JUNEAU, Alaska, March 26 (UPI) -- A bill passed unanimously by Alaskan lawmakers delays the launch date for an in-state natural gas pipeline by four years, the measure states.
Lawmakers in the Alaskan House of Representatives late Wednesday approved the measure in a unanimous vote that puts the state railroad agency in charge of developing a streamlined review of the project by the middle of next year.
The 2011 report would show how the project can be designed and built by 2015, four years after an original launch date, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.
"Taking action consistent with other laws may make the July 1, 2011, construction start date unrealistic," an analysis of the original bill said.
Lawmakers lobbied for the measure to put the state-owned railroad company in charge of the natural gas pipeline. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski and speaker of the Alaskan House of Representatives, said important decisions would follow the release of the 2011 report.
"Is this something that private industry wants to build or is it something that the state of Alaska wants to take on (itself)?" he asked.
Gas executives in Alaska said the energy-rich state would have to import gas within the next three years without domestic gas advancements.
