HCR 7: Urging the governor to join the legislature in opposing the selection of the G South Alternative for the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project and supporting the selection of the Juneau Creek Alternative; urging the governor to request that the United States Secretary of the Interior initiate a land exchange under the Russian River Land Act; and urging the governor to request that the commissioner of transportation and public facilities and the Division Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration reevaluate the selection of the G South Alternative.
00 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7 01 Urging the governor to join the legislature in opposing the selection of the G South 02 Alternative for the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project and supporting the 03 selection of the Juneau Creek Alternative; urging the governor to request that the 04 United States Secretary of the Interior initiate a land exchange under the Russian River 05 Land Act; and urging the governor to request that the commissioner of transportation 06 and public facilities and the Division Administrator of the Federal Highway 07 Administration reevaluate the selection of the G South Alternative. 08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 WHEREAS the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project, known as the Cooper 10 Landing bypass, has been under consideration by the Department of Transportation and 11 Public Facilities and the Federal Highway Administration for decades; and 12 WHEREAS a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Section 13 4(f) Evaluation were released for public review in April and May 2015; and 14 WHEREAS, on December 11, 2015, the Department of Transportation and Public
01 Facilities and the Federal Highway Administration announced the identification of the G 02 South Alternative as the preferred alternative for the project, and a Final Supplemental 03 Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision are expected in 2017; and 04 WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Federal 05 Highway Administration recognized the importance of protecting the Kenai River corridor in 06 the purpose of the project and included the reduced risk of spills in the Kenai River as a 07 benefit of the project; and 08 WHEREAS the Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation did not adequately consider the 09 negative effects on fish and riparian habitats, the long-term environmental threats to aquatic 10 and terrestrial life of the Kenai River, and the degradation of irreplaceable cultural resources 11 of Alaska Native heritage from the G South Alternative; and 12 WHEREAS the G South Alternative does not adequately protect the Kenai River 13 corridor and will require an additional crossing of the Kenai River and replacement of an 14 existing bridge; and 15 WHEREAS the Juneau Creek Alternative bypasses all crossings of the Kenai River; 16 and 17 WHEREAS a substantial portion of the G South Alternative would be built along the 18 existing alignment near the Kenai River, and 45 percent of the G South Alternative is located 19 within 500 feet of the river or another Tier 1 stream, while 25 percent of the Juneau Creek 20 Alternative is located within that proximity; and 21 WHEREAS a small portion of the congressionally designated Mystery Creek Unit in 22 the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and the southern end of the Resurrection Pass Trail would 23 be affected by the Juneau Creek Alternative; and 24 WHEREAS the Juneau Creek Alternative would improve accessibility of the 25 Resurrection Pass Trail, the Resurrection Pass Trail cabin system, and related recreational 26 opportunities, and a new bridge near the Juneau Falls Recreation area would provide new and 27 unique visual resources for travelers who may otherwise be unable to access the location; and 28 WHEREAS long-term protection of the Kenai River, the opportunity to prevent a 29 major chemical spill in the river, and the opportunity to decrease traffic adjacent to the river 30 significantly, should take priority in the selection of an alternative; and 31 WHEREAS the stated purpose and need of the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60
01 Project include the need to improve highway safety, and the Draft Supplemental 02 Environmental Impact Statement recognizes that the Juneau Creek Alternative best meets the 03 purpose and need with an estimated savings of $50,000,000 when compared with the G South 04 Alternative; and 05 WHEREAS the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Federal 06 Highway Administration have indicated that the Juneau Creek Alternative is not viable 07 without congressional approval to cross a small portion of the Mystery Creek Unit in the 08 Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, or without a change in land status to the Mystery Creek Unit, 09 as may be provided by a land exchange; and 10 WHEREAS the United States Secretary of the Interior already has congressional 11 approval under the Russian River Land Act to conduct a land exchange that could include 12 portions of the Mystery Creek Unit in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge with Cook Inlet 13 Region, Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation; and 14 WHEREAS the Russian River Land Act requires that any negotiations or activities 15 related to a land exchange must be initiated by the United States Secretary of the Interior; 16 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor to join the 17 legislature in opposing the selection of the G South Alternative as the preferred alternative for 18 the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor to join 20 the legislature in supporting the selection of the Juneau Creek Alternative as the preferred 21 alternative for the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 Project; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor to join 23 the legislature in requesting that the United States Secretary of the Interior initiate a land 24 exchange with Cook Inlet Region, Inc., under the Russian River Land Act; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the governor to 26 request that the commissioner of transportation and public facilities and the Division 27 Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration reevaluate the selection of the G South 28 Alternative and declare the Section 4(f) Evaluation inadequate, as it did not give full weight to 29 the protection of the biological and cultural resources of the Kenai River.