Tag Archive for: alaska resources

Simple Steps for Salmon Protection

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When the legislation creating a Wild Salmon Day for Alaska was considered in the Alaska State Legislature, we knew it was an important bill. Even if it is mainly a symbolic gesture of our collective goodwill toward the salmon that swim through the life of our Alaskan society and culture, it was a good bill because it was a simple bill.

At the same time, in hindsight, there is nothing simple about our relationship with salmon. Those who have relied on salmon and protected them for millennia might see the designation of a calendar day in honor of salmon as cheap, considering that it is integral to the existence of their people. There is also nothing terribly simple about the economic impact of wild salmon. Sport and commercial fishers view the same wild salmon run on often sharply divergent terms, and the management of these fish can raise all sorts of claims of political bias.
Wild Salmon Day, if anything, provides us with a point of reflection, and for that, it is crucial. We, who are so blessed to experience, eat, watch, hook, net, paint, write about, and otherwise contemplate these salmon, also are called upon to protect them. When it comes to protection, there is also a level of complexity; the simple answers are there but none are a fix-all.

We had great runs this summer in Bristol Bay, partly due to global warming trends increasing the freshwater food for juvenile salmon. While the salmon were flooding into Bristol Bay, catastrophic low returns have beset the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. The trawl sector undoubtedly bears some responsibility for killing off thousands of Y/K bound salmon as bycatch. So too do the Area-M fishers. And beyond that, the causes are giant, terrifying, and vague: ocean warming, river warming, ocean acidification, competition from hatchery fish, ocean regime change? The answers to the questions on how we protect wild salmon should be clear, but they are manyfold.

We know these things: we need to keep voting the right people into office who value salmon and will push for policy to protect their habitat, ensuring that our salmon runs thrive in all parts of our state. We must respect Indigenous stewardship and sustainability practices as we work to protect our wild salmon from future harm. We must come together in community to celebrate and honor the resource.
We must work throughout the year to protect our salmon for future generations. It is that simple.

On August 10 in Anchorage and August 14 in Fairbanks, come together to celebrate Wild Salmon Day and learn about how you can use your voice in a multitude of ways to protect our salmon.

Now through August 16, you have the chance to vote for leadership that will protect our salmon. We have endorsed Mary Peltola in part because of her commitment to protecting our salmon. Learn more about our endorsements and how and where to vote this election.
Today until September 6 you have the opportunity to have your voice heard to ensure EPA protections and to Stop Pebble Mine once and for all.

The solutions to the myriad of salmon issues we face aren’t simple but the end goal is: Protecting our Salmon for generations to come.
The Alaska Center

A special step towards a better future

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What if Alaskans have the power to change the trajectory of our entire nation? We know that might sound like pie-in-the-sky dreaming or potentially the ramblings of an overly optimistic team committed to our climate future. But honestly, right now, this special election could influence national politics more than you may realize.

Recently we had the chance to vote in our special runoff primary, and we have three candidates to choose from in the August special election. These 3 candidates show us three routes our state could take depending on who rises to the top in the next Ranked Choice election. We could be looking at an extremist conservative candidate with a history of abandoning our state in times of need. We could have an even more extreme candidate who wants to remove bodily autonomy and destroy the EPA. Or we could make another choice, and the seat left open by Don Young could be filled with a progressive candidate who has shown their commitment to protecting our salmon, our communities, and our way of life in Alaska.

Isn’t it about time an Indigenous woman represents our state? Isn’t it about time we let our leaders know that the attacks on our bodily autonomy, environmental protections, and accessible voting are not just decisions Alaskans will sit idly by and watch? Isn’t it time we show the rest of the nation what change can look like and what we need leadership to be?

Sure this special election is for a limited term, but this first special election has the ability to set the stage for an election season where Alaskans say we want progressive leaders to make effective and long-lasting policy decisions for the country. Decisions that can help turn the direction of our climate and our country’s future.

And while this special term is only a few months, whoever gets elected has a much stronger chance of being elected in November. When people turn up to vote, the political infrastructure (campaigns, parties, and political spenders) listens. This is an opportunity for Alaskans to influence bigger and broader elections.

