Legislature(2017 - 2018)BARNES 124

04/11/2017 11:30 AM House ARCTIC POLICY, ECONOMIC DEV., & TOURISM

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Audio Topic
01:38:06 PM Start
01:39:08 PM Presentation: Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games
02:05:29 PM Presentation: Michael Black, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
02:38:55 PM Adjourn
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
-- Delayed to 30 Minutes Following Session --
+ Presentations: TELECONFERENCED
- Kathleen Rehm, Co-Exec. Dir., Team Alaska,
Arctic Winter Games
- Michael Black, Alaska Native Health Consortium
*+ HJR 19 ARCTIC MARINE SAFETY AGREEMENTS TELECONFERENCED
Scheduled but Not Heard
                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
           HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ARCTIC POLICY,                                                                          
               ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM                                                                              
                         April 11, 2017                                                                                         
                           1:38 p.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Dean Westlake, Chair                                                                                             
Representative Bryce Edgmon                                                                                                     
Representative Andy Josephson                                                                                                   
Representative Mark Neuman                                                                                                      
Representative David Talerico                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Chris Tuck                                                                                                       
Representative Gary Knopp                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA~ ARCTIC WINTER GAMES                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     - HEARD                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PRESENTATION: ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     - HEARD                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19                                                                                                   
Commending the Arctic Waterways  Safety Committee; supporting the                                                               
adoption of prevention measures  into international agreements to                                                               
ensure clear,  universal, and enforceable marine  safety measures                                                               
in the  Arctic; and urging  the state's delegation in  the United                                                               
States  Congress and  the  governor to  promote  the adoption  of                                                               
spill prevention  measures into international  agreements; urging                                                               
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  United  States                                                               
Department  of  State  to initiate  negotiations  to  enter  into                                                               
international  agreements  to  ensure  safe  and  environmentally                                                               
responsible marine operations in the Arctic.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     - SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
No previous action to record                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
KATHLEEN REHM, Co-Executive Director                                                                                            
Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games                                                                                                
Fairbanks, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION  STATEMENT:     During  the  presentation,   offered  an                                                             
overview of the Arctic Winter Games.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SARAH FRAMPTON, President                                                                                                       
Team Alaska Arctic Winter Games                                                                                                 
Fairbanks, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:   During the PowerPoint  presentation of Team                                                             
Alaska  Arctic  Winter Games  offered  her  appreciation for  the                                                               
committee's time.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL BLACK, Director                                                                                                         
Community Infrastructure Development                                                                                            
Office of Environmental Health and Engineering (OEHE)                                                                           
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION  STATEMENT:    During the  presentation  of  the  Alaska                                                             
Native Tribal Health Consortium he discussed sanitation.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:38:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DEAN WESTLAKE called the  House Special Committee On Arctic                                                             
Policy,  Economic Development,  and Tourism  meeting to  order at                                                               
1:38 p.m. Representatives Talerico,  Westlake, and Josephson were                                                               
present at the call to  order.  Representatives Edgmon and Neuman                                                               
arrived as the meeting was in progress.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
^PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA, ARCTIC WINTER GAMES                                                                                 
         PRESENTATION: TEAM ALASKA, ARCTIC WINTER GAMES                                                                     
                                                                                                                              
1:39:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WESTLAKE announced  that the first order  of business would                                                               
be a PowerPoint presentation titled,  "Team Alaska, Arctic Winter                                                               
Games."                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:39:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KATHLEEN REHM, Co-Executive Director,  Team Alaska, Arctic Winter                                                               
Games, advised that slide 1 is  a portrait of members of the Team                                                               
Alaska athletes  taken in  2014, and turning  to slide  2 advised                                                               
that the purpose of the presentation  is to give the committee an                                                               
understanding of  what the  Arctic Games  are, how  it represents                                                               
the state,  and how  the Arctic  Winter Games  stimulate economic                                                               
development and tourism.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:40:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. REHM  turned to slides 3-5,  and advised that the  purpose of                                                               
Team Alaska  is to organize and  select youths to compete  in the                                                               
