Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
04/30/2007 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB229 | |
| SJR6 | |
| HB152 | |
| HB220 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 220 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SJR 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 152 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 229 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 30, 2007
3:52 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Charlie Huggins, Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Thomas Wagoner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Bert Stedman, Vice Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 229 am
"An Act authorizing the Alaska Railroad Corporation to
participate in a project consisting of the acquisition,
construction, improvement, maintenance, equipping, or operation
of real and personal property, including facilities and
equipment, for the Kenai gasification project and Port MacKenzie
rail link, authorizing the corporation to issue bonds to finance
all or a portion of the project, and identifying these as bonds
for an essential public and governmental purpose; and providing
for an effective date."
MOVED HB 229 am OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6
Urging the United States Congress to defeat House Resolution 39,
titled "To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition
of its extraordinary natural ecosystems and for the permanent
good of present and future generations of Americans."
MOVED CSSJR 6(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 152(FIN)
"An Act establishing a renewable energy project account and a
renewable energy fund and describing their uses and purposes."
MOVED SCS CSHB 152(RES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 220(JUD)
"An Act prohibiting computer-assisted remote hunting."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 229
SHORT TITLE: KENAI GASIFICATION PROJECT; RAILROAD BOND
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CHENAULT
03/29/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/29/07 (H) FIN
04/12/07 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/12/07 (H) Heard & Held
04/12/07 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/13/07 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/13/07 (H) Moved Out of Committee
04/13/07 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/16/07 (H) FIN RPT 2DP 4NR 1AM
04/16/07 (H) DP: THOMAS, MEYER
04/16/07 (H) NR: HAWKER, NELSON, CRAWFORD, KELLY
04/16/07 (H) AM: STOLTZE
04/25/07 (H) BEFORE THE HOUSE
04/25/07 (H) ENGROSSED
04/26/07 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/26/07 (H) VERSION: HB 229 AM
04/27/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/27/07 (S) RES
04/30/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: SJR 6
SHORT TITLE: OPPOSE WILDERNESS DESIGNATION FOR ANWR
SPONSOR(s): RESOURCES
04/25/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/25/07 (S) RES
04/30/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 152
SHORT TITLE: ESTABLISH RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND/ACCOUNT
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) HARRIS
02/26/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/26/07 (H) CRA, FIN
03/06/07 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/06/07 (H) Heard & Held
03/06/07 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/20/07 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/20/07 (H) Heard & Held
03/20/07 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/22/07 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
03/22/07 (H) Moved CSHB 152(CRA) Out of Committee
03/22/07 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
03/27/07 (H) CRA RPT CS(CRA) NT 7DP
03/27/07 (H) DP: CISSNA, DAHLSTROM, NEUMAN, SALMON,
OLSON, FAIRCLOUGH, LEDOUX
04/12/07 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/12/07 (H) Scheduled But Not Heard
04/13/07 (H) FIN AT 1:30 PM HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/13/07 (H) Moved CSHB 152(FIN) Out of Committee
04/13/07 (H) MINUTE(FIN)
04/16/07 (H) FIN RPT CS(FIN) NT 5DP 3NR
04/16/07 (H) DP: GARA, CRAWFORD, NELSON, THOMAS,
MEYER
04/16/07 (H) NR: HAWKER, STOLTZE, KELLY
04/19/07 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/19/07 (H) VERSION: CSHB 152(FIN)
04/20/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/20/07 (S) RES, FIN
04/25/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/25/07 (S) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/30/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 220
SHORT TITLE: BAN COMPUTER-ASSISTED REMOTE HUNTING
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) BUCH
03/26/07 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/26/07 (H) RES, JUD, FIN
04/02/07 (H) RES AT 1:00 PM BARNES 124
04/02/07 (H) Moved CSHB 220(RES) Out of Committee
04/02/07 (H) MINUTE(RES)
04/03/07 (H) RES RPT CS(RES) 6DP 3NR
04/03/07 (H) DP: ROSES, WILSON, GUTTENBERG, EDGMON,
SEATON, GATTO
04/03/07 (H) NR: KAWASAKI, KOHRING, JOHNSON
04/13/07 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
04/13/07 (H) Moved CSHB 220(JUD) Out of Committee
04/13/07 (H) MINUTE(JUD)
04/16/07 (H) JUD RPT CS(JUD) 5DP
04/16/07 (H) DP: GRUENBERG, LYNN, SAMUELS, HOLMES,
RAMRAS
04/18/07 (H) FIN REFERRAL WAIVED
04/20/07 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/20/07 (H) VERSION: CSHB 220(JUD)
04/23/07 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/23/07 (S) RES
04/30/07 (S) RES AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
LALANYA SNYDER
Staff to Representative Chenault
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on HB 229 for the sponsor.
