Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
04/27/2021 08:00 AM House ARCTIC POLICY, ECONOMIC DEV., & TOURISM
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Sanitation in Rural Alaska | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ARCTIC POLICY,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
April 27, 2021
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ARCTIC POLICY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
AND TOURISM
Representative Grier Hopkins, Chair
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Liz Snyder
Representative Josiah Patkotak
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Tom McKay
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Chair
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Zack Fields
Representative Geran Tarr
MEMBERS ABSENT
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON ARCTIC POLICY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
AND TOURISM
All members present
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Representative Mike Cronk
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: SANITATION IN RURAL ALASKA
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
BRIAN LEFFERTS, MPH, REHS, DAAS
Office of Environmental Health and Engineering
Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint, entitled "Water &
Wastewater in Rural Alaska."
AARON DOTSON
Vice Chancellor of Research
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint presentation
entitled, "ARWSWG; Alaska Rural Water and Sanitation Working
Group."
JACK H?BERT, Founder
Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled,
"Efficient, Healthy Housing for our People."
BOB TSIGONIS, Founder
Lifewater Engineering Company
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled,
"Sanitation in rural and remote Alaska."
DAVID BEVERIDGE, Interim Senior Director
Division of Environmental Health and Engineering, Alaska Native
Tribal Health Consortium
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a presentation on sanitation in rural
Alaska.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:03:22 AM
CHAIR GRIER HOPKINS called the joint meeting of the House
Special Committee on Arctic Policy, Economic Development, and
Tourism and the House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs to
order at 8:03 a.m. Present at the call to order from the House
Special Committee on Arctic Policy, Economic Development, and
Tourism, were Representatives McKay, Patkotak, and Hopkins.
Representatives Snyder, Prax, Drummond, and Hannan arrived as
the meeting was in progress. Present at the call to order from
the House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs, were
Representatives Ortiz and Fields. Representatives Zulkosky and
Tarr arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION: Sanitation in Rural Alaska
PRESENTATION: Sanitation in Rural Alaska
8:04:40 AM
CHAIR HOPKINS announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation on Sanitation in Rural Alaska.
8:05:30 AM
BRIAN LEFFERTS, MPH, REHS, DAAS, Office of Environmental Health
and Engineering, Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, gave a
PowerPoint presentation, entitled "Water & Wastewater in Rural
Alaska," [hard copy included in the committee packet], during
the overall presentation on Sanitation in Rural Alaska. He drew
attention to slide 2, "Service Delivery Types," which shows
photos of the following types: a pipe system; a honey bucket
system for homes with no pressurized water system; a small,
closed hole system - usually about a 110 gallon trailer hooked
up to an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that can deliver water to a
house; a separate trailer that hauls away about the same amount
of waste water; and a large haul system, which can deliver about
3,000 gallons to a house. He added that tanks vary in size but
the ones in Bethel are about 1,000-gallon capacity.
MR. LEFFERTS drew attention to slide 3, "Barriers to Water Use,"
and he remarked that throughout the world, as access to water is
increased, consumption of water also increases. He talked about
the varying amount of use of water based on the methods of
procuring it. He showed slide 4, "Closed-Haul Systems," which
gives information gathered from one community in the Yukon-
Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta over the course of a year, as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
? Small Closed Haul (120 gal haul tank)
? 2016/2017 household average
? 6.7 water hauls (804 gallons per year)
? 12.1 sewer hauls (1,452 gallons per year)
? Washeteria usage (3,318 gallons per year)
? 82,100 gallons for laundry
? 8,000 gallons for showers
? 1.45 gpcd correction for self disposal and
travel
? 2.16 gpcd (YKHC) - 3.72 gpcd (Altiok, 2011)
? Large Closed Haul (3,000 gal haul tank)
? The median rate for haul customers in Bethel is
1,000 gallons per week.
? 35.6 gpcd
? 10 times the amount used in small closed-haul
systems
8:09:00 AM
MR. LEFFERTS directed attention to slide 5, "Water Sanitization
and Health," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
? Handwashing, hygiene, bathing have been shown to
reduce spread of communicable illnesses
? These are considered "water-washed" diseases: even
though they are not directly transmitted through
water, their transmission is linked to water
availability and its relationship with hygiene.
? Other potential impacts: dishwashing, laundry,
general cleaning, poverty reduction
Estimate ranges:
? 5 (20 L) gpcd essential for short-term survival
? 16 (60 L) gpcd minimum in CRUM
? 26 (100 L) gpcd long-term consumption and
hygiene needs
MR. LEFFERTS turned to slide 6, a continuation of "Water
Sanitation and Health," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
? The previous analysis identified that
pneumonia/influenza visit rates, skin infection visit
rates, and MRSA infection visit rates were lower in
areas with water service
? In 2020 we identified the same associations between
visit rates and increasing levels of piped water
service, with the addition of lower rates for other
respiratory infection visits as well.
