The tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill should serve as a wake-up call for stronger oversight to prevent another such massive spill and a comprehensive national energy policy that must include more domestic oil and gas production.
That's the message I'm delivering to the Obama administration and my fellow senators, and trying to implement with legislation aimed at making sure new oil and gas development is done right.
For many Alaskans, witnessing this terrible tragedy is re-living the Exxon Valdez nightmare in our own waters 21 years ago. The estimated 11 million gallon spill ranked it as the worst in American history at that time, killing hundreds of thousands of birds and marine mammals and devastating the lives of thousands of Alaskans.
In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez, Alaskans led the way for tougher national laws and oil transportation procedures, including double-hulled tankers, tractor tug escorts and better citizen oversight of the industry.
Today, many Alaskans have taken their expertise to the Gulf to help respond to the spill. And local, state and government officials are looking to lessons learned in Alaska.
One of the most important is setting up a system early to guarantee those affected by oil spills are justly and promptly compensated. As we know too well, Exxon fought the legitimate claims of Alaskans for nearly two decades until the U.S. Supreme Court issued a shameful decision, reducing Exxon's punitive liability to just 10 percent of the original court's $5 billion judgment.
By then, an estimated 6,500 affected Alaskans had died and thousands more lives and livelihoods forever damaged.
I was pleased Congress and President Obama persuaded BP to set aside $20 billion so damages can be paid to Gulf residents immediately. But Americans shouldn't have to rely on such voluntary gestures in the future.
That's why I have introduced the Guaranteed Oil Spill Compensation Act of 2010, to require any company responsible for an oil spill seeking to develop federal oil and gas leases must establish an independent escrow account to compensate those affected by that spill.
This bill is one of four measures I'm proposing to hold companies financially and legally responsible for oil spills and to better prepare the Arctic for future oil and gas development. These build on the legislative package I introduced last year that included revenue sharing for Alaska from offshore leases.
My other bills:
• Increase the financial liability for oil companies. This raises the current $75 million liability for any single spill to a minimum of $200 million, with no cap for deepwater wells like the Deepwater Horizon leaking in the Gulf today.
• Expand oil spill research for Arctic development. This expands my bill to enhance scientific understanding of the Arctic to ensure safe development of resources there and authorizes $50 million annually for research and spill prevention response.
• Dedicate funding for spill research and infrastructure. This increases the per cent levy on each barrel of oil used in the U.S. The money would fund research and new Arctic Coast Guard facilities.
• Greater citizen involvement in oil development. This authorizes creation of Regional Citizens Advisory Commissions in other parts of the country, modeled after the two commissions created in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez Spill, leaving those regions in control of the structure and membership.
As we act to make development safer in America and transition to cleaner energy sources, we must increase the amount of oil and gas we produce within our borders for our own national energy security. That's a bottom line for me in national energy legislation under consideration in Congress today.
And it's why I disagreed with President Obama's Oval Office speech last week when he said, "... we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water."
In fact, Alaska has three prime spots available right now: the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the enormous oil and gas reserves beneath our Arctic coastal waters.
Responsibly developing these areas should be part of a comprehensive national energy policy, as Alaska continues as the nation's energy storehouse.
Mark Begich, a Democrat, was elected to U.S. Senate from Alaska in 2008.
By SEN. MARK BEGICH