APRN Alaska News

The first changes have been made to Gov. Sean Parnell’s oil tax proposal.

The Senate resources committee offered their substitute on Friday, and it would bring the current base tax rate up from 25 to 35 percent. It also includes $5 per barrel production tax credit and exempts 30 percent of new oil production from taxes. Like the governor’s bill, the committee substitute gets rid of progressivity, a mechanism that raises taxes when oil prices are high.

At Friday’s meeting, Sen. Peter Micciche, a Republican from Soldotna, said the goal of the substitute is to level out the government take at different oil prices. He explained that the substitute incorporates recommendations issued during earlier hearings of the governor’s bill.

“We heard complaints that the take was too high of a tax increase at the low end,” said Micciche “We heard that people, including many senators, didn’t like the slightly regressive nature of the original SB21.”

The substitute also would give a tax break to Alaska manufacturers that make products that can be used for oil exploration, and it would create a “Competitiveness Review Board” tasked with looking at how Alaska compares with other oil-producing provinces.

The Department of Revenue is still analyzing what effect the committee substitute would have on state coffers.

Both the Senate and House resources committees will have multiple hearings on oil taxes this week. Ninety percent of the state’s tax revenue is tied to oil production.

A barge that sank in a Kuskokwim River slough last fall near the village of Kwethluk is still there. Residents are concerned fuel and oil from the barge may be contaminating a traditional watering hole. State officials say the tests haven’t shown any contamination but they have other concerns about the stranded barge.

It’s a cold February afternoon about a half-mile from the village of Kwethluk. Hard pack snow crunches beneath our feet.

“We are at the Kuskoquak Slough by the traditional watering hole where people from Kwethluk used to originally pack water and now it’s contaminated with fuel,” says Evan Olick, the water plant operator here in Kwethluk.

He says fuel and oil from heavy equipment on the sunken barge may be making people who consume river water sick.

“This is the first experience that people notice the water is different in taste. And some kids they say it’s “rainbow like water.” And I say that’s most likely diesel or something.”

Kwethluk resident Dawn Redfox says she and her whole family have been drinking slough water for years.

“I don’t know how long after, my kids started puking, my nephew came over and he started puking. They had fevers,” she says.

Redfox says she, too, became ill, and she thinks it’s because of diesel fuel in the water.
The barge, owned by Faulkner Walsh Constructors out of Bethel, has been in the water since October.

Initially some diesel fuel or lube oil did spill from barge, which now sits half under the frozen ice.

The City of Kwethluk has advised residents to stop packing water from the river and is offering water from the village plant free of charge.

Evan says he took a water sample from the traditional hole and sent it to a lab in the lower 48.

“It said “it’s little to be reported.” But consuming it will affect humans and people will start getting sick or nauseated or having diarrhea.”

Bob Carleson is with the Department of Environmental Conservation in Bethel.

“And I reviewed the lab results of that sample and I found that there were hits or evidence of contaminants that they sampled for. And there was quite a list, a long list, of potential contaminants that you might expect to find in petroleum that you might run samples for. And they simply didn’t come up with anything,” Carleson says.

Carleson says he cannot say why exactly people have gotten sick, but the sample suggests that it may not be from diesel or other petroleum products in the water.

“River water can make you sick. It has a lot of contaminants, biological contaminants, bacteria and protozoans, things that can make you quite sick or worse.”

Whatever is or isn’t in the water, residents say it’s the water that’s making them ill.

Carleson says his department has been in contact with Faulkner Walsh in order to get the firm to remove the barge, though nothing has happened as of yet.

“We’ve been trying to convince Faulkner Walsh to come up with a plan, submit a plan to the agencies who are concerned with this. That’s us, the EPA, perhaps the Coastguard, Department of Natural resources, the State Department. And then proceed to remove the vehicles that are on the barge, or were on the barge, and the barge itself so they don’t get loose at breakup.”

He says the worst-case scenario would be a piece of heavy equipment resting in the river and possibly damaging boats and other barges.

The DEC is not alone in wanting the barge out, Evan Olick and other Kwethluk residents feel the same.

“I wish they could hurry up and clean up the mess and take out the equipment before spring comes around. If they don’t, that’s going to be another disaster that we are going to be looking at.”

Faulkner Walsh did not return requests for interviews for this story.

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The development plan could be one of the last decisions for Salazar; he’ll leave office as soon as the Senate confirms his successor.

To many Alaskans, he’s leaving the controversial decisions until the exit door is within reach. The final NPR-A plan allows for oil and gas development on 11.8 million acres.