? Diarrheal disease visit rates were not associated
with water service in either study
? Compared to a community with no piped water service:
? a community with 100% coverage of piped water
would have 40% fewer visits for pneumonia/influenza,
20% fewer visits for other respiratory infections, 80%
fewer visits for MRSA, and 40% fewer visits for other
skin infections
? a community with 100% coverage of hauled water
would have 20% fewer visits for respiratory infections
and 30% fewer visits for MRSA
MR. LEFFERTS spoke to further information on the slide, which
shows that for every 10 percent increase in coverage, there is a
4 percent decrease in pneumonia and influenza, a 2 percent
decrease in other respiratory infection, an 8 percent decrease
in MRSA, and a 4 percent [when water is piped] or 3 percent
[when water is hauled] decrease in other skin infection. He
then showed slide 7, "Barriers to Construction," which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Funding, $587 Million YK Delta to address dire
sanitation conditions
? State Match
? Requires Approved Business Plan
? Best Practices Scores
Federal Requirements
? IHS Cost Caps
? EPA Certified Operator Requirements
MR. LEFFERTS referred to a chart on the [right] half of slide 7,
which lists funding sources, and he emphasized the necessity of
having all of them in order to complete a pipe water project.
8:13:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR noted that the funding sources total $58.7
million, and the chart in total adds up to $127 million. She
asked what that means on an annual basis. She asked where the
costs for necessary improvements and new infrastructure are
reflected.
MR. LEFFERTS replied that large-scale upgrades would be paid out
of the system, while user fees gathered through local operations
pay for routine maintenance and upkeep.
8:16:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked whether the $127 million in any way
addresses the $587 million needed to address the dire sanitation
conditions in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta.
MR. LEFFERTS replied yes. He said the $587 "should be broken
out into multiple different projects." He added that projects
happen in phases and the list of projects fluctuates.
8:18:36 AM
CHAIR HOPKINS asked whether the list is made by the state and
has a specific formula.
MR. LEFFERTS answered yes. He added that various systems have
their own scoring system, but all projects are captured in the
sanitation deficiency system (SDS).
8:19:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PATKOTAK, regarding the $587, inquired about
operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.
MR. LEFFERTS said any large-scale operation must have a business
plan showing how the system will be covered financially.
8:21:13 AM
MR. LEFFERTS returned to the PowerPoint, to slide 8,
"Residential Collection Rates," and covered the information that
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
? Business Plans
? Must meet State Affordability Matrix
? No piped system would have been constructed
under new matrix developed in 2020
? Average monthly rate $110; Average Highest
Possible Rate $49
? FY19 Analysis of 26 ARUC communities
? Affordability Score had no impact on collection
rates
? Published peer-reviewed literature shows customers
with the least reliable and poorest quality service
were willing to pay the most for improvements to
systems
MR. LEFFERTS pointed out that there are high collection rates in
communities with a high burden of authority; the collection rate
drops when rates are greater than $150 per month; and a much
larger impact has been found where systems do not have the
ability to shut off service to customers that are not paying.
He said the way the system is built has a greater impact on the
revenue communities can bring in to operate it than does the
maximum cost allowable set by the state for construction of the
project.
8:23:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked for recommendations on how the
legislature could address barriers to sanitation needs related
to requirements for qualification of funding.
MR. LEFFERTS answered that in addition to a continued business
plan, he would like to see a realistic way for customers to be
able to pay. He talked about low median income rates coupled
with high percentage of people paying for services, and he
indicated that people whose children become sick due to bad
water quality know the importance of having a good water source.
8:25:22 AM
MR. LEFFERTS directed attention to slide 9, "Best Practice
Scores," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
? Small, isolated communities, small labor pools,
limited economies, and high rates of employee turnover
all make it difficult to achieve strong financial and
managerial capabilities.
? In 2017, 46% of rural utilities collected revenues
sufficient to cover the costs of their operations
? Served 83/152 55%
? Underserved 3/10 30%
? Unserved 3/33 9%
? A link has also been demonstrated between water
system type and managerial support and Best Practices
score. In Spring 2021 in the YK Delta:
? < 30 % piped avg. best practice score: 36
? 30-80% piped avg. best practice score: 55
? > 80% piped avg. best practice score: 60
Ritter, 2017; State of Alaska, 2017; State of Alaska,
2021
MR. LEFFERTS said, "We're kind of putting the cart before the
horse here by requiring a high best practice score in order to
fund a company with a pipe system." He explained that small,
isolated communities have small labor pools, limited economies,
and high rates of employee turnover. He pointed out that in a
community that has only a washeteria, the main source of revenue
is "just quarters for a washer and dryer," and that revenue must
serve to employ a full-time operator, pay for thousands of
dollars in "regulatory samples," and hire a bookkeeper, et
cetera. He said this is nearly impossible for these small
businesses to pay for all the requirements needed in order to
earn a high best practice score. Conversely, a fully piped
system has more of an economy of scale, with lots of customers
paying hundreds of dollars a month. Referring to the best
practice scores shown on the slide, he stated that a best
practice score of 60 is required in order to get construction
funding for piped water systems.
MR. LEFFERTS said the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is
requesting the requirement to have a best practice score be
eliminated for dire sanitation condition projects without piped
systems, and that a more realistic affordability matrix be
allowed regarding the residential rate from the business plan.
He said this would relieve state funding for the state match, as
well as help fund a lot of the essential projects addressing
dire sanitation conditions in rural Alaska. In response to
Representative Zulkosky, he offered his understanding that the
best practice score is not in statute, but rather is "just a
policy decision that the State of Alaska has made." In response
to a follow-up question, he said the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC), [Division of Water], Village Safe Water
imposes the [best practice score] requirement.
