ANCHORAGE, Alaska - With the Tuesday lifting of the six-month moratorium
on deep-water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska officials say
it's also time to lift a suspension on shallow-water drilling in Arctic
waters.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he was ending the deep-water
drilling moratorium imposed in April following the BP deep-water oil well
blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Salazar said at the time he was imposing a
drilling suspension on drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said Tuesday that the Arctic suspension also
should be lifted.

"If Secretary Salazar can lift the moratorium for wells in 5,000 feet of
water, he should be able to do so for a shallow water well in the
Beaufort Sea," Parnell said.

Salazar's decision blocked plans by Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells
this year in the Chukchi Sea, off Alaska's northwest coast, and the
Beaufort Sea off the north coast, during the short open water season.

Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby said last week the company needs
a decision by December to move forward with its 2011 plans, which involve
moving north a drilling ship and a small fleet of support vessels,
including spill response boats. Slaiby said Shell will limit its 2011
plans to exploratory wells in the Beaufort Sea.

Parnell said the 2011 drilling season in Alaska is at stake and the
industry needs regulatory certainty.

The stakes are high for drilling in Alaska, which receives upward of 90
percent of its general fund revenue from the petroleum industry and where
North Slope reserves have diminished.

Salazar has given no timetable for a decision. Interior Department
spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said Tuesday by e-mail that the secretary is
moving cautiously.

"Secretary Salazar believes we need to continue to take a cautious
approach in the Arctic that is guided by science and the voices of North
Slope communities," she said.

The state last month sued to overturn what Parnell and Alaska Attorney
General Dan Sullivan called an illegal federal moratorium on offshore
drilling on Alaska's outer continental shelf. Parnell said the state will
ask for expedited consideration.

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said Tuesday he was frustrated that Salazar's
announcement on deep-water drilling did not mention Alaska.

"Because of our short drilling season and the complexity of getting
equipment in place, Alaska operators need certainty about what
development they can do when," he said.

Environmental and some Alaska Native groups bitterly oppose drilling in
Arctic waters, which lack a deep-water port and other infrastructure that
could be useful for cleanup of a major spill.

The nearest Coast Guard base is more than 1,000 miles away in Kodiak and
spill cleanup could be slowed by notorious Arctic coast weather, ice and
darkness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/