Senator Begich called the creation of a pipeline corridor the most exciting development. Oil and gas producers in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas can apply for permits to construct pipelines through NPR-A into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

“It has to be not only environmentally sound, but economically it needs to be able to be built,” he said Friday morning. “Meaning you can’t have so much regulation that you can’t economically build it. So I think that’s important to have that piece of the puzzle laid down.”

His Alaskan colleagues in Washington disagreed. Both Senator Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young said the pipeline won’t be feasible. Senator Murkowski, in a statement, warned that any proposed route will be targeted for environmental lawsuits. Neither she nor Young were able to comment.

The plan expands the protected area around Teshekpuk Lake. Senator Begich said that could be pared back in the future, because the development decision creates a working group of villages, tribal organizations and Native corporations.

Senator Begich said the pipeline could be developed while oil companies drill in the Arctic Ocean. But he cautioned, any project is at least seven to ten years away.

“The developments of the Outer Continental Shelf are longer term. But as those get developed, you’ve got to simultaneously develop this pipeline. And the thing about that pipeline, once you start developing that pipeline and have a route, then some of those existing leases and wells become economical because now they have a pipeline they can attach to it,” he said.

ConocoPhillips has aimed to further its development in the NPR-A. A spokesperson with the company did not return a request for comment. It remains unclear whether a pipeline through NPR-A is worthwhile without off-shore drilling.

Conservation groups heralded the decision, saying the plan rightly protects habitat for waterfowl and caribou herds.

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Sealaska officials say board Chairman Albert Kookesh is making slow but steady progress as he recovers from a Monday heart attack.

The Juneau-based regional Native corporation posted an online update this afternoon after speaking to his family. It says Kookesh has become more awake and alert during the past 48 hours and has been able to communicate with his family.

Sealaska says his strength is slowly returning.

Also, Providence Alaska Medical Center today upgraded his condition from critical to serious.

Kookesh served 16 years in the state House and Senate. The Tlingit leader from Angoon also co-chairs the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Family members have asked that no flowers be sent, since he is allergic. They have also requested friends and associates wait until he recovers further before trying to contact him.

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Vic Fischer testifies before House education committee (credit: Gavel Alaska)

One of the drafters of the state Constitution has weighed in on a proposed amendment to that document.

Vic Fischer appeared before the House education committee on Friday to oppose a resolution that could allow for public funding of religious schools through vouchers. He cautioned legislators against taking a casual attitude when considering constitutional changes.

“To me the basic question is, ‘Are we solving a non-existing problem at this point?’ And the burden is on those who say we should amend the Constitution,” Fischer said.

Fischer, who also served as a state senator and in the territorial legislature, also explained that the amendment prohibiting funding of religious and private schools was not seen as controversial by the delegates to the constitutional convention. He said that the language — known as a Blaine Amendment — passed unanimously.

“So it’s not as if some kind of an amendment – Blaine Amendment — had horns on it and was something awful,” Fischer said.

In addition to hearing from Fischer, the education committee took testimony on the resolution from residents across the state. Opinion was mixed: Some argued that state funding of religious schools could create more options for parents, and others said it would weaken the separation of church and state and that it could drain money from public schools.

For an amendment to the Constitution to be made, it has to pass both chambers of the legislature with a two-thirds vote. After that, Alaskans have to approve the change by a majority vote.

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A settlement has been reached in a Wrangell Borough lawsuit.  The Borough of Wrangell will receive information and financial compensation.  Noel Selle-Rea will keep his severance package from the Medical Center.

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Long-time Juneau resident Jean Rogers is being remembered as a loving mother, beloved children’s book author, and patron of the arts. Rogers died Wednesday of heart failure. She was 93.

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Elaine Andrews. Photo by Ellen Lockyer, KSKA – Anchorage

What do Alaska’s judges do when they are not sitting on the bench?   Do they ponder weighty tomes, or engage in deep discussion about the legal issues of the day?  Maybe some of them do that, but KSKA’s Ellen Lockyer found that quite a number of Anchorage judges get together and play ukulele’s for after hours fun.

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This week we’re heading to the tiny Southeast community of Port Alexander. The village of just 62 people is on the south end of Baranof Island. Robin Griggs teaches school there.

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It started modestly enough with Joe Redington and a few others wanting the old mail trail to the gold mines retraced. Now the whole world watches the Iditarod. It’s Iditarod time again on the next Talk of Alaska.

