Legislature(2001 - 2002)
03/28/2001 01:38 PM House FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
GENERAL SUBJECT(S):
HB 47-APPROP: GOVERNOR'S CAPITAL BUDGET
Department of Environmental Conservation
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
The following overview was taken in log note format. Tapes
and handouts will be on file with the House Finance
Committee through the 22nd Legislative Session, contact 465-
2156. After the 22nd Legislative Session they will be
available through the Legislative Library at 465-3808.
LOG SPEAKER DISCUSSION
TAPE HFC 00 - 65
SIDE A
000 DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
37 Representative Stressed the need to account for use of
Hudson the AHFC dividend in the operating budget
so that they are not overspent.
101 STEVE HILDEBRAND, Clarified that of the $103 million AHFC
FISCAL ANALYST, dividend dollars for FY02, $53 million
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT dollars was set aside for capital
AND BUDGET, OFFICE projects. Another $6 million dollars was
OF THE GOVERNOR originally included in the Governor's
request to fund debt retirement. The
Governor's request accounts for the full
$103 million dollars.
185 ROB CARPENTER, Explained that the House has appropriated
FISCAL ANALYST, $2.8 million dollars for operating
LEGISLATIVE FINANCE purposes. There is still $3 million
DIVISION dollars unaccounted for.
243 Mr. Hildebrand Observed that HB 103 and HB 104 did not
appropriate $6 million dollars into the
Debt Retirement Fund as proposed by the
Governor.
258 Representative Croft Summarized that HB 103/HB 104
appropriated $2.8 million dollars and
there is $52 million dollars proposed in
the capital budget.
287 Mr. Carpenter Noted that the governor originally
proposed $58 million dollars capital
projects. The House allocated $52 million
dollars in the capital budget. The
remaining, minus $3.1 million dollars, is
obligated to debt service payments for
AHFC bonds issued in prior years.
406 Representative Croft Of the original there was $45 million for
debt retirement, leaving $58 million
dollars. The $58 million for capital
projects was reduced to $52 million
dollars, leaving $6 million dollars. The
Governor's plan would have used the $6
million for debt retirement. The House
uses $2.8 million dollars of this amount
for operating allocations, leaving $3.2
million dollars.
Mr. Hildebrand Explained that the Governor has
discretion to spend dividends from state
corporations. Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation (AHFC) supports housing and
infrastructure. He stressed that it is
appropriate to apply the dividend for the
Department of Environmental
Conservation's Village Safe Water
Projects program and municipal matching
grants as infrastructure building.
627 Mr. Easton Stated that the department's mission is
to assist communities in improving
sanitation conditions. The department
achieves this goal through grants and low
interest loans to communities to build
water, sewer and solid waste facilities.
He pointed out that the budget
composition has changed over the past few
years. In FY 99 the state invested $44
million state dollars in sanitation. The
FY01 budget would invest $29 million
state dollars. Total funding has
increased by $11 million dollars through
additional federal funding. This is the
result of a change of the state/federal
match ratio to 1/3 from 1/1.
796 Mr. Easton Noted that statute change has allowed
better capitalization of the loan fund.
821 Mr. Easton Discussed the village safe water program.
874 Mr. Easton Discussed the Village Safe Water Project
Administration request of $1,961,100
million dollars. This request is a
transfer from the operating budget to pay
for engineers and other costs of managing
the program.
899 Mr. Easton Reviewed the request for Village Safe
Water Feasibility Studies. The request
funds subsequent allocations for
feasibility studies. They are engineering
studies to look at options for water,
sewer, and solid waste facilities.
940 Mr. Easton Discussed Village Safe Water Projects.
The request funds water and sewer
projects.
966 Mr. Easton In response to a question by
Representative Croft, Mr. Easton
explained that the $29 million dollar
figure did not include all of the AHFC
projects and was only for sanitation. The
four appropriations and capitalization of
the clean water loan fund add to $29
million dollars.
1169 Mr. Easton Reviewed the Municipal Water, Sewer, and
Solid Waste Matching Grant request. This
program makes grants to larger
communities. Applications are ranked.
There is a local match requirement of 10
- 15 percent. It is primarily funded
through state funds. There are federal
grant funds for projects off the road
system at 75 percent federal and 25
percent state funds.
1248 Representative Croft Referred to municipal grants. The grants
should be all state or 25 state/75
federal.
1299 Mr. Easton Noted that federal funds could only be
used in rural communities or Alaska
Native villages. The department defines
rural as off the road system.
1326 Representative Croft Questioned why general funds are being
used for the Environmental Health Food
Safety Laboratory Construction.