sporting and cultural event held  by the Arctic Winter Games, the                                                               
event includes  a high  profile circumpolar  sporting competition                                                               
for northern and Arctic athletes.   It was established in 1968 by                                                               
Governor  Walter Hickel  and Ken  McKinnon as  a non-profit,  and                                                               
Alaska has participated  in the games since 1970.   The games are                                                               
an  opportunity  for  Alaska's young  athletes  to  experience  a                                                               
profound and life  changing event because many  of these athletes                                                               
have never participated  in a sporting or cultural  event of this                                                               
magnitude.   The  intent was  to  foster sportsmanship,  culture,                                                               
international and  cultural exchange, and  at the same  time host                                                               
the games  in small Arctic  communities to stimulate  economy and                                                               
tourism.     The  sporting  events  during   the  1970  timeframe                                                               
included:  wrestling, archery,  and so  forth with  approximately                                                               
500 athletes,  and in  2016 there  are 18  sports and  over 2,000                                                               
participants.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:44:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. REHM  turned to  slides 6-7, and  advised that  the governing                                                               
bodies of  today include, the  International Committee  with nine                                                               
delegates representing  nine countries, a host  community similar                                                               
to the  Olympics, and a host  committee.  When the  Arctic Winter                                                               
Games are hosted in Alaska,  folks often get Team Alaska confused                                                               
with the  Host Society and  in the  event funding is  coming down                                                               
the  pipe it  may not  necessarily  be directly  for Team  Alaska                                                               
athletes,  but for  the Host  Society hosting  the Arctic  Winter                                                               
Games.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:46:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  Rehm   turned  to   slides  78,   and  clarified   that  the                                                               
International   Committee   early    on   distinguished   between                                                               
delegations that  compete a  participating member  or as  a guest                                                               
member, and  currently there are seven  participating members and                                                               
nine guest  members.  Team  Alaska is a participating  member and                                                               
therefore is  able to  bid to  host the  Arctic Winter  Games, is                                                               
able to send a full-size  team without any reductions of members,                                                               
together with  other voting rights  and privileges  which include                                                               
representation of their territory  on the International Committee                                                               
Board,  and two  Alaska  representatives sit  on that  committee.                                                               
She then  listed the years  various area became  participating or                                                               
guest members.  Full participating members pay  an initiation fee                                                               
to  the  International Committee  and  the  government pays  that                                                               
participation  fee  and,  she  noted,   Alaska  is  a  non-profit                                                               
organization and fundraises.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:49:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. REHM  turned to  slide 8-9,  and said  the slide  depicts the                                                               
dates Alaska  hosted the Arctic  Winter Games, Alaska  is slotted                                                               
to host  again in 2024.   When hosting  the games, the  town size                                                               
doubles during  the week of the  games, and jobs are  created the                                                               
year prior, she said.  Economically,  after the week of the games                                                               
oftentimes that  community has an  excess of $50,000  to $100,000                                                               
that can  be used  to stimulate the  economy by  offering grants,                                                               
for example, to the local girl scouts.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. REHM turned to slide 9,  and advised the athletes will travel                                                               
to the Northwest Territories of  Canada in the Slave Lake Region,                                                               
and  Alaska  has  300  athletes, and  50  volunteer  coaches  and                                                               
chaperones.   Counting  the volunteers,  since  1970 over  10,000                                                               
youth and  adults have participated  in some capacity  which make                                                               
the Arctic Winter Games the  largest international sporting event                                                               
in which Alaska has participated.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS. REHM turned to slides 10-13,  and advised that the sports can                                                               
be divided into four categories:  traditional sports such as dene                                                               
games  and dog  mushing  and, she  pointed  out, the  traditional                                                               
sports are  the foundation  of the games  and an  opportunity for                                                               
Alaska's athletes to compete at  an international level, to learn                                                               
culture and the way of  playing the sport from different athletes                                                               
that  they never  would have  experienced if  they had  stayed in                                                               
Alaska.  The  second category is Nordic sports,  such as biathlon                                                               
ski, biathlon  snowshoe, cross  country skiing,  snowshoeing, and                                                               
snowboarding.   Athletes from  the games have  gone on  to become                                                               
Olympic  gold  medalist,  and  she   then  listed  the  names  of                                                               
athletes.    The  third  category   is  indoor  sports,  such  as                                                               
badminton,  basketball,   gymnastics,  soccer,   volleyball,  and                                                               
