00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 41                                                                                        
01 Relating to federal exemptions from regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory                                         
02 Commission for construction of small-scale hydroelectric projects in Alaska.                                            
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
04  WHEREAS Senator Frank Murkowski has introduced legislation in the Congress of                                        
05 the United States that would speed up construction of small-scale hydroelectric projects that                           
06 are fueled by a renewable resource by replacing federal regulation with state regulation; and                           
07  WHEREAS S. 439 will exempt the construction of new hydroelectric projects that                                       
08 generate no more than 5,000 kilowatts, that primarily serve rural areas, and that would                                 
09 otherwise use diesel generators in the production of electricity from regulation by the Federal                         
10 Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) so long as the state has adopted a system of state                                  
11 regulation for small-scale hydroelectric projects and will permit exempting the relicensing of                          
12 existing small-scale projects from FERC regulation so long as there is state regulation; and                            
13  WHEREAS S. 439 does not exempt projects from existing environmental laws; and                                        
14  WHEREAS the exemption from FERC regulation would only be triggered when the                                          

01 state notifies the Secretary of Energy that the state has in place a comprehensive process for                          
02 regulating small hydroelectric projects; and                                                                            
03  WHEREAS the FERC regulatory process is so time-consuming, cumbersome, and                                            
04 expensive that it can make small-scale power projects uneconomical to build;                                            
05  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports Senator Murkowski in                                       
06 his efforts to reduce the cost of power generation in rural Alaska and urges the Congress of                            
07 the United States to approve S. 439.                                                                                    
08  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President                                
09 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Strom Thurmond,                                    
10 President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S.                              
11 House of Representatives; the Honorable Federico F. Pena, U.S. Secretary of the Department                              
12 of Energy; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S.                                     
13 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
14 delegation in Congress.