Legislature(2017 - 2018)BARNES 124
04/11/2017 11:30 AM House ARCTIC POLICY, ECONOMIC DEV., & TOURISM
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games | |
| Presentation: Michael Black, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HJR 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ARCTIC POLICY,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM
April 11, 2017
1:38 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Dean Westlake, Chair
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative David Talerico
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Gary Knopp
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA~ ARCTIC WINTER GAMES
- HEARD
PRESENTATION: ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM
- HEARD
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19
Commending the Arctic Waterways Safety Committee; supporting the
adoption of prevention measures into international agreements to
ensure clear, universal, and enforceable marine safety measures
in the Arctic; and urging the state's delegation in the United
States Congress and the governor to promote the adoption of
spill prevention measures into international agreements; urging
the President of the United States and the United States
Department of State to initiate negotiations to enter into
international agreements to ensure safe and environmentally
responsible marine operations in the Arctic.
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KATHLEEN REHM, Co-Executive Director
Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the presentation, offered an
overview of the Arctic Winter Games.
SARAH FRAMPTON, President
Team Alaska Arctic Winter Games
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the PowerPoint presentation of Team
Alaska Arctic Winter Games offered her appreciation for the
committee's time.
MICHAEL BLACK, Director
Community Infrastructure Development
Office of Environmental Health and Engineering (OEHE)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During the presentation of the Alaska
Native Tribal Health Consortium he discussed sanitation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:38:06 PM
CHAIR DEAN WESTLAKE called the House Special Committee On Arctic
Policy, Economic Development, and Tourism meeting to order at
1:38 p.m. Representatives Talerico, Westlake, and Josephson were
present at the call to order. Representatives Edgmon and Neuman
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA, ARCTIC WINTER GAMES
PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA, ARCTIC WINTER GAMES
1:39:08 PM
CHAIR WESTLAKE announced that the first order of business would
be a PowerPoint presentation titled, "Team Alaska, Arctic Winter
Games."
1:39:11 PM
KATHLEEN REHM, Co-Executive Director, Team Alaska, Arctic Winter
Games, advised that slide 1 is a portrait of members of the Team
Alaska athletes taken in 2014, and turning to slide 2 advised
that the purpose of the presentation is to give the committee an
understanding of what the Arctic Games are, how it represents
the state, and how the Arctic Winter Games stimulate economic
development and tourism.
1:40:23 PM
MS. REHM turned to slides 3-5, and advised that the purpose of
Team Alaska is to organize and select youths to compete in the
sporting and cultural event held by the Arctic Winter Games, the
event includes a high profile circumpolar sporting competition
for northern and Arctic athletes. It was established in 1968 by
Governor Walter Hickel and Ken McKinnon as a non-profit, and
Alaska has participated in the games since 1970. The games are
an opportunity for Alaska's young athletes to experience a
profound and life changing event because many of these athletes
have never participated in a sporting or cultural event of this
magnitude. The intent was to foster sportsmanship, culture,
international and cultural exchange, and at the same time host
the games in small Arctic communities to stimulate economy and
tourism. The sporting events during the 1970 timeframe
included: wrestling, archery, and so forth with approximately
500 athletes, and in 2016 there are 18 sports and over 2,000
participants.
1:44:37 PM
MS. REHM turned to slides 6-7, and advised that the governing
bodies of today include, the International Committee with nine
delegates representing nine countries, a host community similar
to the Olympics, and a host committee. When the Arctic Winter
Games are hosted in Alaska, folks often get Team Alaska confused
with the Host Society and in the event funding is coming down
the pipe it may not necessarily be directly for Team Alaska
athletes, but for the Host Society hosting the Arctic Winter
Games.
1:46:10 PM
MS. Rehm turned to slides 78, and clarified that the
International Committee early on distinguished between
delegations that compete a participating member or as a guest
member, and currently there are seven participating members and
nine guest members. Team Alaska is a participating member and
therefore is able to bid to host the Arctic Winter Games, is
able to send a full-size team without any reductions of members,
together with other voting rights and privileges which include
representation of their territory on the International Committee
Board, and two Alaska representatives sit on that committee.
She then listed the years various area became participating or
guest members. Full participating members pay an initiation fee
to the International Committee and the government pays that
participation fee and, she noted, Alaska is a non-profit
organization and fundraises.
1:49:15 PM
MS. REHM turned to slide 8-9, and said the slide depicts the
dates Alaska hosted the Arctic Winter Games, Alaska is slotted
to host again in 2024. When hosting the games, the town size
doubles during the week of the games, and jobs are created the
year prior, she said. Economically, after the week of the games
oftentimes that community has an excess of $50,000 to $100,000
that can be used to stimulate the economy by offering grants,
for example, to the local girl scouts.
