While much attention is focused on the new Canadian gas pipeline that will run through the Mackenzie River Valley, Alaskans have long pushed parallel proposals for a natural gas line to run through the state. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently approved a bill that would simplify federal rules, shorten judicial review and generally encourage development of such a line. Unlike other recent bills, this does not include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is unclear whether this bill will ever become law - committee approval is only the first of many hurdles bills must pass.