This election is a chance to show up and move the needle for our climate and our communities. When we show up at the polls, we show leadership that we are active and will stay engaged. Our numbers in elections can set the tone, and our leaders can expect to be held accountable for the length of their term.

This year, Alaskans have a lot of elections, and each of them holds the power to make a significant change in our state and our country. This special election can be more special than we may even know. Don’t forget this Sunday is the Voter registration deadline for the special house election.

Keep your eye on the prize, and together we can build a future for all Alaskans.
The Alaska Center

The contradictions of Gov. Dunleavy’s energy conference

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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]Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s carefully curated energy conference in Anchorage this week was loaded with contradictions and fell far short of the sustainable mark it was aiming for.
We want to applaud the regional electric cooperatives, renewable energy leaders, small businesses, policy leaders and scientists who endured three days of natural gas and nuclear energy hype to share their important experiences. We heard inspiring stories from Alaskan leaders about hydrokinetic energy projects from Igiugig to Port Mackenzie and solar projects in the Northwest Arctic Borough. We learned about innovative financial approaches to implementing renewable energy at the consumer end using rebates and on-bill financing and on the production side. And we heard loud and clear the urgent need for more support to build the clean energy infrastructure of Alaska’s future.
$16 per gallon diesel and $1 per kWh of electricity is all the evidence we need that rural Alaska’s reliance on diesel for electricity is neither tenable nor fair. While the overdue announcement of $200 million for Railbelt grid improvements is a momentous step forward, we hope similar announcements for rural improvements will soon follow. Unfortunately, those announcements and conversations were too often overshadowed by hyper-partisan natural gas marketing. Keynote speaker after keynote speaker spoke about the necessity for natural gas, as if our reliance on fossil fuels wasn’t the very thing that has brought Alaska into financial and energy crisis.
Hilcorp CEO Luke Saugier said it best when he admitted during his Day Two keynote, “You’ve got to be thinking we’ve gone off the rails at the Sustainable Energy Conference when you’re hearing from fossil fuel executives.” Indeed, the conference was off the rails. With a speaker lineup so disproportionately white, old, male and fossil fuel heavy, the conference was off the sustainability rails more often than it was on topic.
If there’s one thing we took away from the conference, it’s that our communities already know what we need — affordable, reliable renewable energy from wind, solar and salmon-friendly hydro. And we need the money to build them. We don’t have time to waste on doomed pie-in-the-sky projects like the Alaska LNG Project.
Even the many oil executives in the room acknowledged that social, environmental and economic forces are converging to end Alaska’s fossil fuel industry in the next 10-15 years.
The better we prepare for that transition, the better off we’ll be. Luckily, many shovel-ready renewable energy projects are waiting around the state to meet our need for affordable clean energy right now and for generations to come. Compared to boondoggles like the Alaska LNG Project, clean energy projects look like better investments for our state every day.
Matt Jackson is the climate organizer for Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, and Alyssa Quintyne is the interior organizer for The Alaska Center. Both attended all three days of the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference.
Originally published June 1, 2022 by The Anchorage Daily News.\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Hot Takes In A Cold Place: The Legislative Session Rides Off

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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]Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who advocated on bills and budget items this past legislative session. Through your phenomenal effort, we stopped numerous bad bills, settled on a budget that promotes public education and put the brakes on Dunleavy’s move to take over development permitting in sensitive wetland habitats from the EPA.
To recap. Due to your advocacy via letter writing, emails, phone calls, social media pressure, and direct grassroots citizen lobbying, the following bills passed the Legislature and are headed to the Governor’s desk:

Tribal Recognition! HB 123 by Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky passed and 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.
Update to Alaska Sexual Consent Law: HB 325 by Rep. Sara Rasmussen was amended to include HB 5 by Rep. Geran Tarr and changes Alaska’s 40-year-old sexual consent statutes to change how sexual assault can be prosecuted by modernizing the definition of consent.
CPACE expansion: HB 227 legislation by Rep. Calvin Schrage to expand the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy statute to include upgrades that improve the climate resiliency of commercial properties.
Broadband Expansion: HB 363 by Rep. Bryce Edgmon establishes the Office of Broadband to prioritize the expansion of high-quality, affordable broadband access to unserved and underserved communities and positions Alaska to receive unprecedented amounts of federal funding for broadband expansion statewide.

