Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 17 -- The first federal coordinator of Alaska natural gas projects, Drue Pearce, gave notice Nov. 16, after US President Barack Obama asked for her resignation. She was sworn in on Dec. 13, 2006. Her resignation is effective Jan. 3, 2010.
“It has been an honor to stand up a new federal agency and to serve as the first federal coordinator. I am a passionate supporter of the agency’s mission to bring Alaska natural gas to North American markets,” Pearce said in a statement. “I leave an effective and efficient agency with a highly skilled team of professionals actively pursuing our mission. It has been a profound privilege to lead this innovative team.”
An Illinois native, Pearce moved to Fairbanks, Alas., in 1977 and was elected to Alaska’s House in 1984 and its Senate in 1988. She resigned her Senate seat on June 18, 2001, to become then-US Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton’s advisor for Alaska affairs.
She represented Norton and the US Department of the Interior as a federal trustee to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; as a member of the US Department of Transportation’s Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee; and as the DOI representative to the Arctic Council. She also was policy coordinator for the department’s efforts to be prepared for permitting and construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline.
US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), ranking minority member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, thanked Pearce for her service to Alaska and the nation in trying to make a gas pipeline to the Lower 48 states a reality.
“Drue has long been a strong advocate for the gas pipeline and her commitment will be difficult to match,” said Murkowski, who first met Pearce when the two officials were both members of Alaska’s legislature beginning in 1998. “I regret the loss of Drue’s experience and knowledge on this project, but I understand that it’s the president’s prerogative to appoint the person of his choosing.”
Murkowski said that she has discussed the Alaska gas pipeline’s importance to the nation’s energy supply with the White House and is encouraged by Obama’s determination to see the project succeed. She also said that she was pleased that the office’s deputy coordinator, Thomas J. Barrett, will be interim coordinator until Pearce’s successor takes over.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
File photo from PDVSA..