MS. REHM turned to slide 9, and advised the athletes will travel
to the Northwest Territories of Canada in the Slave Lake Region,
and Alaska has 300 athletes, and 50 volunteer coaches and
chaperones. Counting the volunteers, since 1970 over 10,000
youth and adults have participated in some capacity which make
the Arctic Winter Games the largest international sporting event
in which Alaska has participated.
MS. REHM turned to slides 10-13, and advised that the sports can
be divided into four categories: traditional sports such as dene
games and dog mushing and, she pointed out, the traditional
sports are the foundation of the games and an opportunity for
Alaska's athletes to compete at an international level, to learn
culture and the way of playing the sport from different athletes
that they never would have experienced if they had stayed in
Alaska. The second category is Nordic sports, such as biathlon
ski, biathlon snowshoe, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and
snowboarding. Athletes from the games have gone on to become
Olympic gold medalist, and she then listed the names of
athletes. The third category is indoor sports, such as
badminton, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, and
wrestling, and the fourth category is ice sports, such as,
curling, figure skating, hockey, and speed skating.
1:58:34 PM
MS. REHM turned to slide 15, and said that culture is the
foundation and paramount to the Arctic Winter Games, any
community that bids to host the games will have galas, art
shows, fly different performers in to entertain, and an exciting
display of Arctic culture honoring the values, wisdom, and
traditions of the culture, and Alaskan youth see those values
are reiterated from other countries. She reiterated that the
youth are able to see the mark their culture makes on other
cultures as well.
1:59:43 PM
MS. REHM turned to slides 16-19, and described the slides as
"beautiful photos of some of our cultural events" exemplifying
the fun event.
MS. REHM explained that the next steps for Team Alaska is
preparing for the Arctic Winter Games in March of 2018, in the
Northwest Territories. The team, she advised, has always been
supported by the State of Alaska and this is the first year it
has not received supporting funds. She noted they have been
fundraising extensively with community providers, supporters,
and private businesses donating, and Team Alaska will attend the
Arctic Winter Games. Team Alaska is in the position of deciding
whether it goes to the games with its 300 team athletes, or
whether the size must be reduced, which depends upon fundraising
and the support from the legislature. Team Alaska is the only
participating contingent that does not receive support from its
governing body to offset that International Committee fee of
$37,500 and, she advised that the team had submitted a request
to the legislature to assist with the fee.
2:03:33 PM
CHAIR WESTLAKE referred to the $37,500 fee and asked whether the
state had paid a portion previously.
MS. REHM responded the previously the state has given Team
Alaska various sums of money, such as $150,000 to $200,000, and
all of that money was used to offset the expense of chartering
an airplane to transport Alaska's athletes to the games.
2:04:29 PM
SARAH FRAMPTON, President, Team Alaska Arctic Winter Games,
thanked the committee for its time in allowing for the Team
Alaska Arctic Winter Games presentation.
^PRESENTATION: MICHAEL BLACK, ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH
CONSORTIUM
PRESENTATION: ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM
2:05:29 PM
MICHAEL BLACK, Director, Community Infrastructure Development,
Office of Environmental Health, and Engineering (OEHE),
explained that the Office of Environmental Health and
Engineering (OEHE) has broad responsibility for the public
health of the Alaska Native populations throughout the state
with preventative health care and rural sanitation.
2:07:04 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
2:07:10 PM
MR. BLACK advised that their vision is to get to the point where
the Alaska Native people are the healthiest people in the world
with health care and living conditions within rural Alaska. The
goal is for individuals to continue to live in their regions and
communities they have historically lived in and maintain public
health to the best possible level, which means providing rural
sanitation. Critical rural sanitation issues today involve
affordability and the adaptation of infrastructure. As the
Director of Community Infrastructure Development, his office
primarily includes engineers, operation maintenance specialists,
and supporting staff charged with providing sanitation and
critical infrastructure for public health in rural Alaska. The
Alaska Native Health Consortium is made up of a board that is
representative of all regions of the state, and is a
representative to the regional health organization across the
state. He related that his office has a number of
responsibilities, including: sanitation, operation and
maintenance, environmental health, and it also helps the
regional health organizations operate their hospitals and
clinics. The Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative is a voluntary
group of 26 communities that his office helps to operate and
maintain water and sewer, thereby, allowing his office to have
real life experience actually operating, not just building, the
water and sewer systems. The other aspect of his work in rural
sanitation is the energy program and energy is critical due to
its influence on the affordability of water and sewer in rural
Alaska.