MR. LEFFERTS directed attention to the final slide, which
depicts a map illustrating the remaining unserved and
underserved communities. He explained that the red dots on the
map are communities that primarily use honey buckets, and the
green dots are communities that have 30-50 percent pipes, with
many homes still unserved.
8:29:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked about urban versus rural equity and
what would be seen in terms of critical infrastructure
investment.
MR. LEFFERTS replied that most of the remaining services
[needed] are among Alaska's poorest and with the highest
percentage being in Native communities, and health disparities
are symptomatic of systematic failure.
8:32:38 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked whether the best practice score requirement
would also be imposed in areas where there might be a desire to
allocate some federal relief funds.
MR. LEFFERTS replied that it would depend on how funding comes
to the State of Alaska. For example, if it comes through a
revolving loan from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
then that would require a state match, which has restrictions;
currently any project for a comprehensive pipe system requires
funding "from all those funding sources." He spoke about a $1
billion federal request being written to address the statewide
need for dire sanitation conditions; the $587 million was for Y-
K Delta alone. He expressed hope that the money would go to the
most important projects.
8:34:58 AM
AARON DOTSON, Vice Chancellor of Research, University of Alaska
Anchorage, presented a PowerPoint, entitled, "ARWSWG; Alaska
Rural Water and Sanitation Working Group" [hard copy included in
the committee packet], during the overall presentation on
Sanitation in Rural Alaska. He shared that he is a member of
the working group as a representative for the University of
Alaska. He began on slide 1 and offered ARWSWG's mission
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The Working Group's mission is to maximize the health
benefits of in-home water and sanitation services in
rural Alaska.
He noted that slide 1 also includes a list of other ARWSWG team
members who also belong to federal and state agencies,
universities, and tribal health organizations.
8:36:13 AM
DR. DOTSON continued on slide 2, "ARWSWG Approach", which
included a bubble graph depicting, "the core of what we do,"
which he stated is a focus on maximizing the health benefits of
the in-home water and sanitation services in rural Alaska. He
explained that to achieve that goal, ARWSWG focuses on four
specific pillars, shown on the slide, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Promote research and development of innovative
approaches to water and waste-water services
Develop innovative strategies for the allocation of
capital funds through community-level engagement
Support research on the connections between climate,
water and human/environmental health
Improve village level capacity (technical, financial,
managerial) and enhance existing O&M via the provision
of subsidies and technical assistance programs
DR. DOTSON offered clarification that although members of the
House Special Committee On Arctic Policy, Economic Development,
and Tourism (AET) are unable to directly change these processes,
members of ARWSWG are able to influence the trajectory of those
who fund this and support this work, due to ARWSWG members'
connections through their respective agencies. Additionally, he
stated that through the House Special Committee On Arctic
Policy, Economic Development, and Tourism, the opportunity for
cross-institutional collaboration can be provided that may lead
to the direct approach of any one of the pillars mentioned on
slide 2.
8:37:49 AM
DR. DOTSON continued on slide 3, "Alaskan Water and Sanitation
Retrospective," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The purpose of this retrospective was to inform the
water and sanitation industry and the general public
about technologies deployed in rural Alaskan villages
between ~1970 and 2005 and why the majority failed on
a technical level or failed to provide adequate water
on an as-used basis to improve health outcomes.
He shared with the committee that the retrospective was
published in "about 2015" and represented a number of years of
work. He explained that the text was predicated on an
interview-based approach and created a "really sound document"
that was at the foundation of assisting those that were pursuing
an effort, called "The Alaska Water Sewer Challenge". He said
that this effort was shaped in some ways by the members of the
House Special Committee On Arctic Policy, Economic Development,
and Tourism committee.
DR. DOTSON proceeded to slide 4, "ARSWG Recent/Upcoming/Ongoing
Projects and Activities," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
1) Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge (initiated in
2012)
2) Engineering Atlas supporter
? Coordinating partners, expect small planning
workshop
3) Development of communication strategy for public &
legislature
4) ALPHA Conference - Annual Post-Conference Session
Organize
DR. DOTSON explained that the Engineering Atlas project is
funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) through the
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)
with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). He expressed
that the AET committee has the ability to gather individuals
that would best serve the Engineering Atlas. He shared that
modernization is necessary to help integrate climate and
environmental data with engineering equations and theories.
This integration allows for the production of maps of Alaska
that provide engineering data in addition to the already
available climate data, which would inform engineers on how to
design structures and pikes in a way that best fits Alaska's
environmental needs.
DR. DOTSON continued by explaining that communication strategy
done by ARSWG is available on the group's website for public
viewing. He also stated that, since 2011, ARSWG has been
organizing a post-conference session in association with the
ALPHA Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, which is a public health
conference.
8:41:43 AM
DR. DOTSON proceeded to slide 5, "Alaska Water and Sewer
Challenge," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
? Focused on decentralized water and wastewater
treatment, recycling, and water use efficiency
? The primary goal is to significantly reduce the
capital and operating costs of in-home running water
and sewer in rural Alaska homes
? Project is in Phase 4 Field System Development and
Testing
DR. DOTSON said that the Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge (AWSC)
stands as an example of a project that was shaped by ARSWG. He
explained that this involved members of ARSWG challenging
engineers to come up with an alternative and innovative pipe
system. He shared that the project is currently awaiting more
funding to be released by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency
(EPA).
