DNR upheaval hard on mine firms
PERMITTING: Operators say loss at executive level leaves void of experience.
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By PAULA DOBBYN
Anchorage Daily News
Published: October 29, 2005
Last Modified: October 29, 2005 at 02:31 AM
Mass resignations of upper-level staff at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources this week have stunned the state's mining industry, with several executives saying Friday the upheaval will make it tougher to do business in the days ahead because of confusion over who's in charge.
DNR Commissioner Tom Irwin and six of his top deputies abruptly announced their departures on Thursday in a dispute with Gov. Frank Murkowski over a confidential natural gas pipeline contract the state is negotiating with oil companies. The deputies -- several with decades of experience in DNR --said they could no longer work for the administration in light of Irwin losing his job. Irwin was replaced with Mike Menge, the governor's energy adviser.
"Unfortunately, there will be a very large void of experience that will be difficult to replace," said Karl Hanneman of Teck-Pogo Inc., developer of the Pogo gold mine near Delta Junction.
Mining executives and others who rely on the agency for permits, leases and other stamps of approval to conduct business say the turmoil at DNR will, at the very least, slow down bureaucratic channels.
"It's going to make it much more difficult," said Bob Stiles of PacRim Coal, a company that wants to develop the Beluga coal field west of Anchorage. "The net effect is that there is an awful lot of the heart of the organization that's gone."
Consistency at an agency is important in business, and not knowing who is going to take over key positions is cause for some angst, Stiles and Hanneman said.
"It's better the devil you know than the devil you don't know," said Stiles. "That's not meant to be pejorative to the folks who left but you end up developing a comfort level and trust in their judgment."
"You can't lose capable, intelligent leadership in that volume and not be in a leadership void for a while," said Tom Hawkins, chief operating officer of Bristol Bay Native Corp. and a former DNR division director.
"State agencies steer slowly through life but they need to be steered. If all of sudden capable hands are off the tiller, well ..." said Hawkins, his voice trailing off.
Bristol Bay worked closely with DNR on an oil and gas lease sale on the Alaska Peninsula held this week. The company's property is surrounded by state land and the firm frequently depends on DNR staff to issue permits and leases, Hawkins said.
More than just pushing papers, DNR top officials set policy and make long-range decisions, several executives said. Although they don't expect any changes in DNR's mining-friendly philosophy, it's unsettling to have a wholesale gutting of upper management.
"When there is major change in the senior management it creates challenges for those who want to work with the organization. It's not any different in this case," said Bruce Jenkins, an executive with Northern Dynasty Mines, which hopes to develop the giant Pebble gold and copper deposit near Iliamna.
Ed Fogels, head of DNR's large-mine permitting team, said most of the day-to-day tasks of overseeing mines and other projects will be unaffected by the resignations because lower-level staff members conduct many of those functions. And the new people who take over will share the goals of the Murkowski administration, unlike some transitions when new governors get elected, he said.
"It's not like a Republican-Democratic flip. The general philosophy will stay the same," Fogels said. |
