It’s baaaaack!

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Last week, we wrote about the approximately $5 Million that the Governor is requesting for the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to hire 32 full-time staff to take over and administer wetland dredge and fill permitting currently done by the federal government EPA. Ironically, at the same time that DEC is asking for more responsibility over permitting (to benefit large scale mining development); they are also trying to dodge their responsibility to administer protections for high ecological value waters under the federal Outstanding National Resource Waters. Instead, they have introduced HB 398, which would require that the Legislature take responsibility.

HB 398 is the 2022 version of a bill that has been around for many many years, and different legislative sessions – yet has never enjoyed enough support to pass. In essence, it would require that high-value water protection be determined by the state legislature instead of through DEC regulation. HB 398 seeks to make it impossible for Alaskans to protect waters of high ecological value as Tier III waters under the Clean Water Act. Right now, federal law requires states to craft a process for citizens to nominate pristine high-value (fish spawning, culturally critical, etc.) top Tier or Tier III waters for protection from pollution. DEC is legally authorized to protect waters under a Tier III status, but they don’t want to do it.

Instead of DEC simply taking legal responsibility to protect high-value waters nominated by Alaskans, they propose HB 398, which creates more bureaucracy, expense, and red tape that strips Alaskans of our right to protect our waters. This bill is bad.

It would remove Alaskan’s right to have a voice in protecting water in Alaska by putting the power in the hands of politicians instead of the experts with Indigenous, local, and scientific knowledge.

It would allow committee chairs in the House and Senate to prevent Tier III nominations from moving through the Legislature, creating a de facto ban on water protections.

It would take power away from Alaskans and give an upper hand to outside mining companies and big businesses with no interest in protecting our fisheries and the clean water.

It would create additional bureaucracy, expense, and political paralysis that leaves our most essential and vulnerable waterways unprotected.

It would put our $2 billion salmon industry at risk.

It would silence constituents from being a part of the decision-making process around the use of waters integral to our cultures, livelihoods, and survival.

Legislative attorneys have time and again concluded that DEC can already establish and administer a process for Alaskans to seek the protection of high-value water through agency regulation. DEC has time and time again sought to shirk its responsibility, hiding behind bogus legal interpretations and philosophical objections.

Why should the Legislature approve increasing the budget to give DEC the complex responsibility of permitting mining projects in wetlands that support our salmon when, simultaneously, DEC is telling everyone with HB 398 that it does not want to be the agency to protect salmon?

Keep an eye on this bad bill.

Renewable Portfolio Standards drive innovation and economic development

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The role of government in pushing different sectors of the economy to innovate through policy, tax incentives, and funding is well established. While some may oppose a mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard or RPS policy to push electric utilities to generate or purchase more renewable energy, there is at least a broad historical precedent for the success of the policy.

The benefits of an RPS include economic development and construction and maintenance jobs to create the new generation facilities. For customers, increased renewable energy will put (in the parlance of utility managers) “downward pressure” on the rates we pay per kilowatt-hour. The transmission constraints and bottlenecks will have to be addressed for Alaska’s railbelt to achieve the proposed 80% renewable energy by 2040, and that is a good thing. Transmission upgrades build a bigger freeway for electrons to travel on and build important resiliency in our Alaskan system that’s subject to the weather rigors we know and love, not to mention natural disasters.

Jobs, innovative technologies, likely lower electric rates, and increased transmission system efficiency are not bad things. Considering that transportation and industry are both likely to move toward electric power soon and increase the load on the system as a whole both day and night, and considering the rapid advancement of battery storage to levelize the peaks and valleys of some renewables (as well as old and proven storage technology option of pumped hydro) the concerns of utility managers about renewable energy load variability are surmountable.

Judging by the discussion in the first Senate hearing on the Governors RPS legislation, there seems to be an interest expressed by some committee members in adding micro-nuclear reactors as an option for utilities to meet their RPS goals. This is a non-starter and likely would be opposed even by the Governor. Adding an unproven technology like micro-nuclear reactors into a policy that puts utilities on a time-sensitive course for achieving renewable energy goals could be a hindrance, not to mention the other negatives associated with nuclear (security threat, waste storage, etc.) There is a stand-alone bill pertaining to small nuclear generators, and in a stand-alone bill, it should remain.

Next week, the House Energy Committee will hold two hearings on the RPS bill (HB 301). The first hearing is on Tuesday, March 8 at 10:15 a.m., and the second on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. These will be excellent opportunities for the public to learn more about the RPS. In addition, The Alaska Center will be hosting a webinar on March 10 at noon with House Energy Committee Chair, Representative Calvin Schrage as well as members of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to discuss what an RPS is, the outlook for the policy this session, and how you can be involved.

