00Enrolled HJR 14                                                                                                         
01 Urging the Alaska Congressional delegation to pursue infrastructure funding for a deep draft                            
02 Arctic port in Nome; requesting the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to                               
03 send a letter from the state to the Alaska Congressional delegation supporting a deep draft                             
04 Arctic port in Nome; and requesting the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to                           
05 work collaboratively with the City of Nome on a deep draft Arctic port in Nome.                                         
06                                         _______________                                                                 
07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
08      WHEREAS Alaska is the only state in the United States that borders the Arctic                                      
09 Ocean; and                                                                                                              
10      WHEREAS the retreat of Arctic sea ice is increasing the seasonal navigability of the                               
11 Arctic Ocean, which has resulted in an influx of marine traffic in the circumpolar Arctic; and                          
12      WHEREAS the other seven Arctic nations have been very proactive in addressing the                                  
13 changing situation in the Arctic and have begun to assert their interest in the region; and                             
14      WHEREAS the United States Army Corps of Engineers launched the Alaska Deep-                                        

01 Draft Arctic Port System study in 2012 to evaluate potential locations for a deep draft Arctic                          
02 port on the northern and western coasts of the state and determine the feasibility of                                   
03 constructing navigation improvements as part of a large system of port facilities in the Arctic                         
04 and subarctic regions; and                                                                                              
05      WHEREAS, in 2015, the United States Army Corps of Engineers released a draft                                       
06 feasibility report and environmental assessment that selected the Port of Nome as the                                   
07 preferred site to establish a deep draft Arctic port; and                                                               
08      WHEREAS the state, the Alaska State Legislature, and the Arctic Policy Commission                                  
09 realize that access to newly open Arctic waterways is vitally important to the state; and                               
10      WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature appropriated $1,600,000 in the fiscal year                                    
11 ending June 30, 2017, and $1,600,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, to fund the City                          
12 of Nome's 50/50 match requirement for the United States Army Corps of Engineers feasibility                             
13 and design studies; and                                                                                                 
14      WHEREAS the first year of the accelerated two-year study is almost complete, and                                   
15 the selection of a preferred project design alternative is scheduled for March 2019; and                                
16      WHEREAS the timeline for developing a deep draft Arctic port is fairly short, with                                 
17 construction potentially beginning in 2023 or 2024 if the project is authorized by Congress in                          
18 2020; and                                                                                                               
19      WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the urgency of developing key                                      
20 infrastructure and defense capabilities in the Arctic;                                                                  
21      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Alaska Congressional                                    
22 delegation to pursue all infrastructure funding that recognizes the region's importance in                              
23 addressing the nation's critical security concerns, vital energy supply, and significant                                
24 opportunities to decrease intercontinental shipping distances; and be it                                                
25      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Department                                         
26 of Transportation and Public Facilities to send a letter from the state to the Alaska                                   
27 Congressional delegation supporting a deep draft Arctic port in Nome; and be it                                         
28      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Department                                         
29 of Transportation and Public Facilities to work collaboratively with the City of Nome to                                
30 provide technical support through the completion of the feasibility and design phases of                                
31 establishing a deep draft Arctic port and assist the City of Nome in developing innovative                              

01 funding strategies for the city's construction cost share.                                                              
02      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                    
03 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                
04 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.