Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
02/25/2025 01:30 PM House TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Ports and Harbors of Alaska | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 25, 2025
1:33 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Ashley Carrick, Co-Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid, Co-Chair
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Louise Stutes
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Cathy Tilton
Representative Elexie Moore
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: PORTS AND HARBORS OF ALASKA
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
BRYAN HAWKINS, President
Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators
Homer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation on the ports
and harbors in Alaska.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:33:10 PM
CO-CHAIR ASHLEY CARRICK called the House Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. Representatives McCabe,
Stutes, Moore, Eischeid, and Carrick were present at the call to
order. Representatives Tilton and Mina arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
^PRESENTATION: Ports and Harbors of Alaska
PRESENTATION: Ports and Harbors of Alaska
1:33:46 PM
CO-CHAIR CARRICK announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation on the ports and harbors of Alaska.
1:34:10 PM
BRYAN HAWKINS, President, Alaska Association of Harbormasters
and Port Administrators (AAHPA), gave a PowerPoint presentation
on the ports and harbors in Alaska [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. He pointed out on slide 2 AAHPA's mission
statement of serving and promoting Alaska's ports and harbors.
He said that AAHPA is a nonprofit with 47 harbor members and 60
supporting businesses. He continued that it leads the harbor
grant program for the Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (DOT&PF). He pointed out the list of the board
members on the slide, emphasizing that they are from across the
state. He moved to slide 3, which showed a map with the
locations of AAHPA's harbor members. He noted that river
communities are becoming part of the association. He discussed
the network that is created through AAHPA, which has become a
strong source for the supply chain.
MR. HAWKINS, in response to a question from Co-Chair Carrick,
said that the Nenana Harbor has been a AAHPA member for about
five years. He expressed uncertainty on the amount of traffic
taken at the Nenana Harbor. He added that when Emmonak joined
in 2016, it was serving as a port, but all it had was a
riverbank. He stated that Emmonak had received a build grant,
and now it has a dock and a barge landing at the mouth of the
Yukon River. He expressed the understanding that around 10,000
people live upriver.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE pointed out that Port MacKenzie serves
around 200,000 people, and he expressed disappointment that the
presentation would not directly discuss this port.
MR. HAWKINS, in response to a question from Representative
Stutes, stated that Port MacKenzie is an operating port.
1:41:15 PM
MR. HAWKINS moved to slide 4, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
- Alaska Ports and Harbors are an economic Driver for
the State and the Nation
- Alaska Ports and Harbor provide a critical network
of transportation for people and for the supply chain
- Sound Port and Harbor infrastructure is key to
economy stability, growth and security
- Workforce Development is essential to the longevity
of our infrastructure and our way of life.
MR. HAWKINS moved to slide 5, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
- Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline more than the
entire continental US combined.
- 82% of Alaskans live in coastal communities
- 70,000 Alaskan jobs are in the maritime industry
(20% of our work force)
- Three of the top 10 fishing ports in the U.S. are in
Alaska
Dutch Harbor (first by volume), Kodiak & Naknek
- Tourism is essential to Alaska economy
Nearly 60% of all tourists arrive via cruise ship
Tourism is largest private employer in Southeast
Alaska
- The United States is an Arctic Nation because of
Alaska
MR. HAWKINS moved to slide 6 and pointed out facts about the
state's ports and harbors. He noted that there are three large
private ports in Alaska, including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
System port in Valdez. He stated that the largest public port
is the Don Young Port of Alaska in Anchorage. He noted that 85
percent of the state's cargo would go through this port. He
stated that the state has 125 small boat harbors, with 108 being
under local municipal control.
1:43:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES questioned who would control the harbors
that are not under local control.
MR. HAWKINS responded that the state owns these harbors. He
explained that, over time, the state has been transferring the
ownership of these harbors to the local cities and
municipalities. He gave the example that in 1999 the state had
sold the harbor in Homer to the city for $1. He added that many
communities own multiple harbors.
CO-CHAIR EISCHEID questioned the designation of the Don Young
Port of Alaska in Anchorage as a U.S. Commercial Strategic
Seaport.
MR. HAWKINS explained that the Don Young Port of Alaska in
Anchorage is adjacent to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richarson
(JBER), and military equipment is often transported across the
dock facility at the port.
1:45:40 PM
MR. HAWKINS said that the Alaska Society of Civil Engineers does
periodic evaluations of the ports and harbor facilities in the
state. He stated that in 2017 the state received a grade D for
the reasons listed on slide 7, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
- No plan for establishing Arctic Deep Water Port
- Port of Alaska (Anchorage) had no recapitalization
momentum
- Southeast Alaska regional cruise ship approach
accommodating neo-Panamax was incomplete
- Small Boat Harbor matching ADOT Grant uncertain
MR. HAWKINS, in response to a question from Co-Chair Carrick,
expressed uncertainty on the definition of a "neo-Panamax"
cruise ship.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE explained that neo-Panamax is the new
largest ship, and these could not fit through the Panama Canal
until its renovation. He expressed the understanding that some
ports in Southeast Alaska would be able to take cruise ships
this size.
