Evergreen: Ready or not, here they come

Spectrum, by Jim Colver

Well the moose nuggets are flying -- something smells and it's not just the gas!

Folks, it is real, coal-bed methane drilling is here right now and we are not prepared for it. Last Thursday a very shocked Fishhook resident was surprised when Evergreen's surveyors showed up next door and started working on a drill site east of the Fishhook "Y." It took a lot of sleuthing by my constituent to find out what was going on -- no one called or notified her.

There is more notice and public input for subdividing a five-acre lot than for leasing your land out from under you for CBM drill sites. If you were to subdivide your property there would be notices sent to neighbors and in the newspaper, public hearings held, and a set of specific ordinances to comply with. This contrast would be ironic if it weren't so disproportionate to the possible long-term effect of CBM-related pipelines, compressor stations, roads, truck traffic and water pumping in your neighborhood.

Some of my constituents are perplexed; they ask: "With all the coal near Beluga, and all the vacant state land, why do they lease and drill in our neighborhoods?" Maybe since they want to use the existing gas lines we paid for by LIDs. Many people have questions about the consequences of coal-bed methane: "Will CBM wells and facilities in our neighborhood become a real estate disclosure issue? Will they have a detrimental effect on the desirability of my neighborhood? Will I be able to sell my home?"

Of major concern to many residents is also whether CBM will act contrary to our efforts to attract tourists. While the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau is actively promoting "Yahoo Mat-Su" and Hatcher Pass as a major tourism destination the state leased lands for CBM on top of ski area lands. The Mat-Su Borough was not even notified or consulted, yet a mineral closing order is in effect.

To set the record straight, last Friday at the candidate forum hosted by the Frontiersman, Mr. Fannon misstated my position. He said I had asked for a statewide moratorium on all oil and gas activities. This is not true. At an earlier forum, in reference to a question whether I would support a moratorium on coal-bed methane drilling and leasing, to allow time to put private property protections in place, I replied that if a community wants to have protections, we should support them community by community. Mr. Fannon's reply, "No." Mayor Anderson's, "Yes."

That Mr. Fannon answered "no" is not surprising if you go online and review his APOC report. Mr. Fannon has received substantial sums from legislators, including $500 from Scott Ogan (my opponent also received $125 from Ogan), the same people who brought us fast-tracked CBM leasing and drilling -- no citizen or landowner involvement wanted.

Some politicians in defense of CBM are saying "Let the state and feds handle it." I say, "Get some backbone!" My family and many of you fought for statehood to free Alaska from the stranglehold of outside corporate control via fish traps, now we have outside corporate state government.

Communities have a right to decide on their own destiny. They have a right to decide what, where and how CBM happens on their property and in their neighborhood, and community. I am pro-citizen, pro-development -- I support ANWR, have worked in the oilfields, I'm a developer and surveyor, that's how I make my living. I am not saying CBM should not happen here. I am saying neighborhoods need to have a say in the matter. If done right CBM may bring some economic benefits to the Valley -- so why don't they use the front entrance instead of the back door?

One thing I want to get straight: I will stand up for you, I have a duty to uphold the constitution, to represent and defend you, and I will do just that!

Jim Colver is a Mat-Su Borough Assembly member for District 6 and deputy borough mayor.