Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/24/2024 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB396 | |
| HB195 | |
| HB114 | |
| SB161 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 114 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 396 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 195 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 114-VILLAGE SAFE WATER ACT;VILLAGE DEFINITION
3:32:18 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 114, "An Act relating to the definition of
'village' in the Village Safe Water Act."
CHAIR MCKAY noted that this is the bill's first hearing in the
House Resources Standing Committee.
3:32:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 114,
which he stated would improve public health in rural communities
by upgrading sanitation facilities. He stated that access to
clean water is fundamental to avoid disease, improve community
well-being, and increase environmental sustainability. He also
highlighted that the Village Safe Water Program is a way that
communities can follow pre-existing environmental laws by
upgrading the sanitation infrastructure. He remarked that the
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has an
application and scoring process that would still need to be
followed. He opined that HB 114 would expand the definition of
"village" to include census designated areas of up to 1,500
people. This would ensure that a broader range of communities
can have access to vital grant funding. This would support
underserved communities and foster an environment of
inclusivity. He emphasized the importance of updating statutory
definitions and population limits to reflect current realities
in Alaska. He noted that the last update in 2011 failed to
include these definitions during the legislative process.
Example communities that would benefit from proposed legislation
could include Sutton, Talkeetna, Funny River, Buffalo, Tok, and
Prudhoe Bay. He emphasized again that even given the definition
change, the communities would still be required to meet DEC
requirements and controls. He reiterated that this proposed
bill would merely change the definition of a "village" to a
community of up to 1,500 people. He stated that previous
village requirements of 1,000 did not currently support many
communities that would benefit from grants. He reiterated the
tangible outcomes that would support public health goals.
3:36:00 PM
JULIE MORRIS, Staff, Representative Kevin McCabe, Alaska State
Legislature, read the sectional analysis of HB 114 on behalf of
Representative McCabe, prime sponsor. The sectional analysis
[included in the committee packet] read as follows:
Section 1 amends AS §46.07.080(2)( E) to include: 1) a
"census-designated place"; and 2) increases the
population limit from 1,000 to 1,500 within this sub-
section.
Section 2 adds a definition of "census-designated
place" to AS §46.07.080.
3:37:00 PM
CHAIR MCKAY offered his understanding that there is no fiscal
note associated with this proposed legislation. He asked for
reaffirmation that the cost to the state would be zero.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE acknowledged that there was no cost to the
state. Additionally, he noted that there are about 43 villages
that still need sanitation infrastructure installed and around
half of which would qualify for this program. He also
highlighted that several dry cabins in Talkeetna have no access
to water and consequently collect water from other sources. He
emphasized that in the wintertime this can create a safety
hazard. He stated that this is his attempt to leverage a pre-
existing program to support examples such as this. The proposed
bill outcomes could include the development of a public well-
house for accessibility for those living in dry cabin
accommodations without running water. He also stated that this
program would not take away from any communities focused on
other sanitation/clean water objectives.
3:38:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS asked Representative McCabe about
populations increasing over time and whether he had investigated
changing the qualifying criteria for first-class cities and
municipalities.
3:39:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE answered that larger municipalities were
excluded because the bill was specifically designed for the
Village Safe Water Act and first-class cities fell outside the
scope of the Act's designed target groups.
3:39:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS said that these are definitions for the
Village Safe Water Act and therefore the definitions would apply
only to the Act.
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS described the definitions and iterated that
it may be worth looking at other communities that may benefit
from revised population caps that pertain to grant funding
requirements.
3:41:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE told Representative Mears that the intent
of HB 114 was to resolve the lack of clean water and sewer
systems. He stated that most of the places she was referring to
already qualify for programs or were covered by preexisting
sanitation infrastructure. He noted that one of the focuses of
Senator Stevens on previous bill development was to address
diseases stemming from a lack of clean water and sewage
management practices in villages off the road system that were
not affluent enough to purchase necessary sanitation
infrastructure. He said that the Village Safe Water Act was a
way the state could help address these issues. He stated that
this bill proposal was a way to address other communities that
have the same sort of water/sanitation needs but do not qualify
for grants.