If you’re interested in attending here is the registration information!

It is an exciting week ahead for the future of Alaska. Plan to tune in!

Climate Rights

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]Do current and future generations have a constitutional right to a safe climate? Sixteen youth plaintiffs filed a constitutional climate lawsuit against their state government in 2017 to argue that we do have such a right. 
In Sagoonick v. State of Alaska, the young plaintiffs assert that Alaska’s fossil fuel energy policy and the State-authorized fossil fuel development and ensuing greenhouse gas emissions that result have caused and contributed to Alaska’s climate crisis. The policies have placed the youth plaintiffs in danger and are harming their health, safety, homes, culture, and Native villages in violation of Alaska’s Constitution.
On January 28, 2022, in a split 3-2 decision, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled against the young plaintiffs. On February 7, the youth plaintiffs filed a petition for rehearing of their case, asking the Court to reconsider its decision and allow their case to go forward. The youth were disappointed about the February 25 denial of their petition, but the fight is far from over. 
State lawmakers have taken note of how close the decision in Sagoonick was. Representative Ben Carpenter, a Republican from the fossil-fuel embracing town of Nikiski, took to the House Floor to make a note of this. Representative Carpenter stated, “this isn’t going away” and that “the implication here…is that State…oil exploration policy…our energy policies…need to be adjusted for an individual’s right to have a safe climate.”  
While some lawmakers may take the close decision as a warning that the state’s petroleum industry is under attack by the youth, Carpenter’s words offered another assessment – sobering to some – that the courts are coming around to the idea of a right to a safe climate.   
Suppose an industry or a policy effectively uses our atmosphere as a dumping place for a chemical byproduct that is enough quantity can put into question the ability of mammals to survive on the planet. In that case, you bet today’s young people should try their level best to stop any additional inputs of that chemical byproduct. The courts are taking note of the danger ahead if we cannot radically decrease the emissions of CO2 and methane into the air. Too much is at stake for this issue to just go away. Expect future lawsuits, legislation, and petitions for rulemaking from the young people of our state and nation.  
Government regulations on industry are in place to protect our health and, ultimately, our individual freedom. The brave youth plaintiffs in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska are fighting for our individual health, individual freedom, and collective health and freedom. These youth are true patriots, and their actions resonate with other youth. Change is coming.
Yours,
The Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Voice Your Support on March 1st\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”9″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”10″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”11″ ][cs_element_button _id=”12″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills To Watch This Week\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”13″ ][cs_element_button _id=”14″ ][cs_content_seo]Learn More About Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Take Action in Support of Tribal Recognition

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This week we celebrated the life and accomplishments of Elizabeth Peratrovich, a leader in equality and justice not only in Alaska but nationwide. Through the efforts of Peratrovich and others, the legislature passed The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, which was the first state or territorial anti-discrimination law in the United States. As we look back to our nation’s long and continuing struggle for equal rights, the efforts of Elizabeth Peratrovich mark a milestone and a beacon of hope.

On Elizabeth Peratrovich Day (February 16th – the day the Alaska Equal Rights Act was signed into law), we held a really great community event. Over 80 Alaskans came together online to watch “For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska,” a film that documents the struggles of Indigenous Alaskans to end racial discrimination laws in Alaska. At that event, we took time to draft public comments in support of HB 123/SB 108, the Tribal Recognition Bill currently in the Alaska House of Representatives, and heard from Waahlaal Giidaak Blake, a sponsor of Tribal Recognition Ballot Measure.

As we discussed in our email last week, the Tribal Recognition Bill is legislation that will require the State of Alaska to recognize Alaska’s federally recognized tribes. The federal government has a special and unique relationship with tribes that the State would formally acknowledge. This bill will codify in Alaska law that federally recognized tribes are sovereign governments. It does not change any legal relationship. State recognition of Tribes will honor the first peoples of this land and the historical, economic, and cultural value that they bring to the state. The Tribal Recognition Bill is substantially similar to a ballot initiative that will move forward should the legislature fail to pass the bill.

Tribal Recognition has a lot of bipartisan support. It is in its final committee of referral, The Senate State Affairs Committee (a further committee referral was removed earlier this week, so after it passes State Affairs, it goes to the Senate Floor for a vote). The voice of Alaskans in support of this bill is critical. Tribal Recognition is an act of respect and dignity between our state and Alaska Native Tribes. It is time to raise your voice in support of this act. Let your legislator know that you support the swift passage of the Tribal Recognition Bill and that you support formal recognition of Alaska Native Tribes.

