Be careful who you embrace

Spectrum, by Mary Barrett

Corri Feige, public relations manager for Evergreen, implies in her Spectrum piece that all of our fiscal woes will magically disappear if only we would let coal-bed methane development into Alaska.

She thinks that Port MacKenzie plus CBM equals a resolution of the $8 million shortfall in the school district budget. I don't see what the port has to do with CBM, except that maybe she hopes that by linking the port to her company, Evergreen will be equally embraced as the port has been. I want to remind people that Evergreen is only one player in the CBM industry. As Evergreen has bought leases from Unocal, they might sell their leases later on to other companies that may be less responsible. That is the nature of the CBM industry. Before it is over, there could be many different companies taking our gas from our land for their profit. That is why we urgently need statewide regulations to protect our property, water, tourism, and wildlife habitat. If Evergreen is the responsible company it claims to be, surely they will accept that the people of Alaska are entitled to regulations that protect their interests.

Then Ms. Feige indulges in some crystal ball gazing. If exploration by Evergreen is successful, she states, then 230 jobs will be created. Where does the number 230 come from if no one yet knows whether Evergreen will be successful? Those purported 230 jobs pale in comparison to the 12,396 private lots already leased by Evergreen. Already the drilling of one of their core holes has been delayed for weeks which shows that promises don't always pan out. Furthermore, Mark Sexton, CEO of Evergreen, blamed a Fairbanks contractor for the delay, which sounds like a pretext for them to bring in their own people, and there go the local jobs. And this is one of the better CBM companies!

Next, Ms. Feige compares Colorado to Alaska, which is like comparing apples to oranges. Evergreen may have paid $2.9 million in taxes to a county in Colorado but that's not comparable to Alaska where the laws and tax structure is different. Evergreen hired Sen. Scott Ogan as a consultant to grease their way in the Legislature, which demonstrates that Evergreen is not in Alaska to help out the Mat-Su budget, but to make a profit.

Finally, Corri Feige cannot have it both ways in representing both Alaska and Evergreen. She may be an Alaskan, but she is employed by a player in the CBM industry and knows which side her bread is buttered on. Alaskans should not be fooled by her castles in the air and should insist on statewide, impartial, and enforceable regulations, before CBM starts, because right now there are no regulations in place. CBM should be regulated as conventional oil and gas are on the North Slope.

Right now, the reality is that our property taxes, not CBM, support the school district budget. If our property taxes were to drop, which has happened in other locales where there is CBM development, then the school budget shortfall would be even greater than it is now. We need to look carefully before we leap into the arms of the CBM industry.

Mary Barrett is a Palmer resident.