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FY2015-19 Adopting a Federal Capital Improvement Program and Priorities for FY2016 I Introduced by: Manager Cassidy 2 Requested by: Borough Assembly 3 Drafted by: Special Projects Support Introduced on: 02/19/2015 f 4 Adopted on: 02/19/2015 5 6 KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH 7 RESOLUTION NO. FY2016-19 8 9 A RESOLUTION OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH ASSEMBLY 10 ADOPTING A FEDERAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND 11 IDENTIFYING FEDERAL PROGRAM PRIORITIES FOR FEDERAL 12 FISCAL YEAR 2016 13 14 WHEREAS, a capital improvement program has been adopted by the Kodiak Island 15 Borough Assembly that identifies the needs of the community over the next five years; and 16 17 WHEREAS, the Kodiak Island Borough has identified a capital improvement project list 18 to submit to the Alaska Congressional Delegation for funding consideration; and 19 20 WHEREAS, the Alaska Congressional Delegation has requested the views of the Kodiak 21 Island Borough on which federal programs should'be considered priorities for rural Alaskan 22 communities and their residents. 23 24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND 25 BOROUGH that: 26 27 Section 1: The Kodiak Island Borough's federal capital improvement project priorities for 28 federal fiscal year 2016 are as follows: 29 30 1. Kodiak Landfill Wastewater Treatment Plant 31 Total Estimated Cost of the Project: $16,000,000 32 Funding Sources: local and state $14,175,000 33 Federal Funding Request: $1,825,000 34 35 The Kodiak Island Borough's landfill is near the limits of its permitted capacity. To 36 address this problem a lateral expansion project constructing new cells adjacent 37 to the existing landfill is underway. Current Alaska Department of Environmental 38 Conservation regulations implementing the federal Clean Water Act require the 39 new cells to be fully lined to capture all leachate or fluids produced by the waste. 40 The captured leachate will be processed in a newly constructed wastewater 41 treatment plant on-site. This treatment represents an unfunded federal mandate. 42 Federal assistance to communities to comply with this federal mandate has been 43 available in the past through EPA's State and Tribal Assistance Grant Program 44 (the "STAG" Program). The Kodiak Island Borough is seeking the Alaska 45 Delegation's assistance for including a pot of money in the FY '16 Interior 46 appropriations bill to be used for a competitive grant program in rural areas to 47 provide a federal match with state and local funding which is being used to 48 comply with EPA's unfunded environmental mandates. 49 Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2015-19 Page 1 of 5 5o 51 Section 2: The Kodiak Island Borough's views and recommendations on priority federal 52 programs are as follows: 53 54 1. Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes: There are over 2.8 million acres removed by the 55 Federal Government from taxation within the boundaries of the Kodiak Island 56 Borough. This is land that would otherwise be available to the private sector to 57 develop, creating jobs for the residents of Kodiak and the rural Kodiak Island 58 communities. This in turn would create tax revenues for the Kodiak Island 59 Borough. PILT was enacted by Congress to help offset the loss of revenues to 60 municipal entities caused by federal land withdrawals within local government 61 boundaries. The KIB uses these funds to provide basic social services, including 62 medical facilities, emergency fire and rescue services, roads, and schools. The 63 Kodiak Island Borough is seeking the Delegation's assistance in reauthorizing the 64 program for three to five years. 65 66 2. Refuge Revenue Sharing: The National Wildlife Refuge Fund is a critical source 67 of replacement revenue to communities like ours that have the presence of a 68 large Federal wildlife refuge within their boundaries. That presence removes 69 substantial amounts of property from the local property tax base. The share we 70 receive from the Fund is based on a formula that partially compensates us for our 71 tax losses due to the existence of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. The 72 Refuge is over 1.9 million acres in size and therefore has permanently removed 73 from private ownership, development and taxation over half the property on the 74 island. The Kodiak Island Borough is seeking the Alaska Delegation's assistance 75 in providing level funding for this program. 76 77 3. Karluk Lake Enrichment Project: The Karluk Lake system on the west side of 78 Kodiak Island is the largest producer of sockeye salmon in the Kodiak area and 79 supports a large portion of the area's commercial and subsistence sockeye 80 fisheries. Since 2007, returns of adult sockeye to the Karluk system have been 81 extremely poor, most likely due to over escapement of spawning adults in earlier 82 years. Continuing low returns will not only deprive local fisheries, low spawning 83 escapements will also reduce the supply of marine derived nutrients to the lake 84 system. Thus, the system may remain in a low state of productivity indefinitely 85 into the future. 