Power The Future Energy Hour Recap: Mike Heatwole and Corri Feige

June 3, 2020

Every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck hosts the “Power The Future Energy Hour” on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy community.

Since the show’s inception in January 2018, it has had dozens of guests, including members of Congress, Alaska’s Governor, Lt. Governor, State Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, members of the Governor’s leadership team, executives from organizations throughout Alaska who fight for jobs, opportunities and progress alongside us (The Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Resource Development Council, Alaska Oil & Gas Association, Alaska Miners Association and others), state legislators from both parties who have a role in energy policy as part of their legislative duties and executives from many of Alaska’s leading resource development projects (both current and potential).

Last night’s show focused on mining in Alaska.  The first guest was Mike Heatwole, the VP of External Affairs for the Pebble Project.  A frequent guest on the show, Heatwole updated listeners on two major events of the past ten days regarding the mine.  First, the preferred transportation corridor was determined by the US Army Corps of Engineers, then the EPA announced that it would not formally oppose the mine at this time, clearing the way for the Corps to issue its final environmental impact statement and record of decision this year.

Those two actions have sent environmental extremists apoplectic, with the NRDC, Save Bristol Bay and others ratcheting up their rhetoric even more over the past week.  Still, the science is on Pebble’s side now, and the very organizations who once claimed that the science would show Pebble should never be built will put their collective minds together to conjure up and spread new lies and mistruths to try to stop the project’s momentum.

The last segment welcomed back Alaska DNR Commissioner Corri Feige to the show.  Feige spoke about the state’s multi-department process for evaluating and permitting large-scale hard-rock mines.  In the overview, she mentioned that they were already hearing the rumblings about the public not having the time or opportunity to provide input during state decision-making.  With DNR specifically, there will be no less than seven steps that involve public input.  With DEC and Fish and Game also being involved, there is always substantial opportunity for the public to get involved.  Feige also spoke about the timeline for the process, which she said should take between 3-4 years in total.

Guests in upcoming weeks will include lawmakers, industry executives and senior-level government officials, as well as experts on Alaska’s resource economy and our budget.

If you’re not listening to the show live, feel free to catch the replay on SoundCloud.  You can catch this week’s show here. Feel free to reach out to us at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com if you have ideas for future shows!