Alaska Conservation Voters

Conservation Watch

Alaska Conservation Voters
works to protect Alaska's environment through public education and advocacy, and supports pro-conservation candidates for public office.

Conservation Watch (CW) is a weekly publication of ACV highlighting conservation issues in the AK Legislature.

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Contributing Editors

Suzanne Bostrom
Legislative & Communications Manager
suzanne@akvoice.org

David Rogers
ACV Lobbyist

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ACV- Juneau
419 6 th Street, #321
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 463-3366
(907) 463-2554 fax

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ACV- Anchorage
810 N Street #203
Anchorage, AK 99801
(907) 258-6171
(907) 258-6177 fax

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Web Resources

ACV Legislation Page
Bill position papers, back issues of Conservation Watch, and legislative updates

Legislative BASIS
Current bill text, history & committee schedules

Legislature Homepage
Find Your Legislators, party links, committee lists

State Homepage
Links to state agencies and the Governor

 ACV Homepage

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In This Issue

• Clean Water, Healthy Salmon - Mixing Zones Hearing 2/5
• Action Briefs
  • On the Move
  • New in Town
• Hearings this Week

An ACV priority bill, HB74, which prohibits mixing zones in freshwater spawning waters, is up and rolling and will have its first two hearings on Monday, February 5th, and Wednesday, February 7th in House Fisheries. Representatives Seaton, LeDoux and Gara introduced HB74 to protect Alaska’s wild salmon and other species of fish that are vital to commercial, subsistence and recreational users.

A mixing zone is an area in a water body where pollution levels exceed water quality standards designed to protect people and fish. When a discharge is unable to meet water quality standards upon its release, a group can apply for a permit to employ a mixing zone, which allows for water quality levels to be measured downstream after the discharge has been diluted. Since 1995, state regulations explicitly prohibited mixing zones in freshwater areas where fish spawn. However, on January 12, 2006, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation adopted new regulations that no longer offered full, year-round protection for wild salmon and other fish.

While mixing zones have generally been authorized in Alaska, state regulations explicitly prohibited mixing zones in freshwater areas where fish spawn. The new regulations give DEC broad discretion to determine when and where mixing zones can occur in salmon spawning areas and provide even more leeway in allowing pollution discharges for other resident fish species. Under the new regulations mixing zones are allowed in the spawning areas of resident freshwater subsistence species (resident, non-anadromous fish such as trout and Dolly Varden) at any time, even when active spawning is occurring.

According to information we have reviewed on this topic, by allowing regulators to define spawning areas both spatially and temporally (as a place in time), a legal loophole was left in regulations that would allow for discharges to occur even in salmon spawning streams for a large portion of the year. The definition of “spawning” in the regulations in combination with DEC’s ability to define the area as a place in time would mean that mixing zones would only be prohibited while salmon were actively emitting eggs and sperm (i.e., a spawning area would not necessarily include the eggs after they have been deposited). While agencies testified last year that this was common practice, it was not explicitly authorized before the adoption of the 2006 regulations as far as we know.

Representative Seaton’s previous version of the bill from last session (HB328) was widely supported by coastal municipalities, commercial and sport fishing industry groups, state fish and game advisory committees, and numerous individuals and families that rely on healthy salmon and clean water for commercial and subsistence use. HB74 picks up where last year’s bill left off and will provide statutory protection for Alaska’s salmon and other fish. We expect United Fishermen of Alaska as well as these previous supporters to be on board for HB74 this session.

Take action!
Let your legislators and the House Fisheries Committee know that you support clean water and wild, healthy salmon. Public testimony in support of HB74 will be taken in the House Fisheries Committee on Wednesday, February 7 at 8:30 a.m.

• In Juneau: Room 124, Capitol Building
• Outside of Juneau: If you are not located in Juneau, public testimony will also be accepted at Legislative Information Offices at the same time. Go here to locate your LIO address. If you are unable to go to an LIO, call (888) 295-4546 and ask for the House Fisheries Committee hearing.

If you are unable to testify, written comments can also be submitted directly to Representative Seaton’s office and the House Fisheries Committee via email (Rep_Paul_Seaton@legis.state.ak.us) or fax (907-465-3472).

For more information check out:

HB 74 Bill Text

Representative Seaton’s Sponsor Statement

DEC's Mixing Zones Webpage

HB 25 Recreational Land Use Liability - Rep. Seaton (R-Homer)
This bill was heard and held in House Judiciary twice this week and is scheduled to be heard again next Monday, February 5. HB25, which provides landowners with immunity for allowing their land to be accessed for recreational purposes, passed easily from House Resources last week. While several members of House Judiciary support the intent of the bill (Judiciary chair Rep. Ramras is a co-sponsor), questions were raised over the application of the bill in cases involving trespassing. Members of the committee plan to delve further into the issue next week.

