at 746-0130.

Michelle Church is the former director of Friends of Mat-Su. She lives in the core area.