A proposal to list the lower Kenai River as “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act has stained the river’s reputation as a natural getaway and stirred debate over what changes are needed to allow the river to recover from years of heavy use.
At the center of the debate is a list of regulation changes the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board has asked the Department of Natural Resources to approve.
At a KRSMA meeting Thursday, Jerry Lewanski, director of the DNR’s Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, said, as a whole, the list of proposed regulations would likely improve water quality on the river.
But some say the list of changes would unfairly burden private anglers with regulations aimed to reduce hydrocarbon levels while allowing fishing guides to discharge more.
The regulation changes propose to remove all two-stroke motors from the river by 2008, increase horsepower limits from 35 to 50 and require 50 horsepower motors to be 2006-compliant.
KRSMA members say the regulations aim to reduce pollution and bank erosion.
But those who oppose the changes say increasing horsepower limits will allow large and heavily loaded boats, owned primarily by guides, to move faster and at the same time increase the amount of hydrocarbons discharged into the river.
Some also say private anglers own almost all of the two-stroke engines found on the Kenai River, and that while prohibiting all two-stroke motors from the river in favor of the cleaner four-stroke engines by 2008 could help reduce pollution, it would also nudge private anglers off the river.
Dwight Kramer, former chairman of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Advisory Committee for the Kenai-Soldotna area, said he thinks phasing two-stroke motors off of the river is a good idea, but that the proposal to remove the motors by 2008 does not give private fishermen adequate time to make the shift.
“That only gives people one year leeway to make other plans or come up with a lot of money to buy another motor,” he said. “It’s going to affect a lot of private boaters.”
The Department of Environmental Conservation has said an increase in horsepower likely will result in a corresponding increase in hydrocarbon pollution.
But in a move that has puzzled some, the DEC has taken a neutral stand on whether horsepower limits should be raised. DEC has said that if the change would reduce bank erosion by reducing boat wakes, as KRSMA members contend, the need to prevent erosion must be balanced with the need to prevent hydrocarbon pollution.
Those opposed to raising the horsepower limit, however, say raising the horsepower limit may not be the wisest way to reduce boat wakes and point to flat-bottomed boats, stricter load restrictions or even more drift boat days as alternatives.
On Thursday, Bill Keller, one of several people who testified they would like to see additional days set aside for drift boats only, said he would like to see at least three or four drift boat days a week.
“(And) make it a total drift day, actually give the river a break, and not just no fishing from motorized boats,” he said.
KRSMA member Dick Hahn agreed with testimony supporting more drift boat only days.
“If you think about it, it solves many, many problems that have been discussed here tonight,” he said. “I’d encourage you all to think about that.”
The DNR plans to hold public meetings on the proposed regulation changes in Anchorage and the Kenai-Soldotna area before any further action is taken.
And while there has been pressure to complete the regulation approval process quickly, it should not be attributed to devious motives, Lewanski said, responding to criticism that the board is trying to get the state to pass the proposals while Gov. Frank Murkowski is still in office.
“The reason these things are being pushed forward is people genuinely have interest in doing something good for the river,” he said.
He said due to approval process requirements, the proposed regulations cannot be passed before Gov. Murkowski leaves office.
Patrice Kohl can be reached at the patrice.kohl@peninsulaclarion.com.
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