MR. HAWKINS discussed the construction of the Port of Nome. He
directed attention to slide 8, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
- March 2020: Army Corps of Engineers completed Port
of Nome Modification Feasibility Study & Final EA
- December 2020: Project Authorized by Congress in
2020 WRDA Bill
- $505M US Army Corps of Engineers Project w/local
match $126M required
MR. HAWKINS said that the Nome project went out to bid; however,
the bids had come back too high. He expressed uncertainty
concerning the project at this point; however, he added that "it
is not a dead issue." He moved to slide 9 and slide 10 and
discussed the cruise ship ports in Juneau. He pointed out that
the new dock facilities could handle the bigger ships. He noted
that the docks had been dug in deeper water, and they have
concrete floats that accommodate the ship's gangways. He noted
other improvements in the state, including new private cruise
ship docks in Hoonah, Ketchikan, and Whittier.
MR. HAWKINS moved to slide 11 and discussed the renovation of
the Don Young Port of Alaska that has taken place since 2017.
He stated that the $208 million replacement project for the
Petroleum Concrete Terminal was completed in 2022. He pointed
out that this port has received around $134 million in grants
between 2019 and 2022.
1:51:49 PM
MR. HAWKINS discussed the DOT&PF Harbor Facility Grant, as seen
on slide 12, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
- Established in 2006
- Only fully funded three times
- Woefully underfunded at the legislative level
- Purpose is to encourage local municipalities to
assume financial and managerial responsivity of small
boat harbors
- Requires 50% local match.
- For most Alaska harbors it is the only source of
grant funding.
MR. HAWKINS moved to slide 13, which showed a chart on the
DOT&PF Harbor Facility Grant funding for projects from 2020
through 2026.
MR. HAWKINS discussed the Municipal Harbor Facility Grants
Program. He pointed out the funding for projects in fiscal year
2023 (FY 23), as seen on the chart on slide 14. He stated that
during this year the governor's budget had awarded $16.4 million
to municipal harbor projects in the state. He pointed out that
this has been the largest grant award since the conception of
the program. He added that there would be a local match for
each grant request. He stated that in FY 24, $8 million in
grants had been requested for three projects; however, only $5.5
million was approved, as seen on slide 15 and slide 16. He
stated that only one grant project had been put forward and
awarded in FY 25, and it was for $5 million, as seen on slide
17. He continued to slide 18, which addressed the FY 26 grant
requests for this program. He stated that these grant requests
total $7 million for four projects, while the total cost with
the local match for these projects would be $30 million. He
stated that local contractors would be used on these projects,
and he expressed the opinion that these projects are "very much
needed."
MR. HAWKINS moved from slide 19 through slide 20, pointing out
the "big" grant wins over the past few years. He stated that
the grant money received for these projects have resulted in
upgrades and recapitalization projects throughout the state. He
stated that this was done by leveraging state grants with local
dollars. He noted the Emmonak dock project on the list.
1:57:59 PM
MR. HAWKINS, in response to a question from Representative
McCabe, pointed out that the Port Development Infrastructure
Program (PDIP) grant is a Maritime Administration (MARAD) grant.
He noted that the port in Anchorage has received two of these
grants.
MR. HAWKINS, in response to a question from Co-Chair Carrick,
expressed uncertainty when the PDIP grant had been awarded for
the Jakolof Bay Dock in Seldovia. He expressed agreement that
it might have been in FY 23. He expressed uncertainty on the
progress of this project. He stated that he would report back
to the committee on this progress.
MR. HAWKINS stated that in 2021 the Alaska Society of Civil
Engineers raised the state's grade for its ports and harbors to
a D+. He discussed the reasons for this higher grade, as seen
on slide 22, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
- Congress authorization to designate Nome as Deep
Draft Arctic Port was more than a decade in the making
- Port of Alaska Port Modernization Project is
underway
- Private Investment for Cruise Ship Docks has built
capacity for tourism economy
MR. HAWKINS noted that the small boat harbor grant remains
unfunded and uncertain, so this had not helped the grade. He
expressed the understanding that Alaska's ports and harbors
should be receiving a new grade soon.
2:01:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES questioned whether the deep-water port in
Nome would require maintenance dredging.
MR. HAWKINS, in response, expressed uncertainty. He added that
the entrance to the small boat harbor in Nome has always
required maintenance dredging.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE expressed the understanding that within
the last few days, the Alaska Society of Civil Engineers raised
the state's grade from a D+ to a C-. He questioned whether the
port in Nome has an anchor tenant.
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES expressed the understanding that it would
be the military.
MR. HAWKINS expressed uncertainty.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE discussed the barge activity in Cook Inlet
and Southcentral Alaska. He expressed the understanding that
companies are struggling to find places to work on their barges
and places to lay them up for the winter. He questioned whether
ports in this area would be able to accommodate this.
MR. HAWKINS expressed the understanding that there is a lack of
moorage space for barges in this area. He noted that barges
would be too big to enter the harbors. He stated that in
Kachemak Bay there are some permanent moorings for barges, and
some barges have been hauled out on airbags and stored in the
marine repair yard. In response to a follow-up question on the
increased barge activity in Port MacKinzie, he expressed
agreement that more moorings are needed. He noted that there is
no winter moorage in Western Alaska. He stated that these
barges could not be left in the rivers, and when they are hauled
out on a bank, they need to be clear of the water because winter
ice would create damage. He stated that in the past, much of
the barge traffic had traveled to the Lower 48.
2:06:59 PM
CO-CHAIR CARRICK thanked the presenter, and she made closing
comments.
2:07:29 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Transportation Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:07
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Association of Harbormasters & Port Administrators 02.25.25.pdf |
HTRA 2/25/2025 1:30:00 PM |