86 In order to bring the Karluk Lake ecosystem back to its earlier, higher level of 87 production, the Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association (KRAA) proposes to 88 apply nutrients over the course of up to five years. This lake enrichment project 89 follows established protocols for rehabilitating sockeye salmon rearing 90 environments. However, because Karluk Lake is within the Kodiak National 91 Wildlife Refuge and a pre-statehood withdrawal, it appears that approval is 92 required from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 93 The USFWS has issued a draft environmental assessment of KRAA's proposal 94 and has invited public comment. The Borough appreciates the Alaska 95 Delegation's timely comments for the record in support of moving forward with the 96 KRAA proposal. It is the Borough's intent to work with the USFWS and the 97 Delegation in the coming months to advocate for approval of the KRAA proposal. 98 99 4. Groundfish Surveys: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has 100 raised concerns with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2015-19 Page 2 of 5 101 what appears to be a reduction in the number, the spatial extent and the 102 consistency of the winter and summer groundfish surveys occurring in the Gulf of 103 Alaska. The diminution in these surveys will eventually negatively affect Kodiak 104 fishermen and processors should the North Pacific Fisheries Management 105 Council add additional precautionary buffers to what already exists in the 106 establishment of annual groundfish quotas due to insufficient stock assessment 107 data. A reduction in federal groundfish quotas for pollock, cod, and rockfish 108 would result in lost economic opportunities for Kodiak residents and lower raw 109 fish tax receipts over time. The President's Budget request for Fiscal Year 2016 110 recommends $24,503,000 for the Surveys & Monitoring line item of the National 111 Marine Fisheries Service budget, and increase of$503,000 over the 2015 funded 112 level. The Kodiak Island Borough recommends that the Alaska Delegation 113 support this line item at the proposed funding level . 114 115 5. Federal Subsistence Management And Rural Determination: The Borough is 116 concerned that the review being conducted by the Departments of Interior and 117 Agriculture could result in a change in the definition of rural communities that 118 would eliminate the ability of Borough residents to harvest fish and game on a 119 subsistence basis. The Borough opposes use of a population threshold in 120 making rural determination decisions that would overlook Kodiak's remote 121 location; transportation access limitations; distance and difficulty accessing 122 commercial food stores, particularly in inclement weather; and the long-standing 123 reliance of many of the community's residents on subsistence harvest to feed 124 themselves and their families, among other factors. We request that the Alaska 125 Delegation closely monitor the subsistence management review and at the 126 appropriate time convey these concerns directly to the Departments. 127 128 6. Federal Fisheries Observer Program Funding: While the Kodiak Island 129 Borough recognizes the value of the real time data gathered by human observers 130 placed on local fleet vessels, the cost of the program to vessel owners is 131 excessive. In addition to cost, space and safety become complicating factors 132 when human observers are required to travel and work on the smaller vessels in 133 Kodiak's fleet, especially those less than 30 feet in length. The National Marine 134 Fisheries Service and the Regional Fishery Management Councils are exploring 135 the feasibility of using electronic monitoring technology to complement arid, in 136 some cases, replace human observers. The Fiscal Year 2016 President's Budget 137 request adds an additional $5,596,000 to the NMFS budget for electronic 138 monitoring activities. The Kodiak Borough supports this funding proposal, and 139 requests that the Alaska Delegation advocate for a fair share of these funds to be 140 used in the North Pacific to explore the feasibility of using cameras to monitor 141 fisheries in lieu of human observers. 