DR. DOTSON advanced to slide 6, which included a flyer for a
conference, entitled "Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic
Homes." He shared that this was an international, weeklong
workshop held in conjunction with the U.S. Chairmanship of the
Arctic Council. He said that this conference was also partially
organized by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
He expressed that the conference was well-attended and allowed
individuals in Alaska to learn from individuals living in other
Arctic countries, as well as to highlight many of the outcomes
of AWSC.
8:44:02 AM
DR. DOTSON continued to slide 7, "Annual Water and Sanitation
Innovations for the Arctic Workshop: ALPHA Sessions," which read
as follows [original punctuation provided]:
? 2011 State of Water/Wastewater Affairs
? 2012 Exploring Innovative Ideas
? 2013 Update on AK R&D & Assessing Metrics
? 2014 Future of Washeterias
? 2015 Wastewater Treatment and Disposal
? 2016 Education & Outreach in Rural Water and
Sanitation
? 2017 Climate Change, Water, and Health ? 2018
Investigating impacts of inadequate water provision in
rural Alaskan households
? 2018 Investigating impacts of inadequate water
provision in rural Alaskan households
? 2019 Alternative Approaches, Focus on Gray Water
Recycling Technologies
? 2020 Prioritizing Water and Sanitation Capacity
Needs ? 2021 Tracing the Pandemic in Wastewater
DR. DOTSON shared that this slide offers an idea of the
integration that ARSWG does to continue to engage communities in
Alaska, involving engineers, scientists, individuals in the
public health field, legislators, and community members. He
relayed that the "post-ALPHA" sessions have been occurring since
2011 and have been shaped by the needs of the year.
DR. DOTSON concluded his presentation by expressing that ARSWG
includes a diverse group of individuals that have the ability to
integrate each individual's work and portfolios from federal,
state, and university perspectives with the hope to maximize the
mission of ARSWG.
8:47:41 AM
CHAIR HOPKINS asked Dr. Dotson how Alaska compared to other
Arctic nations in terms of healthy Arctic homes.
DR. DOTSON replied that it varies dramatically; in some ways
Alaska proved to be comparatively exceptional, while in other
ways funding was too different to compare Alaska's systems to
those of other Arctic nations. He gave plumbing as an example
of this. Alternatively, he shared that other communities like
Greenland are on-par with Alaska when it comes to limited waste-
water service. He concluded that Alaska ranks somewhere in the
middle of the spectrum when compared to other Arctic regions,
but diversity of infrastructure spans from low to high, much
like other regions located in the circumpolar north.
8:49:52 AM
JACK H?BERT, Founder, Cold Climate Housing Research Center, gave
a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "Efficient, Healthy Housing
for our People," during the overall presentation on Sanitation
in Rural Alaska. He shared that he founded the CCHRC and also
serves as the Senior Advisor for the National Renewable Energy
Lab (NREL).
MR. H?BERT proceeded to slide 2, "Cold Climate Housing Research
Center Joined NREL to Expand Mission Impact", and shared that
the building depicted on the slide is the CCHRC facility. He
said that the facility is a "stand-alone facility," meaning that
it has its own infrastructure built within it, including
wastewater and potable water.
MR. H?BERT advanced to slide 3, "CCHRC Research Areas," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Building Envelopes & Materials
Energy & Mechanical Systems
Social & Economic Analysis
MR. H?BERT explained that the slide refers to the main research
areas on which CCHRC focuses. He added that a new partnership
with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has allowed
CCHRC to expand its team and resources to better help Alaskans.
MR. H?BERT moved to slide 4, "Demonstration & Deployment," which
included photos of structures that, together with community
members, CCHRC has helped design and build.
MR. H?BERT continued to slide 5, "Indigenous Wisdom", which
included photos on indigenous community members. He shared that
the philosophy of CCHRC is that innovation begins with the
wisdom of indigenous individuals due to decades of experiences
in "one of the harshest climates on earth." He said that CCHRC
attempts to involve indigenous people as much as possible
throughout the entire process.
8:54:00 AM
MR. H?BERT proceeded to slide 6, "21st Century Technology,"
which included additional photos of structures that CCHRC has
assisting in building. He explained that CCHRC combined
indigenous wisdom with Twenty-First century technology such as
solar power. He shared his understanding that CCHRC has an
established reputation in the circumpolar world of success. He
stated that the center has approached net-zero in the homes that
it has built in Interior Alaska, which is an example of a
successful project.
8:55:14 AM
MR. H?BERT advanced to slide 7, "Sustainable Northern
Communities," which depicted a map of Alaska showing the
locations of CCCHRC's housing efforts. He explained that this
map shows just "some" of the center's efforts as it needs to be
updated.
MR. H?BERT moved to slide 8, "The Need," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
32.5% of the housing stock is considered in need of
major repair or falling apart.
74.4 % of households are considered drafty.
21.8% of households are unable to maintain 70 F on
cold days in the winter.