LISA PARKER, Manager
Government Relations
Agrium
Kenai AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 229 am.
PAT GAMBELL, President and CEO
Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 229 am.
BILL LEARY, Chief Financial Officer
Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 229 am.
DAVE HANSEN, Director
Economic Development
Mat-Su Borough
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Strongly supported HB 229 am.
SCOTT HAMANN
Kenai AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 229 am.
PAUL KENDALL
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Neutral position on HB 229 am, but supported
development of hydrogen.
JODY SIMPSON
Staff to Senator Huggins
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SJR 6 for the sponsor.
FRAN MAUER
Alaska Outdoor Council
Fairbanks AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SJR 6.
PAMELA MILLER, Arctic Coordinator
Northern Alaska Environmental Center
Fairbanks AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SJR 6.
MATTHEW GILBERT
Venetie Tribal Government
Venetie AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SJR 6 and supported HB 152.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL THOMAS
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 152.
CHERISSE MILLETT
Staff to Representative Harris
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented sectional analysis of HB 152.
PETER CRIMP
Alaska Energy Authority (AEA)
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Available to answer questions on HB 152.
CAITLIN HIGGENS, Acting Executive Director
Alaska Conservation Alliance
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 152.
WILLIAM PUTNAM, Acting Forestry Director
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Fairbanks AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 152.
SARA FISHER-GOAD, Deputy Director of Operations
Alaska Energy Authority
Anchorage AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Prepared an amendment for HB 152.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 220.
MATT ROBUS, Director
Division of Wildlife Conservation
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Suggested working out language on HB 220 at
a Board of Game meeting.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR CHARLIE HUGGINS called the Senate Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:52:56 PM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Wagoner, Wielechowski, Stevens and Huggins.
HB 229am-KENAI GASIFICATION PROJECT; RAILROAD BOND
3:53:36 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS announced HB 229 am to be up for consideration.
LALANYA SNYDER, staff to Representative Chenault, sponsor of HB
229, explained that Agrium owns and operates an ammonia and urea
complex in the Kenai area that has been at risk for a number of
years of being shut down permanently because of the lack of feed
stock. So, the Agrium Kenai gasification project has been in
development. This project would bring coal from Healy to Kenai
where low-emission coal gasification and electricity generation
plants would be built.
HB 229 authorizes the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) to
issue up to $2.9 billion in tax exempt bonds to finance a
portion of the project. The project will also help generate
electricity for Southcentral Alaska and generate excess carbon
dioxide that could be used to improve oil recovery from the
wells in Cook Inlet and as well as continue to supply fertilizer
to Alaska.
3:54:44 PM
MS. SNYDER explained that payment of the debt service for
facilities and equipment that would not be owned by ARRC would
be provided through a long-term contract or other agreement
between ARRC and the project's owner or operator. There would be
no fiscal impact to the state.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if they had heard of any resistance to the
project or the bonding implications thus far.
MS. SNYDER replied that she hadn't heard of any.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked Ms. Parker of Agrium to further explain the
concept.
3:55:42 PM
LISA PARKER, Manager, Government Relations, Agrium U.S., said
she supported HB 229 am. The concept that is imbedded from
Agrium's standpoint with coal gasification is that coal would be
transported from Healy to a port facility and barged to Agrium's
facility where the coal would be gasified. Part of the 3 million
tons of coal per year would be used for creating the hydrogen
Agrium needs to make anhydrous ammonia and the rest would be
used for generating power. The complex they are envisioning
would generate 190 megawatts of power - 120 megawatts would be
used at their facility for the gasifier air separation unit
(ASU) and 70 megawatts would be put into the grid without having
to upgrade the existing transmission lines. Homer Electric
Association is taking the lead on the power generation-side.
3:56:17 PM
SENATORS GREEN AND MCGUIRE joined the committee.
MS. PARKER explained that Agrium's plant has been operating at
50 percent capacity for half of the year and they want to bring
it back to full operation.
3:58:30 PM
SENATOR WAGONER asked if Agrium could get its funding somewhere
else if this bill doesn't pass.
MS. PARKER replied they would be able to look for other avenues.
