In a rare appearance by a governor before a legislative committee, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker told lawmakers that he will seek to drop his citizen's lawsuit challenging his predecessor's settlement with ExxonMobil over development at Point Thomson, a gas-rich field on the North Slope.
The 2012 settlement under former Gov. Sean Parnell essentially laid out a development plan at the field, located at the doorstep of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In a short appearance at the House Resources Committee Wednesday followed by a quick departure -- leaving some lawmakers baffled as to why they couldn't ask follow-up questions -- Walker said he will move to dismiss his lawsuit after introducing legislation Friday intended to address his concerns.
Walker asserted that the settlement was "illegal" in part because it eliminated opportunities for public comment.
Leaders in the House had recently sent Walker a letter requesting that he drop the suit and introduce legislation to resolve the matter.
They said the lawsuit had raised conflict-of-interest questions in some people's minds -- a reference to the governor both acting as plaintiff and representing the defendant, the state, as governor.
They said the lawsuit threatened long-sought development at the field, where a huge reservoir of gas is considered a pivotal part of the $50 billion Alaska project that would ship liquefied natural gas to foreign markets.
The governor said in a press conference following the meeting that he was acting on his own accord, not a request from any one person. He said he has been working on a resolution to the case since before he became governor.
The legislation he introduces won't be complicated, Walker told reporters.
"It will say in the settlement of litigation you can't do things you couldn't do otherwise," he said, adding there would be no "super powers" based on a settlement, such as excluding public comment.
Anchorage Republican Rep. Mike Hawker, vice-chair of the committee, said the governor's statements that the settlement was "illegal" are allegations, and that the state Superior Court has not ruled on substantive issues presented in the case.
"There was never a ruling on any of those points, so the allegations remain just that; they have not been adjudicated," Hawker said, speaking with a reporter after the meeting.
Michael Geraghty, former attorney general under Parnell, has maintained that he had the authority to enter into settlements and that the Exxon settlement could not be appealed. Geraghty has also said the court case, in which the state attempted to take away the lease from Exxon for failing to develop the field, would have dragged for years without a settlement, which was conducted in secret, as settlements necessarily are.
To recuse himself and prevent a conflict of interest, Walker delegated his authority on state matters in the case to Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott. Walker's attorney general and former lawyer in the case, Craig Richards, delegated his authority to Martin Schultz, head of the legal department's oil, gas and mining section.
Walker said the legislation he introduces will aim to strengthen state laws "so that future settlement negotiations related to the extraction of oil and gas on state land shall not be used as an excuse to bypass our constitutional and legal obligations to the citizens of Alaska," he said. His legislation would be narrow and limited to settlements involving resource development going forward, he said.
Walker told reporters that the right of public comment had been removed in various ways, including in the plan of development. He said the state also should not have relinquished its right to comment before the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Schultz, reached on Wednesday, said settlement agreements, like a court's findings, are not subject to public notice and comment.
Such comment is available when a plan of development is part of a unit application. But the Point Thomson plan of development at issue in the litigation was not part of a unit application, and therefore was not subject to public notice and comment, Schultz said.
Schultz added that under the settlement agreement, "the Department of Natural Resources retains the right to oppose any application before the AOGCC that is inconsistent with state law and the settlement agreement," Schultz said.
Walker has said the state could have gotten a better deal if there had been no settlement.
Said to contain a quarter of the North Slope's massive reserve of 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Point Thomson is nearing an early stage of development. About 10,000 barrels a day of condensate oil is expected to flow from the field, with first production estimated next year, adding new oil to the trans-Alaska pipeline.
Walker told reporters in a press conference shortly after the hearing that his decision to drop the suit was difficult, but came in part because he has been reassured after having had several meetings with ExxonMobil officials.
"I'm pleased with what I'm see them doing at Point Thomson," he said.
Walker's appearance before the committee came on short notice, said Hawker. The committee had originally requested hearing from representatives with the Department of Law -- the defendant in the case -- to discuss technical details.
But about 15 minutes before the start of the meeting, the committee received word that the governor would appear, Hawker said.
Hawker said the news the governor would dismiss the lawsuit is "wonderful." "We are glad the governor was listening to legislators, people who were concerned about the risk it was adding to development of a North Slope gas line project," he said.
Hawker said the governor's "abrupt departure" from the committee room caught him flat, and he had planned to at least thank Walker for making a decision in the best interests of the state.
The committee gave the governor the courtesy of presenting, Hawker said. In such cases it's customary for the witness to stick around to take comments or questions from committee members.
"You at least stay around long enough to let the chair thank you for coming," Hawker said.
Walker said that as the plaintiff in the case it was appropriate to appear before the committee. He said he did not stay in the meeting because he needed to be careful about how much he says about the case.
Walker told the committee he sought no monetary compensation and brought the suit as a public-interest litigant, to stand up for Alaska. He said he never sought to stop development.
"Together, let's make sure future administrations cannot violate the Alaska Constitution and Alaska's laws and bypass the public process in developing our natural resources when settling litigation," he said.