2:10:35 PM
MR. BLACK advised that his office shares responsibilities with
the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation through the
state's Village Safe Water Program which is a provision of water
and sewer in rural Alaska. The responsibility and funding
includes his office, Indian Health Services, the EPA, the USDA,
and State of Alaska to provide rural sanitation infrastructure.
Currently, they are doing whatever it takes to maintain the
current infrastructure because a 2007 study by the Institute of
Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska
basically read that, maintaining the current infrastructure, and
making sure it does not prematurely degrade makes economic
sense. From the standpoint of replacing it, that represents
billions of dollars of investment so it is in the interest of
communities and funding organizations, including the State of
Alaska, to extend the life of that infrastructure.
MR. BLACK offered that people visiting rural areas may see pipes
providing piped water and sewer connected to homes. Due to the
warming environment, differential settling has taken place
between the pipe and the structure it is connected to, such as a
residence or community building. The reason for the destruction
is that the pipe settled at a differential rate from the
foundation of the building, and in doing so it stresses the pipe
and rips apart the Arctic insulation as well as actually pulling
the pipe and the wall of the building off the structure itself.
Obviously, he said, the weight of the pipe drops a number of
feet, in some cases, in relation to where it was with the
building.
2:13:44 PM
MR. BLACK explained that any building built on permafrost is
subject to this type of stress, and the remedy is a flexible
connection allowing the pipe to rotate in relation to the
building it is connected. This will prevent the pipe from
pulling at the wall and tearing away the insulation that
protects it. Once damage takes place on the Arctic Box
connection, it becomes a freeze point for the water and sewer.
This fix has drawn interest from regional housing authorities
and other communities to try to retrofit the updated Arctic Box.
Another issue is leaning water tanks due to the permafrost below
that tank being degraded. Thermal-piles are a traditional
manner of cooling the foundations, and thermal-siphons depend
upon the air temperature being cool enough to transmit that cold
into the permafrost below. It has been noted, especially in the
Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, that the air temperatures are too warm
for the thermal-piles to work properly, thereby, putting high-
valued infrastructure at risk of foundation failures. It is
being addressed with glycol lines that will carry chilled glycol
from a "chiller" demanding electricity that will be provided by
solar panels, and will work exactly as a refrigerator to
refreeze the foundation below a building. This summer, he said,
they will install a prototype that relies on this approach to
save a relatively new building in Quinhagak because something
must be done about its foundation and permafrost below the
building. Last summer it was at 31.5 degrees temperature, just
at the point of becoming liquid which would compromise a
building no more than 4-5-years old. In the event the work in
Quinhagak works, they have plans to put this into a number of
buildings.
2:19:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN referred to the 4-5-year old building and
asked how this foundation could be approved, and who installed
the foundation.
MR. BLACK responded that the foundation was solid when it was
originally designed, the problem is that there have been three
to four warmer summers than normal. This building does have
thermo-siphons intended to keep the permafrost solid, except the
air temperature is warmer and the permafrost has warmed up to
the stage of failing. He said that in the high-valued buildings
in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and warm permafrost, almost all are
using thermo-piles in an attempt to keep the foundation solid.
Also, he added, in some of these buildings "if not careful about
the slab going on grade and the type of surface it is put upon,"
there can be premature failing as well due to an improper fill
below a foundation. He related that it is believed they can
refreeze this permafrost for high-valued buildings.
MR. BLACK noted that an in-home sanitation system has been
installed into nine homes, he stressed that it is a prototype
and not considered finished. This system replaces the "honey
bucket" and puts in place a waste management system that allows
separation of solid and liquid waste stream, eliminating many of
the health problems. It also provides additional water to the
home without piping it and using a centralized water system, and
it relies upon rainwater catchment as well as self-hauled water.
In the event, he offered, a home chooses to gather ice or river
water, it actually has an in-stream pipe filtering system and
fluoridator that allows it, even with river water collection, to
provide potable water to the home. He pointed out that this in
no manner is close to the quantity of a piped water sewer
system, but it also does not rely upon a community-wide type
water and sewer system. These systems run the homeowner
approximately $30 per month to operate as opposed to a high rate
in the normal community water and waste system.
2:24:29 PM
CHAIR WESTLAKE asked whether a report had been prepared
determining whether health associated illnesses had taken place.