37.4% of households reported having mold or mildew in
the home.
Fuel oil prices reach as high as $10/gallon.
55.9% of households have income less than $20,000.
Arctic is changing, 184 Alaskan communities threatened
by erosion
Natural disasters are becoming more frequent
MR. H?BERT directed attention to a photo on slide 8 of a young
girl showing the photographer the condition of her home, which
he said was among community homes that were so structurally
compromised that "you could push a number two pencil right
through the grey beam." He expressed that prioritization can be
extremely difficult in these situations because needs are high,
and resources are limited.
MR. H?BERT continued to slide 9, "Sustainable Northern
Communities; INNOVATIVE COLABORATIVE HOUSING DESIGN," which
depicted photographic examples of some of CCHRC's prototype work
in collaboration with rural Alaskans. He said that this work
speaks to the kind of success that is possible with creativity
and collaboration. Each photo included a caption, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Anaktuvuk Pass Prototype
Average house: 1400 gal/yr - 5300 ltrs
Prototype house: 160 gal/yr 600 ltrs
Atmautluak Prototype
Average house: 1200 gal/yr - 4600 ltrs
Prototype house: 120 gal/yr 450 ltrs
Quinhagak Prototype
Average house: 1000 gal/yr 3800 ltrs
Prototype house: 150 gal /yr 600 ltrs
North Slope
Average house: 900 gal/yr 3400 ltrs Prototype house:
132 gal/yr 500 ltrs
MR. H?BERT remarked that the indoor air quality and the health
of the individuals living in these houses is "as important if
not more important" than the energy efficiency of the home
itself. He noted that the Atmautluak prototype seen on the
slide was a standalone building and not on the sanitation grid,
and to hook it up to the water and sewer system was much more
efficient than implementing a standalone sewage treatment plant
for just the prototype house. He added that the house was so
energy efficient that the small wind generator behind the house
could heat the house in the winter with an electric hot water
heater.
8:58:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY remarked it was appropriate to highlight
the infrastructure needs and conditions experienced throughout
rural Alaska. She asked Mr. Hbert for a sense of what the
annual energy cost might be to heat an inefficient home.
MR. H?BERT responded that it was a matter of doing the math on
the cost of fuel oil and the average house size in the region.
He stated that in Representative Zulkosky's region, District 38,
this figure would be 1,200 of gallons of fuel per year for an
average home. At six dollars per gallon, he continued, this
would make the average cost around $10,000 per year to heat a
home. He added that the cost is pretty sobering and that
Alaska, despite its wealth, experiences similar conditions to
Africa. He echoed that there is a necessity to find innovative
ways to address these problems.
9:01:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS shared his understanding based on the
presentation that a house in Anaktuvuk Pass consuming 1,400
gallons of fuel per year could cut its fuel consumption by
almost 90 percent with a more efficient house, and there could
be opportunities for weatherization investments that could yield
a return if there was such a program to accomplish this. He
asked Mr. Hbert whether he would agree that weatherization
investments could yield a good return.
MR. H?BERT replied absolutely. He shared his understanding that
the quality of work in the weatherization has been remarkable,
but resources have been limited. He noted that if there is not
enough funding to correctly implement weatherization, then more
problems could be created.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS explained that he brought this point up
because there is an upcoming debate in a legislative committee
regarding the proposal of a Green Bank, and one of the main
points of contention is whether a certain amount of investment
in "PC" communities in rural Alaska is required. He opined that
Mr. Hbert's presentation makes a compelling case that there is
no tradeoff, and that there would be a high return.
MR. H?BERT responded that energy efficient healthy homes are an
investment one need not keep making.
9:04:06 AM
MR. H?BERT continued his presentation on slide 10, "Newtok," and
showed a picture of the village of Newtok that had to move to
Mertarvik due to unstable conditions. He said that this is the
first occurrence of a village moving due to instability and
climate change. He explained that the ground underneath Newtok
was being washed away due to poor weather and storms.
MR. H?BERT proceeded to slide 11, "Newtok; Mertarvik" which
showed drawn examples of structures in both communities. He
then advanced to slide 12, which included a photo of equipment
with which to move a house. He explained that the equipment is
very stiff and allows for the structures to be moved.
MR. H?BERT advanced to slide 13, "PASS- Portable Alternative
Sanitation System," and explained that the photo included on the
slide depicts an early iteration of a stand-alone system that is
proving to be a successful option. He shared that this system
was installed for the first time in a home in Mertarvik and is
being installed in more homes in Mertarvik. It does not require
a hookup to a water and sewer infrastructure, he continued, and
although it is not the most ideal system, it functions and helps
improve health standards.
MR. H?BERT continued to slide 14, "PASS- Portable Alternative
Sanitation System," which depicted an image showing how PASS
works.
MR. H?BERT moved on to slide 15, "PASS- Portable Alternative
Sanitation System," which included photographs of what he deemed
as "kind of a vented honey bucket" but claimed is a more
healthful system than a honey bucket and also provides water for
handwashing. He noted that a benefit of this system is the fan
positioned above the toilet, which provides continual
ventilation and can help improve indoor air quality in the
homes.
MR. H?BERT moved on to slide 16, "Mini-PASS Handwashing
Cabinet," which included a photo of a system that brings fresh
air into the house while incorporating warm air into the fresh
air stream. He said that Mertarvik has these systems in place.
