Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
03/22/2011 03:00 PM House ENERGY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR20 | |
| HJR23 | |
| HCR9 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HJR 20 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HJR 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HCR 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HJR 20-ROADLESS RULE & CHUGACH AND TONGASS HYDRO
3:07:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20, Urging the President of
the United States, the United States Congress, and the Secretary
of the United States Department of Agriculture not to implement
protection of inventoried roadless areas under the "roadless
rule" or otherwise restrict the development of necessary
hydroelectric projects in the Tongass National Forest and the
Chugach National Forest.
3:07:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KYLE JOHANSEN, Alaska State Legislature, speaking
as the prime sponsor, presented HJR 20. Representative Johansen
advised HJR 20 was being presented to the committee because of
its relevance to energy policies. The resolution is specific to
the effects of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (roadless
rule) on the interconnection of Southeast hydroelectric (hydro)
projects to energy grids. However, his larger concern is about
energy assets statewide, and how to connect those to grids
considering the issues of land ownership surrounding upcoming
large hydro projects. Representative Johansen called attention
to page 1, line 7, of the resolution, and noted that inventoried
roadless areas constitute approximately 57 percent of the
acreage in the Tongass National Forest, and an additional 35
percent is defined as wilderness. Furthermore, federal law
states that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
has the right to approve or disapprove road construction in the
Tongass and Chugach National Forests. As an example of the
impact of this situation, Representative Johansen stated that in
the '90s, a route was selected for the construction of the Swan
Lake/Lake Tyee intertie to connect two large dams and electrify
part of Southeast Alaska. The cost for the chosen route was
based on road access; however, litigation ensued and a new route
was selected with no road access, thus construction,
maintenance, and operation was supported by helicopter for a
much higher cost. He opined these decisions should not be made
by one person. Continuing to page 2, line 6, the resolution
indicates that 14 of the 15 hydro projects in the Tongass and
Chugach National Forest are subject to the protection of the
roadless rule. Constraints by the roadless rule can also affect
the issuance of hydro licenses by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC), and one of the goals of the resolution is to
clarify the effect of the roadless rule on projects that have
already been permitted.
3:14:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN reminded the committee that the
President has set a goal of having 25 percent of electrical
generation come from renewable sources by 2025 - although the
federal government does not recognize hydro power as renewable -
and the state goal is 50 percent renewable by 2025. However,
these goals are thwarted by the difficulties created by the
roadless rule, and other mechanisms that cause conflicts between
federal agencies.
3:17:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked whether the President's goal should be
added to the resolution.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN surmised this addition could be made by
this committee or by the House Resources Standing Committee.
3:18:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER referred to page 2, and asked for a brief
description of the 15 hydro projects in the Tongass and Chugach
National Forests.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN said he was unfamiliar with projects in
the Chugach National Forest; however, in Southeast there are:
Whitman Lake, two projects in Metlakatla, Blue Lake, and many
more potential sites. Southeast is perfect for hydro because of
its high alpine lakes that do not affect salmon.
3:20:46 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER opened public testimony.
3:21:02 PM
SHELLY WRIGHT, Executive Director, Southeast Conference,
referred members to her written comments provided in the
committee packet. In addition, she relayed a quote from a
proclamation by President [not provided] Roosevelt. Ms. Wright
stated that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has put a padlock
on communities and their progress. Furthermore, the U.S. Forest
Service (Forest Service), U. S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), is developing a proposed new planning rule containing
priorities for the conservation of trees, plants, animals, and
water. When asked about the importance of socioeconomic issues
and the science within the forest, representatives of the Forest
Service told her they have no influence over that. She noted
that the Forest Service owns 98 percent of the land, and said it
is important to "get our forest back." She remarked:
In the past 10 years Southeast Conference, in
partnership with many other agencies and
organizations, have put an extensive amount of effort
into the development of affordable, self-sustaining,
renewable, green, energy projects in our region. And
it is fairly obvious that the federal government,
controlling such vast amounts of the region, and the
energy resources within, and that access is critical
to this issue. It's equally obvious that during these
past few years the forest was adequately protected
during development of energy resources without the
roadless enforcement. We have managed to develop
several major hydro projects that are providing
affordable, renewable, green energy to a small portion
of our people. Unfortunately, we still have entire
communities paying up to 90 cents a kilowatt hour for
electricity. Our small businesses are the hardest hit
and, as you know, have quite a ripple effect in these
communities. Lack of access to land and the
paralyzing permitting process of the federal
government are killing our communities. People are
not able to heat their homes and turn on their lights,
much less start or maintain a business. A financial
obligation to heat schools and community buildings is
crippling in these communities, jobs are at a premium,
and there is no good news in sight.
MS. WRIGHT stated that two other hydro projects not mentioned by
Representative Johansen are the Angoon project at Thayer Lake
and the Kake-Petersburg Intertie project.
3:25:34 PM
GARRY WHITE, Executive Director, Sitka Economic Development
Association (SEDA), expressed his organization's support of the
resolution. He said SEDA has an active FERC permit to expand
the hydro capacity to Blue Lake dam, and the roadless rule is
hurting the project. Sitka is at the maximum capacity of
electricity that can be generated from its dams, and this
situation is inhibiting the growth of the fish processing
industry and new projects for the use of fish waste. In
addition, a shortage of power limits the quality of life for the
residents of Sitka. Mr. White opined the roadless rule is very
detrimental to the future of hydro projects in this area.
3:27:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for more information on how this
policy is affecting the expansion of the Blue Lake hydro
project.