On the other side of the coin, you helped stop a slew of bad bills:

SB 39 worked to undermine local control of elections, suppress voting in Alaska, and take away the legal mechanism that adds thousands of new voters annually through Alaska’s Permanent Fund dividend – the automatic voter registration statute.
HB 398 would have made it impossible for Alaskans to protect waters of high ecological value as Tier III waters under the Clean Water Act.
SB 97 sought to give the Department of Natural Resources the power to authorize commercial development on any state land regardless of its status in an area land use plan and to repeal the Recreational River statutes that protect six popular and anadromous Mat-Su rivers: The Little Susitna River, The Deshka River, The Talkeetna River, Lake Creek, Alexander Creek, and The Talachulitna River.
HB 82, a bill to authorize subsurface natural gas drilling and development in Kachemak Bay, which is currently off-limits to oil and gas development.
HB 98 was legislation to decrease citizen participation in the Forest Land Use Plan process for timber sales.

There is a lot to unpack as a legislative session ends. This Memorial Day Weekend, we urge you to take the time to reflect on the positive outcomes of this past session and take heart in the true power of citizen advocacy in our beloved Democracy.\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]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Remembering Forward: The Just Transition Summit Recap

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This past weekend the Alaska Just Transition Community held the second statewide summit – Nughelnik: Remembering Forward – coming together on Dena’ina Land to reflect on the past two years, heal, look ahead, and center the knowledge and lessons held here for generations. The three days were an invigorating experience, showcasing inspiring work already being led in local Alaskan communities. It was a nonstop sharing of ideas, connection, optimism, and plans for how to build the world we want to see. The summit was juxtaposed with national tragedies, instances of violence that only highlighted the need for the event’s message and movement of a Just Transition to be held at a national and global level.

The Alaska Center team was grateful to join partners Native Movement, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, Native Peoples Action, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, Alaska Poor People’s Campaign in supporting and co-hosting this year’s summit, joined by so many other incredible individuals and groups.

This summit illustrated the importance of direct action, community care, and the intersectional approach we must use to solve our communities’ collective problems.

Vivian Mork shared a powerful message on healing, a message that resonates through this week-that “destination healing” is a myth. It’s a process, an approach, a practice, and yet not something to be done alone: “Indigenous healing is not just being responsible for my own healing, but going back and healing with the community.”

We drew lessons from the stories and perspectives of speakers within the labor movement. Particularly those who spoke about their personal history of organizing and the labor movement’s long history here in creating and grounding the fight for workers’ rights.

Two panels facilitated by Interior Organizer Alyssa Quintyne on the Relationship of Reciprocity, and Black Leadership in Alaska, centered the perspectives of first-generation Americans and immigrant families; and what a Just Transition looks like within the Black community in Alaska.

Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) staff Shanelle Afcan and Marlowe Scully, guided a youth contingent through their Summit experience. AYEA alum Lauryn spoke on a panel reflection for day 2, garnering an incredibly enthusiastic response on her call for Alaskan youth–the leaders of tomorrow–to get involved today.

We must also remember that our approach matters as we work towards a more thriving, just, and sustainable Alaska for future generations.

“If all we do is fight against what we don’t want, we will learn to love the fight… We must actually organize ourselves in a different way; not to simply make demands of existing structures of power, not to simply decry what we don’t like, but to actually, together, in community, organize ourselves to directly meet our needs.”
Gopal Dayaneni, Alaska Just Transition Keynote, May 21

We’ll leave you with this intriguing question from Dayaneni’s keynote, “What if we’re winning, and we don’t know it?” As we shift back into our day-to-day routines, let’s carry that optimism with us and let it fortify our collective efforts to shape the Alaska and the world we envision.