He then moved on to slide 17, "BrHEAThe- Warm and healthy air,"
which showed an additional image of a system in place in
Mertarvik.
9:09:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked Mr. Hbert whether the systems could
be maintained by individuals in the village were something to go
wrong.
MR. H?BERT replied yes, they are simple systems that just
require routine maintenance such as changing the filters once a
year. He added that the system has been well vetted, and
individuals are comfortable with it.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked Mr. Hbert whether there was enough
training to maintain proficiency should something go wrong with
the systems.
MR. H?BERT replied that local training is important in all
systems in operations of a home or building. He explained that
the idea was to simplify them so they could keep up with
maintenance. This would also be a way to keep the money
localized, he added. He continued that the parts are
lightweight and units that need maintenance could even be
shipped out on a plane if required.
9:12:42 AM
MR. H?BERT continued by showing more photos of housing in
Mertarvik on slides 18 and 19. He then proceeded to slide 20,
"On Site water and wastewater," and explained that in the
community depicted that is adjacent to the the University of
Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) campus, the water was installed both
inside and outside of the home: an insulated tank outside of the
home and an uninsulated tank inside the home for water delivery
purposes. He directed attention to the sewage treatment plant
seen in the photo, outside of the building, and shared that it
is DEC approved for surface discharge. He relayed that there
would need to be training to maintain these systems, but
expressed his certainty that the individuals who are responsible
for utility system maintenance in rural communities would be
able to learn how to maintain these systems as well.
MR. H?BERT proceeded to slide 21, "Sustainable Northern
Communities; A HOLISTIC APPROACH," and shared that a big part of
the success of Alaska and "finding our way" is to begin with the
people of Alaska as the greatest resource. He expressed that
"if we work together, this really can be done." He stated that
approaching the situation in an intrusive way does not allow for
a full understanding of the compromised nature of the housing.
It is inefficient to attempt to input a "several hundred
thousand dollar per home" water and sewer system into homes in
which a toilet is not mountable due to the structural
instability of the home.
MR. H?BERT advanced to slide 22, "Sustainable Northern
Communities; A HOLISTIC APPROACH; SECURITY, RESILIENCY,
SUSTAINABILITY," and stated the importance of acknowledging the
challenges that are experienced by rural communities. In 2017,
he said, there were 20 Alaska communities that needed to be
relocated within 10 years, according to Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). He noted that in the latest Denali
Commission Report, there are now 29 communities that need to be
relocated, and another 158 that are threatened to a lesser
degree by erosion and flooding. He expressed that the resources
are simply not available to be throwing money at these issues
without also making progress. He concluded that it's going to
take collaboration towards the goal of a better future for the
people of Alaska.
9:17:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked Mr. H?bert whether there could be a
policy that requires new construction and whether the
legislature should consider a policy directive that would
require a certain percentage of Alaska's energy portfolio to
come from renewables.
MR. H?BERT replied yes, and shared that Alaska State
Homebuilders has been working on getting a state energy and
building code. He said that the Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation has also been working on this for years, and it even
requires these energy standards for anything that it finances.
He emphasized that it is important to understand that any new
regulations that are implemented need to make economic sense as
well. He gave the example of weatherization in Alaska, and said
that although the return for individuals living in these newly
weatherized houses is immediate, it is important to also
consider the long-term return for improvement of communities.
9:20:14 AM
BOB TSIGONIS, Founder, Lifewater Engineering Company, gave a
PowerPoint presentation, entitled "Sanitation in rural and
remote Alaska," during the overall presentation on Sanitation in
Rural Alaska. He explained that he has been involved with water
and wastewater treatment in Alaska since 1974 during the
construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
MR. TSIGONIS began on slide 2 of his presentation, which
included photos of piped water and sewage systems in Alaska, a
type of system that he claimed is considered to be the "gold
standard" in terms of convenience in public health. Village
safe water and the Alaska Native Health Consortium have brought
systems to as many villages as they can, he continued.
MR. TSIGONIS advanced to slide 3, which included photos of
broken and malfunctioning pipe systems. He said that,
unfortunately, pipe systems are expensive to construct and
maintain, but there are alternatives to pipe systems that are
being implemented in various locations in and around rural
Alaska. In 1998, he continued, he founded Lifewater Engineering
Company as a consulting company. At that time, designing a
residential sewage system for permafrost meant little more than
specifying a mounded leachfield to achieve the required six-foot
separation from the bottom of the leachfield to the top of the
permafrost.
MR. TSIGONIS continued on slide 4, "CRITERIA," and explained
that a year later in 1999, a former colleague asked if he could
design a sewage system for his house on permafrost. The slide
listed this colleague's criteria, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
? No buried tanks or leachfield
? Approved by ADEC
? Easy to operate & maintain
? Spare parts & support available in Fairbanks
? Not too expensive
? Work above ground at -60F
MR. TSIGONIS shared that he completed a design over a period of
four months and discovered that in order to be cost-effective
for his client, Mr. Tsigonis would have to build the system
himself. He said that it was at this point that Lifewater
Engineering then transitioned from a consulting to a
manufacturing company. He relayed that a second person soon
heard about this new residential sewage treatment plant and told
Mr. Tsigonis that he wanted a plant as well. He said that the
temperature did drop to -60F that winter, and was at -50F for
two weeks, and his two sewage treatment plants made it through
the winter with no issues. He stated that the next residential
sewage treatment plant was purchased by Luke Hopkins, as seen on
slide 5. He told Chair Hopkins, "Yours is a family of early
acceptors," and he thanked Chair Hopkins for his contribution to
the success of his company.