wrestling,  and  the fourth  category  is  ice sports,  such  as,                                                               
curling, figure skating, hockey, and speed skating.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:58:34 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  REHM turned  to  slide  15, and  said  that  culture is  the                                                               
foundation  and  paramount  to   the  Arctic  Winter  Games,  any                                                               
community  that bids  to  host  the games  will  have galas,  art                                                               
shows, fly different performers in  to entertain, and an exciting                                                               
display  of  Arctic  culture honoring  the  values,  wisdom,  and                                                               
traditions of  the culture,  and Alaskan  youth see  those values                                                               
are reiterated  from other  countries.   She reiterated  that the                                                               
youth  are able  to see  the mark  their culture  makes on  other                                                               
cultures as well.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:59:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  REHM turned  to slides  16-19, and  described the  slides as                                                               
"beautiful photos  of some of  our cultural  events" exemplifying                                                               
the fun event.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  REHM  explained that  the  next  steps  for Team  Alaska  is                                                               
preparing for  the Arctic Winter Games  in March of 2018,  in the                                                               
Northwest Territories.   The team,  she advised, has  always been                                                               
supported by  the State of Alaska  and this is the  first year it                                                               
has  not received  supporting funds.   She  noted they  have been                                                               
fundraising  extensively  with community  providers,  supporters,                                                               
and private businesses donating, and  Team Alaska will attend the                                                               
Arctic Winter Games.  Team Alaska  is in the position of deciding                                                               
whether  it goes  to the  games with  its 300  team athletes,  or                                                               
whether the size must be  reduced, which depends upon fundraising                                                               
and the  support from the legislature.   Team Alaska is  the only                                                               
participating contingent  that does not receive  support from its                                                               
governing  body to  offset that  International  Committee fee  of                                                               
$37,500 and,  she advised that  the team had submitted  a request                                                               
to the legislature to assist with the fee.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:03:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WESTLAKE referred to the  $37,500 fee and asked whether the                                                               
state had paid a portion previously.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MS.  REHM  responded the  previously  the  state has  given  Team                                                               
Alaska various sums  of money, such as $150,000  to $200,000, and                                                               
all of  that money was used  to offset the expense  of chartering                                                               
an airplane to transport Alaska's athletes to the games.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:04:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SARAH  FRAMPTON,  President,  Team Alaska  Arctic  Winter  Games,                                                               
thanked  the committee  for its  time  in allowing  for the  Team                                                               
Alaska Arctic Winter Games presentation.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
^PRESENTATION:  MICHAEL   BLACK,  ALASKA  NATIVE   TRIBAL  HEALTH                                                               
CONSORTIUM                                                                                                                      
      PRESENTATION: ALASKA NATIVE TRIBAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
2:05:29 PM                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL  BLACK, Director,  Community Infrastructure  Development,                                                               
Office   of  Environmental   Health,   and  Engineering   (OEHE),                                                               
explained   that  the   Office   of   Environmental  Health   and                                                               
Engineering  (OEHE)  has  broad  responsibility  for  the  public                                                               
health  of the  Alaska  Native populations  throughout the  state                                                               
with preventative health care and rural sanitation.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:07:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:07:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK advised that their vision  is to get to the point where                                                               
the Alaska Native  people are the healthiest people  in the world                                                               
with health care and living  conditions within rural Alaska.  The                                                               
goal is for individuals to continue  to live in their regions and                                                               
communities they  have historically lived in  and maintain public                                                               
health to  the best possible  level, which means  providing rural                                                               
sanitation.    Critical  rural sanitation  issues  today  involve                                                               
affordability  and  the adaptation  of  infrastructure.   As  the                                                               
Director  of  Community  Infrastructure Development,  his  office                                                               
primarily includes engineers,  operation maintenance specialists,                                                               
and  supporting  staff  charged  with  providing  sanitation  and                                                               
critical infrastructure for  public health in rural  Alaska.  The                                                               
Alaska Native  Health Consortium is  made up  of a board  that is                                                               
representative  of   all  regions   of  the   state,  and   is  a                                                               
representative  to the  regional health  organization across  the                                                               
state.     He   related  that   his  office   has  a   number  of                                                               
responsibilities,    including:    sanitation,   operation    and                                                               
maintenance,  environmental   health,  and  it  also   helps  the                                                               
