HB 38-AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES  1:05:23 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER announced that the first order of business is HOUSE BILL NO. 38, "An Act relating to the rapid response to, and control of, aquatic invasive species and establishing the aquatic invasive species response fund." 1:05:39 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS), labeled 29-LS0226\H, Bullard, 4/2/15, as the working document. There being no objection, Version H was before committee. 1:06:06 PM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, sponsor, introduced HB 38, explaining that the bill addresses aquatic invasive species and trying to alleviate the problems being seen in Alaska. Aquatic invasive species are non-native animals and plants whose introduction causes economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Invasive species can spread very rapidly, becoming impossible or costly to control. Alaska spends about $6 million annually on fighting invasives and nationwide $120 billion is spent annually. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON began a PowerPoint presentation, defining invasive organisms as non-native, aggressive, and likely to cause harm (slide 1). An invasive currently in Alaska (slide 2) is Didemnum vexillum (Dvex), also known as sea vomit. It is near Sitka and is actually an animal, a colonial tunicate, but looks like a plant that grows over everything. Elodea, often seen in aquariums, is another invasive in Alaska. Another is northern pike in Southcentral Alaska. Pike are causing massive losses of salmon in the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula areas. Turning to slide 3, he said invasive species that could come to Alaska in the future and cause problems include the European green crab, which is currently 200 miles south of Ketchikan, zebra mussels, mud snails, Atlantic salmon, and a number of tunicates. 1:08:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON addressed the rapid growth of Dvex in Whiting Harbor near Sitka (slide 4). He displayed photographs taken 10 weeks apart to show how quickly the tunicate grew during that length of time. He projected an aerial photograph of Whiting Harbor (slide 5) then moved to a photograph of the sac roe herring fishery (slide 6) to depict why Dvex in Whiting Harbor is so detrimental. Boats pulling in the herring roe on seaweed could pull in Dvex if it is there, he explained, which would then be pumped into tenders and because the tenders do their processing in many ports around Alaska the Dvex could be widely spread (slide 7). This is why these invasives must be stopped when they first start, he stressed. Moving to slide 8 he pointed out that other methods of spreading invasives include fishing boats, ballast water, sport boats, and tsunami debris. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON explained that northern pike (slide 9) are actually native in most of Alaska, but not Southcentral Alaska. When introduced the pike cause a big problem by eating salmon. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON reviewed how fast zebra mussels have spread (slides 10-16) between the years 1986 and 2011. In 1986 zebra mussels were found in two small spots, but by 2011 they had gone all the way down the Mississippi River and spread to the West Coast. Zebra mussels cost billions of dollars because they clog up water intakes for industrial plants. So far Alaska is the only state not affected by zebra mussels. 1:11:38 PM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON turned to the graph on slide 17 depicting a typical species invasion curve, explaining that what the sponsors are trying to do with HB 38 is seen at the bottom left of the curve. When an invasive species is first found it takes very little money and effort, relatively, to control it, but once the species begins its steep spread it is almost impossible to get stopped. After it has spread it will cost lots of money to control and will never be eradicated. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said HB 38 would prioritize the invasive species action over other department-controlled activities. For example, if the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) has a fishery such as sea urchins or sea cucumbers, it means that if ADF&G is going to eradicate the species in this much localized area, then that will have priority. The bill authorizes utilization of a variety of tools, including biological chemical means. It would coordinate among other state departments. For mariculture leases the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would be required to include [hold harmless] language for the control of any invasives brought in by the mariculture operation. The bill would also require notice to consumers and to private property owners that this is an issue to be aware of. The bill would also create a response fund, but that fund is not created here. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON specified that the difference between Version H and the bill as introduced is the original bill had a requirement that the plans be put in place, which is a fiscal note issue. Version H requires the departments to coordinate, control, and make plans, but it doesn't require them to do that on any certain timetable and there won't be anything separate to fund. 1:14:20 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON noted he likes this bill which he has cosponsored, but asked whether Representative Seaton is comfortable with the guidelines on page 1, subsection (b), in that the agency would know when to back off the suspension of the laws. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON replied he believes so and said the emergency orders only last for a short period of time. The quarantine ability is currently with DNR and previous efforts stimulated DNR to quarantine Elodea, disallowing the sale or distribution of Elodea. The environmental law section will have public contact and will ensure coordination of these pre-plans with the public. 