HOUSE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE April 13, 2000 1:08 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Andrew Halcro, Chairman Representative Beverly Masek Representative Bill Hudson Representative John Cowdery Representative Allen Kemplen Representative Albert Kookesh Representative Vic Kohring OTHER HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Jeannette James MEMBERS ABSENT All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE BILL NO. 288 "An Act authorizing the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to enter into an agreement with the Inter-Island Ferry Authority regarding the operation of the Clarke Bay Terminal, Prince of Wales Island." - MOVED SB 288 OUT OF COMMITTEE SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38 Expressing support for a cooperative United States-Canada feasibility study on extending the North American rail system through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory to Alaska. - MOVED SJR 38 OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS ACTION BILL: SB 288 SHORT TITLE: APPROVE CLARKE BAY TERMINAL AGREEMENT Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 3/03/00 2510 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 3/03/00 2510 (S) TRA, FIN 3/16/00 (S) TRA AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205 3/16/00 (S) -- Meeting Canceled -- 3/23/00 (S) TRA AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205 3/23/00 (S) Moved Out of Committee 3/23/00 (S) MINUTE(TRA) 3/24/00 2723 (S) TRA RPT 4DP 3/24/00 2723 (S) DP: WARD, MILLER, LINCOLN, PEARCE 3/24/00 2723 (S) FISCAL NOTE (DOT) 4/05/00 (S) FIN AT 9:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532 4/05/00 (S) Moved Out of Committee 4/05/00 (S) RLS AT 11:30 AM FAHRENKAMP 203 4/05/00 (S) MINUTE(RLS) 4/05/00 2870 (S) FIN RPT 4DP 2NR 4/05/00 2870 (S) DP: TORGERSON, PHILLIPS, LEMAN, WILKEN 4/05/00 2870 (S) NR: PARNELL, GREEN 4/05/00 2870 (S) PREVIOUS ZERO FISCAL NOTE (DOT) 4/07/00 2929 (S) RLS TO CALENDAR AND 1 OR 04/07/00 4/07/00 2930 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME 4/07/00 2930 (S) ADVANCED TO 3RD READING UNAN CONSENT 4/07/00 2930 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME SB 288 4/07/00 2931 (S) PASSED Y18 N- E2 4/07/00 2933 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H) 4/08/00 2936 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 4/08/00 2936 (H) TRA, FIN 4/13/00 (H) TRA AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 17 BILL: SJR 38 SHORT TITLE: ALASKA CANADA RAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action 2/15/00 2303 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 2/15/00 2303 (S) TRA 2/22/00 (S) TRA AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205 2/22/00 (S) Scheduled But Not Heard 3/02/00 (S) TRA AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205 3/02/00 (S) Moved Out of Committee 3/02/00 (S) MINUTE(TRA) 3/03/00 (S) RLS AT 11:30 AM FAHRENKAMP 203 3/03/00 (S) MINUTE(RLS) 3/03/00 2509 (S) TRA RPT 3DP 1NR 3/03/00 2509 (S) DP: WARD, PEARCE, MILLER; NR: LINCOLN 3/03/00 2509 (S) ZERO FISCAL NOTE (S.TRA) 3/22/00 2692 (S) RLS TO CALENDAR AND 1 OR 03/22/00 3/22/00 2694 (S) READ THE SECOND TIME 3/22/00 2694 (S) ADVANCED TO THIRD READING UNAN CONSENT 3/22/00 2694 (S) READ THE THIRD TIME SJR 38 3/22/00 2694 (S) COSPONSOR(S): DONLEY, TAYLOR, MACKIE, 3/22/00 2694 (S) PHILLIPS, PETE KELLY 3/22/00 2695 (S) PASSED Y19 N- A1 3/22/00 2697 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H) 3/23/00 2661 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS 3/23/00 2661 (H) TRA 3/31/00 2820 (H) CROSS SPONSOR(S): JAMES 4/13/00 (H) TRA AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 17 WITNESS REGISTER DAVID GRAY, Staff to Senator Jerry Mackie Alaska State Legislature Capitol Building, Room 427 Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 288 on behalf of sponsor. KARA MORIARTY, Staff to Senator Gary Wilken Alaska State Legislature Capitol Building, Room 514 Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SJR 38 on behalf of sponsor. TERESA FREDRICKSON, Community Resource Coordinator City of Delta Junction PO Box 229 Delta Junction, Alaska 99737 POSITION STATEMENT: Announced the City of Delta Junction's support of SJR 38. AL KEECH (Address not provided) Tok, Alaska 99780 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to SJR 38 in relation to the impact of the rail link on the wildlife and wilderness of the area. ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 00-27, SIDE A Number 0001 CHAIRMAN ANDREW HALCRO called the House Transportation Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:08 p.m. Members present at the call to order were Representatives Halcro, Masek, Hudson and Cowdery. Representatives Kemplen, Kookesh and Kohring arrived as the meeting was in progress. SB 288 - APPROVE CLARKE BAY TERMINAL AGREEMENT CHAIRMAN HALCRO announced the first order of business as Senate Bill 288, "An Act authorizing the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to enter into an agreement with the Inter-Island Ferry Authority regarding the operation of the Clarke Bay Terminal, Prince of Wales Island." Number 0045 DAVID GRAY, Staff to Senator Jerry Mackie, Alaska State Legislature, came before the committee to present SB 288 on behalf of the sponsor. Clark Bay, he explained, is where the Hollis ferry terminal for the Alaska Marine Highway System is located. Hollis is a community on Prince of Wales Island. About four years ago, he stated, all the communities on the island felt that they would not be able to get daily ferry service between Ketchikan and Hollis unless they took action into their own hands. As a result, they created a municipal port authority [Inter-Island Ferry Authority], an action that is authorized in state law. The authority has also secured funding from federal sources and has committed some of their own funding from municipal revenue bonds. The first ferry is due for bid this spring, and is expected to be completed by June of next year. The authority expects service to begin next summer. AS 29.35.722(2) indicates that any agreement such as this requires legislative approval, which is exactly what SB 288 provides for. Mr. Gray lastly stated that the bill comes with a "friendly" fiscal note; it would save the state some money. Number 0227 REPRESENTATIVE BILL HUDSON asked Mr. Gray whether it's correct to say that the new ferry would operate out of the Hollis terminal, and therefore the operation of the ferries would be transferred from the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities to the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. MR. GRAY replied the Inter-Island Ferry Authority would be making improvements to the Hollis terminal in order to dock a new ferry. The authority would also construct new terminal facilities. There would be a quid-pro-quo type of exchange in that - at times - the Alaska Marine Highway System would be selling tickets and tying ferries. Number 0346 CHAIRMAN HALCRO closed the meeting to public testimony. Number 0352 REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON indicated that this feels like deja vu in that when he was director of the Alaska Marine Highway System he flew to Hollis to look into this very issue. Number 0383 REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON made a motion to move SB 288, version 1-LS1524\A, out of committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. There being no objection, SB 288 so moved from the House Transportation Standing Committee. CHAIRMAN HALCRO called for a brief at-ease then called the meeting back to order. SJR 38 - ALASKA CANADA RAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY CHAIRMAN HALCRO announced the next order of business as Senate Joint Resolution 38, Expressing support for a cooperative United States-Canada feasibility study on extending the North American rail system through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory to Alaska. Number 0421 KARA MORIARTY, Staff to Senator Gary Wilken, Alaska State Legislature, came before the committee to present SJR 38 on behalf of the sponsor. The resolution is a companion of HJR 51 by Representative Jeannette James. She noted that U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski recently introduced legislation in Congress [S. 2253] that would fund and authorize a commission made up of U.S. and Canadian officials to conduct a feasibility study that would determine the best route, identify markers, and estimate the cost for a project that would connect the North American rail system through Canada to Alaska. Senate Joint Resolution 38, therefore, would send a message of support of the feasibility study from the legislature. CHAIRMAN HALCRO pointed out that the booklet entitled, "Alaska-Canada Rail Link Conference Packet," found in the bill packet, was provided and put together by Representative Jeannette James' office. Number 0520 REPRESENTATIVE JOHN COWDERY asked Ms. Moriarty whether the track width is the same in both the U.S. and Canada. MS. MORIARTY replied, according to her understanding, the tracks are compatible. She further noted that when U.S. and Canadian officials met at the Alaska-Canada Rail Link Conference they looked at issues like that. Number 0566 TERESA FREDRICKSON, Community Resource Coordinator, City of Delta Junction, testified via teleconference