3:43:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked Representative McCabe whether
this proposal would increase federal money available to the
Village Safe Water Act or expand the pool of qualifying
communities while federal allocations remain the same.
3:43:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE responded that he was unsure whether it
would change federal grant availability and deferred to Krystal
Koeneman with DEC to provide elaboration.
3:43:59 PM
KRYSTAL KOENEMAN, Legislative Liaison, Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC), stated that if the policy
decision is approved to change the population threshold, then
DEC would work with federal partners to add prospective
communities to the list of those eligible for federal funding.
She noted that funding would not increase with this piece of
legislation but [the bill] would increase the population
requirements.
3:44:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked whether the program was fully
meeting the needs it was designed for and whether the proposed
legislation has the risk of creating competition amongst
communities for federal grant availability.
3:45:03 PM
MS. KOENEMAN answered that she thinks Alaska struggles with
ensuring proper sanitation and clean water throughout different
areas of the state. She thinks that anything to help different
communities with whatever money is available to leverage is
beneficial to the state.
3:45:34 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG asked Ms. Koeneman to elaborate on the
criteria for grant money. She asked whether grant money is
delivered based on public health or safety concerns and what
these criteria look like.
3:45:44 PM
MS. KOENEMAN explained there is a priority level that is not
just with the state but also an agreement with federal partners
to delineate ranking priority for grant recipients.
3:46:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS asked Ms. Koeneman how much state funds go
into matching pre-existing priority lists outlined by groups
such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural
Development or Indian Health Services (IHS).
3:46:53 PM
MS. KOENEMAN did not have the specific dollar amounts but said
she could get them to Representative Mears.
3:47:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked Ms. Koeneman whether there are
federal limits that may apply to communities qualifying for
grants. He asked whether this proposal could "foul up" any
federal caps.
3:47:21 PM
MS. KOENEMAN replied that there is a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with federal partners and DEC would work with them to
update any documentation if the community were to qualify. She
highlighted that there is a process of requirements for
qualification. Furthermore, she stated that work with federal
partners is necessary and would not run afoul any federal
requirements.
3:48:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS asked Representative McCabe whether he was
aware of any other projects that would be sought in addition to
the Talkeetna Project.
3:48:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE was not aware of projects other than
Talkeetna's. He stated that Talkeetna has not even applied for
it yet, but he thinks that DEC would be willing to work with the
community. He stated that Talkeetna has borough money and last
year it helped address an outdated sewer system. He also
highlighted that some communities that had pre-existing
infrastructure installments from the Village Safe Water Act need
updates due to failing systems. He reiterated that HB 114 was
not designed to take money away from any other communities that
are in need but to update the Act which has aged since its
inception.
3:50:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS noted that there are dozens of projects on
the list for funding. She wanted to get an idea of how HB 114
would impact other pre-existing projects. She asked
Representative McCabe whether he explored additional project
candidates in addition to just Talkeetna.
RESPRESNTATIVE MCCABE acknowledged that his focus on HB 114
stemmed from Talkeetna's municipal needs.
3:50:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT reviewed the list of village safe water
(VSW) projects in her district and noted that there are roughly
30 communities of interest. She asked Representative McCabe
whether he had reached out to the Tanana Chief Council (TCC) and
inquired about how the council feels about the proposed bill and
how it would impact these 30 communities on the list.
3:51:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE answered that he did not reach out to TCC.
He noted that last year there were several presentations from
DEC related to the Village Safe Water Act and that these
projects fluctuate. He noted that each of the projects noted by
Representative Dibert may not even qualify following
qualification scoring.
3:52:16 PM
MS. KOENEMAN affirmed that Representative McCabe was correct
regarding the qualification process. She noted those currently
on the shortlist would not be affected until the qualification
process is completed.
3:53:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER moved to report HB 114 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes.
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS objected.
3:53:45 PM
A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Saddler, Wright,
Armstrong, McCabe, Baker, Rauscher, and McKay voted in favor of
the motion to report HB 114 out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
Representatives Mears and Dibert voted against it. Therefore,
HB 114 was reported out of the House Resources Standing
Committee by a vote of 7-2.