Entering the Rapids

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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]The 32nd Alaska State Legislature is careening toward its grand finale, which will likely be on or around May 18th, the constitutional 120-day limit to session. On or around May 18th, the House and Senate will reconcile their versions of the operating and capital budget, pass any remaining bills, and drop the gavel, ending the second regular session Sine-Die.
The high price of oil, healthy returns on Permanent Fund investments, and the federal infrastructure spending package have lawmakers swooning, many of them revved up to spend vast amounts on the Governor’s holy grail: The ultimate, humongous, gigantic, supersized, great, grand, king-daddy, monumental, amazing and astonishing full statutory Permanent Fund Dividend ($4,200 per Alaskan) in addition to a payment to offset high fuel prices ($1,300) for a total of $5,500. It is a lot of money, it is a great campaign gambit, it is universal basic income wrapped up in a different package, it follows the statute, and it will plunge the state into a deficit. Most notably, it will come at the direct expense of education and other state services. As the final days of the session churn forward, expect this direct cash payment to take up most of the air in the room.
That is not to say that other hugely important issues are chopped liver. Legislation continues to move through committees, and the pace will increase rapidly should the House and Senate fail to agree on the budget and appoint a conference committee to work through the differences. Once a conference committee is announced, the schedule goes from a 7-day notice requirement to a 24-hour notice requirement for committee hearings, so bills can move quickly.
HB 123 to establish a policy for State recognition of Alaska Tribes has finally moved from the Senate State Affairs Committee and was passed quickly by the full Senate. HB 120, legislation by the Governor to increase the sale of state land for commercial purposes (circumventing state land management plans), advanced from House Resources and awaits a hearing in House Finance. HB 98, another Governor’s bill to weaken public engagement in the timber harvest process, sits in the House Finance Committee, and its companion bill – SB 85 – is in Senate Finance. These bills could move quickly to passage if the votes are there. Alaska’s railbelt utilities whittled down legislation to create a Renewable Portfolio Standard to something they are calling a “Clean Energy Standard Bill.” It aims to get utilities off coal, natural gas, and diesel generation. HB 301, in its current form, allows Nuclear and fossil fuel waste heat recovery as means to achieve benchmark goals. This bill is in House Finance and likely will not pass this session, but you never know. The Senate wisely removed a budget increment authorizing the State of Alaska to take over development permitting in wetlands from the federal government.
In a stinging vote, the House voted 23-17 to strip language from SB 174 that would have protected natural hairstyles from employer discrimination. The intent of SB 174 is to prohibit a school governing body or an employer from prohibiting a student or an employee from wearing a hairstyle historically associated with race. Natural hairstyle is defined to include braids, locks, twists, and tight coils. The language prohibiting workplace discrimination was struck while the prohibition on school discrimination passed. This bill was sent to the Governor.
Many other bills remain in play. At this point, aligning votes for or against the budget is priority #1 of House and Senate Leadership and the Governor. If a bill suddenly lurches out of committee, you can bet that they struck a deal on a budget vote. The end of the session can be like the swiftening of a river as it enters a turbulent gorge. We all must remain vigilant. Obstacles approach fast.
We are ready, buoyant and alert,
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]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Solar power heats up in Alaska

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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]Households and businesses in Alaska are increasingly producing their own solar power and selling the excess electricity to utilities.
The four major Railbelt utilities from Homer to Fairbanks reported in February that almost 2,000 solar installations are tied into their systems, primarily for small, residential projects.
The numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. That includes in Anchorage, where growth is outpacing several Lower 48 cities, a new study shows.
Solar panel installers, meanwhile, report strong demand for their services. They say homeowners are increasingly signing up after hearing positive reviews from neighbors with their own rooftop arrays.
“In general, solar has been very popular for residential customers who want to reduce their energy bills,” said Chris Pike, with Alaska Center for Energy and Power within the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Pike installed 12 panels on his roof in Anchorage’s College Village neighborhood a few years ago, something he doesn’t recommend unless people have construction experience like he does.
He cut his annual power bills by more than half, even with trees blocking sunlight.
“It’s what I hoped for and expected,” Pike said. “Depending on your use, you don’t need giant systems to impact your bill.”

