Alaskan oversees gas line coordination for Obama administration

By ERIKA BOLSTAD

ebolstad@adn.com

WASHINGTON -- Beyond its $30 billion cost, there are thousands of steps on the path to the proposed pipeline that will take North Slope natural gas 1,700 miles through Alaska and Canada.

There are market forces, state and national politics and a host of environmental and regulatory hurdles -- some 22 federal agencies in the United States alone must sign off on an environmental impact statement before the project can move forward.

One small federal agency, the Office of the Federal Coordinator, is overseeing the effort. The office, headed by Drue Pearce, an Alaskan who is based in Washington, D.C., has nine employees.