regional  health   organizations  operate  their   hospitals  and                                                               
clinics.  The  Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative  is a voluntary                                                               
group  of 26  communities that  his office  helps to  operate and                                                               
maintain water  and sewer, thereby,  allowing his office  to have                                                               
real life  experience actually operating, not  just building, the                                                               
water and sewer  systems.  The other aspect of  his work in rural                                                               
sanitation is  the energy program  and energy is critical  due to                                                               
its influence  on the affordability  of water and sewer  in rural                                                               
Alaska.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:10:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK  advised that his  office shares  responsibilities with                                                               
the Alaska  Department of Environmental Conservation  through the                                                               
state's Village Safe Water Program  which is a provision of water                                                               
and  sewer  in rural  Alaska.    The responsibility  and  funding                                                               
includes his office,  Indian Health Services, the  EPA, the USDA,                                                               
and State  of Alaska to provide  rural sanitation infrastructure.                                                               
Currently,  they are  doing  whatever it  takes  to maintain  the                                                               
current infrastructure because  a 2007 study by  the Institute of                                                               
Social  and  Economic  Research   at  the  University  of  Alaska                                                               
basically read that, maintaining  the current infrastructure, and                                                               
making  sure  it  does not  prematurely  degrade  makes  economic                                                               
sense.   From  the standpoint  of replacing  it, that  represents                                                               
billions of  dollars of investment  so it  is in the  interest of                                                               
communities  and funding  organizations, including  the State  of                                                               
Alaska, to extend the life of that infrastructure.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK offered that people  visiting rural areas may see pipes                                                               
providing piped water  and sewer connected to homes.   Due to the                                                               
warming  environment,  differential   settling  has  taken  place                                                               
between the pipe and the structure  it is connected to, such as a                                                               
residence or community building.   The reason for the destruction                                                               
is  that  the  pipe  settled  at a  differential  rate  from  the                                                               
foundation of the building, and in  doing so it stresses the pipe                                                               
and rips apart the Arctic  insulation as well as actually pulling                                                               
the pipe and  the wall of the building off  the structure itself.                                                               
Obviously, he  said, the  weight of  the pipe  drops a  number of                                                               
feet,  in some  cases,  in  relation to  where  it  was with  the                                                               
building.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:13:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  BLACK explained  that any  building built  on permafrost  is                                                               
subject to  this type  of stress,  and the  remedy is  a flexible                                                               
connection  allowing  the  pipe  to rotate  in  relation  to  the                                                               
building  it is  connected.    This will  prevent  the pipe  from                                                               
pulling  at  the  wall  and  tearing  away  the  insulation  that                                                               
protects  it.    Once  damage  takes  place  on  the  Arctic  Box                                                               
connection, it  becomes a freeze  point for the water  and sewer.                                                               
This  fix has  drawn interest  from regional  housing authorities                                                               
and other communities to try  to retrofit the updated Arctic Box.                                                               
Another issue is leaning water  tanks due to the permafrost below                                                               
that  tank  being  degraded.   Thermal-piles  are  a  traditional                                                               
manner  of cooling  the foundations,  and thermal-siphons  depend                                                               
upon the air temperature being  cool enough to transmit that cold                                                               
into the permafrost below.  It  has been noted, especially in the                                                               
Yukon-Kuskokwim  Delta, that  the air  temperatures are  too warm                                                               
for the  thermal-piles to work  properly, thereby,  putting high-                                                               
valued  infrastructure at  risk of  foundation failures.   It  is                                                               
being addressed with glycol lines  that will carry chilled glycol                                                               
from a "chiller"  demanding electricity that will  be provided by                                                               
solar  panels,  and  will  work  exactly  as  a  refrigerator  to                                                               
refreeze the foundation below a  building.  This summer, he said,                                                               
they will  install a  prototype that relies  on this  approach to                                                               
save  a relatively  new building  in Quinhagak  because something                                                               
must  be  done about  its  foundation  and permafrost  below  the                                                               
building.  Last  summer it was at 31.5  degrees temperature, just                                                               
at  the  point  of  becoming  liquid  which  would  compromise  a                                                               
building no more than  4-5-years old.   In the  event the work in                                                               
Quinhagak works,  they have plans  to put  this into a  number of                                                               
buildings.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:19:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN  referred to the 4-5-year  old building and                                                               