Tribal Recognition Now

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]HB 123, a bill to institute official state recognition of Indigenous Tribes in Alaska, has a long list of bipartisan legislative co-sponsors. A proposed citizens initiative that would do the same thing has an impressive 53,000 signatures (state law only required 36,140 signatures to make the ballot). The tribal recognition campaign has surpassed this benchmark by orders of magnitude, proving a popular and necessary policy. State law also provides the state legislature the opportunity to pass significantly similar legislation ahead of a vote on a ballot measure, hence HB 123.
House Bill 123, introduced by Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, will require the State of Alaska to recognize Alaska’s federally recognized tribes. The federal government has a special and unique relationship with tribes that the State formally acknowledges. HB 123 will codify in Alaska law that federally recognized tribes are sovereign governments. It does not change any legal relationship. State recognition of tribes will honor the first peoples of this land and the historical, economic, and cultural value they bring to the State.
The federal government recognizes 229 tribes in Alaska. For context – there are 574 federally recognized tribes nationwide. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs: “A federally recognized tribe is an American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity that is recognized as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations attached to that designation, and is eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”
A policy to recognize tribes in Alaska will help build trust and respect in the State of Alaska’s relationship with Tribes. While Alaska has a long history of explicitly denying tribal recognition following statehood and the later passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, it is high time we respect the sovereignty of tribal governments. One of the most poignant quotes on the matter, courtesy of Native Peoples Action “The foundation of any relationship is first recognition.”
HB 123 will be heard, and public testimony will be taken at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, February 15, in the Senate State Affairs Committee. Please consider signing up to testify by calling 907-465-4648 or send a note of support to Senate.State.Affairs@akleg.gov
In recognition of the critical importance of Alaska Native Tribal members in dismantling the racism and colonialism in state law, please join The Alaska Center on Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, February 16, from 1 pm-2:30 pm for a screening of “For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska” followed by small group discussions. You can register here.

Alaska Native Peoples have faced countless obstacles in the fight for equal access to decision-making in our State. Elizabeth Peratrovich, an Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand President and a member of the Lukaax̱. ádi clan in the Raven moiety of the Tlingit nation fought at the forefront. Organizing innumerable community members, she paved the way to ensure Indigenous peoples today can access housing, education, careers, and even citizenship rights. We keep up her fight, and on Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, we honor her with a virtual community event.
Join us to see how she advocated for all Alaskans, and together let’s talk about how we can keep her legacy alive in our work moving forward!
The Alaska Center

\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills To Watch This Week\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]Learn More About Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Renewable Energy Goals

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]We don’t often say nice things about our Governor, and that is because we disagree with many of his policies and tactics wholeheartedly. For instance, one of his first moves as Governor was to dismantle the Climate Action Leadership Team that The Alaska Center, Alaska Youth For Environmental Action, numerous partners, and frontline community members worked hard to help establish under the previous administration. However, in the case of a policy that will help our state do its part to combat emissions, we agree wholeheartedly with his proposed Renewable Portfolio Standard introduced today.
What is a Renewable Portfolio Standard, or an RPS as it is commonly called? It is a policy that requires utilities to sell electricity from renewable sources by specific dates or face financial penalties.
In short, an RPS for Alaska will push our electric utilities to accelerate their trajectory away from fossil fuel power generation. It will push utilities toward wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and hydro projects, either funded by the utility itself or purchased from a company called an Independent Power Producer.
We at The Alaska Center, through programs such as Solarize Anchorage, Solarize MatSu, and Solarize Fairbanks, have actively organized Alaskans in support of increased renewable energy. We have helped elect members to Utility Boards that support increasing renewables. An RPS is something we are confident Alaska utilities can achieve when working together.
SB 179 and HB 301, the Governor’s bills call for regulated electric utilities to achieve benchmark renewable energy goals: 20% by the end of 2025, 30% by 2030, 55% by 2035, and 80% by 2040. Numerous exemptions are designed to accommodate utilities and help them reach the goal. For instance, should a major natural disaster impact a utility’s ability to meet its renewable goal, it would grant an exemption from the non-compliance penalty.
Faced with steadily increasing natural gas prices, many utilities, pushed by their members and their boards of directors, have moved toward renewable energy. The Homer Electric Association has adopted an aggressive goal of achieving 50% renewable energy by 2025. Large batteries are being incorporated into the renewable energy strategy to help balance the variable energy inputs of renewable energy production.
The recent passage of legislation requiring the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to approve an Integrated Resource Plan for the railbelt will help guide the process of integrating an increase in renewable energy and will provide the public and utilities with a process-oriented approach to the construction of new generation facilities. This legislation will help Alaskans avoid an ad-hoc, willy-nilly scramble by individual utilities toward renewable energy projects and instead will set standards and requirements for the projects on a regional basis.
While the Governor’s bills have a long and winding road through the committee process, the fact that this policy has been introduced is a good thing.
In hope,
 The Alaska Center