Chris Pike, photographed at his home in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

A research engineer at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Pike tracks the number of homes and businesses that produce their own power and sell the excess energy to utilities, under a system called net-metering. The vast majority of those projects are solar panel installations atop homes, cranking out electricity during long summer days.
In the Chugach Electric Association service area that includes Anchorage, close to 600 residential customers had solar installations last year, along with 60 commercial customers, the utility reported in February. Eighty-five new residential projects were added to the system last year alone.
Chugach Electric, the largest electric utility in Alaska, has 92,000 members. So the solar installations are a small part of the utility’s power picture, said Julie Hasquet, a spokeswoman with the utility.
But the utility has taken steps to support more of those solar installations. In February, Chugach Electric requested and received approval from state regulators to expand its ability to allow more solar and other renewable projects through net-metering.
“Increased use of renewable energy is a goal for Chugach and for many Alaskans,” Hasquet said in an emailed statement.
Though the number of Anchorage installations remains small, they have increased rapidly compared to many other U.S. cities, said Dyani Chapman with Alaska Environment Research and Policy Center, a group that advocates for renewable energy and other issues.
Anchorage recently rose to 55th place nationally for installed solar capacity, after ranking at the bottom of 65 major cities in 2015, Chapman said, according to a study from the organization and Frontier Group, a California-based think tank focused on climate and other issues.
“There’s room to grow, but we’re growing faster than a lot of cities, as well,” she said.

‘Business has grown exponentially’

Solar panels sit on Chris Pike’s roof in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Falling prices for panels over the last several years is helping stoke interest, even with a slight uptick last year as the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation affected many products, said Ben May, owner of Alaska Solar, an installation company.
But other factors have also offset costs, he said. Programs like Solarize Anchorage, a project involving the Alaska Center and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power where Pike works, have facilitated group installations by multiple households. That allows for better prices.
“We buy them by the container-load now, 900 panels at a time, in the 40-foot containers,” May said.
When May started Alaska Solar six years ago, he’d order a few pallets of solar panels at a time. But the business has grown to 12 employees from one, and he’s doing about 120 installations annually, he said.
“Business has grown exponentially,” he said.
Customers are opting for larger installations than they did a couple of years ago, he said. They’re less skeptical of the technology as solar arrays become more visible around town.
The panels generate lots of energy in summer, making up for the dark winters, he said. Output is strong even in spring, thanks to sun-reflecting snow and electronics that work better in cold, he said.
Also, Alaska’s relatively high power prices have encouraged many people to adopt solar power, he said.
“We may not get perfect sunshine like Arizona, but the electricity we make is worth a lot more,” he said.
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in downtown Anchorage, two Alaska Solar employees working on a scaffolding platform ratcheted down the final panel on a tall garage roof.
The homeowner there will produce about 50% of his own power annually, May said.
Pike said upfront costs for the rooftop installations can be significant for many homeowners, often exceeding $10,000. But the projects typically pay for themselves in about 10 years, he said. The panels can last 30 years or longer.

Alaska Solar employees Zack Wright, left, and Kevin Blackwell install a solar panel at a residence in South Addition on April 20 in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Outside the Anchorage area, the major Railbelt utilities report more than 1,300 customers with solar installations. More than 300 of those are within the Matanuska Electric Association service area that includes Palmer and Wasilla, said Julie Estey, a spokeswoman for that utility.
The utility supports more solar installations and knows many of its members value renewable energy for its environmental benefits. The utility has seen “tremendous” annual growth in that area, she said. The pace could continue for perhaps a decade before it becomes a potential issue.
“We can only accept so much variable power on the system before it begins to cost more,” she said. “But we definitely view (the installations) as part of our energy future, and managing it and understanding it better is something we’re working on.”

High electric prices drive demand
Mark Haller, a solar panel installer in Soldotna, launched Midnight Sun Solar in Anchorage a few years ago. But demand was so high on the Kenai Peninsula that he moved his operation and family there.
Homer Electric Association, serving much of the Kenai Peninsula, has relatively high electric prices, Haller said. That’s driving more people to solar power, he said.
“It’s been really fruitful,” he said. “We’re doing about 80 installations a year.”
Most of his customers are homeowners.
“There’s a lot of folks down here that are resiliency minded, too, and they want to do things on their own as much as they can,” he said.
Federal tax credits cut 26% off the cost, which is another motivator, he and May said. The benefits fall to 22% next year, ending in 2024.
Hans Vogel said he’s getting solar panels installed at his two manufacturing businesses in Palmer. He already has a solar installation at his home in Eagle River.
Vogel’s businesses, Triverus and Trijet, are high-tech operations with fairly high demand for energy, he said. With tax incentives, he expects the installations will pay for themselves in five years, maybe less, he said.
The panels will also add value to the buildings if he ever has to sell them, he said. And low energy prices will make the companies more sustainable, he said.
“It’s just a total business case for us,” he said. “We’re committed to being here and consuming energy at this business for a while. So why not take advantage of this power from that big shiny thing in the sky?”
By Alex DeMarban
Originally posted by Anchorage Daily News
April 29, 2022\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Earth Day and the Electric Cooperative

