Legislature(1993 - 1994)
03/11/1994 03:38 PM Senate RES
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SENATE RESOURCES COMMITTEE
March 11, 1994
3:38 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Miller, Chairman
Senator Loren Leman, Vice Chairman
Senator Steve Frank
Senator Drue Pearce
Senator Al Adams
Senator Dave Donley
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Fred Zharoff
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16
Relating to release of nonproprietary geographic information system
files in possession of the state.
SENATE BILL NO. 299
"An Act providing that the commissioner of natural resources may
not charge or assess a general administrative service fee for
certain appropriations of water."
PREVIOUS ACTION
SCR 16 - No previous action to record.
SB 299 - See Resources minutes dated 3/11/94.
WITNESS REGISTER
Dr. Doug Segar, Director
Environment and Natural Resources Institute
University of Alaska, Anchorage
707 A Street
Anchorage, Ak. 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SCR 16.
Richard McMahon, Acting Chief
Land Records Information
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 107005
Anchorage, Ak. 99510-7005
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SCR 16.
Ric Davidge, Director
Division of Water
Chief, Alaska Hydrologic Survey
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 107005
Anchorage, Ak. 99510-7005
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 299.
Gary Newman
1083 Esro Road
Fairbanks, Ak. 99712
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 299.
Gary Prokosch
Water Management Development
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 107005
Anchorage, Ak. 99510-7005
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 299.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 94-18, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN MILLER called the Resources Committee meeting to order at
3:38 p.m. and announced SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16
(Relating to release of nonproprietary geographic information
system files in possession of the state.) to be up for
consideration.
JO FENETY, Legislative Aide to Senator Pearce, sponsor, said she
would turn the discussion over to Dr. Doug Segar, Director for the
Environment and Natural Resources Institute at the University of
Alaska, to answer questions.
DR. SEGAR said they have been given the mission of providing the
central public information access node for environment and natural
resource data in the state, serving the public and state and
federal agencies and their need to get information from a variety
of sources.
In 1981 the Alaska State Climate Center was added to the
organization. In 1993 the Alaska Natural Heritage Program was
added. This year they are adding an Environmental Mediation and
Conflict Resolution Program. Their primary mission is to gather
data, (not to do research), analyze, and synthesize it, and make it
available to those people in the state who need it. They process
on the average of 4,000 requests for information per year, MR.
SEGAR said. State funding is only the base of their operations.
They get 3 federal dollars for every 1 state dollar.
Up to this point in time the information they have gathered has
been discs on data in spreadsheet format, data reports, and
technical reports from all of the agencies, including Arco and BP.
Recently GIS geographical information systems have become the
replacement, in essence, for data reports. The continuously
evolving geographic systems are much more efficient, because from
that source you can get more information, more quickly, and analyze
the data much more easily.
The problem is that they no longer get data reports from some of
the agencies and they are soon to be designated as a data center
for the United Nations Environment Program Geographical Information
Data System. That means they will have access to all the U.N.
environment program GIS files for the entire world.
MR. SEGAR informed the Committee that they are also the first of
the Northern Forum data centers. They are also negotiating a
cooperative agreement to be the data center to transmit information
between state agencies and the new national biological survey.
They are working with the Environmental Resources Institute (SRI)
to develop software the public can use and software that will allow
them to do time series data to look for time change in the
environmental data.
Number 220
SENATOR LEMAN asked why they need the resolution. MR. SEGAR said
they have requested information from various departments and some
are willing and some will provide it only for an up front cost that
is beyond their ability to fund.
SENATOR LEMAN asked about the complaints of duplicating services
that had been heard from private contractors. MR. SEGAR said he
had heard of them and they are cooperating with these engineering
companies and are actually hoping to place some of their students
with them. He said now there is no serious problem.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the information would be available to for-
profit data managers. He explained there are agreements with their
clients that specify second use provisions.
Number 258
RICHARD MCMAHON, Manager, Land Records Information Section,
Department of Natural Resources, agreed with Dr. Seger's testimony.
With the increasing importance of environmental issues, an active
role for the repository is much more beneficial than a passive one.
He emphasized the GIS systems are typically very large and very
complicated and have a lot of information. Care must be taken to
prevent unnecessary duplication. More active communication with
AIDC agencies will have to develop responsible methods for the
dissemination of information and he supported the cooperative
approach that Mr. Segar mentioned.
SENATOR MILLER said he intended to move the bill when there was a
quorum and announced SB 299 (REPEAL ADMINISTRATIVE WATER FEE) to be be
up for consideration. He explained that it repeals the authority
of the Commissioner to charge a $50 administrative fee for
appropriation of water.
Number 311
RIC DAVIDGE, Director, Division of Water, said when this fee was
recently passed, the state had no authority to assess fees in order
to collect revenue from the export of water. Because of certain
supreme court decisions that say the state can't charge California
more than it charges itself, they discussed a variety of fees. For
example, he said they had applications for large amounts of water
with fees of $200 and the cost of the adjudication of some of those
services was in excess of $100,000. At the time, the Resources
Committee requested him to come up with a fee respective of all the
costs associated with the administrative services they provided.
