Anchorage Daily News

Dear President-Elect Obama,

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Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage

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Sen. Hollis French

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Greetings from Alaska, and congratulations. We, like all Americans, wish you great success in overcoming the challenges you face as you take office. Certainly one of your most pressing concerns must be stabilizing our nation's economy. The unravelling of the financial markets, a sharp rise in unemployment, and a nationwide mortgage crisis all make for a daunting challenge for you, and for us as a country.

Alaska's vast natural resources can help bring our economy back to life. And nothing will do the trick faster than the construction of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope of Alaska to the Lower 48.

We know that you supported the gas pipeline during your time in the United States Senate, and during your campaign for president. Indeed, this is what your campaign Web site still says about this important project:

"As president, Obama will work with stakeholders to facilitate construction of the pipeline. Not only is this pipeline critical to our energy security, it will create thousands of new jobs."

We couldn't agree with you more. We in Alaska have been working diligently to get this project ready for construction. We have created a competitive environment for building the pipeline that has resulted in serious planning and permitting efforts by two separate entities. One is an independent pipeline company that is working within a framework established by the state; the other is a joint venture between Conoco Phillips and BP Alaska.

Keep in mind that this project will eventually deliver a volume of clean burning natural gas sufficient to warm thousands upon thousands of American homes. Permit us a bit of Alaskan pride when we say that natural gas is better than coal, better than ethanol, and far better than oil imported from the Middle East. There is a 30 to 50 year supply of gas in northern Alaska, and the long term benefits from that stable, reliable supply of energy are a bright spot for our state and for the nation.

We need your administration's help to make this pipeline a reality. Help with permits, with rights-of-ways, and with completing the complex bureaucratic steps necessary for putting the federal loan guaranties to work.

During the campaign, you spoke of a 'use it or lose it' principle for keeping pressure on oil companies to make them actually develop the leases that they were warehousing or else to face the loss of those leases. While it is too soon to say whether this tougher approach may be necessary with the North Slope leaseholders, we share your willingness to take a firm stance to ensure that our gas gets to market.

To support this project, we have identified nearly $2 billion of infrastructure improvements needed before construction of the pipeline can even begin. The Dalton Highway, also known as the 'Haul Road,' needs a billion dollars itself. The road will require total reconstruction in many places, as well as new culverts, erosion control, and improvements to its bridges and to the four airstrips that dot its 414-mile length. The Alaska Highway needs $600 million in similar work, and the Richardson Highway needs $300 million.

This year we appropriated some state funds to begin this process, and we will undoubtedly continue to do our share. As you consider long-term federal investments in national infrastructure projects, we ask that you make room for these Alaskan needs in the overall package.

This gas pipeline is a win-win project for our state and for the United States. From nearly every perspective -- economic, environmental, and geopolitical -- this project will improve our country's security. We, like nearly all Alaskans, are committed to seeing that this pipeline is actually constructed. Alaskans are a persistent people, and you can expect to hear more from us in the future as well as from the thousands of others here who are looking forward to the day when we start 'turning dirt' and welding steel.

Hollis French and Bill Wielechowski are Democratic state senators from Anchorage.

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