SENATOR WAGONER said that this wasn't a bail out, but rather one
method of financing.
MS. PARKER replied that this mechanism was established 20 years
ago as a funding mechanism by the federal government to allow
the ARRC to issue tax free bonds for economic development
projects in Alaska. From the state's standpoint, there is no
state involvement. It is not a bail out.
3:59:59 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked who pays if there is a default.
MS. PARKER replied if the legislature gives the ARRC authority
to seek tax-free bonds, it then has to get permission from its
board of directors to seek those bonds. In seeking those bonds,
they go to the bond market which will thoroughly investigate the
Railroad, Agrium and its equity partners in this process. If the
market does not feel that they have the resources to pay for
those bonds, they would not issue them.
4:00:47 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the ARRC could lose many of its
assets if there was a default.
4:01:01 PM
PAT GAMBELL, President and CEO, Alaska Railroad Corporation
(ARRC), said the Railroad would be responsible for any portion
of the bonding that would be used to purchase assets on its own
- in terms of locomotives and coal cars. But for the vast
majority of the dollars they are talking about in this
particular project, there is no recourse to the state or to the
ARRC.
MR. GAMBELL said the ARRC's participation is in two parts. One
is the operational part, which would be the movement of the coal
to an offload point. Two points are being looked at right now
and they are looking at moving in the neighborhood of 3 million
tons a year, which is significantly more than it has moved in
the past. So, therefore, part of the tax-free issuance would go
to purchase around 200 railcars and probably 9 or 10 locomotives
that would go into service full-time to move the product to the
chosen port.
He said the second interest in this project is to use this tool
for the economic development that Ms. Parker described. He also
wanted to reinforce the idea that this is absolutely not a
bailout and it is simply a tool and one that simply has not been
used up to this point in time.
4:04:12 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI wanted to clarify that there is absolutely
no state liability if there is a default.
MR. GAMBELL replied that that was true as well as unique in
terms of the U.S. tax code. The Alaska Railroad properties were
left untouched in the tax rewrite of 1986.
4:05:00 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he wanted to hear more about how it's
possible for the state or the Railroad to have zero liability if
there's a default. And he wanted to hear it from a tax expert.
MS. PARKER explained that the $2.9 billion bond has three
components or partners. Agrium's portion would be $2 billion;
$600 million is designated for the Railroad; and $300 million is
designated for a spur line through the Mat-Su Borough. She
deferred the tax question to ARRC tax expert, Bill Leary.
4:05:51 PM
BILL LEARY, Chief Financial Officer, ARRC, explained this is a
very big deal to the ARRC - in that it is moving 3 million
incremental tons of coal. With regard to the specific question
about recourse to the state or to the Railroad, he said this
bill is only an authorization to issue up to $2.9 billion worth
of bonds. The actual mechanics of who would be responsible for
repayment of the debt would be: first it would need to be
approved by Railroad management, then by the Railroad Board of
Directors, but the ultimate control would come from the
marketplace.
He assured them that the ARRC's balance sheet would not support
the issuance of anything with even a $1 billion sign on it. As a
result, the market would dictate how much could be issued and
what the repayment source would be. So, in this case, a small
amount in the grand scheme of things would have the Railroad as
its backstop - for things like the railcars, locomotives and
infrastructure improvements that would be needed to support this
project, but the vast majority would be supported by Agrium or a
combination of Agrium and its partners. That's who would be
responsible for repaying that debt and those terms would be
drawn up in the bond documents themselves.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the bond could be used to build a
spur line from the North Slope down to Southcentral.
4:08:30 PM
MR. LEARY replied that this unique authority that the Railroad
has, based on language in the Transfer Act, needs to be tied
directly to the Railroad and to rail service. That is why this
is such a good project as it's proposed with the Agrium
initiative.
4:09:24 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the bond could be used to bring a
line to Southcentral.
MR. LEARY recalled how in 2004 the Legislature approved $17
billion worth of railroad bond authorizations related to
financing the natural gas pipeline.
CHAIR HUGGINS said that Senator Wielechowski was referring to
the authorization in the event that the spur line existed that
pipe and other logistical support requirements for a pipeline
construction could be reverse-hauled north on it.
MR. GAMBELL responded absolutely - the reverse haul potential
would be excellent from Port MacKenzie into the Interior. He
hoped the state would consider that in the engineering of the
pipeline.
CHAIR HUGGINS said that is one of the underpinnings that makes
this attractive to him.