1:15:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON drew attention to page 2, subsection (e), and asked whether this provision is overly broad and should there be some remedy for private property owners who feel they have been harmed in some way. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON responded this issue came up with the Dvex in Sitka when a mariculture farm brought up the Dvex in some of its facilities. The response was delayed two years while the department tried to determine whether in doing anything with this farm that it authorized through a permit and mariculture lease, the department would be "liable for what they've done." This provision is really appropriate, he said. For example, "what happens in the Department of Agriculture is if you have an invasive weed and you're a farmer, they do the plan and you as the farmer are responsible for carrying out the plan, paying for the getting rid of that invasive weed." He said he thinks it is a much more contained situation here. The bill is just saying that when someone asks for a state mariculture lease or tideland lease, if an invasive species occurs there [the state] can come in and control that without having to wait years going through court. He said he is comfortable with this provision. 1:18:23 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER opened public testimony on HB 38. He noted that any written testimony will be entered into the record. 1:19:43 PM JONI SCHARFENBERG, District Coordinator, Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District, supported HB 38, stating that a goal of the Fairbanks Soil & Water Conservation District is to control and eradicate invasive species. A local example for which the bill would be helpful is Elodea. In 2010 this highly aggressive, aquatic invasive plant was found in the North Pole/Fairbanks area. Elodea destroys natural habitat for fish, displaces native vegetation, and impacts recreational use. But, not until this spring was there a draft state management plan in place for Elodea. Meanwhile, despite efforts by the district and its partners to stop the spread of Elodea, it has traveled to the Chena River, has been found in Chena lakes, and all of that leads on into important fish habitat in the Yukon and Tanana drainages. Elodea is now found across the state. She urged that HB 38 [be passed] for the immediate eradication or stopping the spread of Elodea. Cordova's waterways are overflowing with Elodea and have been for some years, but nothing is happening. She posed a scenario of two dandelions in a lawn, noting that the eradication program would be to pluck them. However, a lawn filled with dandelions will require much more time and expense for eradication. This is also the way it works with invasives, she pointed out. Getting a handle on Elodea requires the state's authority and backing. 1:21:48 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER closed public testimony after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify. 1:22:11 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER opened committee discussion on HB 38. He noted that the bill as introduced had three fiscal notes, two of which were zero. He requested confirmation that the fiscal notes will continue to be zero. ELAINE BUSSE FLOYD, Director, Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), confirmed Version H would still have a zero fiscal note from her division. VICE CHAIR HAWKER stated the bill as introduced included one fiscal note for the Division of Sport Fish that would have spent money. He requested the division to comment on the Version H fiscal note. TOM BROOKOVER, Acting Director, Division of Sport Fish, Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), replied he anticipates his division's fiscal note is now zero for Version H and that it would be covered under the division's normal budget. VICE CHAIR HAWKER specified that if the bill passes out of the House Resources Standing Committee it will have two attached zero fiscal notes and one forthcoming zero fiscal note. 1:25:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said there is a fine balance with this kind of bill. He noted his district has a float plane lake and his concern is that planes will be able to continue using that lake without having to do a secondary landing to clean off their floats. Saying he doesn't want any impingement on the ability of people flying around the state, he inquired whether anything in HB 38 would prohibit or cause grief for those people flying around the state and maybe unknowingly transporting an invasive species. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he worries much more about that kind of thing where there is a quarantined plant and someone with a float plane spreading that around the state, which possibly could be a liability to that person. The purpose of HB 38 is to get rid of that invasive species as it occurs, when it is an incipient population. Nothing in the bill would do what is being mentioned by Representative Johnson on any kind of a permanent basis. Right now there are controls for Elodea at Stormy Lake and Daniels Lake on the Kenai Peninsula and his understanding is that it has not interfered with any of the property owners or plane operators; it is being done over the winter. Without some kind of control, he said he could anticipate that something would happen where a lake might not be able to be used if it gets highly infected with Elodea. The purpose of the bill is to have plans in place so that invasives are tackled when they first occur because nothing can be done after an invasive has become endemic. 