Sarah Palin was the Chairwoman and Ethics Supervisor of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. Sarah was appointed as the public member, a seat on the commission reserved for a nontechnical person.
The Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial agency.
Oversight by the Commission includes oil and gas development and production, oil and gas drilling, reservoir depletion and metering operations in Alaska.
The Commission administers the Underground Injection Control program for enhanced oil recovery and underground disposal of oil field waste in Alaska. The Commission also acts to protect underground freshwater.
As a quasi-judicial agency it serves as an adjudicatory forum for resolving certain oil and gas disputes between owners, including Alaska.
On March 13, 2003, Sarah Palin issued Other Order no. 19 which approved of the Falls Creek Field Plan submitted by Marathon Oil. The plan provided that Marathon Oil would seek to employ Alaska residents and to utilize firms located in Alaska, whenever possible, in connection with development of the oil field.
On November 4, 2003, Sarah Palin and the commission issued Other Order no. 24, which approved regulatory cost charges for the Commission for the fiscal year. Over $4 million in charges was approved.
Sarah Palin resigned from the Commission on January 23, 2004, to protest the lack of ethics by fellow Republican members of the Commission.