02/28/2012 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

                SJR 17-ARCTIC COUNCIL TASK FORCE                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  WIELECHOWSKI announced  that the  committee would  take up                                                               
SJR 17,  which would  welcome the Arctic  Council Task  Force for                                                               
Arctic  Marine Oil  Pollution Preparedness  and  Response to  the                                                               
state for its March 2012 meeting.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
9:22:29 AM                                                                                                                    
SHYAN   ELY,  staff,   Senator  Lesil   McGuire,  presented   the                                                               
resolution on behalf of the  sponsor. She restated the purpose of                                                               
SJR 17. She read from the following sponsor statement:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
      The Arctic Council was established in 1996 as a high-                                                                     
     level intergovernmental  forum to  provide a  means for                                                                    
     promoting  cooperation,  coordination  and  interaction                                                                    
     among the  Arctic States, with  the involvement  of the                                                                    
     Arctic   Indigenous   communities  and   other   Arctic                                                                    
     inhabitants  on  common  Arctic issues,  in  particular                                                                    
     issues  of  sustainable development  and  environmental                                                                    
     protection in  the Arctic. The Arctic  Council consists                                                                    
     of  eight  Arctic  Nations: Canada,  Denmark,  Finland,                                                                    
     Iceland,  Norway,   Russia,  Sweden,  and   the  United                                                                    
     States,  as  well  as six  international  organizations                                                                    
     representing Arctic indigenous peoples.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     On May 12  of 2011, the Arctic Council  signed the Nuuk                                                                    
     declaration   which   established   an   agreement   on                                                                    
     cooperation  in aeronautical  and  maritime search  and                                                                    
     rescue  in the  arctic.  In the  Nuuk declaration,  the                                                                    
     Ministers of  the Arctic Council member  states decided                                                                    
     to  "establish a  Task Force,  reporting to  the senior                                                                    
     Arctic   Officials,   to   develop   an   international                                                                    
     instrument on Arctic  marine oil pollution preparedness                                                                    
     and response, and called  for the Emergency Prevention,                                                                    
     Preparedness  and Response  (EPPR)  and other  relevant                                                                    
     working groups  to develop recommendations  and/or best                                                                    
     practices in the prevention of marine oil pollution.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     The purpose of  Senate Joint Resolution (SJR)  17 is to                                                                    
     welcome  the  Arctic  Council  Task  Force  for  Arctic                                                                    
     Marine Pollution  Preparedness and Response  to Alaska.                                                                    
     The task  force will be in  Alaska in March of  2012 to                                                                    
     exchange information  and experiences  regarding marine                                                                    
     pollution preparedness and response.  The task force is                                                                    
     currently  developing  a  framework  for  international                                                                    
     cooperation between  the eight arctic states  to combat                                                                    
     oil spill pollution.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     As the only  arctic state in the nation,  Alaska has an                                                                    
     important  role to  play in  protecting the  arctic. As                                                                    
     host for the March task  force meeting, it is important                                                                    
     that the  state welcome the international  delegates to                                                                    
     Alaska and  highlight the issues that  are important to                                                                    
     Alaskans.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked how many task force members would be                                                                   
coming.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MIKE PAWLOWSKI, staff, Senator Lesil McGuire, replied that a                                                                    
representative from each member nation would be attending, as                                                                   
well as support staff.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER asked if version M was before the committee.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI said yes.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MEYER  asked  if  any  Arctic  countries  would  not  be                                                               
participating.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR.  PAWLOWSKI explained  that all  eight Arctic  Council members                                                               
would be participating.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:26:42 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR PASKVAN questioned the term "response instrument".                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. PAWLOWSKI  referred Senator Paskvan  to the  Aleutian Islands                                                               
Risk Assessment Project as an example  of the beginning of what a                                                               
response  instrument would  be. He  defined the  term as  an all-                                                               
encompassing strategy for response. He  explained that page 16 of                                                               
the  Aleutian Islands  Risk Assessment  talks  about the  current                                                               
vessel  traffic   in  the  Aleutians.  Over   2,000  vessels  are                                                               
transiting in the  Aleutians in innocent passage  every year. The                                                               
instrument is a  technical term at the  international level under                                                               
the  International  Maritime   Organization  that  governs  those                                                               
issues.  In SJR  17, on  page  2, line  20, there  is talk  about                                                               
engaging local authorities in contingency  planning, and on lines                                                               
15  and  16, having  adequate  oil  spill contingency  plans  and                                                               
response  capacity.   The  issue  is  that   under  international                                                               
maritime law, Alaska  does not have jurisdiction  over vessels in                                                               
innocent passage. Ultimate  goal of the resolution is  to get the                                                               
Arctic Council  to push for  a voluntary framework  of engagement                                                               
at the international level.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER asked for the date of the meeting.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. ELY said it was on March 20, 2012.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:29:11 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  PASKVAN  moved  to  report   SJR  17,  version  M,  from                                                               
committee  with  individual  recommendations  and  attached  zero                                                               
fiscal note. There being no objection,  SJR 17 was moved from the                                                               
Senate State Affairs Standing Committee.