Ogan next for key Energy Council seat

MAT-SU -- Although the appointment was expected, Sen. Scott Ogan, R-Rural Mat-Su, said he is pleased to be next in line as the chair of the Energy Council.

Ogan has been on the Energy Council since early in his career as a legislator, and has been on the council's executive board for more than four years. This year is Alaska's turn to serve as the chair of the council -- an honor that rotates from year to year through the various members of the council. Although other Alaskans have served on the council, the two who had served longer -- Rep. Joe Green, R-Anchorage, and now-Lt. Gov. Loren Leman -- are no longer on it, giving Ogan seniority.

"You can only become chair from being on the executive committee," Ogan said in an interview Thursday. "I found myself the old man on the committee."

Ogan was elected vice-chair of the council when it gathered last week for a quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C. He will be appointed as chair when the group meets again in September.

The council is a body of legislators from energy-producing states and four international affiliates, Ogan said. Three provinces in Canada are represented, along with a representative from Venezuela. At last week's meeting, the council heard from speakers on a variety of issues, including former Anchorage senator and Alaska Senate President Drue Pearce, who was the last Alaska legislator to chair the council. Pearce, in 2001, was appointed as the senior advisor for Alaska affairs by Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton. She presented to the council a speech Norton had given to the U.S. House Resources Committee, debunking some of the common myths about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and what oil development there could mean.

ANWR, he said, was a hot topic at this Energy Council meeting, as it was held the day after the Senate vote on ANWR failed by two votes.

"It was very timely because people knew the vote had just happened," Ogan said. In later discussions with U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, he and other Alaska delegation members were reassured that ANWR was still very much an active issue.

"The ANWR issue isn't over," Ogan said. "Senator Stevens said there will be leadership meetings with some of the weaker members of the Republican Senate in the Oval Office."

As chair of the council, Ogan said he'd have a chance to set the schedule and determine the focus of the meetings he will chair.

"This, of course, is very important to Alaska as we continue to face major hurdles on issues such as ANWR and a natural gas pipeline," Ogan said in a press release last week. He expanded his comments Thursday to add that, as chairman, he'll also be able to speak with high-ranking governmental officials he may not otherwise have cause to address -- possibly including the president.

Pres. George W. Bush spoke with the council last year, but Ogan said the president's time was occupied with the war when the council met last week. Legislators attending the council did have a chance to meet with various members of Congress and their staff, Ogan said, and were able to do some lobbying at that level.

Although the council passes only resolutions -- formal statements of opinion or determination -- Ogan said he believes the ties made through the council, as well as the discussions held at council meetings, are valuable to Alaska.

"Do they make a difference in the bigger picture?" Ogan said. "I hope so. I know not doing it will not [make a difference]."