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Republican Rep. Paul Seaton of Homer pre-filed legislation he plans to introduce in the upcoming legislative session.

Lawmakers head to Juneau to begin the 26th Legislature on Tuesday. Seaton plans to tackle a broad range of issues that includes fisheries, wastewater discharge, mining tax reform and oil and gas lease protection.

Seaton said he plans to introduce HB 46, a bill that would offer greater protection to salmon spawning areas from pollutant contamination, as well as more public oversight of wastewater discharge.

Current Department of Environmental Conservation reg-ulation allows the permitted discharge of wastewater into freshwater spawning areas where salmon aren't actively spawning.

The new bill would end that practice and require permit holders to provide an annual report of the nature and amount of pollutants discharged for public viewing

The law would apply to pollutant discharges from industry or municipalities.

Additionally the bill would allow the public to comment on expansions of commercial sewage lagoons.

Current policy only requires public comments for the initial permitting of a lagoon. Later expansions may go through without any input from affected community members.

The bill, if passed, would change that, allowing future expansion permits to require collection of public opinion.

Seaton said he hopes by introducing HB 43 the economic bases of some of the more remote peninsula communities could be expanded by opening up geoduck clam mariculture.

"They're very valuable clams, they probably won't even reproduce up here, but they grow well," Seaton said.

Seaton said the bill would nullify a Department of Fish and Game policy that prevents raising the clams in areas where they're not found naturally.

He did note geoduck farms would not be allowed in Kachemak Bay. Geoduck mariculture is already established in parts of Southeast Alaska.

Staying in line with fisheries legislation, Seaton said HB 41 would reform the Board of Fisheries definition of family to reflect similar definitions held by other state boards and the legislature.

Currently the board defines family as any person in a board member's extended family, including aunts, uncles and cousins.

When board members are required to vote on matter that may directly involve a family member, as defined by the board, they must recuse themselves from voting and make a full disclosure of their relationships during discussion.

Seaton said this is a particular concern for board members representing rural Alaska, where many board members have at least one relative with a direct tie to the commercial fishing industry.

"It's really a problem getting participation from rural Alaska, there's always someone participating in fisheries and whenever anything is being discussed in Bristol Bay, they're excluded from talking," he said.

Seaton will also introduce HB 40, to reform the state's mining tax and royalty structure, an issue he's brought up at past public events.

"The mining tax hasn't been revised since statehood," he said.

Seaton said HB 40 would raise the profit margin at which miners must pay for a mining license from $40,000 to $100,000, to more accurately reflect today's mineral prices. Additionally it would raise the tax rate at which large mines are charged to 11 percent of their net profit.

"This helps small miners by lowering the tax rate on small mines and recovers more money for the state from big large industrial mines," he said.

Along with ensuring the state receives its share of royalties from mineral extraction operations, Seaton also included HB 11, a bill that would ensure that future disputes over oil and gas leases on state land are determined in favor of the state.

"This is a change based on a court challenge that took place in Louisiana," Seaton said. "There were some items in a lease that were questionable and unclear and Louisiana law says if it's unclear the dispute is resolved in favor of the state."

Seaton said that this would not solve the current litigation involving a state gas lease on Point Thompson.

Seaton said the legislature's greatest challenge this session will be the budget.

He said many of the bills he's pre-filed may not make it through this session.

"The odds are that most legislation doesn't make it through in the first session ever." Seaton said. "Some may go forward quickly, but I would presume most legislation will go through one house in one session and get picked up in the next. That's a normal course of events."

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.