from Delta Junction. She announced the city's support of the resolution. Number 0594 AL KEECH testified via teleconference from Tok. He has been a resident of Tok for approximately 20 years. He is not keen on the idea that is being proposed. He doesn't doubt that there would be a positive economic effect on the area; at the same time, there would be a dramatic negative effect on the wildlife and the wilderness atmosphere. Progress, he said, changes a rural atmosphere in that more demands are placed on a limited amount of wildlife. That, he said, would have a detrimental effect on the wildlife population and its habitat. The worst possible impact would be a railroad that doesn't follow the highway corridor, as a map that he has seen indicates. He has seen a proposal for a track that runs to Tok then cutoffs through either the Ladue River valley or the Dennison [Fork] valley, which would take a "swap out of virgin land" in Game Management Unit 20E. A railroad would change the balance of nature for as long as it is present and probably afterwards. A railroad would also change the rural and subsistence lifestyle of those in the area. Furthermore, the majority of the people don't even know that the railroad is being proposed. He read somewhere that there is grassroots support for such a railroad, but he doubts that, given the local residents. It's probably more a function of those who are communicative in the chamber of commerce and local businesses who are perhaps more knowledgeable. He really doubts that a lot of the rural residents are aware of the proposal. In summary, even though he is testifying today on his own behalf, he is probably representing quite a few other residents of Interior Alaska that would be adamantly opposed to a railroad that would follow any other corridor except the highway corridor. Number 0844 REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY stated that he has been in Alaska for 50 years. When he first came to the state the highway was pretty rough, and when he got to Tok he started to like the state better. REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY further stated that development is like children, especially grandchildren, in that a person wishes they could stay at a certain age forever. But a person can't stop a child from growing; at the same time, a person can't stop progress. In that regard, he likes Alaska better now than when he first came, and there has been a lot of good development since that time. He noted that the railroad is another way to ensure the benefit of commerce, which does a lot for everyone. REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY further stated that he has been on a train in the back country of Australia and saw kangaroos beside the track. It's pretty nice, he said, to wake up and see the animals in the morning. He thinks that this could be done in an environmentally sound way. He supports the concept. Number 0977 MR. KEECH stated it's hard to argue against progress or economics because it would benefit the people of the area. But, as the country moved west and as progress moved west, what happened? The rural atmosphere was sacrificed. He doesn't think that his "one voice" in the wilderness would have an impact on stopping the railroad; he's asking, therefore, that it be done in a fashion that has the least impact as possible. The best way, he suggested, would be to stay on the highway corridor rather than to interrupt pristine country. Number 1062 REPRESENTATIVE HUDSON stated, to Mr. Keech, that the resolution is simply a proposal for a comprehensive feasibility study that would look at the economical, environmental and societal consequences of such a rail link. Many of his concerns, therefore, would be addressed in that study. He thinks, therefore, that Mr. Keech should really support the resolution, for it would provide everybody with an understanding of the possible implications. Number 1113 REPRESENTATIVE BEVERLY MASEK asked Ms. Moriarty whether the bilateral commission would cost the state any money or whether it would all be funded by the federal government. MS. MORIARTY replied the plan is for the bilateral commission to be funded by the federal government. Number 1184 CHAIRMAN HALCRO closed the meeting to public testimony. Number 1189 REPRESENTATIVE COWDERY made a motion to move SJR 38, version 1-LS1475/A, out of committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note; he asked unanimous consent. There being no objection, SJR 38 so moved from the House Transportation Standing Committee. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the committee, Chairman Halcro adjourned the House Transportation Standing Committee meeting at 1:26 p.m.