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Tomorrow is Earth Day, a day to reflect on and celebrate our home and our future. Now more than ever, we need to support policies designed to protect our planet and the systems that enable life, including the climate system.

The headlines are full of dire warnings about climate change, and it can feel like an insurmountable problem and that we are well behind the eight ball. Yet, as we face steep challenges, we must also realize that there is hope:

The children and teens of today are perhaps the most engaged and galvanized generation the world has ever seen on the need for climate justice.

The conservation movement is beginning to recognize the value of Indigenous knowledge and work to decolonize their practices while amplifying Indigenous leadership.

The Biden Administration is the most climate-oriented administration we have ever elected, and with enough pressure, we could see him make some dramatic and effective climate commitments.

More and more, the economic argument for renewable energy is now almost irrefutable.

The movement that started Earth Day resounds in all of those who are taking action to protect our climate and our planet: The Alaska Youth for Environmental Action leading climate strikes, the youth plaintiffs in the Sagoonik v. State of Alaska youth climate action lawsuit, advocates for climate policy action at the state and federal level, even those who serve on our electric utility boards and those who advocate with our utility boards to increase the share of renewable energy that utilities produce or purchase. There is hope, and there is action, and both are going to help us as we confront the challenges of climate change head-on.

That is why tomorrow, on Earth Day, The Alaska Center is hosting a Climate, Care, and Community event to highlight the importance of getting involved with your local electric utility entitled “You are your utility.”

Do you pay an electric bill to Matanuska Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association, or Homer Electric Association? If so, that makes you a member-owner of your electric utility! Want to know more about your rights as a member-owner and ways to get involved with local energy democracy? Join us TOMORROW, April 22, at noon to hear from member-owners across the railbelt who stepped up to create change in their utilities!

JOIN THE ZOOM SESSION

More people getting involved with their electric utility leads to a greater diversity of thought and increased transparency and accountability for our electricity providers. We will be relying on these cooperatives increasingly to unlock carbon emission reductions in the transportation and industrial sectors of our economy, so ultimately, our electric cooperatives will have a significant role in decreasing carbon emissions.

It may not be the sexiest way to celebrate Earth Day. Still, we believe that even actions like increased participation in utilities can lead to significant changes in our ongoing fight to protect our beautiful planet.

See you tomorrow,
The Alaska Center

An Agency Boondoggle

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Tucked into the operating budget passed by the State House is an appropriation that would authorize the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to take over the federal wetlands permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

There would be a significant cost to the state of assuming the program, and this is not a one-year program; this is a forever program. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has requested a nearly five-million-dollar appropriation to staff 28 employees. It is not clear how DEC came up with this estimate. As of many years ago, the Corps’ regulatory program in Alaska had 49 full-time positions and an annual budget of $7.9 million.

We know that the assumption of the permitting program will likely also require additional staff from other resources agencies, the Department of Law, and additional third-party contractors. In Florida (one of only three states nationwide that has assumed responsibility for wetland permitting functions), they underestimated the staff they would need to run the program and recently requested an additional 17 positions to administer its program. States administering the Section 404 permit program receive no federal funds specifically dedicated to supporting the operation of the permit program.

The legislature investigated taking over primacy in 2013 and subsequently abandoned the effort when the state ran into lean fiscal times. As DEC testified to the House Resources Committee in 2013, a primary purpose of the bill authorizing 404 assumptions was to determine the full costs of primacy. DEC testified this year that it has no additional information about the program’s costs. DEC also made clear in 2013 that “the unknowns about this effort are significant. Until the state performs the detailed evaluation of assumption of the program as provided for in SB 27, it is impossible to forecast the cost or size of a State program.” There is no indication that the state has actually done any further due diligence since 2013, making this current budget rather reckless.