HOSTS:

• Steven Heimel

GUESTS: 

• Zack Steer
• Callers Statewide

PARTICIPATE:

• Post your comment before, during or after the live broadcast (comments may be read on air).
• Send e-mail to talk [at] alaskapublic [dot] org (comments may be read on air)
• Call 550-8422 in Anchorage or 1-800-478-8255 if you’re outside Anchorage during the live broadcast

LIVE Broadcast: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. on APRN stations statewide.

SUBSCRIBE: Get Talk of Alaska updates automatically by e-mail, RSS or podcast.

TALK OF ALASKA ARCHIVE

Citizens give testimony at Thursday night’s Anchorage School Board meeting, where the district’s budget was passed 6-1. Photo by Daysha Eaton, KSKA – Anchorage.

The Anchorage School Board passed their budget Thursday night with one amendment restoring some counselors. The Board heard final public testimony then passed budget passed 6-1.

Nearly 30 people testified in front of the Anchorage School Board before members passed the 2013-2014 budget. Carol Benroth is a counselor at Bartlett High School. She testified about the importance of keeping regular and special education counselors and argued against the idea of replacing specialized counselors with generalists.

“One size does not fit all. What is fair, is not always equal. Students with disabilities thrive with counselors devoted to support their individual differences and specialized needs. When you consider cutting these positions tonight please ask yourself, is this what’s best for kids? I think you will find it difficult to answer yes,” Benroth said.

Keneth Mayer spoke about his own experience and about the importance of keeping counselors available for students, especially graduation coaches.

“I was bullied throughout school, I constantly thought about giving up on my education, my parents were addicted to drugs and alcohol and I became suicidal. I was fortunate to have a pair of loving grandparents help me through it, but I would have been one of the kids that these graduation coaches reached out and helped had they been in schools while I was attending. However a lot of kids today don’t even feel like they have the safety net that I had. Now these are the kids that these graduation coaches are focused on,” Mayer said.

Bonnie Paskvan testified in support of the Ignite program, for gifted students.

“This tiny cost-savings of $26,000, a tiny, tiny percentage of $25 million will result in a significantly less rich, meaningful and in-depth course offering to our students,” Paskvan said.

Donna McCarrey, a retired school teacher told a story from her time working at Dimond High School to make her point that cutting counselors could have terrible consequences. The story was about a student who was being bullied and couldn’t get in to see a counselor.

“I saw her and I asked her to wait for a minute, but she didn’t. Instead she went to her locker, left the counselor and myself a note and she walked home. Worried, we went to the security guard who immediately drove to her home and there she was on the living room floor having consumed a bottle of sleeping pills. Many months after her funeral, the police returned the letter she’d written to me and for the rest of my career I left it taped to my classroom wall as a reminder that some kids need us now,” McCarrey said.

Malcom Roberts, is a parent of a third-grader and the president of the PTA for Government Hill Elementary School. He said the budget cuts were the result of a bad paradigm set up by the state legislature.

“That paradigm should not make us make these hard choices between counselors, between coaches, between ignite, between special education. We need to fund public education in this state and we need to fund it in Anchorage. How are we going to change this paradigm? How are we going to unite these good folks out here and have them help us change the future. Cause if we don’t do that, we’re going to be here next year having the same debate, and the year after that,” Roberts said.

After about an hour and half of testimony, School Board Member Gretchen Guess proposed an amendment to restore eight counselors. School Board Member Don Smith proposed several amendments to restore career counselors, TA nurse assistants and library media assistants, by taking funds out of savings. All were voted down 6 to 1, with Smith the only yes vote.

Superintendent Jim Browder supported Guess’s amendment. He says he came to that decision by talking with high school principals.

“What we came out of that discussion with was a sense that reinstating a guidance position in those eight comprehensive high schools would give the principals more flexibility to deliver those services that we were afraid we were gonna lose – scholarships, mentorships, graduations.”

The budget was passed 6-1 with Guess’s amendment to restore counselors. The eight counseling positions were exchanged for eight direct instruction teaching positions. Smith was the only no vote. Guess said cuts totaling $140 million are expected to continue for the next six years, and the Anchorage School District needs the public’s help to convince lawmakers to provide adequate funding.

“It is a big uphill battle to fight and we need everyone to help us fight with it,” Guess said.

Guess encouraged people to call on the legislature to make education funding a priority. She encouraged people to turn out for a public hearing with the Anchorage Caucus this Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Public Library and make their voices heard.

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The Coast Guard lifted an order restricting movement of Shell’s Kulluk drill rig Thursday morning. Petty Officer David Moseley says the company had to provide information about assessments of the rig and their tow plan to the Coast Guard for review.