asked how  this foundation could  be approved, and  who installed                                                               
the foundation.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK  responded that  the foundation was  solid when  it was                                                               
originally designed,  the problem is  that there have  been three                                                               
to  four warmer  summers than  normal.   This building  does have                                                               
thermo-siphons intended to keep  the permafrost solid, except the                                                               
air temperature  is warmer  and the permafrost  has warmed  up to                                                               
the stage of failing.  He  said that in the high-valued buildings                                                               
in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and  warm permafrost, almost all are                                                               
using thermo-piles  in an attempt  to keep the  foundation solid.                                                               
Also, he added, in some of  these buildings "if not careful about                                                               
the slab going on grade and the  type of surface it is put upon,"                                                               
there can  be premature failing as  well due to an  improper fill                                                               
below a  foundation.   He related  that it  is believed  they can                                                               
refreeze this permafrost for high-valued buildings.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR.  BLACK  noted that  an  in-home  sanitation system  has  been                                                               
installed into  nine homes,  he stressed that  it is  a prototype                                                               
and not  considered finished.   This  system replaces  the "honey                                                               
bucket" and puts  in place a waste management  system that allows                                                               
separation of solid and liquid  waste stream, eliminating many of                                                               
the health  problems.  It  also provides additional water  to the                                                               
home without piping it and  using a centralized water system, and                                                               
it relies upon rainwater catchment  as well as self-hauled water.                                                               
In the event,  he offered, a home chooses to  gather ice or river                                                               
water, it  actually has  an in-stream  pipe filtering  system and                                                               
fluoridator that allows it, even  with river water collection, to                                                               
provide potable water  to the home.  He pointed  out that this in                                                               
no  manner is  close  to  the quantity  of  a  piped water  sewer                                                               
system,  but it  also does  not rely  upon a  community-wide type                                                               
water  and  sewer  system.    These  systems  run  the  homeowner                                                               
approximately $30 per month to operate  as opposed to a high rate                                                               
in the normal community water and waste system.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:24:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  WESTLAKE   asked  whether  a  report   had  been  prepared                                                               
determining whether health associated illnesses had taken place.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK  answered that  this system relies  on an  air handling                                                               
system to  remove odor, the  system is small, roughly  a one-half                                                               
horse motor, and  ventilates the air up around and  into the eves                                                               
of  the  house.    The  solid portion  of  the  waste  stream  is                                                               
collected in  a container  below the  toilet, the  liquid portion                                                               
goes  into   a  distribution  system   under  the  home   and  is                                                               
disinfected  because in  Kivalina there  is salt  water, brackish                                                               
water,  ground water,  which disinfects  the urine  stream.   Air                                                               
quality  monitoring was  performed in  a house  which experienced                                                               
substantial improvements  in the  air quality,  and a  problem in                                                               
rural Alaska is due to overcrowding  of homes with high levels of                                                               
carbon  dioxide  particulate  matters,  and  a  large  amount  of                                                               
respiratory  disease  issues  related  to air  quality  in  homes                                                               
themselves.   A recent  study was performed  of infants  that was                                                               
repeatedly  admitted to  the hospital,  then  released once  they                                                               
appeared to be  over the respiratory illness, only  to return six                                                               
months later.   It was  found that  if they can  better ventilate                                                               
homes  and deal  with the  particulate problems  of wood  stoves,                                                               
that  the  amount  of rehospitalization  could  be  substantially                                                               
decreased for elders and infants.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:27:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  BLACK  advised  that  Life   Water  Engineering  Company  in                                                               
Fairbanks, Cold  Climate Housing Research Center,  and Life Water                                                               
and Cabinet Water Systems all  collaborated with his engineers to                                                               
develop this system.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:27:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK  responded to  Chair Westlake that  there is  a YouTube                                                               
video  with  regard  to  this  system  and  interviews  with  the                                                               
homeowner.     He   stated  that   a  recent   report,  including                                                               
resolutions  from city  and tribe,  supported more  deployment of                                                               
these types  of systems in  Kivalina and  noted that that  is his                                                               
intention if federal funding can be located.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK  related that  affordability is  a different  issue but                                                               
equally important  because if sanitation  will be  offered, there                                                               
must be affordable systems.  The  easiest way to address the cost                                                               
