SJR 20: Supporting federal, state, and local efforts to clean up and remove marine debris from the state; urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide additional funding for those efforts and to remove barriers faced by tribes and rural communities in accessing those funds; and urging the Alaska Congressional delegation to advocate for increased federal funding and support for marine debris prevention, clean up, removal, backhaul, and education.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20 01 Supporting federal, state, and local efforts to clean up and remove marine debris from 02 the state; urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 03 Environmental Protection Agency to provide additional funding for those efforts and to 04 remove barriers faced by tribes and rural communities in accessing those funds; and 05 urging the Alaska Congressional delegation to advocate for increased federal funding 06 and support for marine debris prevention, clean up, removal, backhaul, and education. 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS Alaskans depend on a clean and healthy ocean and shoreline for 09 sustainable economies, communities, and ways of life; and 10 WHEREAS the state has more than 30,000 miles of shoreline and an estimated tidal 11 shoreline of almost 50,000 miles, which is more than the rest of the United States combined; 12 and 13 WHEREAS the state's shoreline faces the North Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Alaska, 14 and the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi seas; and
01 WHEREAS marine debris causes many adverse effects, including entanglement of 02 and ingestion by birds, fish, and other animals, exposure to toxic chemicals, habitat 03 destruction, and interference with vessel transit and operations; and 04 WHEREAS these adverse effects can interfere with subsistence, commercial, and 05 recreational fishing, tourism, recreation, and other important aspects of life in the state, even 06 though the affected communities and residents of the state largely did not cause the problem; 07 and 08 WHEREAS the marine debris problem is particularly acute in the state because of the 09 state's rugged shoreline, ocean currents that concentrate debris in remote locations, and ocean- 10 dependent coastal communities; and 11 WHEREAS coastal communities in the state lack the needed resources to transport 12 debris for recycling or disposal even after the debris is removed from beaches; and 13 WHEREAS the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has, since 2006, 14 worked with partners to conduct debris research, removal, and prevention and has directly 15 funded projects in the state that have removed nearly 2,000,000 pounds of debris; and 16 WHEREAS, as of 2014, individual tribes, communities, organizations like Ocean 17 Conservancy, and other partners around the state have removed more than 3,000,000 pounds 18 of debris in documented cleanups; and 19 WHEREAS the health of the state's fisheries, ocean, and shoreline is foundational to 20 the state's economy; 21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports federal, state, and local 22 efforts to prevent marine debris from reaching the state's shorelines and to promote the clean 23 up and removal of marine debris from the state's shorelines; and be it 24 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the National 25 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other 26 federal agencies to dedicate additional funding, and to remove barriers faced by tribes and 27 rural communities in accessing those funds, to support efforts to clean up and remove marine 28 debris from the state; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the work of the 30 Alaska Congressional delegation to advocate for increased federal funding and support for 31 marine debris prevention, clean up, removal, backhaul, and education; and be it
01 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the state to work 02 with coastal communities, tribes, nonprofit organizations, municipal departments, and the 03 private sector to the greatest extent possible to address the challenges of marine debris as it 04 affects the state's shorelines. 05 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the 06 Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S. 07 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.