It would not be cost effective to bill for those services every
time. They found that 3,000 of 16,000 were causing the costs.
Going through the regulatory process they identified the
approximately 3,000 citizens that would be affected by the fee.
Updating their files allowed them to drop 1,000 people.
Out of the first billing last year they received about $100,000
with about 95% compliance. With their second billing they expect
98% compliance, MR. DAVIDGE said.
One of the reasons they are doing this is because there is a
dramatic reduction in general fund authorizations for the Division
of Water and an increase in program receipt authorizations. Out of
a $1.8 million budget for the Division of Water, MR. DAVIDGE said,
$600,000 is fees generated through direct services provided to the
public. The fee only applies to commercial uses of 500 gallons of
water a day or more or associated uses to single family dwellings
that use 1500 gallons a day or more.
MR. DAVIDGE said they have reviewed specific situations directly
with the affected citizens and have resolved any problems that have
come up. He offered to do that with Senator Miller's constituents.
SENATOR MILLER thanked him and announced they did now have a quorum
and would act on SCR 16.
SENATOR PEARCE moved to pass SCR 16 from Committee with individual
recommendations . There were no objections and it was so ordered.
Number 360
SENATOR MILLER announced SB 299 (REPEAL ADMINISTRATIVE WATER FEE)
to be back before the Committee.
GARY NEWMAN, Fairbanks resident, said his fee is one that needs
adjusting on 2 basic issues. First of all the fee is not
equitable, because except for a few groups like the AJ Mine, Beluga
Coal, etc., the others just don't generate much need for a large
fee. He also objected to the retroactive clause.
MR. DAVIDGE responded that in his case he had a water right that
was far in excess of what he was using. He has relinquished
voluntarily the water he is no longer using. Under AS 46.15 if
they give someone a water right for 5,000 gallons a day and they
are actually using 500 gallons a day, they don't have a right to
the balance. A lot of these normal relinquishments have not been
processed.
SENATOR FRANK asked if there were any water use constraints in the
state. MR. DAVIDGE said we do have areas of aquifers in stress in
Juneau, Kodiak, Anchorage Hillside, and more.
Number 449
SENATOR MILLER asked at what point can the Department notify people
to reapply for water rights they haven't developed to the point of
using, yet, in a stressed area? MR. DAVIDGE replied they issue a
five year permit that allows someone to perfect their water rights
that can be extended up to two times. If they don't perfect their
water rights, they can relinquish the amount of water they are not
using or close the file on the application. If a person has water
rights, they will be notified of developments that may affect them.
This is required in statute.
SENATOR LEMAN asked what the actual cost was per billing. MR.
DAVIDGE said now that the program is completely computerized, it
costs less than $10 per application.
SENATOR LEMAN asked what they did with non-compliers? MR. DAVIDGE
said they turn them over to collection, but they have very few
problems. He said the most water a family would use is 500 gallons
a day. He said there is no requirement for people who have a well
in their home.
Number 506
GARY PROKOSCH, Water Management Development, explained that the law
says if you use greater than 500 gallons per day, you must apply.
You do not have to apply for under 500 gallons per day up to 10
days per year, but then you have no rights.
SENATOR MILLER asked why they have a limit of 1,500 gallons for
domestic use and 500 for commercial. MR. PROKOSCH said they did
not intend to assess people who have a lot of related uses for
lawns, animals, etc. They still have to apply for water rights,
but they don't have to pay the fee.
SENATOR FRANK asked him if this bill would eliminate all fees or
just the little fees. MR. DAVIDGE replied that the way they read
the bill it would eliminate the annual $50 administrative service
fee. Under this bill people would still pay an application fee.
He explained that the state has an on-going administrative
responsibility to maintain the water rights. It is extremely
important to maintain current information, because there are a lot
of water use changes.
SENATOR FRANK asked Senator Miller if he was trying to eliminate
the annual nuisance factor. SENATOR MILLER said that was correct,
but he wanted to make sure that was all they eliminated.
SENATOR ADAMS noted that the administration was against the
legislation. He thought it would also be against the amendment.
He asked how the loss of revenue from collection of the fee,
$117,000, would affect the Department. MR. DAVIDGE answered that
means he would probably have to lay off 1 full time adjudicator and
reduce another adjudicator to half time. He said he has over 2,000
permitting actions he can't get done, even now. Because of his
inability to process them, these projects can't move forward.
SENATOR ADAMS noted that a couple of years ago they passed SB 66,
the fees bill enabling various agencies to pay for their own
programs. He said this bill was going backwards in that respect.
SENATOR MILLER said he intended to work on the legislation some
more and adjourned the meeting at 4:18 p.m.
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