1388 Mr. Easton Did not know the answer and offered to
provide further information.
1405 Representative Questioned if the department cooperated
Hudson with the Denali Commission on underground
storage tank removal and who is
responsible. He noted that 470 funds are
being used.
1433 Mr. Easton Referred to Small Drinking Water System
Operator Certification Project. This is a
one time new appropriation. It would be
used to train and certify operators of
small drinking water systems as the
result of a change in federal rules. The
federal rule changed the requirement for
a certified operator for systems serving
50 people to 25 people. Operators of 600
systems will have to be trained and
certified. There is no state match. Most
of the funds would be used to contract
with the University of Alaska. There are
federal funds to cover the cost after the
one-time funds are exhausted.
1587 LARRY DIETRICK, Responded to questions by Representative
PROGRAM MANAGER, Hudson. He explained that the state and
PREVENTION AND federal programs are coordinated on rural
EMERGENCY RESPONSE bulk fuel replacements. The projects are
PROGRAM, DEPARTMENT funded through Trans-Alaska Pipeline
OF ENVIRONMENTAL Liability (TAPL) funds. He noted that a
CONSERVATION portion of the TAPL funds are
appropriated through AIDEA and a portion
comes from the federal government through
the Denali Commission. Those projects
that are furthest from compliance are
addressed first. The project list is run
through AIDEA.
1703 Mr. Dietrick Reviewed the request for Statewide
Contaminated Sites Cleanup. The request
is for $5 million dollars from the Oil
and Hazardous Substance Release
Prevention and Response Fund. This
request addresses problems at state owned
facilities, state leaking underground
sites and orphaned sites.
1736 Mr. Dietrick Discussed the request for Hazardous
Material Response Capabilities for Local
Government. The funding source is the Oil
and Hazardous Substance Release
Prevention and Response Fund. The funds
go to local communities to equip them to
assist the state response. The funding
goes to the hazmat teams in Anchorage and
Fairbanks. These teams can leave their
jurisdiction to go to any area in the
state.
1827 Representative Asked if there are many occasions where
Hudson the state has to assist.
1856 Mr. Dietrick Responded that there have been three
ammonia releases in the last 18 months to
2 years.
1872 Representative Questioned if overhead costs are tracked
Hudson for the site cleanup.
1889 Mr. Dietrick The $5 million dollars for state cleanup
goes entirely to cleanup.
1900 Mr. Dietrick Discussed the request for Grants and
Loans for Underground Storage Tanks. The
funding source for the $1 million dollars
request is the Storage Tank Assistance
Fund. He observed that SB 128 imposed new
network requirement, which reduced the
number of eligible applicants. This would
fund grants under SB 128. Applicants were
reduced from 200 down to 51.
1988 Mr. Dietrick Discussed the request for Oil and Gas
Transportation: Aging Infrastructure
Issues. The request for $500 thousand
dollars would be funded from the Oil and
Hazardous Substance Release Prevention
and Response Fund. He noted that the
infrastructure would have to support on
going production of oil. Issues need to
be addressed to prevent spills. He noted
that a Cook Inlet risk assessment would
occur. The department is also looking at
corrosion and erosion and evaluating the
best available technology to be used in
spill prevention.
2059 Mr. Dietrick In response to a question by Vice-Chair
Bunde, Mr. Dietrick explained that
erosion is occurring due to the sand.
Discussion ensued regarding the 2 cents
tax. The tax has been shut off since
1995. There is approximately $59 million
in the Oil and Hazardous Substance
Release Prevention and Response Fund.
2139 TOM CHAPPLE, Discussed the Fine Particulate Monitoring
DIRECTOR, DIVISION Project request. It is in response to a
OF AIR AND WATER new federal air-monitoring standard. The
QUALITY, DEPARTMENT project determines if the state meets the
OF ENVIRONMENTAL standard.
CONSERVATION
2192 Mr. Chapple Reviewed the Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program request. The request
would fund a baseline study of conditions
along the coastline for contaminates. The
project is a random sampling and is 100
percent federally funded.
2252 Mr. Chapple Discussed the Amchikta Workers Health
Assessment Project request. The project
would focus on the health of workers that
were present during the testing. The
Department of Environmental Conservation
is working with the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development. It is a three-
year project.
2306 Representative Clarified that this would be the first
Hudson year of the project. He questioned if the
project would be through contract.
2326 Mr. Chapple Responded that the project is almost
entirely done outside of the department
through contract. The department has a
minor role in the steering committee.
2347 Representative Questioned why the federal government
Lancaster does not do the project.