4:11:03 PM
DAVE HANSEN, Director, Economic Development, Mat-Su Borough,
strongly supported HB 229 am. They feel that an extension from
the main line down to Port Mackenzie would not only greatly
enhance the Agrium gasification project for a coal
transportation port, but also would provide extensive statewide
benefits - such as making the development of numerous strategic
mineral deposits in the Interior more cost effective and
feasible. One study says Port Mackenzie would be the best port
for this purpose. It would also reduce the need to invest up to
$150 million in rail crossing improvements in the Wasilla to
Anchorage rail corridor and should save Agrium rail transport
money in its rail freight costs.
4:13:30 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if this project would have the ability to
provide electricity beyond the needs of the Agrium plant.
MR. HANSEN replied that answer would have two parts. Lisa Parker
would have to answer the one about the actual electric
generation at the Agrium plant that is part of the gasification.
But he could answer that by putting a rail line to Port
Mackenzie you make the possibility of electric generation
through the use of coal as a fuel very feasible and that could
be put on the main line system, the grid.
4:14:41 PM
MS. PARKER added that Agrium's current design for the power
plant is for 190 megawatts of power. Agrium would purchase 120
percent of that and the remaining 70 megawatts would be
available for distribution on the grid.
4:15:14 PM
SCOTT HAMANN, Kenai resident, said this is a great bill and it
is good for the whole state. This is just a win/win situation.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked Ms. Snyder to give them an overview of the
issues that were raised in the other body on the bonding concept
and Agrium's viability.
4:17:15 PM
MS. SNYDER responded that Representative Hawker had some
concerns with the size of the bonding, but those were cleared up
by the Department of Revenue. Representative Gara brought up the
issue of emissions and he offered an amendment on the floor that
did not pass.
CHAIR HUGGINS asked Ms. Parker to review the decision points
Agrium has.
MS. PARKER replied on July 1 Agrium will have to decide whether
to go forward on this project or not. It was started in October
2004. That decision will be based on the financials from an
engineering standpoint, for one thing, and the engineering has
been done. They are continuing to work on the engineering, but
it has been found to be feasible. The initial work on permitting
did not identify any show-stoppers and they will be announcing
the selection of the environmental firm later this week. After
July, if the decision is made by management and equity partners
to continue the project, the next gate would be in the fall of
2008. That would be as to whether or not Agrium goes into
detailed engineering and start procurement on things that would
need a long lead-time. She said if all gates open, this project
would be on line by 2011/2012.
SENATOR WAGONER reminded them that some people have said using
CO2 in a field such as Swanson River and Cook Inlet that an
additional 300 million barrels of oil could be recovered. When
you start calculating what the state gets out of that at the
current price of oil per barrel, that's a big prize.
4:20:06 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if Agrium preferred to fuel its plant
with natural gas.
MS. PARKER replied yes, but the supply of natural gas is
declining. The plant was closed for six months because it was
unable to get feed stock and is operating at 25 percent capacity
on average.
MS. PARKER said that two other facilities were impacted by the
same lack in Southcentral as was a company that delivers natural
gas to Fairbanks - but the company Fairbanks was able to work
out an arrangement to get the natural gas from Enstar.
She said they are looking at a five-year time frame of trying to
keep their plant operating while this gasification project comes
online. Senior management doesn't see North Slope natural gas
coming on line in the next 10 years and doesn't foresee being
able to keep the facility operating for that time at 50 percent
capacity.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how soon they expected to be
gasifying coal under this proposal.
MS. PARKER replied by 2011/12. And management hopes to be able
to get gas to operate at least half of their plant for half of
the year during the construction time.
4:22:17 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI again voiced his concern that he raised
when the legislature received this presentation earlier along
with one by Enstar that proposed a bullet gasline from the North
Slope down to Southcentral, which would cost almost the same as
this project.
His concern was if you want $2.9 billion worth of to get a
bullet gasline to Southcentral, you would need a big anchor
tenant to pay for it and Agrium is the ideal anchor tenant. So,
if they go ahead with this project, it hurts the state's ability
to bring a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope, because
they loose Agrium as an anchor tenant - and if the state has
this opportunity to bond, he would like to see it go towards
building a bullet gasline from the North Slope and incorporating
the Railroad into the building of a spur line. "That way we get
you your gas, but we also get gas for the hundreds of thousands,
the 71 percent of Southcentral in Fairbanks and Kenai residents
who use natural gas, whose rates have doubled in the last five
years...."