MR. BLACK answered that this system relies on an air handling
system to remove odor, the system is small, roughly a one-half
horse motor, and ventilates the air up around and into the eves
of the house. The solid portion of the waste stream is
collected in a container below the toilet, the liquid portion
goes into a distribution system under the home and is
disinfected because in Kivalina there is salt water, brackish
water, ground water, which disinfects the urine stream. Air
quality monitoring was performed in a house which experienced
substantial improvements in the air quality, and a problem in
rural Alaska is due to overcrowding of homes with high levels of
carbon dioxide particulate matters, and a large amount of
respiratory disease issues related to air quality in homes
themselves. A recent study was performed of infants that was
repeatedly admitted to the hospital, then released once they
appeared to be over the respiratory illness, only to return six
months later. It was found that if they can better ventilate
homes and deal with the particulate problems of wood stoves,
that the amount of rehospitalization could be substantially
decreased for elders and infants.
2:27:13 PM
MR. BLACK advised that Life Water Engineering Company in
Fairbanks, Cold Climate Housing Research Center, and Life Water
and Cabinet Water Systems all collaborated with his engineers to
develop this system.
2:27:54 PM
MR. BLACK responded to Chair Westlake that there is a YouTube
video with regard to this system and interviews with the
homeowner. He stated that a recent report, including
resolutions from city and tribe, supported more deployment of
these types of systems in Kivalina and noted that that is his
intention if federal funding can be located.
MR. BLACK related that affordability is a different issue but
equally important because if sanitation will be offered, there
must be affordable systems. The easiest way to address the cost
of operating was through energy efficiency and, he said, he
worked closely with the Alaska Energy Authority when renewable
energy funds were still available, and the Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation (AHFC) as well on energy efficiencies. That
collaboration paid major benefits to rural Alaskan communities
as to the affordability of water and sewer because the cost of
running water and sewer has a great deal to do with the cost of
energy, because if water is not flowing it will freeze.
Therefore, he emphasized that heat is by far the most important
aspect of an energy consumption budget, and electricity is used
for pumps. They approached the energy efficiency issues through
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. He advised
that three of the major ways in which to use renewable energy is
as follows: biomass, a collection of local wood that can be used
to provide the heat necessary, thereby, providing local jobs;
heat recovery is by far the easiest and best way of getting
wasted heat into the water system including generators, and wind
turbines; and, energy efficiency for the dollar spent is the
best investment. Sanitation can be made more affordable if
thoughtful when dealing with energy.
2:33:02 PM
MR. BLACK pointed out that the State of Alaska benefited through
the Power Cost Equalization Program, and 34 percent of those
benefits go into the state's budget with savings to the
communities in the form of fuel and electric. The approach, he
explained, is that a group of engineers and Operations and
Maintenance specialists analyzed the plant and the situation,
made recommendations, puts those recommendations into a
descending order of cost benefits, and tried to find funding for
the highest benefit per cost. They monitored the plant through
remote monitoring programs, otherwise many of these benefits may
go away and no would be aware because it does require operation
of the system. An example of the biomass system is essentially
substituting fuel oil boilers for wood fired boilers, with fuel
oil boilers being the backup. Elim Biomass is saving a
community over $83,000 annually by using locally available wood,
producing jobs, and the $83,000 does not include the money being
spent on local labor to collect the wood. He said he spent a
number of years with the Department of Commerce, Community &
Economic Development and it did everything it could to create
local jobs in rural Alaska, and this is the easiest opportunity
the state could offer in creating local jobs. Renewable energy
and heat recovery is "a no-brainer, we ought to be doing that in
every case," otherwise, he pointed out, it is just wasted
energy. The City of Deering installed a heat recovery system
and saved each household $150 per month due to reduced fuel use.
As to renewable energy, he said the state should always be
looking at the wind to heat program because the wind turbines
are turning regardless of demand and the only way to reliably
store that energy, at this point, is the water storage tank.
The City of Mekoryuk is using that system and "we buy the
electricity" at $0.05 per kilowatt hour, significantly below
market, and saved the city $40,000 annually in its operating
costs. The City of Selawik went through an energy efficiency
program where old pumps were changed out and changed the
operation of the water plant itself, and the Operations and
Maintenance saving is over $200,000 per year.
2:37:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON commented that he would like to speak
with Mr. Black as to the impacts of climate on energy efficiency
at a later date.
CHAIR WESTLAKE stated that climate change is expensive.
2:38:55 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Arctic Policy, Economic Development, and
Tourism meeting was adjourned at 2:38 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HJR19 Fiscal Note LEG-SESS-04.10.17.pdf |
HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM |
HJR 19 |
| Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games Presenation.pdf |
HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM |
Kathleen Rehm, Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games Presentation |
| ANTHC PowerPoint for House Energy Committee 2-19-15.pdf |
HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM |
Michael Black - ANTHC Presentation |