MR. WHITE explained there is an existing road to the Blue Lake
facility; however, the project will raise the existing dam by 83
feet, thus the level of the lake will then encumber Forest
Service property. Removal of the timber from the area that will
be flooded by the lake is in violation of the roadless rule and
FERC suggested that permission to harvest the trees must come
from the Secretary of Agriculture. If the trees are left
standing, the water will be turbid, and a filtration plant will
have to be built at a cost of millions of dollars.
3:29:43 PM
CHRISTOPHER BREWTON, Utility Director, Electric Department, City
and Borough of Sitka, stated that the City and Borough of Sitka
has been working on a FERC license application for capacity
amendments in order to increase the system capacity from Blue
Lake by 27 percent. During the FERC licensing process, it was
pointed out that the roadless rule would impact the project, and
a request to address the harvesting issue was sent in September
2010, but there has been no response. Mr. Brewton continued to
explain that the community has overwhelmingly approved bonds for
the project, but the bonds have an expiration date that leaves a
very short window for construction. This has created a serious
deadline for the bond requirements, and the city cannot afford
to wait on the Forest Service for the resolution of this
critical issue for the community.
3:32:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for Mr. Brewton's previous
experience with responses from the Forest Service.
MR. BREWTON said very poor. The city is not privy to internal
Forest Service communications from the local level to the
national level. He restated the project's importance to the
community.
3:33:50 PM
HAP SYMMONDS, Chair, Board of Directors, Cordova Electric
Cooperative, Inc., stated that the Cordova Electric Cooperative
has a proposed project at Snyder Falls Creek, which is on Forest
Service property, thus the Forest Service will have a major
impact on the FERC licensing process.
3:35:05 PM
TIMOTHY ROONEY, Borough Manager, City and Borough of Wrangell;
Second Vice-President, Southeast Conference; Alternate board
member, Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA), agreed with the
previous testimony. Mr. Rooney said this is a critical issue
for all of the communities in Southeast; in fact, Wrangell is
one of the few communities with affordable electric rates. He
said the ability to construct and maintain transmission lines
and interties between hydro projects is vital to the survival of
all of Southeast Alaska.
3:36:20 PM
MARILYN LELAND, Executive Director, Alaska Power Association
(APA), informed the committee APA is the statewide trade
association that represents the electric utilities that supply
power to over 500,000 Alaskans. She expressed her
organization's strong support for HJR 20, and the efforts of the
legislature to oppose implementation of the roadless rule
regulation for the Tongass and Chugach National Forests. Alaska
possesses an abundance of hydro resources that can be built with
minimal environmental impact to replace costly, finite, and less
environmentally-benign fossil fuels such as diesel, coal, and
natural gas. The special use permits that are required by the
roadless rule must be individually signed by the Secretary of
USDA, and additional required federal actions can add one year
or more to the hydro application approval process by FERC, and
seriously jeopardize the three-year deadline on projects.
3:38:47 PM
CHARLES FREEMAN, Chair, Board of Directors, Southeast Alaska
Power Agency (SEAPA), stated SEAPA owns the Lake Tyee and Swan
Lake hydro projects and the Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg
intertie. He affirmed that the intertie was "helicopter-built
and helicopter-maintained;" however, due to the roadless rule,
at the moment there is a question as to whether helicopter pads
can be installed along the line for maintenance. Mr. Freeman
offered SEAPA's help in opposing the roadless rule. Then,
speaking for himself, he stated his opposition to the roadless
rule.
3:40:10 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER called attention to page 2, line 22, of the
resolution, and noted that the goal of achieving 50 percent of
the state's energy from renewable sources is ascribed to the
governor; however, the goal is actually part of the state's
energy policy.
3:40:49 PM
CO-CHAIR PRUITT moved to adopt Amendment 1, labeled 27-
LS0554\A.1, Bullock, 3/22/11, which read:
Page 2, line 22:
Delete "Governor's goal of generating"
Insert "policy of the state, as stated in sec.
1, ch. 82, SLA 2010, to generate"
3:41:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN objected for discussion purposes.
CO-CHAIR FOSTER said this is a technical amendment.
3:41:46 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN removed his objection.
3:42:00 PM
There being no further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
3:42:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK opined it is important to add the
President's intent - to get to 25 percent - to the resolution.
CO-CHAIR FOSTER asked Representative Tuck to offer a conceptual
amendment.
[There followed discussion on whether a conceptual amendment was
preferred.]
3:43:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 2.
[Although not formally stated, Conceptual Amendment 2 added the
intent of the President.]
CO-CHAIR FOSTER objected for discussion purposes.
3:43:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN urged that the conceptual amendment
state, "The President's goal was 25 percent renewable energy by
2025."
3:44:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER observed that there is some question as
to what the federal government defines as renewable, and he
suggested the committee ensure hydroelectric energy was
included.
3:44:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHANSEN suggested that Conceptual Amendment 2
would be easily incorporated on page 2, line 25, by the
resolution's drafter. However, the issue on how renewable is
defined by the federal government is a larger issue that could
be addressed by the House Resources Standing Committee.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK supported the insertion of "The Obama
administration has set a goal of having 25 percent of the energy
generated in the United States come from renewable, green,
resources by 2025" at page 2, line 25.
3:46:00 PM
CO-CHAIR FOSTER removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Conceptual Amendment 2 was adopted.
3:46:18 PM
CO-CHAIR PRUITT moved to report HJR 20, Version 27-LS0554\A, as
amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and
the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, CSHRJ
20 (ENE) was reported from the House Special Committee on
Energy.