Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 124
04/13/2005 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| HB252 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 252 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 13, 2005
1:09 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jay Ramras, Co-Chair
Representative Ralph Samuels, Co-Chair
Representative Jim Elkins
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Paul Seaton
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Kurt Olson
Representative Harry Crawford
Representative Mary Kapsner
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 252
"An Act providing for a sport fishing facility surcharge on
sport fishing licenses; providing for the construction and
renovation of state sport fishing facilities and for other
projects beneficial to the sport fish resources of the state as
a public enterprise; and authorizing the issuance of revenue
bonds to finance those projects."
- MOVED HB 252 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 252
SHORT TITLE: SPORT FISHING FACILITY REVENUE BONDS
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) REPRESENTATIVE HOLM
04/05/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/05/05 (H) FSH, RES, FIN
04/13/05 (H) FSH AT 8:30 AM CAPITOL 124
04/13/05 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE JIM HOLM
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 252 as sponsor.
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Assistant Director
Division of Sport Fish
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 252.
GORDON GARCIA, Project Manager
Division of Sport Fish
Alaska Department of Fish & Game
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 252.
BILL BUBBEL
Tanana Valley Convention and Visitor's Bureau,
Hatchery committee
Trout Unlimited
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 252.
A. L. BUKI WRIGHT, General Manager
Aurora Energy
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 252.
RICKY GEASE, Executive Director
Kenai River Sport Fishing Association
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 252.
JENNIFER YUHAS, Executive Director
Alaska Outdoor Council
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of the usage fee, but
not the bonding portion of HB 252.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR RALPH SAMUELS called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:09:20 PM. Representatives
LeDoux, Samuels, Elkins, Seaton, Gatto, and Ramras were present
at the call to order.
HB 252-SPORT FISHING FACILITY REVENUE BONDS
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 252 "An Act providing for a sport fishing
facility surcharge on sport fishing licenses; providing for the
construction and renovation of state sport fishing facilities
and for other projects beneficial to the sport fish resources of
the state as a public enterprise; and authorizing the issuance
of revenue bonds to finance those projects."
REPRESENTATIVE JIM HOLM, Alaska State Legislature, said HB 252
was hatched when Senator Ted Stevens obtained $10 million in
federal funds for a hatchery in Fairbanks. He said HB 252 adds
fees to sport fishing licenses to rebuild a hatchery in Fort
Richardson and to build a new hatchery in Fairbanks. Bonds will
be sold to build the projects and reimbursed by the fund. He
noted that the total will be $69 million, with $45 million going
to the Fort Richardson hatchery. If it isn't rebuilt, he said,
it will be torn down because it is over 30 years old and is
running out of warm water. There will be $15 million for the
Fairbanks hatchery, $3.5 million in reserves, and $5.5 million
for other fish projects including the Crystal Lake hatchery in
Petersburg, the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture
Association hatcheries in Sitka and Haines, and $160,000 for a
new hatchery in Skagway.
1:13:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLM noted that the license is currently $15, and
it will go to $23.50 under HB 252. Once the bonds are paid for,
the increase will be reduced. Alaska's fee will not be high
compared to sport fishing licenses for other states, and we will
have state of the art facilities, he concluded.
1:15:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO said he wants to hear from sport anglers.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLM said most are supportive, but some thought
it was a greater increase than expected.
1:17:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLM said about 80 percent of the money will come
from non-resident anglers.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if more non-resident fishing
licenses are sold.
1:18:03 PM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Assistant Director, Division of Sport Fish,
Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), said the division
sells more sport fishing licenses to non-residents. The
surcharge would depend on the license time-period, he said.
Many sport groups have supported HB 252 because the hatchery
production provides economic benefits and fishing opportunities.
Kids start their fishing experiences on stocked lakes, he said.
This is how people get interested in fishing. The hatchery fish
relieves pressure on wild stocks, "and I can't tell you how
important that is," he said. The hatchery fish provide
diversion fisheries, because the others are fully allocated. He
concluded that there is great value to anglers in taking the
pressure off wild stocks like rainbow trout.
1:20:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked the survival rate of catch and
release rainbow trout.
MR. VINCENT-LANG said management for wild stock rainbow trout
encourages non-lethal, non-bait fisheries, and there is less
than five percent mortality.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked how far hatchery fish can be
transported.
MR. VINCENT-LANG said ADF&G is very good at hatchery transport.
Fish go by tanker truck between Anchorage and Fairbanks, which
is 400 miles. He said 21 lakes in Kodiak are stocked from Fort
Richardson.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked how hatcheries are located.
1:23:21 PM
MR. VINCENT-LANG said there are different production needs in
Fairbanks and Anchorage. In Fairbanks the state has access to
hot water from the Aurora power plant, which reduces operational
costs. The Anchorage facility meets that region's needs.
Recreational fishing needs are not conducive to private non-
profit ventures, he noted.
1:24:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked about support from sport groups.
CO-CHAIR SAMUELS said that will be in public testimony.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if the Southeast Alaska hatchery
enhancements are part of a long-range plan.
MR. VINCENT-LANG said ADF&G spends $750,000 through private non-
profit hatcheries in Southeast. There is also $193,000 for the
Crystal Lake Hatchery, which will be gone at the end of the
year, he said. The projects in the bill are the things that
were needed and were in ADF&G's plans. Some needs are addressed
through the hatchery programs. In Kodiak there is a stocking
plan that will be addressed through the hatchery in Anchorage.
1:27:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLM said the committee has letters of support.
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said he supports the hatchery programs in
Fairbanks and Anchorage, but he asked why the state needs a
brand new $45 million hatchery in Anchorage.