9:24:12 AM
MR. TSIGONIS continued on slide 6, "Wastewater Treatment
Plants," and shared that Lifewater Engineering has now
manufactured 338 systems.
MR. TSIGONIS proceeded to slide 7, "2014," and expressed that
one of the most fulfilling projects in his life has been working
with Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), Cold
Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC), and two other companies
to develop, test, and deploy what he said has been determined a
portable alternative sanitation system (PASS). He noted that
the other private companies are Camp Water Industries and
Silverline, both from Delta Junction, Alaska. He shared his
understanding that even before Lifewater Engineering began
working with these companies, every team member was familiar
with the unsanitary conditions often found in rural communities
that did not have piped water sewage systems. Every team member
was already working to alleviate those conditions, he said.
MR. TSIGONIS continued on slide 8, "Needed," and explained that
what brought the companies together were three things, which
read on the slide as follows [original punctuation provided]:
? Hygienic way to wash hands in running water
Sanitary way to collect & dispose of human waste
? Way to ventilate homes
MR. TSIGONIS advanced to slide 9, which depicted a bubble chart
suggesting collaboration between various organizations, and he
added that his efforts in the development of PASS began before
the outbreak of COVID-19, but became especially relevant after
the outbreak. He recognized the staff of ANTHC, in particular
John Warren, Jackie Schaeffer, and Mia Heavener, who led the
charge to develop PASS. He explained that each organization
covered its own brainstorming, design, and prototyping costs,
which meant that no contract needed to be negotiated and no
payments needed to be made, apart from the units that were sent
out to the villages for testing and use.
MR. TSIGONIS proceeded to slide 10, which depicted two flyers
for PASS. He explained that early in the process, Lifewater
began building prototypes for water-less toilets, and CampWater
Industries (CWI) began building prototypes for drinking water
systems for PASS and handwashing stations for a Mini-PASS.
9:28:56 AM
CHAIR HOPKINS asked Mr. Tsigonis how training, maintenance, and
up-keep works in far-flung areas of Alaska.
MR. TSIGONIS replied that there are two types of technology for
Alaska wastewater treatment systems: residential/village level,
which is simplistic and has readily available materials, and
commercial, which is a high quality system. He shared that the
implementation is always the toughest part in rural Alaska, and
requires a lot of work cross-culturally and educationally. He
said that Lifewater has worked with several housing authorities,
which have employees who educate homeowners on the systems at
the same time as they maintain and monitor the systems. He
added that Lifewater services over 100 systems in the Fairbanks
and North Pole, Alaska, area twice a year and welcome the
opportunity to work with organizations to come up with creative
ways to ensure the systems get the necessary maintenance. He
emphasized that maintenance is very simple, but individuals
simply need to be encouraged to do it.
9:32:37 AM
DAVID BEVERIDGE, Interim Senior Director, Division of
Environmental Health and Engineering, Alaska Native Tribal
Health Consortium, discussed sanitation in rural Alaska during
the overall presentation on Sanitation in Rural Alaska, and
categorized many rural communities as unserved and underserved.
He began by speaking to the high level of collaboration that
takes place across Alaska. He agreed that there is no one
entity which has all the answers, so it's really important to
work together. He put forth it was difficult for some
individuals in villages to comply with COVID-19 mitigations
because they couldn't even properly wash their hands. He
relayed that Alaska Native individuals consistently represented
about 27 percent of hospitalizations throughout the pandemic,
and almost 37 percent of the deaths related to COVID-19 were
Alaska Natives and Native Americans.
MR. BEVERIDGE continued by elaborating on the PASS unit. He
shared that the idea for PASS started at ANTHC, and the board of
directors funded an initiative that provided the funding to
develop the project. He said that the PASS unit is now
installed within around 80 homes in Alaska and, mentioning the
relocation of Mertarvik, noted that the PASS unit is what is
allowing the individuals in the village to access hygiene needs.
He shared that ANTHC was provided $2.2 million from private non-
profit donations to fund 100 Mini-PASS units, which he said they
are actively working on implementing.
MR. BEVERIDGE proceeded to discuss the interplay of cost and
energy, and shared that ANTHC discovered that energy made up
about 40 percent of the cost of operating a water and sewer
system. He noted that the water must be heated so that it
doesn't freeze and must be kept moving so that it is
recirculated for the community, which requires pumps,
electricity, and typically, diesel fuel. He noted that the two
biggest ways that ANTHC has discovered to cut costs is to make
simple energy efficiency improvements, and conduct larger
projects in developing renewable energy infrastructure, and
estimated that this has resulted in an over $20 million in
savings to date. He added that the current estimate is that
communities are saving an average of $3 million per year in
energy costs through the program. He pointed out that the
project also creates local jobs, so in addition to saving the
community money, it also circulates additional funds into the
economy through wages.
