CSHB 104(RES) am: "An Act relating to salvage sales of timber, negotiated timber sales for local manufacture of wood products, and expedited timber sales; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 104(RES) am 01 "An Act relating to salvage sales of timber, negotiated timber sales for local 02 manufacture of wood products, and expedited timber sales; and providing for an 03 effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 LEGISLATIVE PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to reduce the risk and cost of 08 fires, minimize the loss of harvestable timber caused by fire, insect infestation, and disease 09 epidemics, and support an increase in local wood product producers and facilities. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05.035(e) is amended to read: 11 (e) Upon a written finding that the interests of the state will be best served, the 12 director may, with the consent of the commissioner, approve contracts for the sale, 13 lease, or other disposal of available land, resources, property, or interests in them. In 14 approving a contract under this subsection, the director need only prepare a single
01 written finding. In addition to the conditions and limitations imposed by law, the 02 director may impose additional conditions or limitations in the contracts as the director 03 determines, with the consent of the commissioner, will best serve the interests of the 04 state. The preparation and issuance of the written finding by the director are subject to 05 the following: 06 (1) with the consent of the commissioner and subject to the director's 07 discretion, for a specific proposed disposal of available land, resources, or property, or 08 of an interest in them, the director, in the written finding, 09 (A) shall establish the scope of the administrative review on 10 which the director's determination is based, and the scope of the written 11 finding supporting that determination; the scope of the administrative review 12 and finding may address only reasonably foreseeable, significant effects of the 13 uses proposed to be authorized by the disposal; 14 (B) may limit the scope of an administrative review and finding 15 for a proposed disposal to 16 (i) applicable statutes and regulations; 17 (ii) the facts pertaining to the land, resources, or 18 property, or interest in them, that the director finds are material to the 19 determination and that are known to the director or knowledge of which 20 is made available to the director during the administrative review; and 21 (iii) issues that, based on the statutes and regulations 22 referred to in (i) of this subparagraph, on the facts as described in (ii) of 23 this subparagraph, and on the nature of the uses sought to be authorized 24 by the disposal, the director finds are material to the determination of 25 whether the proposed disposal will best serve the interests of the state; 26 and 27 (C) may, if the project for which the proposed disposal is 28 sought is a multiphased development, limit the scope of an administrative 29 review and finding for the proposed disposal to the applicable statutes and 30 regulations, facts, and issues identified in (B)(i) - (iii) of this paragraph that 31 pertain solely to the disposal phase of the project when
01 (i) the only uses to be authorized by the proposed 02 disposal are part of that phase; 03 (ii) the disposal is a disposal of oil and gas, or of gas 04 only, and, before the next phase of the project may proceed, public 05 notice and the opportunity to comment are provided under regulations 06 adopted by the department; 07 (iii) the department's approval is required before the 08 next phase of the project may proceed; and 09 (iv) the department describes its reasons for a decision 10 to phase; 11 (2) the director shall discuss in the written finding prepared and issued 12 under this subsection the reasons that each of the following was not material to the 13 director's determination that the interests of the state will be best served: 14 (A) facts pertaining to the land, resources, or property, or an 15 interest in them other than those that the director finds material under (1)(B)(ii) 16 of this subsection; and 17 (B) issues based on the statutes and regulations referred to in 18 (1)(B)(i) of this subsection and on the facts described in (1)(B)(ii) of this 19 subsection; 20 (3) a written finding for an oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale 21 under AS 38.05.180 is subject to (g) of this section; 22 (4) a contract for the sale, lease, or other disposal of available land or 23 an interest in land is not legally binding on the state until the commissioner approves 24 the contract, but if the appraised value is not greater than $50,000 in the case of the 25 sale of land or an interest in land, or $5,000 in the case of the annual rental of land or 26 interest in land, the director may execute the contract without the approval of the 27 commissioner; 28 (5) public notice requirements relating to the sale, lease, or other 29 disposal of available land or an interest in land for oil and gas, or for gas only, 30 proposed to be scheduled in the five-year oil and gas leasing program under 31 AS 38.05.180(b), except for a sale under (6)(F) of this subsection, are as follows:
01 (A) before a public hearing, if held, or in any case not less than 02 180 days before the sale, lease, or other disposal of available land or an interest 03 in land, the director shall make available to the public a preliminary written 04 finding that states the scope of the review established under (1)(A) of this 05 subsection and includes the applicable statutes and regulations, the material 06 facts and issues in accordance with (1)(B) of this subsection, and information 07 required by (g) of this section, upon which the determination that the sale, 08 lease, or other disposal will serve the best interests of the state will be based; 09 the director shall provide opportunity for public comment on the preliminary 10 written finding for a period of not less than 60 days; 11 (B) after the public comment period for the preliminary written 12 finding and not less than 90 days before the sale, lease, or other disposal of 13 available land or an interest in land for oil and gas or for gas only, the director 14 shall make available to the public a final written finding that states the scope of 15 the review established under (1)(A) of this subsection and includes the 16 applicable statutes and regulations, the material facts and issues in accordance 17 with (1) of this subsection, and information required by (g) of this section, 18 upon which the determination that the sale, lease, or other disposal will serve 19 the best interests of the state is based; 20 (6) before a public hearing, if held, or in any case not less than 21 days 21 before the sale, lease, or other disposal of available land, property, resources, or 22 interests in them other than a sale, lease, or other disposal of available land or an 23 interest in land for oil and gas or for gas only under (5) of this subsection, the director 24 shall make available to the public a written finding that, in accordance with (1) of this 25 subsection, sets out the material facts and applicable statutes and regulations and any 26 other information required by statute or regulation to be considered upon which the 27 determination that the sale, lease, or other disposal will best serve the interests of the 28 state was based; however, a written finding is not required before the approval of 29 (A) a contract for a negotiated timber sale authorized under 30 AS 38.05.115 or a salvage timber sale authorized under AS 38.05.117; 31 (B) a lease of land for a shore fishery site under AS 38.05.082;
01 (C) a permit or other authorization revocable by the 02 commissioner; 03 (D) a mineral claim located under AS 38.05.195; 04 (E) a mineral lease issued under AS 38.05.205; 05 (F) an exempt oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale under 06 AS 38.05.180(d) of acreage subject to a best interest finding issued within the 07 previous 10 years or a reoffer oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale under 08 AS 38.05.180(w) of acreage subject to a best interest finding issued within the 09 previous 10 years, unless the commissioner determines that substantial new 10 information has become available that justifies a supplement to the most recent 11 best interest finding for the exempt oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale 12 acreage and for the reoffer oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale acreage; 13 however, for each oil and gas lease sale or gas only lease sale described in this 14 subparagraph, the director shall call for comments from the public; the 15 director's call for public comments must provide opportunity for public 16 comment for a period of not less than 30 days; if the director determines that a 17 supplement to the most recent best interest finding for the acreage is required 18 under this subparagraph, 19 (i) the director shall issue the supplement to the best 20 interest finding not later than 90 days before the sale; 21 (ii) not later than 45 days before the sale, the director 22 shall issue a notice describing the interests to be offered, the location 23 and time of the sale, and the terms and conditions of the sale; and 24 (iii) the supplement has the status of a final written best 25 interest finding for purposes of (i) and (l) of this section; 26 (G) a surface use lease under AS 38.05.255; 27 (H) a permit, right-of-way, or easement under AS 38.05.850; 28 (7) the director shall include in 29 (A) a preliminary written finding, if required, a summary of 30 agency and public comments, if any, obtained as a result of contacts with other 31 agencies concerning a proposed disposal or as a result of informal efforts
01 undertaken by the department to solicit public response to a proposed disposal, 02 and the department's preliminary responses to those comments; and 03 (B) the final written finding a summary of agency and public 04 comments received and the department's responses to those comments. 05 * Sec. 3. AS 38.05.110(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) If a sale of timber may be offered under multiple provisions of 07 AS 38.05.110 - 38.05.124 [AS 38.05.110 - 38.05.123], the commissioner shall 08 determine the applicable provisions under which to offer the timber. 09 * Sec. 4. AS 38.05.112(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) The department may not authorize the harvest of timber, except for 11 harvests of 10 acres or less, salvage sales under AS 38.05.117, or expedited timber 12 sales under AS 38.05.124 [OR TIMBER SALVAGED FROM LAND CLEARED 13 FOR A NONFOREST USE], until a site-specific forest land use plan has been 14 adopted. A forest land use plan is required whether or not a regional or area land use 15 plan under AS 38.04.065(a) or a forest management plan under AS 41.17.230 has been 16 adopted. The requirements of AS 38.04.065(b) shall apply to a land use plan adopted 17 under this section only if a regional or area land use plan under AS 38.04.065(a) or a 18 forest management plan under AS 41.17.230 has not been adopted. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 38.05.113(c) is amended to read: 20 (c) Sales of 160 acres or less, salvage sales under AS 38.05.117, and 21 expedited timber sales under AS 38.05.124 [EMERGENCY SALES] are exempt 22 from the requirements of this section. 23 * Sec. 6. AS 38.05.115 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 24 (d) The period of a contract for a sale of timber subject to a forest land use 25 plan under AS 38.05.112 is 25 years unless the purchaser requests a shorter term or the 26 commissioner makes a written finding that a shorter term is in the best interest of the 27 state. A contract under this section must provide that stumpage rates be redetermined 28 by negotiation at least once every five years during the term of the contract to reflect 29 changes in market conditions. The redetermined rates may not be less than the base 30 price for the area as established under regulations adopted by the commissioner. 31 * Sec. 7. AS 38.05.117 is amended to read:
01 Sec. 38.05.117. Salvage sales. Notwithstanding AS 38.05.035(e) and the provisions 02 of AS 38.05.113, the commissioner may, without [, AFTER] making a written 03 finding that the disposal will serve the best interests of the state, [MAY] offer for 04 salvage sale timber [STANDS] that has lost substantial economic value or will lose 05 substantial economic value [BECAUSE OF INSECT OR DISEASE EPIDEMICS OR 06 FIRE,] if not salvaged within two years. The commissioner shall determine the 07 timber to be sold and the limitations, conditions, and terms of sale. The 08 limitations, conditions, and terms must include the utilization, development, and 09 maintenance of the sustained yield principle, subject to preference among other 10 beneficial uses. The commissioner 11 (1) may not negotiate sales of timber without notice; and 12 (2) shall negotiate sales of timber under the limitations, conditions, and 13 terms that are considered to be in the best interests of the state [TIMBER ON 14 LAND TO BE CLEARED FOR CONVERSION TO NONFOREST USES ALSO 15 MAY BE OFFERED AS A SALVAGE SALE]. 16 * Sec. 8. AS 38.05.117 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 17 (b) A sale under this section is limited to timber that has been 18 (1) killed by fire, insect, disease, or an act of nature; 19 (2) removed for conversion of land to a nonforest use; or 20 (3) cleared as part of a fire prevention or suppression activity. 21 * Sec. 9. AS 38.05.123(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of AS 38.05.115 and 38.05.120, and upon 23 a finding that the sale is in the best interest of the state, the commissioner may 24 negotiate a sale of timber for use in the local manufacture of high value-added wood 25 products. A timber sale contract entered into under this section may provide for a 26 harvest of up to 10,000,000 board feet of timber each year, consistent with sustained 27 yield principles, and may not be for a term of less than seven years, unless a 28 shorter term is requested by the purchaser. A contract may be for a term of up to 29 25 [10] years. Initial stumpage rates for a contract under this section shall be 30 determined by negotiation but may not be less than the base price for the area as 31 established under regulations adopted by the commissioner. A contract under this
01 section must provide that stumpage rates shall be redetermined by negotiation at least 02 once every three years during the term of the contract, to reflect changes in market 03 conditions. The [; THE] redetermined rates may not be less than the base price for the 04 area as established under regulations adopted by the commissioner. The commissioner 05 shall endeavor to negotiate at least two contracts under this section in each [BY 06 REGULATION SET A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CONTRACTS, BUT NOT LESS 07 THAN TWO, PER] region of the state [THAT MAY BE NEGOTIATED EACH 08 YEAR UNDER THIS SECTION]. 09 * Sec. 10. AS 38.05 is amended by adding a new section to article 4 to read: 10 Sec. 38.05.124. Expedited timber sales. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of 11 AS 38.05.112 - 38.05.117 and 38.05.120, upon finding that a sale is in the best interest 12 of the state, the commissioner may expedite the sale of timber in areas subject to high 13 annual fire danger or insect or disease epidemics. 14 (b) A timber sale contract entered into under this section must provide for a 15 harvest in an amount to be determined by the commissioner. If the commissioner 16 determines under AS 38.05.035(e) and this section that a sale of timber is likely to 17 offset the department's future management costs in preventing or suppressing fire or 18 mitigating the spread of harmful insects and disease, by an equal or greater amount, 19 the commissioner may negotiate a sale of timber under this section at the base price 20 for the area. 21 (c) In making the best interest finding required by AS 38.05.035(e) and (a) of 22 this section, before offering an expedited timber sale, the commissioner shall find that 23 the timber has been burned by fire, infected by insects or disease, or is in an area 24 threatened by fire, insect, or disease and, as a result, the timber 25 (1) creates, or will create, a public safety issue; 26 (2) causes or may cause the destruction of habitat or a decrease in 27 wildlife populations; 28 (3) affects, or may affect, soil stability; or 29 (4) eliminates, or may eliminate, other commercially viable or better 30 uses for the timber, such as the likelihood of commercial success of locally 31 manufactured high value-added wood products.
01 (d) The commissioner 02 (1) is not required to notice an expedited timber sale under this section 03 in a timber sale schedule under AS 38.05.113; and 04 (2) may not reduce the sale of other more commercially viable timber 05 under another provision of AS 38.05.110 - 38.05.124 solely because of a sale of 06 timber under this section. 07 (e) In this section, "expedited timber sale" means a sale that shortens the time 08 frame for each step of the timber sale process and concentrates personnel actions to 09 maximize the amount of qualifying burnt, infected, diseased, or threatened timber 10 available for harvest. 11 * Sec. 11. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).