Governor signs coastal zone changes

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News Editor-in-Chief

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski signed House Bill 191 and Senate Bill 142 May 21. The bills are companion pieces, HB 191 streamlining the Alaska Coastal Management Program, and SB 142 designating the Department of Natural Resources as the lead agency for natural resource development projects in the state. (See related story on page 1.)

The governor's office said that while HB 191 “reforms and streamlines” the ACMP, the bill “retains the general structure of the current program, but makes several important changes that will eliminate the duplicity and regulatory confusion of the current program.”

The Alaska Coastal Policy Council is eliminated and the council's authority for development of statewide standards and approval of district coastal management plans is transferred to the Department of Natural Resources, which has one year to adopt regulations “establishing clear and enforceable statewide standards and criteria for the approval of new district coastal management plans.”

Coastal districts are retained, as are existing coastal resource service areas, but coastal districts are required to submit new or revised coastal management plans to DNR for review and approval. Districts are required to have “enforceable policies that are clear, concise, provide greater uniformity throughout the state and do not duplicate state and federal requirements.”

“The goal of HB 191 is to create a new coastal management program that retains the benefits of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, but eliminates the complexity and duplication built into the current ACMP,” Murkowski said. “It provides certainty and predictability to the process by clarifying standards and responsibilities for program implementation.”

SB 142 authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to “lead and coordinate all matters relating to the state's review and authorization of resource development projects,” but does not diminish the existing authority of other state agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Conservation or the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

“The purpose of SB 142 is to facilitate and expedite resource development in Alaska,” Murkowski said. “In recent years, the laws governing resource development have proliferated, and there are now more agencies than ever with permitting authority over large projects. Resource development should not be held up by the sheer complexity of government. The significance of designating DNR as the lead agency is to streamline the process of permitting these natural resource development projects.

“With the transfer of habitat permitting and other reorganization efforts made earlier this year, the passage of these two bills completes our immediate effort to fuel the engine of Alaska's resource development economy,” the governor said.