“The inspection, its seaworthiness, was done by industry class certification,” Moseley says. “They are the experts on those type of vessels. They inspected, they gave us their inspection for review, so we could understand what they found, if there were any concerns, or not, that needed to be addressed prior to its being transferred, or transported, from Kiliuda Bay.”

Now that the Captain of the Port order has been lifted, Shell is free to start towing the rig to Unalaska whenever it sees fit. It’s not clear when that will be, but Moseley says that the Coast Guard will be notified.

“We will know once they start that transit and we will monitor it as they make their transit to Unalaska.”

For now, the rig is anchored in Kiliuda Bay, on the south side of Kodiak Island.

That’s where two of the tugs that will be towing the Kulluk to Unalaska collided on Friday afternoon, as the Anchorage Daily News blog Progessive Alaska first reported. While working in close proximity, the Corbin Foss ran into the port side of the Ocean Wave. Petty Officer Moseley says there were no injuries and that the damage was minimal, but that the Marine Safety Detachment in Kodiak inspected both vessels.

“When we have an incident with reported damage that could impact the vessel, we, as the Coast Guard, want to ensure the safety of that vessel and the crew onboard so we will provide an inspection and an investigation into the incident to include things like drug testing of the crew, taking down statements of what was going on at the time, so we get a clear understanding of what was going on to see if there’s anything that needs to be addressed in the future with similar operations.”

The Ocean Wave is still tied up at the dock in Kodiak. The Corbin Foss is with the rig in Kiliuda Bay.

You can find more information about the Kulluk’s tow plan here.

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U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski says she’ll soon introduce a revenue sharing bill for off-shore energy production.

Speaking to the Alaska state legislature this morning, Murkowski said she’s still working out final details of the bill with Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu.

“We realize that an Alaska only bill isn’t going to pass Congress. What we wanted to do was focus on the national prospective. What our legislation will do is direct 27.5% of the revenues from all forms of off shore energy production to our coastal states.”

She says the plan goes beyond offshore oil and gas projects. And that could help sway skeptical lawmakers in Washington.

“If you have offshore wind, if you have ocean energy, these would also be part of a revenue sharing proposal. We offer an additional ten percent of revenues if states establish funds for clean energy and conservation projects.”

Her plan, as she outlined today, differs from other revenue-sharing bills.

Senator Mark Begich introduced his own earlier this month that would give the state 37 and a half percent of off-shore oil and gas revenues.

Murkowski says if the plan were implemented, it could lead to billions of dollars in new revenue for the state.

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The village of Tuluksak regained power early this morning after a two-day outage. It took some help from of the Alaska Energy Authority to finally get the lights back on.

The lights went out in Tuluksak around 4pm Monday afternoon, when its only generator stopped running.

“The water pump overheated and stopped,” said Tuluksak’s Power Utility Manager Willie Phillip. He says the village received another generator engine just yesterday.

That engine came from the Alaska Energy Authority’s Emergency Response Program.

“And what we able to do is locate an engine for one of their generators to get it back online. We diverted one of our remote maintenance workers who was in the area. And we sent him over to Tuluksak,” said AEA’s Deputy Director for Rural Energy Sandra Moller.

She said the Emergency Response Program was implemented for emergencies just like this one.

Phillip said the village’s backup generators were non-functioning as well, so the new engine was vital.

“So we got it online about 2:00 a.m. or 2:30 a.m. or somewhere around there,” Phillip said.

He said the power wouldn’t have come back on without help from community volunteers helping to transport and install the new engine.

The AEA may be able to help villages like Tuluksak with yet another program “called the Rural Power Systems upgrade program,” Moller said.

“We’ve just completed a six or eight month process of evaluating all power plants in rural Alaska.”

In the future, Tuluksak and other rural villages in-need, may qualify for assistance through that program, pending legislative funding.

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The Alaska House of Representatives has come out against genetically engineered salmon, or as critics call it, “Frankenfish.”

Representatives unanimously approved House Joint Resolution 5 on Wednesday. It urges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reconsider a preliminary finding that genetically modified fish would not significantly impact the environment. The resolution also urges the agency to require labeling for GM salmon, if the product is ultimately approved.

The legislation was sponsored by Anchorage Democrat Geran Tarr. She says genetically engineered fish has not been proven safe.

“The resolution opposes this move for three reasons,” Tarr said on the House floor. “Threats to wild salmon stocks; threats to human health and consumer confidence in wild Alaska salmon; and potential negative economic impact on our wild seafood industry.”

