Opinion ID: 1314438
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Transportation Routes and Utility Sites

Text: The applicable regulation concerning transportation and utilities provides: (a) Transportation and utility routes and facilities in the coastal area must be sited, designed, and constructed so as to be compatible with district programs. (b) Transportation and utility routes and facilities must be sited inland from beaches and shorelines unless the route or facility is water-dependent or no feasible and prudent inland alternative exists to meet the public need for the route or facility. 6 AAC 80.080. DNR's decision to sell oil leases in Camden Bay unquestionably did not directly violate 6 AAC 80.080. Until exploration is proposed and, in all likelihood, until and unless a commercially exploitable discovery is made, there will be no occasion for siting, designing or constructing transportation and utility routes. Consequently, the decision to sell oil leases cannot be inconsistent with this standard and DNR's consistency determination may not be found to have been erroneous on that ground.