We know this much: Tribes would lose the right to consultation that occurs with federal permits, and state policies regarding consultation do not ensure the same rights. Notably, DEC and other state agencies have declined requests for consultation with Alaska tribes. Tribes will have a harder time making their voices heard. Plus, the state’s assumption of the program would eliminate the protections of the National Historic Preservation Act. Mitigation measures to protect cultural and historic resources will be more challenging.

Should the State of Alaska assume the 404 permitting program, it is unclear how consultation with FWS and NMFS would work for threatened or endangered species. In Florida, which adopted the 404 permitting process most recently, no ESA consultations occur at the permit level. Permits may therefore bring more significant harm to endangered and threatened species. No environmental impact statement would be required for a state-issued 404 permit. The public would lose the opportunity to participate in the NEPA process.
Budget items can be sneaky and difficult to track. The Senate is still working on its version of the operating budget, and the House and Senate will ultimately reconcile their versions in a conference committee. Now is an excellent time to weigh in with your Senator. Let them know that this budget item will create unnecessary bureaucracy at the expense of our state government. Wetland permitting in Alaska is already being done by the federal government at no cost to the state government. Tell them to remove the $5 million budgeted to start a program that is not necessary.

The Alaska Center

A DEC Budget Trap

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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]So far, only three states in the United States have assumed primacy for dredge and fill permitting in wetlands. One of those states – Florida – assumed permit primacy in the waning days of the Trump administration. Like Governor Sean Parnell before him, Governor Dunleavy wants Alaska to pay for wetland permitting that is now being paid for by the federal government. The rationale for this proposed forever budget increase paid for by our schools and universities and roads in lean years is that there is an expectation that there will be a return on investment. Through far more relaxed permitting requirements, zero Tribal consultation, and minimal enforcement, Alaska will see a massive influx of Mines.
Governor Dunleavy convinced the state House Finance Committee to add $5 million to the operating budget so that the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation could hire 32 full-time staff. This means 32 new full-time salaries, benefits, travel budgets, etc., to create a state wetland dredge and fill program that is equivalent to the program already paid for by the federal EPA. Perhaps the Dunleavy administration is going to pay these new workers peanuts. $5 million is a far cry from the cost estimate in 2013 when Governor Parnell foisted primacy on the Legislature. At that time – EPA had 49 positions administering its permitting program at a cost of $7.9 million in 2013 dollars. You don’t have to read a crystal ball to see how this will play out for Alaska should the Senate adopt the House numbers and we start a wetland permitting program. You can bet that if the Legislature agrees to this initial $5 million allocation, we should more realistically expect to pay at least a 10 million dollar figure, subject to inflation, moving forward in countless budget years.
It will require more money than was described initially by a less than trustable Dunleavy Administration and the former Pebble spokesperson running DEC now – you can bank on that as a fact. It will lead to costly litigation for the state – bank on that. It will be a messy and costly tug of war between the state and federal government–look at what happened in Florida.
In Florida, with a Governor who is predictably combative with the federal government, there is significant disagreement on the scope of what are to be considered wetlands. Florida continues to apply the Trump EPA version, a predictably and significantly restrictive definition. This definition (Waters Of The United States – WOTUS) was invalidated by a district court opinion, and the Biden EPA is applying a pre-2015 version of WOTUS to which Florida disagrees. Alaska has 65% of the nation’s wetlands and a Governor who loves nothing more than to spend state money fighting the Feds, so the Legislature should anticipate this allocation to DEC will also kick off endless increases in “Statehood Defense” spending. 
The return on investment for paying to take over wetland permitting is likely to be this: 1. Good grandstanding politics for Governors. 2. Mine development plans that factor in lax state permitting and no Tribal consultation, so Mines are freer to destroy salmon habitat, and 3. Jobs–mainly for State attorneys paid out of the General Fund to fight with the EPA. That sounds like a great deal!
The State Senate should say No to this allocation of our money.
Sincerely,
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]More Bills This Session\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]