A Citizen’s Guide

Know enough to comment yet?

Fact is, most Alaskans don’t have the time to sit down with the several hundred pages of the natural gas pipeline agreement and decide what’s likable about it and what isn’t.

And most probably don’t have the knowledge, either, to make sense of the many detailed components in the agreement reached by Gov. Frank Murkowski with Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and BP on fiscal terms for construction of a gas line from the North Slope to feed parts of the Lower 48.

That’s no slight on Alaskans. It’s just a fact of life.

But Alaskans can be expected to comment on research by their senators and representatives, and even by the media, on aspects of the gas agreement. And an accumulation of points, both for and against, could reasonably lead Alaskans to form an opinion on the agreement as a whole.

So the recurring debate—it came up again on Monday in Juneau—about the length of the public comment period is of direct relevance to Alaskans even though they may not be the ones directly poring over the documents.

As things stand now, the Murkowski administration will end the public comment period on June 25, though there’s word it may go longer to accommodate some new public meetings. That’s more than the minimum 30 days required by the Stranded Gas Development Act, but there’s discussion among some in the Legislature about extending that even further.

An extended comment period is something that could be used not only by the public but by legislators and their consultants. The extra time, judging from the pace of things in Juneau and the types of questions that continue to be asked, is needed.

More time might make a better agreement. Or it might raise confidence in that the existing agreement is a good one.

Why argue with that?

Alaska’s legislators could use, and should use, more time to examine the gas agreement. That’s the message that the laypeople of Alaska—and that’s a majority of the population on this topic because of its complexity—should send to Juneau before the current June 25 deadline.

Comments can be sent via the Web (www.gov.state.ak.us/gasline), by calling toll-free (866) 512-5427, or by mailing them to the Department of Revenue, Commissioner’s Office, P.O. Box 110430, Juneau, AK 99811-0430.