SENATOR WAGONER responded that he didn't think that concept
would fit the Railroad bonding capabilities.
4:23:55 PM
MR. GAMBELL said that was an interesting concept, but the issue
is timing and Agrium's timing is urgent. The Railroad's bonding
capacity is not capped and it could look at another project like
a bullet line in the future. In fact, it has discussed projects
with numerous other companies and he said:
It's certainly feasible. The devil is in the details
in terms of making arrangements much as we have with
Agrium to satisfy the requirement that the project is
for railroad purposes. So therefore, property or
right-of-way, or some sort of support, or a
combination of all the above may very well prove to be
the right formula at some point in the future. That
point, however, is certainly farther down the road
than the current concern that Agrium has for its
inability to put capacity out of its plant.
We'd be very happy to talk with the state or look at
that initiative as well, and we can, because as a
conduit financer and with this capability we have we
would not be capped and in fact could look at
something like that.
4:25:27 PM
PAUL KENDALL, Anchorage resident, said he was not endorsing this
project, but he wanted to suggest that the future lies in
hydrogen.
SENATOR STEVENS moved to pass HB 229 am from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI objected saying he wanted HB 229 to get a
Finance Committee referral for his previously mentioned reasons.
It is not a bad project, but it is only one project and he
preferred to see the bonding go towards a gas pipeline from the
North Slope to Southcentral that would provide natural gas
energy for Agrium along with energy for the many residents all
up and down the Railbelt.
CHAIR HUGGINS said they could not discount the value of being
able to reverse hauling to the North in logistical support of
any pipeline and secondly that the LNG plant can be viewed as a
potential anchor for a large natural gas supply. And he didn't
think they were mutually exclusive.
A roll call vote was taken: Senators Stevens, Wagoner, Green and
Huggins voted yea; Senator Wielechowski voted nay; and HB 229 am
moved from committee.
4:29:03 PM at ease 4:31:07 PM
SJR 6-OPPOSE WILDERNESS DESIGNATION FOR ANWR
4:31:53 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS announced SJR 6 to be up for consideration.
JODY SIMPSON, staff to Senator Huggins, explained that in
January 2007, Representatives Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts
and Jim Ramstad of Minnesota introduced HR 39 as an extension of
the Udall/Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act and it was referred
to the U.S. House Resources Committee. A copy of HR 39 was in
their packets. She said that SJR 6 addresses that resolution.
4:32:31 PM
She said further:
Oil and gas exploration and development of the Arctic
Coastal Plain could result in discoveries that would
reduce our nation's future need on imported oil, help
balance the nation's trade deficit and significantly
increase the nation's security. You have paperwork in
your packet that speaks to the vast economic potential
for this project.
In 1980 the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (ANILCA) Congress reserved the right
to permit further activities within the Coastal Plain.
At this time, 8.9 million of the 19 million acres of
the Refuge have already been set aside as wilderness.
Current enhancements in technology can be used in a
manner that minimizes the area within the Refuge that
is used for exploration and development while
providing the nation with a needed supply of oil and
gas. This resolution before you, if adopted, urges the
U.S. Congress to defeat HR 39 and, therefore, allow
additional activities within the Coastal Plain.
MS. SIMPSON said she worked with Daniel Kish who works on the
House Committee on Resources in Washington, D.C. to draft this
language and she pointed out a series of amendments that our
drafters provided that are mostly housekeeping measures.
4:34:18 PM
FRAN MAUER, Alaska Outdoor Council, said he is a 36 year
resident of Alaska and a graduate of the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. During his time in the state he has had the
opportunity to work with the wildlife biologists on the Arctic
Refuge Coastal Plain and he has made many personal trips there
as well. He opposed SJR 6 because the Coastal Plain of the
Arctic Refuge is the most essential area of an international
eco-system that is unparalleled in the entire circumpolar region
for its wildlife and its wilderness values.
He asserted, "Indeed, designation of this area as wilderness by
the U.S. Congress is actually the right thing to do" especially
with the ever-growing implications of human-induced global
warming. Now is the time for Alaska to show leadership in the
development of clean renewable energy resources such as wind,
geothermal and tidal and not to continue as the supplier of oil.