MR. VINCENT-LANG said the hatchery in Anchorage is old and
crumbling, and it is losing its hot water. The well field at
the old hatchery is maxed out, he said, and a new design would
use water more efficiently. The demand over the next twenty
years requires the new re-circulation technology, he said. The
production needs are greater in Anchorage than Fairbanks.
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said there is ample surplus waste heat according
to Jim Posey of Anchorage Municipal Light And Power. In
Fairbanks, there is money earmarked for a mile-long pipe from
the Aurora Energy power plant for free waste hot water. He said
he supports the hatchery program but it needs an airing.
1:34:02 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS noted that the Fairbanks pipe will cost about $2
million. The Anchorage power plant has offered the same option
to the hatchery in Anchorage, and it will cost $1.5 to $3
million. "Are we being fiscally conservative?" he asked.
1:35:19 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS asked how much the Anchorage hatchery can be
upgraded for $15 million. There is $350 million in deferred
maintenance in schools, he said, and he wants a justification
for a $45 million new hatchery.
GORDON GARCIA, Project Manager, Division of Sport Fish, Alaska
Department of Fish & Game, said ADF&G looked at a pipeline and
estimated a construction cost of $4 to $6 million. The hatchery
would also need to get the water to the power plant, and water
is limited in that area. He noted that Anchorage Municipal
Light and Power has already allocated most of its excess heat,
so the state would have to compete with other entities. The
right of way for the pipeline, he explained, would be "literally
millions of dollars."
1:39:54 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said his dialogue with Jim Posey was casual, and
he asked the department to revisit it. He asked Mr. Garcia how
close ADF&G could get to its hatchery target with $15 million.
MR. GARCIA said he would need to do research, but it would be a
band-aid to barely keep up with existing demand. "We're losing
ground, even as we speak," he said. With the loss of the hot
water, the cost of keeping the current hatchery running would be
prohibitive. Recirculation is much more efficient, and it will
reduce competition for water.
1:41:53 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said he still disagrees with some of the issues.
1:42:21 PM
BILL BUBBEL, Tanana Valley Convention and Visitor's Bureau,
Trout Unlimited, and Chena Riverfront Commission, said he has
followed the hatchery process from the beginning. He noted that
a fishing license is a user fee, not a tax. It is resource
enhancement for the people using the resource, he said, so there
is little opposition. He reported that Alaska is below average
for non-resident sport fishing fees. Having catchable fish is a
huge marketing tool for tourism, and it will increase and
sustain visitation in the area. He added that locals are not
going to mind spending the extra $8. He said, "Canada is about
fished out; their stocking program is a little bit behind, so
Alaska is still a dream that [visitors] have, and we need to
fulfill that." He claimed the Interior has different hatchery
needs, and transporting from Anchorage has caused high fish
mortality. Pressure on lakes is increasing because of increased
military in the area. "We need to grow more fish," he added.
It will take time to build the hatchery, and lakes will get
depleted soon, he warned. Senator Stevens has given about $8
million toward the hatchery, he highlighted, and about $1
million has been spent on well drilling and engineering. It's a
huge community project, involving kids, the university, and
tourism advocates, he concluded.
1:47:45 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said he agrees with Mr. Bubbel on the importance
of getting kids involved in science, biology and the outdoors.
A. L. BUKI WRIGHT, General Manager, Aurora Energy, said the
company's power plant is on the Chena River and has heat that it
doesn't use. The hatchery can use it if located within 1 to 1.5
miles of the plant. In the process of making electricity the
plant needs Chena River water to cool hot equipment, he said.
The warm water is now channeled back into the river and wasted.
1:52:28 PM
MR. WRIGHT said the water is warm enough to raise fish, but not
to heat the building. So Aurora Energy will sell its hotter
"district heat" for heating the buildings, he said.
1:54:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLM asked about Aurora Energy's commitment for
the life of the project.
MR. WRIGHT said the company has every intention of being there,
and will sign a long-term contract to provide the heat for "a
lot longer" than 15 years.
1:55:55 PM
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said without the benefit of the waste heat, the
annual cost of the hatchery would be $700,000 more. He hopes
there will be natural gas in the future. He thanked Mr. Wright.
1:58:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO asked about gas coming to Fairbanks, and if
Aurora Energy will be forced to abandon the coal plant.
MR. WRIGHT said gas may or may not mean that the coal plant will
shut down. Gas might be more expensive than coal, he said. It
is unlikely that the power plant would shut down, and even if it
is converted to gas it would continue to have waste heat.
2:01:09 PM
RICKY GEASE, Executive Director, Kenai River Sport Fishing
Association, Soldotna, said the association supports the bill.
The new facilities are important for the future of sport
fishing, he said. Over 60,000 new anglers will be coming to the
region in the next decade, and it is time to plan now. The user
fees will not turn anyone away, especially since the money will
be used for resource enhancement, he said. Lake hatchery
programs are important for diversifying angling activities and
reducing fishing on the extremely popular Kenai River.
2:04:41 PM
JENNIFER YUHAS, Executive Director, Alaska Outdoor Council
(AOC), said the AOC supports the usage fee, but not the use of
bonding.
2:05:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked if the bonding goes forward and the
revenue stream is identified as its user fee on recreational
licenses, "are you opposing that?"
MS. YUHAS reiteriated that the AOC is opposed to funding with
bonds.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked why.
MS. YUHAS said because the delegates voted against it.
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS said the bonding mechanism can be dealt with in
the House Finance Committee.
CO-CHAIR RAMRAS moved to report HB 252 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, HB 252 was passed out of the House
Resources Standing Committee.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:08:38
PM.
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