The US Senate Approved a Bill to Build a Natural Gas Pipeline in Alaska's Denali Park

The US Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow a natural gas pipeline to be built through the Denali National Park in Alaska. 

"A natural gas pipeline route through the park would not only be less expensive to build, but could also take advantage of the existing utility corridor, preventing disturbances to wildlife and environmental impacts on undisturbed lands further to the east or west of the park boundary," Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican-Alaska, said in a statement Wednesday. 

Murkowski, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, sponsored the bill (S. 302). It is now awaiting consideration in the House of Representatives. 

The measure authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit a gas pipeline to be buried along the seven-mile segment of the George Parks Highway that runs through the park. The pipeline would still have to go through the environmental review process.