A lawmaker's allegations that some within Gov. Sean Parnell's administration have been thwarting development of an in-state natural gas pipeline are going largely unanswered by the state.

Prompted by comments made by project manager Harry Noah, Rep. Jay Ramras sent an eight-page letter to Parnell Dec. 1 in which he questioned the state's commitment to studying an in-state gas pipeline. Noah, who hinted at obstruction to Ramras, resigned last week. Ramras is a Fairbanks Republican who has been a leading advocate of an in-state "bullet" line linking Alaska communities with North Slope gas.

Ramras' allegations raise serious questions for Alaskans paying the highest prices in the nation for home heat, electricity and vehicle fuel. Many in the Interior believe a bullet line could ease the strain while a large-diameter line is debated. A decision isn't expected on whether to build the state-sanctioned line until about 2014. A similar project by BP and ConocoPhillips is likely operating along a similar timeline.

But the administration isn't talking.

Gov. Sean Parnell's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said an interview with the governor was unlikely, as he spent Tuesday in Ketchikan meeting with community leaders and holding a cabinet meeting, and on Wednesday visited with local leaders and high school students in Wrangell and Petersburg.

Leighow did make this statement in an e-mail:

"Governor Parnell remains committed to exploring all options for in-state gas including a bullet line to bring a long-term stable supply of energy to the Railbelt, rural and Southeast Alaska."

The administration says a bullet line is being studied as a backup plan in case the big line falls through.

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin and Deputy Commissioner Marty Rutherford were also unavailable, and Parnell's senior policy adviser on in-state energy, Gene Therriault, didn't immediately respond.

Sen. Joe Paskvan, a Fairbanks Democrat, said he'll look to Parnell for action that furthers the state's interest in an AGIA line to see where the governor's confidence sits -- and that should also shed light on the administration's commitment to its backup plan.

"The most immediate evidence we will have of the governor's true beliefs will be manifested in less than two weeks when his budget comes out," Paskvan said.

The state and others involved in the AGIA project have identified $2 billion in road and bridge work that must be completed before the Alaska portion of a gas line is built. Department of Transportation officials have cited a need for $300 to $400 million per year for the next six years.

"We have some serious infrastructure issues that need to be dealt with," Paskvan pointed out. "If the money for that is not in the governor's budget, what does that tell us?"

Irwin and Rutherford are at the heart of Ramras' allegations. The two are key members of a state team committed to developing a large-diameter natural gas pipeline through Canada, as proposed under the state's Alaska Gasline Inducement Act awarded to pipeline builder TransCanada, with $500 million of additional state support.

According to Ramras, Noah claims Irwin and Rutherford stood in his way, even after Noah and his team developed a plan that would deliver gas in-state at reasonable rates -- providing either that the state partner with oil companies with existing gas treatment facilities or that Anadarko is successful in exploring a foothills field called Gubik. The Gubik gas is drier than North Slope gas, and is expected to be able to flow in a pipeline with minor treatment. Ramras charges that Noah was discouraged from creating commercial bonds between gas buyers and sellers, and that Noah's engineering work and the ensuing tariff were greeted skeptically, with a senior staffer demanding an audit, among other things.

Rutherford, Irwin and Mark Myer, now the state's AGIA coordinator, were among several DNR employees who quit in opposition to Gov. Frank Murkowski's negotiations with oil producers to build a pipeline. Dubbed "The Magnificent Seven" for their willingness to take a stand, Irwin -- who was commissioner at the time -- and Rutherford were among some of the group rehired by Gov. Sarah Palin, and they became key architects of her AGIA proposal. Noah served as DNR commissioner in the 1990s.