04/18/2023 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION

                  HB 128-OIL TERMINAL FACILITY                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:37:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MCCABE announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 128, "An Act  relating to the definition  of 'oil                                                               
terminal facility.'"                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:37:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BUDDY  WHITT, Staff,  Representative Kevin  McCabe, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, spoke on HB 128 on  behalf of the sponsor, the House                                                               
Transportation Committee,  on which Representative  McCabe serves                                                               
as  chair.     He  informed   members  that  since   the  initial                                                               
introduction  of HB  128 to  the committee,  he has  been working                                                               
with the Department of Environmental  Conservation (DEC), as well                                                               
as a  stakeholder group, who  are concerned about  the definition                                                               
of "oil terminal  facility."  He stated that there  is a sense of                                                               
urgency  with this  bill,  but it  does not  make  sense to  move                                                               
quickly with  something that does not  work for all parties.   He                                                               
said  he  believes a  compromise  in  language  is near,  and  he                                                               
informed  the  committee  that  he  is  working  on  a  committee                                                               
substitute (CS) to HB 128.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:39:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked, since  HB 128 is time sensitive,                                                               
whether there is a deadline to pass the bill.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. WHITT  answered that there is  no hard passage deadline.   He                                                               
said there is  interest in first finding a statutory  fix, and to                                                               
get that fixed  as soon as possible.  He  relayed assurances that                                                               
there will  be fuel deliveries, but  he said that the  worst case                                                               
scenario is delays or additional costs  to the end user.  He said                                                               
the incoming  CS would aim  to revise the  fiscal note in  a more                                                               
favorable light.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:41:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MCCABE opened public testimony on HB 128.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:41:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KEVIN O'SHEA,  President, Alaska  Fuel Storage  Handlers Alliance                                                               
(AFSHA), said  AFSHA would like  this matter resolved  before the                                                               
beginning  of its  season.   He  explained the  problem with  the                                                               
definition, in  that it would  change some  of its vessels  to be                                                               
classed  as "oil  terminal facilities"  which would  result in  a                                                               
different requirement  for spill response.   He further explained                                                               
that  the  change  would  move AFSHA  from  a  response  planning                                                               
standard of  about 15 percent of  the total capacity of  a vessel                                                               
to 100 percent  of the capacity of the vessel,  as well as change                                                               
the time to respond to a  spill from "the quickest possible time"                                                               
to a  "72-hour cleanup."   He  said that 50  percent of  the fuel                                                               
delivered throughout  Western Alaska is  done via tug  and barge,                                                               
of which  there are transfers  between barges, and there  will be                                                               
an impact  to this activity.   He explained that due  to the time                                                               
it takes  to transfer the  fuel between barges,  deliveries would                                                               
therefore be affected without the change.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:44:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  MCCABE, after  ascertaining  that no  one  else wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony HB 128.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
[HB 128 was held over.]