Lawmakers discuss Arctic projects, but money a question

  • By Molly Dischner
  • Monday, February 2, 2015 10:57pm
  • News

JUNEAU — The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission has recommended the state take several steps to enhance Arctic communities, but finding the money for the improvements could be a challenge.

The report’s recommendations center around four areas of focus: economic and resource development, infrastructure, healthy communities, and science and research. The report details several projects that would advance those goals.

During a news conference Monday, Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, said a lot of the projects may be postponed for a while until funding is available, but that it was important to start planning for them.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, identified private investors and the state’s Arctic Infrastructure Fund as other possible sources of money.

The legislature created the fund last session, enabling the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to make loans or loan guarantees for Arctic projects such as ports, roads, telecommunications, emergency services and fisheries infrastructure.

The legislature did not put any money into that fund, but the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority can use its own money for it.

Federal revenue sharing is another potential source of funding for other infrastructure work, Herron said. Alaska currently receives a share of federal revenue from onshore development, but it does not receive a share of federal revenue from offshore development, despite the fact that offshore projects have affect life onshore, Herron said. Establishing a revenue-sharing agreement for offshore development was one of the projects suggested by the commission.

Possible projects include the development of an Arctic port; oil and gas exploration; spill-prevention resources; home access to water, sewer and sanitation services in rural communities; reducing power and heating costs; workforce development; and increased research. Other suggestions in the report include basing more fishing vessels in Alaska; additional exploration and development in the Ambler mining district; and more work mapping the Arctic.

The report purposefully did not prioritize the projects because the 26 commission members had differing ideas about what was most important, McGuire said.

The commission has spent the last two years developing an Arctic policy for the state.

McGuire and Herron are co-chairs of the commission and introduced companion bills in the Senate and House to establish the state’s Arctic policy.

More in News

Kachemak Bay is seen from the Homer Spit in March 2019. (Homer News file photo)
Toxin associated with amnesic shellfish poisoning not detected in Kachemak Bay mussels

The test result does not indicate whether the toxin is present in other species in the food web.

Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Federal education funding to be released after monthlong delay

The missing funds could have led to further cuts to programming and staff on top of deep cuts made by the KPBSD Board of Education this year.

An angler holds up a dolly varden for a photograph on Wednesday, July 16. (Photo courtesy of Koby Etzwiler)
Anchor River opens up to Dollies, non-King salmon fishing

Steelhead and rainbow trout are still off limits and should not be removed from the water.

A photo provided by NTSB shows a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, that crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, Sept. 12, 2023. The plane was weighed down by too much moose meat and faced drag from a set of antlers mounted on its right wing strut, federal investigators said on Tuesday.
Crash that killed husband of former congresswoman was overloaded with moose meat and antlers, NTSB says

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska on Sept. 12, 2023.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in