142 143 7. EPA's "Waters of the U.S." Rule: The Environmental Protection Agency and 144 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving forward with a proposed "Waters of 145 the United States" rule that would expand Federal permitting and other 146 requirements to many waters currently regulated by State and Local Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2015-19 Page 3 of 5 147 governments. The proposed rule would also apply to private landowners. The 148 key change being proposed would expand Clean Water Act coverage to "other 149 waters" where there is a "significant nexus" to currently covered interstate waters, 150 territorial seas and navigable waterways. That determination is meant to be 151 "case-specific" but has not been fully defined and the concern is that "significant 152 nexus" could be interpreted to include floodplains, certain man-made waterways 153 and ditches, self-contained water bodies such as ponds or temporary/isolated 154 wetlands. Under this model, Alaska's extensive acreage of wetlands would likely 155 mean that wetlands and other water bodies, including small streams and 156 tributaries, that are seemingly isolated and geographically far removed from any 157 current CWA-covered waterway would fall under the new definition. The Kodiak 158 Island Borough feels that the proposed rule would add extra layers of 159 bureaucracy to the efforts of Kodiak citizens to use their land and for the Borough 160 to engage in future public works projects. The Borough is requesting that the 161 Alaska Delegation support legislative initiatives to curtail this proposed rule. 162 163 8. EPA's Fishing Vessel Discharge Rule: EPA has promulgated two rules to 164 require commercial fishermen to obtain Clean Water Act incidental discharge 165 permits as a condition for operating both small and large fishing vessels. The 166 permits would cover ballast water, fish hold water, anchor chain mud, deck 167 wash/runoff, bilge pump discharge, gray or "stick" water, laundry, shower, and 168 galley sink water. The permits require burdensome reporting, monitoring, 169 inspections and compliance activities — all subject to heavy fines and citizen 170 lawsuits under the Clean Water Act for what seems to be minimal environmental 171 protection. The Congress has imposed a three year moratorium preventing EPA 172 from implementing the Small Vessel General Permit Rule and the Vessel General 173 Permit Rule. Efforts are underway within the Congress to make the moratorium 174 permanent. The Kodiak Island Borough is requesting that the Alaska Delegation 175 actively support a permanent moratorium. 176 177 9. Homeporting Coast Guard Vessels: The final Omnibus Appropriation bill for 178 Fiscal Year 2015 provided $632 million to build a National Security Cutter("NSC") 179 and $110 million to build two Fast Response Cutters ("FRC"). The Fiscal Year 180 2016 President's Budget Request calls for an additional $340 million to build six 181 FRCS and acquisition funding to begin the Offshore Patrol Cutter ("OPC") 182 program. The Kodiak Island Borough would like to emphasize that Kodiak 183 remains the ideal location for the deployment of NRCs and OPCs, and the 184 clustering of FRCs. Kodiak sits at the crossroads of one of the largest fisheries in 185 the world as well as some of the busiest shipping lanes in U.S. waters. Kodiak 186 offers unmatched geographic advantage for timely mission response and 187 deployment to the myriad of marine incidents in the Alaska area of operation. 188 The Borough recognizes that Kodiak Island also presents unique mission support 189 challenges such as a constraint on housing and mooring facilities. The Borough 190 stands ready to work with the Coast Guard in whatever way possible to keep this 191 location ideal for capital asset placement. The Borough supports the President's 192 Budget Request for Coast Guard vessel construction. We request that the Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska Resolution No. FY2015-19 Page 4 of 5 193 Delegation actively monitor the Coast Guard's planning process for future 194 deployment of new assets in the Arctic and promote Kodiak as a homeport for 195 these new vessel classes. 196 197 10. Marine Ferries: The Congress is considering the reauthorization of the 198 Federal Highway Trust Fund in the 114th Congress. The Alaska Marine Highway 199 System is a critical element of the interstate movement of passengers and cargo 200 to the coastal communities and coastal villages in the Gulf of Alaska. The 201 TUSTUMENA has less than ten years left on its useful life and is in need of 202 replacement. Marine ferries have a separate sub-account funded as part of the 203 Federal Highway Trust Fund. As the Congress moves forward with its 204 deliberations on reauthorization of the Fund, the Kodiak Island Borough is 205 requesting that the Alaska Delegation make the Marine Ferry sub-account a high 206 priority for increased funding. 207 208 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kodiak Island Borough administration is hereby 209 instructed to advise Congress and the appropriate agencies of the United States Federal 210 Government of the Capital Improvement Program and priorities adopted by the Kodiak 211 Island Borough Assembly. 212 213 ADOPTED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH 214 THIS NINETEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2015 215 216 KODIAK ISLAND B,Q13,OUGH 217 „ 218 219 220 ATTEST: rrol Friend, Borough Mayor 221 222 223 224 Nova M. Javier, MMC, I3�rrough Clerk' Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska esol do . F 1 - Page 5 of 5