00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46                                                                                           
01 Endorsing development of the Falls Creek hydropower project.                                                            
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03  WHEREAS using oil for power generation depletes nonrenewable resources and                                             
04 causes communities who are relying on electric power generated from oil to face higher costs                            
05 as supplies of nonrenewable resources dwindle; and                                                                      
06  WHEREAS the generation of electricity from fossil fuels increases pollution and                                        
07 health hazards and contributes to global warming and to acid rain; and                                                  
08  WHEREAS reliance on foreign oil adds to our national debt and weakens our national                                     
09 economy; and                                                                                                            
10  WHEREAS an increase in electrical use in both Glacier Bay National Park and in the                                     
11 town of Gustavus will call for more diesel generating plants and will increase costs; and                               
12  WHEREAS a small hydropower project at Falls Creek could satisfy the needs of                                           
13 Glacier Bay National Park and the community of Gustavus well into the 21st century; and                                 
14  WHEREAS a hydropower generator at Falls Creek could result in savings of                                               

01 $1,500,000 in the next five years in power costs and an additional $3,000,000 in avoided                                
02 capital expenditures for improvements and upgrades to the existing power system to meet                                 
03 demand, and could reduce operating expenses and maintenance costs by $500,000; and                                      
04  WHEREAS the Falls Creek hydropower project is intended to be financed solely by                                        
05 private capital; and                                                                                                    
06  WHEREAS issues relating to Glacier Bay National Park are frequently contentious,                                       
07 but the community of Gustavus and the National Park Service agree that the Falls Creek                                  
08 hydropower project is both environmentally sound and economically advantageous; and                                     
09  WHEREAS, because the site of the hydropower project is currently within the                                            
10 boundaries of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, an Act of Congress will be needed to                              
11 change designation of the land status;                                                                                  
12  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly endorses development                                         
13 of the Falls Creek hydropower project in an environmentally sound manner, and encourages                                
14 the Congress to enact appropriate measures to help bring this project to fruition.                                      
15      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                            
16 United States; the Honorable Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior;                           
17 Roger G. Kennedy, Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; Robert                              
18 Barbee, Alaska Regional Director, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; and                           
19 to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                  
20 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.