CS for Senate Joint Resolution No. 10(RES) Summary

• Alaska Legislature opposes President Obama's January 25, 2015 recommendation to designate core areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain as wilderness, claiming it violates the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act section 101(d).

• Legislature urges U.S. Congress to reject any proposal based on the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan or Environmental Impact Statement and to explicitly open the coastal plain to oil and gas development without delay.

• Coastal plain contains an estimated 5.7 to 16 billion barrels of oil (mean recoverable estimate of 10.3 billion barrels) representing hundreds of billions of dollars in potential state and federal revenue and significant national security interest.

• Resolution asserts that section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act reserves decision-making authority over the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain exclusively to Congress, leaving no room for executive discretion.

• Legislature contends the revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan violates the "No More" clause in section 1326(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and fails to comply with National Environmental Policy Act requirements for considering alternative land uses.