2359 Mr. Chapple Observed that it has been difficult to
get Congressional funding. Alaska is
pushing the project.
2375 Representative John Summarized that that state prefers to
Davies handle the project.
TAPE HFC 01 - 65,
Side B
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC
FACILITIES
30 NANCY SLAGLE, Discussed the safety Inspection of State
DIRECTOR, DIVISION Owned High Risk Facilities request. She
OF ADMINISTRATIVE noted that there have been incidents,
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT which have indicated that there are
OF TRANSPORTATION structural issues. There are 50 state-
AND PUBLIC owned buildings in the high or moderate
FACILITIES risk category. 10 - 15 buildings could be
addressed.
221 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Material Stockpiles for the
Dalton Highway request. The request would
allow the state to maintain the road
where it is not federally eligible.
317 Ms. Slagle Reviewed the Harborview Development
Center request. The request would allow
continuation of the mothballing of the
portion of the facility that is not being
used.
Representative Noted that there has not been a plan by
Harris the city. The hospital is still housed in
the building and the city has some
responsibility.
540 Representative John Questioned if the state would have an on-
Davies going cost.
555 Ms. Slagle Responded that the city would cover the
cost of the used portion. The state would
watch over the mouth-balled area at a
minor cost. The city is contemplating
building a new hospital, in which case
the state would address the building as a
whole.
636 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Weights and Measures
Testing Unit Replacement request. She
observed that a control and testing unit
needs to be replaced. The current vehicle
is 30 years old.
738 Representative John Questioned if the vehicles were part of
Davies the state equipment fleet.
788 Ms. Slagle Responded that they are not part of the
fleet. Both are old vehicles and
expensive to replace.
826 Ms. Slagle Reviewed the Alaska Marine Highway System
Overhaul, Rehabilitation and Mandatory
Training request. This is an annual
request to keep the vessels safe. The
vessels receive 5 - 6 weeks of overhaul
on an annual bases. There are also funds
for repairs at the Ketchikan warehouse
facility.
924 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Facilities Deferred
Maintenance and Critical Repairs request.
There are $40 million dollars in deferred
maintenance needs. She observed that the
top priorities are addressed.
1017 Ms. Slagle In response to a question by
Representative Harris, Ms. Slagle noted
that over the last 4 years the department
has received from $600 thousand dollars
to $1 million dollars for deferred
maintenance. The request has generally
been $1 to $1.5 million dollars.
1108 Representative Croft Observed that the state is falling
further behind each year.
1164 Ms. Slagle Agreed and noted that some stations are
becoming so bad that they need to be
replaced.
1185 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Emergency and Non-Routine
Repairs request. She observed that the
repairs could affect harbors, airport or
roads. Juneau / Haines storm damage was
funded from this component.
1293 Ms. Slagle Reviewed the Corps of Engineers Harbors
Program. She observed that the Unalaska
project is included and would use a local
match. These projects are separate from
the Governor's bill. They would provide
repairs.
1364 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Harbor Deferred Maintenance
request. The request would address
harbors that are not ready for local
ownership in the Governor's bill.
1415 Representative Clarified that the state has not had to
Harris continue funding repairs at harbors that
have been turned over to local
communities. Local communities can set
their own fees. He concluded that
deferred maintenance is an important
problem.
1516 Ms. Slagle Reviewed the Airport Deferred Maintenance
request.
1558 Ms. Slagle Discussed the Highway Deferred
Maintenance request. This is an annual
request that addresses items that are not
covered with federal funds.
1579 Ms. Slagle Reviewed the State Equipment Fleet
Replacement request. The state owns
75,000 vehicles. This allows for
replacements.
1627 Representative Questioned if the vehicles are bought in
Lancaster state.
1639 Ms. Slagle Noted that the vehicles are sent to bid.
They are awarded to the low bidder.
1674 THOMAS BRIGHAM, Noted that there are 102 federally funded
DIRECTOR, DIVISION aviation projects. There is $154 million
OF STATEWIDE dollars for aviation improvement, $43.5
PLANNING, DEPARTMENT million dollars international airport
OF TRANSPORTATION funds, and $113.2 million dollars in
AND PUBLIC bonds. The typical match is 6 percent for
FACILITIES aviation. Surface transportation projects
typically have a 9 - 10 percent state
match: a total of $41 million dollars.
1780 Representative John Pointed out that $41 million dollars is a
Davies large portion of the state's capital
budget.
1815 Vice-Chair Bunde Stated that the state could refuse the
federal funds and use the state match for
deferred maintenance.
1844 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.
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