[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2758-S2759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. Stevens):
  S. 2439. A bill to authorize the appropriation of funds for the 
construction of the Southeastern Alaska Intertie system, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                  southeastern alaska intertie system

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill 
with my colleague, Senator Ted Stevens, to provide a tremendously 
important authorization for an electrical intertie for an isolated 
region of my State of Alaska. As many of my colleagues know, Alaska has 
many unique problems. We are over twice the size of Texas, with fewer 
miles of paved roads than the District of Columbia. Most of our 
communities are unconnected. The results of this are stark for those in 
unconnected communities, and have significant impacts on their lives. 
Energy costs and reliance upon fossil fuels for power generation are 
just some of these impacts.
  The vast majority of these towns and villages pay very high energy 
costs. In some instances, these costs exceed 38 cents per kilowatt 
hour. This makes the cost of living almost unbearable for many local 
residents. For example, the village of Kake, Alaska pays 38 cents per 
kilowatt hour and has 38 percent unemployment. Unlike in the rest of 
the country, when unemployment strikes a particular unconnected 
community in Alaska, the option to drive to employment in a neighboring 
community does not exist. One either stays in a devastated community or 
sells one's home in a market of sellers under duress. With electrical 
rates running three times and above those in most of the U.S., few will 
invest in these communities.
  Mr. President, I refer Members to the latest study of economic 
situation in Southeast Alaska. The report deals with the economic 
impact of declining timber harvests in Southeast Alaska. This is not 
intended to restart the debate over that issue. That is for another 
forum. However, what the report vividly describes is the drastic  
decline in the economy of this region. In the last decade, known by 
most of the country as the greatest boom in the century, Southeast 
Alaska has lost 2900 jobs and over $100 million in payroll. Many of 
these communities have suffered losses in population. For example, the 
Wrangell/Petersburg area has suffered a 13 percent loss in wage and 
salary income; my hometown of Ketchikan suffered a similar 12 percent 
loss. Personal income is down from 5 to 11 percent in the region 
generally. The problem for Southeast Alaska is that it has no viable 
option for a replacement industry.

  In other areas of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest, 
alternative employment such as high tech companies

[[Page S2759]]

in Oregon and Washington have replaced honorable livelihoods in 
resource-based industries. There has been no comparable replacement 
industry for Southeast Alaska. There are a number of reasons, but the 
biggest reason is lack of affordable power for most communities.
  Mr. President, in the Pacific Northwest, power costs are reasonable 
and the Bonneville Power Administration has an efficient and modern 
distribution system. In the lower 48 generally, every village and town 
is connected by power grid to the rest of the nation. That is not the 
case in Southeast Alaska. This lack of connection exacerbates the 
situation.
  However, what can be done is to interconnect the region. By doing 
this, the existing and potential clean energy sources can be maximized 
and the power can be managed between communities and other users. Right 
now, one hydroelectric facility, Lake Tyee has tremendous excess 
capacity to bring clean and cheaper energy to many villages. This has 
been proven in a study conducted by the Southeast Conference. The 
Southeast Conference is the group of Mayors representing communities 
throughout Southeast Alaska. This study, entitled the Southeast Alaska 
Electrical Intertie System Plan, outlines the regional grid which this 
bill authorizes.
  Mr. President, let me be clear, this is only an authorization. The 
bill provides no obligation to the Federal government to be involved in 
the construction of this intertie system whatsoever.
  The bill also does not authorize nor does it contemplate that the 
federal government will exercise any ownership or management 
responsibility over this system. In fact, the Southeast communities 
which have asked me to introduce this bill seek to manage this project 
themselves.
  It simply provides an authorization for the Congress to assist the 
communities in assemblying funding for the project. There is ample 
precedent for this. In fact, this very process was used successfully in 
Arizona and Utah with the Central Arizona and Central Utah projects. 
The era of the federal government constructing, owning and operating 
new power generation facilities has passed. However, the federal 
government can provide valuable assistance to a group of communities 
which seek to get their region back on the road to economic recovery. 
This is a good bill because it encourages local self reliance.
  Mr. President, an intertie can do so much to assist this region. 
Right now, we have a series of isolated communities which cannot even 
work with each other on power issues. Each must provide its own 
generation and transmission facilities. And almost all of these 
facilities use diesel oil-fired generation because that is the only 
type of self-contained transmission facility which these communities 
can afford. Instead with an intertie, these generators can be put in 
mothballs and used only for isolated emergency backup. The intertie 
will provide reliable and clean sources of energy for all these 
communities.
  I am informed by the communities that they intend to form a state 
chartered regional power authority to manage this Intertie. It will 
have no federal budgetary obligation. Additionally, the intertie will 
help the environment by shifting these small villages from their diesel 
generation and pointing them towards clean, renewable fuel sources. All 
of these facilities will be subject to all federal, state, and local 
laws including environmental laws. Just to make sure that this is 
clear, I have included a specific provision in the bill that reaffirms 
that this simple authorization will not affect, change, or alter any 
obligations under federal laws such as the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). All of the facilities will be subject to normal 
permitting.
  There will undoubtedly be environmental studies required for the 
different components. For example, part of phase 1 of the Intertie 
includes the Swan Lake-Lake Tyee project which will connect my hometown 
of Ketchikan to its neighbors to the north, Wrangell and Petersburg. 
The permits for this project are already in place and were issued by 
the Forest Service as a result of a laborious 2 year NEPA study. The 
Forest Service issued a full Environmental Impact Statement which 
resulted in a favorable record of decision. No corners were cut and the 
project was approved by the Forest Service and permits issued. This 
bill will have no effect on that process. Any other phases will have to 
undergo close scrutiny, although I am convinced that connecting 
communities together using renewable hydropower will be much better 
environmentally than continued reliance on transporting, storing and 
burning high-priced diesel.
  Mr. President, Alaska was not even a state when the major 
transmission systems were built in this country in the 1930's, 1940's 
and 1950's. Until World War II compelled the heroic construction of the 
Alcan Highway. Alaska was not even connected by road to the rest of the 
country. Alaska was never even considered as a candidate for the 
construction of a transmission system. Alaska's economic development is 
in its infancy even today. A project like the Southeast Regional 
Intertie is necessary to give that region of Alaska the opportunity to 
recover from the economic disaster outlined in the McDowell report. It 
is my intention to have this bill considered by my committee soon and I 
hope to report it favorably to the Senate floor in the near future.
                                 ______