9:39:32 AM
MR. BEVERIDGE continued by remarking that in many cases, ANTHC
has been able "to heat up a heat recovery system" to the power-
plant in the community. He gave an example of one community
where this was successfully implemented and the effort reduced
the water plant heating fuel usage by 90 per with a savings of
8,800 gallons per year, and over $40,000 in savings for the
community. Additionally, he continued, in some communities that
have turbines to generate or supplement electricity, the
turbines generate such an excess of electricity when running at
full speed that the excess can't be taken advantage of because a
sufficiently advanced battery system doesn't yet exist.
MR. BEVERIDGE added that a number of years ago ANTHC founded the
Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative, which comprises about 27
communities managed by ANTHC. He said that this gives ANTHC the
opportunity to try new approaches to utility management and
incorporate best practices. A few years ago, he said, ANTHC
started a project with the Northwest Borough called the
Community Utility Assistance Program, which helped provide
reduced costs. Some of the funding for this program pays for
fuel, training, and salaries, he said, and the water and sewer
costs in those communities were reduced by two thirds due to the
efforts of the program.
MR. BEVERIDGE explained that ANTHC is trying to protect
infrastructure that is in rural Alaska, and there are lots of
communities that are threatened due to environmental factors,
such as flooding and permafrost. He said some of these
situations are deemed "slow-moving disasters" because it is the
result of a slow failure in a system that has been put in place
to keep some infrastructure in place called thermosyphons, and
he said that these are not functioning like they used to due to
climate change. He explained that ANTHC is developing
refrigerated columns to strap on to the thermosyphons, and using
solar energy to activate the system.
MR. BEVERIDGE circled back to the earlier conversation about
funding and said that the list of needs that is maintained for
rural Alaska consists of $2.2 billion of need. Of that, about
$1.5 billion is needed to take underserved communities to a
fully served status. Other needs include aging infrastructure
that needs to be updated. He noted that the state provided
funding for infrastructure protection in the recent past, which
he said was a quick way to get money out to the necessary
communities. He estimated that investments like this could
result in a significant savings by prolonging the need to
replace a system in the future. He explained that ANTHC is
collaborating with partners in an attempt to remove some
barriers to receiving more federal funding, which includes
limits on how much funding can be provided per home. He said
that when a community has only 600 or 700 residents and is
reliant on a small water source, oftentimes a new water source
needs to be identified that can meet the needs of a fully piped
community. Waste solutions also need to be identified, he
continued, for generation of wastewater that will be
significantly higher than what the community sees currently.
Systems in existence for funding don't recognize these factors,
he said, and for this reason, removing barriers for funding is
important.
9:49:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked Mr. Beveridge to remind the
committee of the definition of and statistics on unserved and
underserved communities.
MR. BEVERIDGE replied that there are 32 communities unserved,
and in these communities, fewer than 55 percent of the homes are
"hooked up." There are 17 communities that are underserved;
some of these have flush tank systems that do not achieve the
same level of public health benefits, and there are "communities
that have less than 85 percent of the home" covered. He said
that this means that more than 20 percent of the homes may not
have service. He explained that there are some communities that
have been piped, but there are clusters of homes within the
community that do not have pipes, and these would also be
referred to as underserved.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked Mr. Beveridge what type of health
research ANTHC is conducting on past systems' impact on "water
washed diseases." This would allow for broader acceptance on
the federal side to implement these systems, he claimed.
MR. BEVERIDGE replied that the research department of ANTHC is
working to look at the impact of the past.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked Mr. Beveridge whether he
anticipates that research being made available as the team at
ANTHC assesses the impact.
MR. BEVERIDGE responded yes.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY expressed that the lack of sanitation in
one of the wealthiest states seems to her to be one of the most
staggering and egregious inequities. She noted that the COVID-
19 pandemic highlighted to another degree the significant
disparity for sanitation facilities in Alaska homes. She opined
that it seems like an appropriate time to make an investment in
sanitation.
9:52:35 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked Mr. Beveridge how ANTHC was
interfacing with individual villages and shared his
understanding that a "cookie-cutter approach" doesn't work.
MR. BEVERIDGE expressed agreement that the "cookie-cutter"
approach doesn't work in this situation. He noted that some
federally implemented policies that work in other states don't
work in Alaska. He said that attempting to apply systems that
work in the "Lower 48" simply does not work in Alaska; there is
a huge disparity in cost, and construction windows are much
smaller in Alaska. He explained that ANTHC works closely with
communities and partners to identify the types of projects that
are the best solutions for those communities. He emphasized
that the solutions are specified for each community and are not
a "cookie-cutter" approach.
9:56:02 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the joint
meeting of the House Special Committee on Arctic Policy,
Economic Development, and Tourism and the House Special
Committee on Tribal Affairs was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CCHRC 2021 Leg Presentation.pdf |
HAET 4/27/2021 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Lifewater 2021 Rural Sanitation Presentation.pdf |
HAET 4/27/2021 8:00:00 AM |
|
| YKHC presentation 4-27.pdf |
HAET 4/27/2021 8:00:00 AM |
|
| USARC Rural Sanitation Hearing.pdf |
HAET 4/27/2021 8:00:00 AM |