of  operating was  through  energy efficiency  and,  he said,  he                                                               
worked closely  with the Alaska  Energy Authority  when renewable                                                               
energy  funds  were  still  available,  and  the  Alaska  Housing                                                               
Finance Corporation (AHFC) as well  on energy efficiencies.  That                                                               
collaboration paid  major benefits  to rural  Alaskan communities                                                               
as to  the affordability of water  and sewer because the  cost of                                                               
running water and sewer  has a great deal to do  with the cost of                                                               
energy,  because  if  water  is   not  flowing  it  will  freeze.                                                               
Therefore, he emphasized  that heat is by far  the most important                                                               
aspect of an  energy consumption budget, and  electricity is used                                                               
for pumps.  They approached  the energy efficiency issues through                                                               
renewable  energy and  energy efficiency  projects.   He  advised                                                               
that three of the major ways  in which to use renewable energy is                                                               
as follows: biomass, a collection of  local wood that can be used                                                               
to  provide the  heat necessary,  thereby, providing  local jobs;                                                               
heat  recovery is  by far  the easiest  and best  way of  getting                                                               
wasted heat into the water  system including generators, and wind                                                               
turbines;  and, energy  efficiency for  the dollar  spent is  the                                                               
best  investment.   Sanitation  can be  made  more affordable  if                                                               
thoughtful when dealing with energy.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:33:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BLACK pointed out that  the State of Alaska benefited through                                                               
the  Power Cost  Equalization Program,  and 34  percent of  those                                                               
benefits  go  into  the  state's   budget  with  savings  to  the                                                               
communities in the  form of fuel and electric.   The approach, he                                                               
explained,  is  that a  group  of  engineers and  Operations  and                                                               
Maintenance  specialists analyzed  the plant  and the  situation,                                                               
made   recommendations,  puts   those   recommendations  into   a                                                               
descending order of cost benefits,  and tried to find funding for                                                               
the highest benefit  per cost.  They monitored  the plant through                                                               
remote monitoring programs, otherwise  many of these benefits may                                                               
go away and  no would be aware because it  does require operation                                                               
of the system.   An example of the biomass  system is essentially                                                               
substituting fuel oil  boilers for wood fired  boilers, with fuel                                                               
oil  boilers  being  the  backup.    Elim  Biomass  is  saving  a                                                               
community over $83,000 annually  by using locally available wood,                                                               
producing jobs, and the $83,000  does not include the money being                                                               
spent on  local labor to  collect the wood.   He said he  spent a                                                               
number  of years  with the  Department of  Commerce, Community  &                                                               
Economic Development  and it  did everything  it could  to create                                                               
local jobs in  rural Alaska, and this is  the easiest opportunity                                                               
the state could  offer in creating local jobs.   Renewable energy                                                               
and heat recovery is "a no-brainer,  we ought to be doing that in                                                               
every  case,"  otherwise,  he  pointed out,  it  is  just  wasted                                                               
energy.   The City  of Deering installed  a heat  recovery system                                                               
and saved each household $150 per  month due to reduced fuel use.                                                               
As  to renewable  energy,  he  said the  state  should always  be                                                               
looking at  the wind  to heat program  because the  wind turbines                                                               
are turning  regardless of  demand and the  only way  to reliably                                                               
store  that energy,  at this  point, is  the water  storage tank.                                                               
The  City of  Mekoryuk  is  using that  system  and  "we buy  the                                                               
electricity"  at $0.05  per  kilowatt  hour, significantly  below                                                               
market,  and saved  the city  $40,000 annually  in its  operating                                                               
costs.   The City  of Selawik went  through an  energy efficiency                                                               
program  where  old  pumps  were  changed  out  and  changed  the                                                               
operation  of the  water  plant itself,  and  the Operations  and                                                               
Maintenance saving is over $200,000 per year.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:37:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON  commented that  he would like  to speak                                                               
with Mr. Black as to the  impacts of climate on energy efficiency                                                               
at a later date.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR WESTLAKE stated that climate change is expensive.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:38:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
Special  Committee on  Arctic Policy,  Economic Development,  and                                                               
Tourism meeting was adjourned at 2:38 p.m.                                                                                      

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
HJR19 Fiscal Note LEG-SESS-04.10.17.pdf HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM
HJR 19
Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games Presenation.pdf HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM
Kathleen Rehm, Team Alaska, Arctic Winter Games Presentation
ANTHC PowerPoint for House Energy Committee 2-19-15.pdf HAET 4/11/2017 11:30:00 AM
Michael Black - ANTHC Presentation