1:28:10 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON recalled that in a Matanuska-Susitna lake there was use of a fertilizer that enriched the water and doubled the proliferation of [Elodea]. He asked whether anything in HB 38 would prevent people from fertilizing their yards. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON answered he is not aware of anything, but allowed he hasn't had any discussion on somebody using fertilizer. He explained that the bill addresses an incipient population and establishing a plan to control it. REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON noted he has spent quite a bit of time on invasive species and has heard most of the arguments for many years. He said he wants to ensure, with each bill, that it is clear what a bill does and doesn't do, and he wants to make certain nothing is being done that he would find objectionable. 1:29:27 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER requested additional clarity from department representatives regarding Representative Johnson's concerns. FRANCI HAVEMEISTER, Director, Division of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), replied she is not concerned that HB 38 will put any additional requirements on landowners and users of lakes or will ban the use of fertilizer in lakes. REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON requested Ms. Havemeister to address the float plane issue. MS. HAVEMEISTER responded that the Division of Agriculture did put a quarantine in place last spring for Elodea, but in no means does the quarantine impact a float plane owner's use and ability to fly around a lake. It quarantines the sale and the transfer of Elodea, the division intentionally did not include float plane use. The division did extensive outreach to the float plane community to let them know of Elodea in the area and ways that they can potentially mitigate that risk from transferring. MR. BROOKOVER said his response is similar to Ms. Havemeister's. He specified he doesn't foresee effects from the bill, for example, on a landowner's use of fertilizer. He said he looks at, primarily, provision (a) and directing the activity on controlling the occurrence of, or eradication of, a particular species directly and he therefore does not see that type of unintended consequence. He said he defers to the Division of Agriculture in regard to the float plane issue. 1:32:13 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER requested Ms. Floyd to respond to the concerns of Representative Johnson. MS. FLOYD answered that her division doesn't see any unintended consequences either. She said her division would suggest that the bill be amended to address terrestrial invasive species as well as aquatic invasives. As currently written, she explained, the statute requires a permit if an agency is going to apply pesticide on two or more private properties. That ties the hands of the soil and water conservation districts, other community organizations, and local governments from addressing terrestrial invasives in a timely manner in their area. The division therefore suggests a statute change to also allow for terrestrials. VICE CHAIR HAWKER noted bills are often written to be limited in scope. He requested a response to Ms. Floyd's suggestion that the bill be expanded to include terrestrial invasives. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON replied it is a broader topic that he hasn't considered and therefore is leery at this time to jump in and apply it to land invasives. While HB 38 requires other departments to cooperate with ADF&G, and ADF&G to cooperate with DNR, adding terrestrial species would suddenly become a lot more related to DNR than the bill was targeted at. So, he is uncomfortable with expanding the bill right now. VICE CHAIR HAWKER said he is personally comfortable with a bill that is targeted to, and limited to, aquatic species. 1:34:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON drew attention to page 2, subsection (g), of the bill, saying it gives him comfort for what Representative Johnson is talking about. Subsection (g) instructs that there be public outreach to private property owners and that a method be selected that will have the most minimal effect on private property while accomplishing the goal of eradication or control. REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON said he doesn't disagree that land-based invasive species should be addressed, but he is not prepared to sacrifice the perfect for the good in this case. It is a totally different issue when getting into land based due to there being federal lands as well as Canada. He said he is comfortable moving the bill as it is. REPRESENTATIVE TARR supported HB 38, noting she is a botanist. In regard to adding terrestrial species, she pointed out that the private property issues would be a lot more significant. Due to the nature of invasive species, she said a much better job must be done of responding more quickly and she is therefore supportive of the bill and moving it from committee today. 1:37:34 PM VICE CHAIR HAWKER requested the ADF&G legislative liaison to address the 2/5/15 fiscal note attached to the original bill that involved some spending by the Division of Sport Fish and its change to a zero fiscal note under Version H. BEN MULLIGAN, Legislative Liaison, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), confirmed that in working with the sponsor, ADF&G identified the provisions that would have required the fiscal impact, which was the rapid response management plans. Those were taken away, leaving the action and direction portions, and resulting in a zero fiscal note. 1:38:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON moved to report the proposed CS, Version 29-LS0226\H, Bullard, 4/2/15, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 38(RES) was reported from the House Resources Standing Committee.