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Oil patch insider: Feige appt. trustee; Interior wants to take away more; Huber gone
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
On July 8 the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority welcomed new trustee Corri Feige, who was recently appointed by Governor Mike Dunleavy.
A resident of Chickaloon, Alaska, Feige has more than 30 years of experience in the natural resources industry, including service as the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2018 - 2022.
A geophysicist and engineer, she brings extensive knowledge of the mining, oil and gas, and energy development sectors, as well as experience as a project manager, executive business leader, and board member of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation to the Trust.
"Corri's expertise in the resource development sector in Alaska will be a great benefit to our organization's work to maximize revenue from Trust land over time for the Trust and our beneficiaries," said Board Chair Anita Halterman. "We look forward to working with Corri to advance the mission of the Trust and know her experience will be an asset to the board."
Seven trustees oversee the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. Trustees are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature to five-year terms.
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is a state corporation that administers a perpetual trust created to ensure that Alaska has a comprehensive mental health program to serve people with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, substance-related disorders, Alzheimer's disease, and related dementia, and traumatic brain injury.
The Trust is completely self-funded and operates much like a private foundation, using its resources to support grantmaking and advocacy to improve the lives and circumstances of Trust beneficiaries.
The Trust Land Office resides within the Department of Natural Resources and is contracted exclusively by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to manage its approximately one million acres of land and other non-cash assets to generate revenue. Decisions approving the use of Trust lands and resources are made solely in the interest of the Trust and its beneficiaries in line with Trust principles and the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act.
Interior looks to take away more The U.S. Department of the Interior is seeking public comment on expanding protected "special areas" in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
New land rules were adopted in April for the petroleum reserve by Interior's Bureau of Land Management. The new rules give BLM the authority to expand protected areas that would exclude oil and gas development, including in existing oil and gas leases.
There are 13.3 million acres within five special areas already designated in the petroleum reserve, representing approximately half of the reserve's total 23 million acres. Under the new land rules, which are being challenged in court, BLM can enlarge these.
"Building on the Biden-Harris administration's actions to conserve millions of acres of lands and waters in Alaska, the Request for Information solicits public comment on whether to initiate a process to consider adding additional protection measures, including by identifying additional significant resource values in existing Special Areas, expanding Special Areas, or creating new Special Areas within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska," BLM announced July 12.
A Request for Information to be published in the Federal Register will begin a 60-day comment period after which BLM will decide on the expansion.
ConocoPhillips Alaska, two Bill Armstrong companies, and Alaska Native groups including the North Slope Borough have filed lawsuits in federal district court in Alaska to block the new land rules.
To learn more see the article "Battling the feds" that was published in Petroleum News July 14 issue. The first few paragraphs read as follows:
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Loper Bright Enterprises decision, overruling the doctrine of Chevron deference and holding that courts "must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority." A 40-year precedent, the Chevron deference required courts to defer to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations where there were ambiguities in statutes -- and the wording in almost all statutes is unclear.
Basically, the Supreme Court decision removed power from all federal agencies, and returned that power to judges, likely triggering and strengthening recent lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court of Alaska by Native groups, local governments, the state of Alaska and oil companies.
The first such suit was filed July 1, by the Voice of the Arctic Inupiat, on behalf of its 23 members and their North Slope constituents, against the U.S. Department of Interior, Interior Secretary Debra Haaland and Interior's Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, challenging the Final Rule for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, or NPR-A.
This rule, which was crafted without "meaningful engagement with those who live on the North Slope and therefore will be most affected, will significantly hinder economic development in the region and presents serious risks to Indigenous communities and Inupiaq culture," the Voice said.
Other lawsuits against the same defendants immediately followed with similar legal challenges, including a joint suit by two Bill Armstrong companies, ConocoPhillips Alaska, the state of Alaska and the North Slope Borough.
Brett Huber gone from AOGCC Brett W. Huber Sr., chair and commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, has left the commission.
Huber's last day at AOGCC was July 5. The public commissioner position is currently vacant. No chair has been named by Governor Mike Dunleavy as of yet.
The reason for Huber's departure has not been made public.
--Oil Patch Insider is compiled by Kay Cashman
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