4:36:36 PM
PAMELA MILLER, Arctic Coordinator, Northern Alaska Environmental
Center, urged that the United State and Alaska move toward
getting off of fossil fuels. She said the Interior Department's
environmental statement that the congressional drilling bills
rely on state that oil and gas development would damage the
wilderness character of the Coastal Plain and that it would be
irretrievably lost as a result.
She asked if the state's citizens should really trust Exxon, BP,
and ConocoPhillips after what happened last year with the
largest crude oil spill ever in the North Slope caused by
negligent corrosion. Industry has not demonstrated that it can
be trusted on environmental health and safety. She said the
National Research Council in 2003 found that cumulative impacts
from North Slope development harmed the land, birds, caribou,
endangered bowhead whale migration and other wildlife and Alaska
Native culture.
She opposed SJR 6 saying that even Gene Iacocca, former CEO of
Chrysler Corporation, said we need to think about our future use
of fossil fuels.
SENATOR WAGONER asked who funds her group.
MS. MILLER replied that is funded by its members and by grants.
4:41:11 PM
MATTHEW GILBERT, Venetie Tribal Government, said he is Gwichen
Athabascan. He opposed SJR 6 because oil and gas development
would detrimentally harm the Porcupine caribou herd on which
Gwichens critically rely on for food, subsistence and cultural
ways. They have been fighting this issue for 25 years. He
stated:
I believe it is beating a dead horse because the
country has voted again and again in support of us and
it's been defeated in Congress over and over. I think
this is just distracting us from a real true economic
policy, which is renewable energy because our fossil
fuels are running out. It's worsening global
warming....
MR. GILBERT also said that he supported HB 152.
4:44:42 PM
SENATOR GREEN moved Amendment 1 that consisted of housekeeping
issues.
25-LS0869\A.1
Bullock
AMENDMENT 1
OFFERED IN THE HOUSE
Page 1, line 1:
Delete "House Resolution"
Insert "H.R."
Page 1, line 6:
Delete "House Resolution"
Insert "H.R."
Page 2, line 4:
Delete "ANCILA"
Insert "ANILCA"
Page 2, line 17:
Delete "House Resolution"
Insert "H.R."
There were no objections and Amendment 1 was adopted.
SENATOR STEVENS moved to pass SCS SJR 6(RES) with individual
recommendations. There were no objections and it was so ordered.
4:45:31 PM at ease 4:47:00 PM
CSHB 152(FIN)-ESTABLISH RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND/ACCOUNT
4:47:07 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS announced CSHB 152(FIN) to be up for
consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE BILL THOMAS, sponsor of HB 152, said in 2003 the
Alaska Task Force recommended that the state increase
development of renewable resources. Further, with the high cost
of fuel in Alaska it has been very difficult for rural Alaskans
to prosper and many have to decide if they want to heat, have
heat, fuel or health care. He said the time has come to
seriously explore other renewable sources of energy such as
wind, geothermal, solar and hydro. Many communities have already
been researching ways to secure cleaner and more cost efficient
energy and they need funding to help harness these renewable
sources of power.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS said that HB 152 establishes a renewable
energy fund which will be administrated by the Alaska Energy
Authority (AEA). AEA would take advice from an advisory
committee with members appointed by the governor from various
utilities, environmental businesses, and Native stakeholder
groups. The fund will offer both loan and grant options for
Alaskans to develop renewable energy projects throughout the
state.
4:49:42 PM
CHERISSE MILLETT, staff to Representative Harris, presented the
sectional analysis. She highlighted that grants are eligible for
new projects only and can use a renewable energy resource or
natural gas. Natural gas is used as a last resort for those
communities in rural Alaska that don't have renewable energy
sources. Any natural gas project has to benefit a community with
a population of 10,000 or less.
She said that the loan fund is revolving so it doesn't deplete
itself and the grant fund was designed as a percentage of market
value making it sustainable once the money is appropriated.
4:52:48 PM
PETER CRIMP, Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), said he was
available to answer questions.
4:53:15 PM
CAITLIN HIGGENS, Acting Executive Director, Alaska Conservation
Alliance, strongly supported HB 152. She said, "Blessed with
unparalleled renewable energy resources, Alaska has the
opportunity to lead American and the world in the development of
clean renewable energy resources...."
