Ogan secures Resources chair

MAT-SU -- Now that the recounted votes are tallied in the three closest races in the state, senate leaders met this week to set committee chairs and members for the body's seven remaining committees. New Valley Senator Scott Ogan said he was pleased to receive the appointment he had been hoping for -- that of Resources committee chair.

"You never know, in this kind of situation -- the organization of the Senate was kind of in flux for a few weeks," Ogan said Friday. "But it's nice to have the respect of your colleagues. It'll be a lot of fun to work with the new administration -- we certainly have some common goals and philosophies."

Ogan will be splitting his time between the Resources committee and the Energy Council, an international committee made up of legislators from energy-producing states and provinces in the U.S, Canada and Venezuela. He was in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Friday, where the council had just adjourned from its quarterly conference. The two positions are closely linked, although the council deals with issues on a somewhat broader scope.

"We're discussing worldwide issues," Ogan said, and said one topic of primary discussion was the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement between several nations to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets, minimize impacts on developing countries, take part in regular accounting and reporting, and to enforce the targets in the agreement. The U.S. administration has indicated its intention not to ratify the protocol, but Ogan said Canada is developing strategies for implementation.

On a statewide level, Ogan, a former Oil and Gas Committee chairman, said he'll be working with Rep. Vic Kohring, the new committee chair. Kohring has discussed in the past his plans to submit legislation that would smooth the permitting process for smaller, independent oil and gas companies such as Colorado-based Evergreen Resources. Ogan is on Evergreen's payroll as a public relations consultant, a position he has held for two years.

Ogan said he has asked to be excused when matters pertaining to shallow-gas legislation come before him in the resources committee or on the Senate floor, but he added that the request for recusal is rarely offered.

"I'll be required to declare my conflict," Ogan said. "But if there's one objection to [being recused from] the conflict, I'll be required to vote."

He said he will not submit legislation that would benefit Evergreen.

"In many ways, it ties my hands being a consultant for these guys," Ogan said. "I haven't and do not call state agencies on their behalf. It's hard. I see first-hand the challenges they go through."

With Kohring's determination to reduce challenges for smaller companies and a commitment voiced by Gov. Frank Murkowski, Ogan may not have to submit legislation in order to see benefits come through for Evergreen.

"The Murkowski administration … has discussed [the belief that] a great deal of work can be done to remove obstacles to independent oil and gas companies," Ogan said. "I want to work very closely with the Murkowski administration to help make Alaska a conducive place for oil and gas investment."

Although oil and gas is a significant portion of the Resource Committee's focus, Ogan said other issues will likely be on the table.

"The resource committee deals with a myriad of resources -- fish and game, mining, timber, water," Ogan said.

Although the fish have returned to many of the areas where stocks were, less than a decade ago, facing depletion, Ogan said there's still work to be done -- particularly on the side of commercial fisheries. Although he wasn't optimistic about the future of the fisheries, he believed that a targeted marketing effort, paired with determination to attain a "wild" or "organic" label may get the industry moving in the right direction.

"We can posture all we want, but it's not going to change the marketing demand for readily available fresh fish," Ogan said. "An organic label; that, alone, would probably be the one thing that could save the industry."

Although supporting the commercial fishing industry is something a lot of Alaskans can get behind, Ogan said other topics up for discussion this session will likely be less popular. Reviving dwindling game populations, for example, could prove to be a fiery topic. Ogan advocates implementing predator control in some of the depleted areas in order to give caribou and moose populations a boost.

"This'll be a hot-button issue, controversial, I'm sure," Ogan said.

Water regulation reforms and support for smaller mining operations are other topics Ogan said would likely come before the committee in the coming year. Underlying it all, he said, is a sense of giddiness at the prospect of all-conservative leadership at the state level.

"Mostly, it's just going to be fun to be down there and work with a new administration," Ogan said. "… The scary part is, the buck stops here."