\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Bills To Watch This Week\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]Learn More About Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Local Control

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]A very seasoned and shrewd retired politician said the other day, “sometimes a money spill can be worse than an oil spill,” meaning we should be careful how our current leaders handle an influx of federal infrastructure funds. We should watch how they use our State’s investment bank and how they look to our Permanent Fund as a means to develop roads to resources, mines, and other industrial development that can be extremely harmful to communities, tribes and the fish and wildlife and land and water they depend on.  
A case in point is Ambler Road. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) has been called “The Governor’s Slush Fund.” It is poorly insulated against political winds, and the board of directors serves at the pleasure of the Gov. AIDEA has plowed ahead with financing for the highly controversial road to a proposed mining district in the heart of the country between the Kobuk and Ambler rivers. One major criticism of AIDEA is secrecy. Many of the board’s decisions are conducted in executive sessions and run counter to the expressed will of those Alaskans who provide testimony to the board.  
There are also recent issues with AIDEA keeping tribes out of meetings and yesterday AIDEA had a board meeting in which they proposed spending another $15 million next summer on the Ambler Road proposal. AIDEA is unilaterally moving forward with approving this additional $15 million toward the Ambler Road – all outside of the legislative budget process. AIDEA has been getting away with shifting money around in legally dubious ways to date. They haven’t been able to get their money through the capital budget process, so now they are going big with this new expenditure and making those decisions outside the legislature’s purview.
To add insult to injury, Governor Dunleavy’s Department of Transportation (DOT) proposes a “man camp” for out of town and out-of-state workers right in the middle of the community of Bettles. The man camp would take over the community’s picnic pavilion area in Bettles. Bettles has been against the Ambler Road from day one.  
One Bettles resident penned a compelling message regarding the man camp proposal:
“The baseball field in our tiny village of 24 people is the town gathering place. It is an open space where children play, by which we walk every day on the way to the ranger station or the airstrip. We have our Fourth of July festivities there – silly dress-up races, potato sack races, keep the egg on the spoon. If you’ve come to Bettles on your way to Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve for a backcountry trip, you’ve probably set up your tent and camped in this ballfield. You’ve probably enjoyed cooking a meal in the little pavilion there.
The Alaska Dept. of Transportation has proposed leasing our community ballfield in Bettles for the next 10 years as a man camp in support of the Ambler Access Project. Please help out our community by writing elzbeth.robson@alaska.gov and referencing ADA-72673 to voice your opposition to the development of a man camp in our town gathering place. Comment deadline is 4:30 pm on 1/31.
If this camp and all that comes along with it is permitted to take root, the heart of our town will belong to someone else – industry and its uncaring, itinerant strangers. The U.S. Bureau of Justice performed a study in 2019 that found that violent victimization increased by 70% in rural communities wherein a man camp was erected. That statistic is widely believed to underrepresent the issue, given how many offenses go unreported. Further, it is buffered by the presence in those communities of agencies and entities charged with the control and prevention of violence, whereas here in Bettles no such law enforcement exists.
Whoever occupies the camp over the next decade will leave one day, and behind them, their detritus and whatever their impacts. If they do nothing violent, if they victimize no person bodily, they will be an exceptional deviation from a statistic, but they will nonetheless have done a great deal to victimize a community.
If you can, please take a moment to email elzbeth.robson@alaska.gov and voice your opposition to this proposal.”
If the Ambler Road project is any indication, those large industrial concerns, often headquartered in other countries, have a powerful partner in our state government agencies. Future allocations of federal infrastructure money should be under the control of the arm of government directly accountable to local voters – the allocating body – the State Legislature. That way the citizens of the State will have a more significant say in how the money is spent.
HB 177 is a good start. Under HB 177, informally called the “Balance of Powers Act,” a Governor would be prohibited from unilaterally spending large federal appropriations should it flow into the State when the legislature is not in session. As Alaska prepares to receive a slug of federal infrastructure funds, we must remedy this statute to uphold the Alaska Constitution and ensure that full appropriation power resides where it should, with the elected representatives of the people, the Alaska state legislature.   
Yours,
The Alaska Center

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