The House joins the Parnell administration, the state’s Congressional delegation, and thousands of Alaskans represented by seafood industry groups in opposing genetically modified fish.

The resolution now goes to the state Senate.

Massachusetts-based biotech company AquaBounty petitioned the FDA to approve the genetically engineered fish — an Atlantic salmon with genes from a Chinook salmon and an eel-like fish to make it grow faster. The company has spent nearly $70 million dollars since forming in 1991.

The FDA recently extended the public comment period on AquaBounty’s petition through April 26th.

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The scope of Alaska’s sex trafficking problem remains unclear, but there’s plenty that can still be done to help victims — that’s the conclusion of a report issued by astate task force charged with studying the issue.

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A measure that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls got its first hearing today (on Thursday).  Rep. Bob Lynn, a Republican from Anchorage, sponsored the bill, and he views it as a simple way of preventing voter fraud.

If a person doesn’t have photo ID available, they would have show two alternate forms of identification, like a birth certificate or tribal organization card. A person could also be okayed to vote if they are recognized by two election officials. If a voter doesn’t meet any of these requirements, then they have to cast a questioned ballot. During the hearing, the director of the Alaska Division of Elections answered questions about the mechanics of the bill and number of cases of voter fraud that Alaska had seen.

She said the state had experienced very few cases, and that those would not have been prevented by the proposed law. Questions were also raised about the effect the proposal would have on the Bush and whether it would be constitutional, with representatives from the Association of Village Council Presidents and the American Civil Liberties Union speaking against the bill. Rep. Lynn Gattis, a Republican, also commented that some of her constituents from Wasilla have raised concern about the bill.

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The Violence Against Women’s Act that is making its way through Congress has the support of the Association of Village Council Presidents for the most part. However, the Native non-profit organization which represents 56 tribes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is opposing part of the legislation, the part that doesn’t allow Alaskan tribes to prosecute non-tribal members.

That’s a sticking point for AVCP President Myron Naneng.

“Why do they always have to have an exclusion for non-tribal members?” Naneng said. “The tribal court should be able to deal with all people who live in the village.”

Reauthorizing VAWA has passed the Senate and will be considered by the House next. It does allow tribes on reservations to prosecute non-tribal members for domestic violence that occurs within their boundaries. However, in Alaska, there is only one reservation–Metlakatla in South East– so other tribes in the state would not have that right.

Senator Lisa Murkowski voted for the bill, saying she focused on ensuring that Metlakatla was treated no different than other reservations in the country. She said for the state’s other tribes, there is language that confirms that they have the power to issue domestic violence protective orders against their own members.

“So, what this does is simply maintain the status quo,” Murkowski said.

Murkowski included language to re-establish the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission, which has the tribes, state, and federal governments working together on rural safety issues.

About 20 villages in the Y-K Delta have tribal courts, but the state court still deals with most crimes region-wide. Naneng says access to state courts is difficult for some villages because they are so remote, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

“How much does it cost to go from one of the villages to Bethel to go to court, especially from Lower Yukon?” Naneng said. “It’s probably over $1,000 round trip.”

Giving tribal courts more leverage to deal with crimes would help, he says.

Tribal courts can use traditional forms of resolution such as banishment, a form of punishment for people who consistently cause problems in a community. Naneng says tribes should be able to exercise that with non-tribal members as well.

“I think that the village should have the ability to ban these people from their communities which has been done and is still going on today,” Naneng said.

Naneng says AVCP would like to see changes made to the VAWA legislation in the House and they plan to work with other tribes in Alaska to lobby for that.

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Alaska’s oil wealth portfolio has hit an all-time high: $45 billion.

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. announced the fund hit the mark Tuesday.

The corporation tracks the fund daily. CEO Mike Burns said hitting $45 billion is a sign the Alaska Permanent Fund has not only regained ground lost during the recession but also that it is growing.

Burns says the fund, by any measure, has been very successful. He says the patience Alaskans have had in growing the fund is extraordinary, and says it takes a lot of political will to keep the fund off limits for use on other things.

Since 1977, the corporation says the fund has received more than $16.5 billion in mineral royalties and general fund appropriations and paid out $19.8 billion in dividends.

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The State of Alaska has a problem with derelict vessels and lawmakers in Juneau are looking at how to address it.   Municipalities would be given greater authority to deal with derelict and abandoned vessels under a bill introduced by Homer representative Paul Seaton. Seaton introduced HB131 on Wednesday.

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