June 21, 2011
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly
Re: Proposed KPB 21.18.025 Ordinance Revision
Dear Members of the Assembly:
The Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc. (RDC) writes to caution the Assembly against expanding Kenai Peninsula Borough Code 21.18 to include all anadromous bodies of water within the municipal boundaries of the Borough, without considering inclusion of qualifying language.
RDC is a statewide business association comprised of individuals and companies from Alaska’s oil and gas, mining, forest products, tourism and fisheries industries. RDC’s membership includes Alaska Native Corporations, local communities, organized labor, and industry support firms. RDC’s purpose is to encourage a strong, diversified private sector in Alaska and expand the state’s economic base through the responsible development of our natural resources.
While RDC appreciates the ordinance as established in 1996, we caution against the proposed amendment to include all anadromous bodies of water within the Borough. The section titled “Purpose” states “It is the intent of this ordinance to avoid duplicating regulations of state, federal, or municipal agencies and to minimize conflicts between those regulations and this ordinance.” The proposed revision counters the language written in the Purpose section and duplicates existing state and federal laws, with no added benefit to salmon habitat.
Including all anadromous streams in the Borough could have unforeseen and unintended consequences. When adopted in 1996, the ordinance was intended to protect high-use areas from fishing pressure and urban development. These areas have few regulations from agencies outside of the Borough, and therefore municipal ordinance may be appropriate for them. However, much of the expansion areas being contemplated do not need the same type of protection as the currently covered areas. The added areas may include large-scale resource development projects that are already subject to extensive state and federal permit processes, including detailed salmon habitat review. These processes, including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, provide opportunities for the Borough and its residents to address concerns regarding large-scale projects. The agencies also have experts on hand with a breadth of knowledge on their given subject area. A local planning commission does not have the resources to conduct extensive reviews such as this.
RDC urges you to recognize the intent of the 1996 planning commission and apply protection only to the areas that need it, while recognizing development projects subject to extensive state and federal regulations that do not need additional, and duplicative, requirements applied by the Borough.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc.
