|
Coastal bill dies but task force passes Legislature sets up Alaska Northern Waters Task Force to ensure input on state-federal commission responsible for northern waters Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
If the oil and gas tax decoupling bill which passed the Alaska Legislature April 18 was one of the biggest wins of the session for proponents, an attempt to revise the state’s coastal management program went down as one of the biggest losses.
But for a different group of legislators.
The coastal zone issue was spearheaded by Rep. Reggie Joule, D-Kotzebue, chair of the Legislature’s Bush Caucus, and Sen. Donny Olson, D-Nome.
But although bills to revise the state’s coastal management program failed, legislators did vote to establish the Alaska Northern Waters Task Force to “access and facilitate creation of a state and federal commission responsible for overseeing the development of state and federal northern ocean waters.”
One goal of the task force is “to keep local stakeholders informed and incorporate their input into the process.”
Coastal communities and their legislators, especially from northern and northwestern Alaska, have been urging revisions in the coastal program put in place in 2003, changes which would give local communities more input into projects in their areas.
The changes in the coastal program proposed in House Bill 74 and Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Joule and Olson, included establishment of an Alaska Coastal Policy Board to replace the policy council which was eliminated when the program was revised in 2003.
The bills were introduced in 2009 and made it through the first committees of referral — Community and Regional Affairs. The House bill stalled in the Resources Committee, its second committee of referral.
The Senate bill wasn’t heard again until this year, but did move through the Resources and Finance committees.
The bills faced stiff opposition from administration and industry, with the changes characterized as giving too much control to local districts.
Starting over again Senate Bill 4 made it as far as the floor of the Senate, where Olson thanked those who had supported the bill, but said action on it had been delayed and proponents stonewalled. He said it had been difficult to understand some of the testimony on the bill and characterized some of that testimony as exaggerating certain elements of the legislation.
Promising to start the process over again the next day, Olson said he hoped that in the coming months the Legislature, administration and industry would work together.
The bill was returned to Senate Rules without a vote. Senate Rules Chair Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, thanked Olson on the Senate floor for his patience. Huggins said that over the last couple of years the coastal zone issue has been a significant one for many. And Huggins said he recognized that communities have lost faith in the Department of Natural Resources. (The state’s coastal management plan, which was in the governor’s office prior to 2003, was moved to DNR as part of the changes made under then-Gov. Frank Murkowski.)
Huggins said he had talked with Gov. Parnell about the issue. “We know next session it will be on the agenda. … We’re going to begin to figure out a solution,” he said.
Task force reports The task force established by House Concurrent Resolution 22 is charged with providing recommendations on the formation of a commission and delivering a preliminary report by Jan. 20, 2012, with a final report due Jan. 30, 2012, together with proposals for legislative consideration.
“Arctic waters are a vastly important resource to local communities, the state and the nation,” Joule said in a statement after the measure passed the House. “There is no better time than now to create this mechanism for Alaskans’ voices to be included in the discussions taking place at the federal level and beyond.”
“As the only Arctic state in this nation, Alaska has a unique role and interest in the development and evolution of U.S. policy in its northernmost region,” said Rep. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau.
“As the melting of the Arctic ice cap continues, Alaska needs to be at the table in federal and international discussions on how to seize the opportunities of increased Arctic shipping and how to mitigate the negative effects of climate change — effects we are already seeing on the Kuskokwim and Yukon River drainages,” said Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel.
The task force will have 11 members: the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate will each appoint two members from their respective bodies; jointly they will appoint seven members — five public members with three residing in coastal areas, one member representing the executive branch and one member representing the federal government.
A fiscal note accompanying the resolution said the task force is expected to hold seven meetings in the first year and three in the second year. Meetings will be in Barrow, Nome, Kotzebue, Unalaska and Anchorage.
The task force will “access and facilitate the creation of a state and federal commission responsible for overseeing the development of state and federal northern ocean waters, inform and incorporate local stakeholders input into the process, and identify and coordinate efforts of mutual concern for federal, state, and local agencies,” the Legislative Affairs Agency said in the fiscal note.
| 