4:54:46 PM
WILLIAM PUTNAM, Acting Forestry Director, Tanana Chiefs
Conference, said the Conference is a non-profit Native
corporation which provides a variety of services to about 40
villages scattered around Interior Alaska and as such its
primary clients are the village and tribal governments. Many of
the programs the Tanana Chiefs direct try to improve the
economic and social sustainability of those communities. The
increasing cost of using fossil fuels has made it imperative to
develop renewable alternative resources for energy. He fully
supported HB 152 saying that many of the villages lack to
resources to pursue some of these options themselves and many of
them are interested in bio-energy and bio-mass resource
development in achieving self sufficiency.
SARA FISHER-GOAD, Deputy Director of Operations, Alaska Energy
Authority, said she had prepared an amendment.
CHAIR HUGGINS moved to adopt Amendment 1 as follows:
On page 1, line 11: delete the comma after "river."
On page 3, line 9: insert "..., which shall be the
fiduciary of the fund under AS 37.10.071." after
"Revenue," (requested by the Department of Revenue)
On page 3, lines 7 & 8, delete the first instance of
"energy" and insert "electricity," and delete "run on"
and insert "use hydrogen from"
On page 3, lines 9 & 10: delete (D) in its entirety
because it is covered in (E)
On page 5, line 21: delete the comma after "river"
4:57:30 PM
MS. MILLETT said that the changes in Amendment 1 were all minor.
SENATOR STEVENS asked for the rationale used to make the
eligibility for 10,000 people or less.
4:59:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS explained that they followed the gas
pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks, took a left and came
down the Highway. There are no communities in between and he
didn't want to encourage people to use natural gas since that is
the last option. That area also has no river, no wind and no
hydro energy. He wanted to keep some communities from using all
the natural gas the state is trying to sell down south as well
as encourage alternative energy sources.
CHAIR HUGGINS found no further objections and Amendment 1 was
adopted.
4:59:51 PM4:59:51 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS asked if HB 152 had met any resistance.
REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS responded that he found no resistance and
has rather received compliments; he pointed out that the Denali
Commission is also one of the designees.
5:00:54 PM
SENATOR STEVENS moved to pass SCS HB 152(RES) with attached
fiscal note and individual recommendations. There were no
objections and it was so ordered.
CSHB 220(JUD)-BAN COMPUTER-ASSISTED REMOTE HUNTING
5:02:14 PM
CHAIR HUGGINS announced CSHB 220(JUD) to be up for
consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH, sponsor of HB 220, related that 26 states
have already banned computer-assisted remote hunting and others
are in the process of it. When he first heard about this type of
hunting, he thought it was a joke, but then he found out it was
not.
He said that Internet hunting is when a person anywhere in the
world can shoot animals from their living rooms by hooking up
their computers to a rifle through Internet. They are able to
control the aiming and firing of the rifle from the computer
keypad and to make a kill with the click of the mouse. This
practice began in Texas in 2005 when an entrepreneur offered
people the ability to shoot big game on his land via remote
control technology. The Texas legislature shut him down. Since
then, 26 states have passed legislation to ban this practice and
legislation in 8 other states is currently pending. HB 122 would
prohibit this despicable practice in Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE BUCH concluded, "As everyone knows, we have some
of the best big game in the world in Alaska. We need to ban this
practice before it hits. I want to make sure the guys who are
doing this don't come here."
He said that HB 122 prohibits individuals from engaging in
Internet hunting in Alaska. It also prohibits anyone from
providing services or operating facilities to enable
computerized hunting activities.
5:04:47 PM
MATT ROBUS, Director, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), said he wanted to
specifically address section (b), which addresses people with
disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was
supportive of it, but said today he became aware of the
existence of an idea to add an amendment that would prohibit
another type of hunting activating using remote TV cameras for
something called "electronic patterning."
He related how he had a discussion with the executive director
of the Alaska Outdoor Council (AOC) and the Department of Law
before coming to the meeting to figure out language, but the
consensus was that language to prohibit that type of activity is
not simple and has a lot of nuances. It's the type of activity
that is usually prohibited through 5 AAC 92.080, which prohibits
the use of cell phones, radios, pits, and fires and things like
that for the taking of wildlife. Electronic patterning seems to
be the type of activity that might fit into that and if so, the
Board of Game has a statewide regulatory meeting scheduled for
January 2008 in which that particular section of the code is
open. So he thought that type of language could be hammered out
there through the public proposal process better than here. He
said that Rod Arno, Executive Director, AOC, expressed an
interest in going in that direction.
CHAIR HUGGINS thanked him and said HB 220 would be held for
further coordination and passed out on Wednesday. There being no
further business to come before the committee, he adjourned the
meeting at 5:08:11 PM.
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