HB26 Geoduck Aquatic Farm Exemption - Rep. Seaton (R-Homer)
HB26 was heard and held in House Fisheries due to limited time. The committee will take up the bill again on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. and plans to accept public testimony that was missed at Friday morning’s hearing. HB26 deals with the issue of geoduck aquatic farming and states that the Commissioner of Fish and Game may not use the absence of wild geoduck clams in a particular area as reason for denying an aquatic farm. The bill also allows a certified hatchery to transfer geoduck seed to an aquatic farm located in an established fisheries management area that is contiguous to the Gulf of Alaska.

HB40 Public Access to Fishing Streams - Rep. Gara (D-Anchorage)
A committee substitute for HB40 (CSHB40 (RES)) moved from House Resources this week with several amendments. This bill would allow for voluntary land trades, purchases and leases between the state and landowners to enhance public access to streams for fishing, hunting and recreational activities. As part of the bill, the Commissioner of Fish and Game will need to submit to the Commissioner of DNR a list of lands where access to certain waterways is hampered because of private land ownership. Amendments were inserted in House Resources to reduce the cost of the fiscal note, remove an exemption for the Kenai River downstream of Skilak Lake, address DNR concerns over land disposal, and ensure a public comment process on the land list. The next committee of referral is House Finance.

HB53 Pollution Exemption for Small Oil Producers - Rep. Kohring (R-Wasilla)
The hearing for HB53 in House Oil and Gas was cancelled this week and has yet to be scheduled for another hearing. This bill would exempt small oil producers (less than 501 barrels a day) from the requirements for oil discharge prevention, contingency plans and proof of financial responsibility.

HB 87 Citizen's Advisory Committee on Federal Areas - Rep. Kelly (R-Fairbanks)
CSHB87 (RES) moved from House Resources this week.. The measure would re-establish a Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Federal Management Areas and calls for the House Speaker, Senate President and the Governor to appoint a mix of individuals that are “representative of the diversity of users and uses of federal land in the state,” along with 4 legislators (two from each body appointed by the Speaker and President). The bill was amended to reduce the size of the committee from 16 to 12. They also discussed the idea of specifically designating seats to represent a variety of interests but no changes were proposed. The next hearing for the bill is on Wednesday, February 7 in House Finance.

SB46 Coastal Management Program - Sen. Olson (D-Nome)
SB46 received a waiver this week from its Finance Committee referral and was heard on the Senate Floor this morning where it passed with a 17-0 vote. At this week’s hearing in Senate Resources, Senator Olson introduced a sponsor substitute that removed the section of the bill that would have required DEC to give notice and opportunity for public comment before making its findings. As a result, the bill now simply extends the March 1 deadline for completion and approval of district plans to September 1 and also provides the same extension for DNR’s review and update of categorically and generally consistent determinations. With 9 out of 30 coastal management district plans still being revised or under review and with 3 requesting mediation, it is unlikely that several districts will be able to meet the current deadline. SB46 provides the coastal management districts with the time necessary to complete the revisions necessary to comply with the previous administration’s Coastal Management Program changes before the termination of their existing plans. We expect it to continue to move swiftly.

SB67 Create Jay Hammond State Game Refuge - Sen. Stevens (R-Kodiak)
This bill proposes to make all state-owned land and water within the hydrographic boundaries of the Kvichak and Nushagak-Mulchatna River drainages (excluding Wood-Tikchik State Park) into the Jay Hammond State Game Refuge, which is to be managed as “a state refuge for the protection of salmon, trout, caribou, brown bear, and other fish and wildlife species and their habitat and for the use and enjoyment of the people of the state.” The bill also states that the land and water of the Refuge are to be closed to mineral entry and that state land and water within the refuge may not be sold or exchanged without legislative approval. A citizen’s advisory committee would be set up for the refuge and would include a mix of subsistence users and representatives from tourism and recreation, mining and industry, and sport and commercial fishing interests. This bill appears to have Pebble Mine implications.

SB71 Public Access to Fishing Streams - Sen. French (D-Anchorage)
SB71 is the Senate counterpart to Rep. Gara's version of the bill, HB40, that is in the House. This bill would allow for voluntary land trades, purchases and leases between the state and landowners to enhance public access to streams for fishing, hunting and recreational activities. As part of the bill, the Commissioner of Fish and Game will need to submit to the Commissioner of DNR a list of lands where access to certain waterways is hampered because of private land ownership.

Hearings this Week

Click on the date in the table below to get the most current schedule information for that day, or check the BASIS hearing schedule. Once a bill has been heard in a particular committee it may be brought up again without public notice or listing on the weekly committee schedule. You can click on a committee name to see a list of its members.