Alaska Business August 2021

I N D U S T R I A L S U P P O R T S ERV I C E S | A 2 A R A I L | 3 R D PA R T Y C Y B ER S ECU R I T Y AUGUST 2021

JEFF BAKER Senior Vice President, Michael Baker International MAT MOLLENKOPF, Senior Pipeline Engineer MIREYA DE LA PENA, Pipeline Project Manager JOSH GREENHILL, Senior Pipeline Engineer

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CONTENTS AUGUST 2021 | VOLUME 37 | NUMBER 8 | AKBIZMAG.COM

FE AT UR E S 10 TELECOM & TECH

80 OIL & GAS

Online and In-Check

New Administration, New Agenda

Third-party cybersecurity providers keep Alaska businesses vigilant

By Tracy Barbour

Mixed messaging from Biden Administration spells uncertainty for oil and gas investment

16 CONSTRUCTION Tools of the Trade

High-tech solutions for the construction industry

By Linda F. Hersey

By Alexandra Kay

20 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES The Law of the Land

Environmental law firms ensure clients remain on solid legal ground

By Vanessa Orr

76 TRANSPORTATION Staying on Track

Alaska to Alberta railway considers refinancing to steam ahead

By Vanessa Orr

84 ENVIRONMENTAL Long Forgotten— Far From Gone

USACE scrubs away at $1 billion of environmental liability

AOGA

By Isaac Stone Simonelli

ABOUT THE COVER

K. Eldridge | USACE Alaska District

Without pipelines, where would Alaska be?

While most are aware of the crucial importance of these highly specialized pieces of infrastructure, there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface.

Michael Baker International’s pipelines have been coursing through the state since the construction of TAPS. And gracing this month’s cover of Alaska Business are a few of the pipeline problem solvers behind the company. Having been in the biz for decades, they’ve learned a thing or two about transporting pressurized fluids in Alaska. For example, did you know these structures have been gradually elevated over the years to accommodate animal movements—and on the North Slope pipelines get a good shake from wind instead of earthquakes?

Our cover story, Pipelines: Evolutions and Solutions, is brimming with expert insights on decades of projects from a team of industrial support service pros.

Cover Photo by Oscar Avellaneda-Cruz

QUICK READS 8 FROM THE EDITOR

90 INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

94 ALASKA TRENDS

90 ECONOMIC INDICATORS

92 RIGHT MOVES

96 OFF THE CUFF

4 | August 2021

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

CONTENTS AUGUST 2021 | VOLUME 37 | NUMBER 8 | AKBIZMAG.COM

SPECIAL SECTION: INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT SERVICES 32 THE GIST OF GIS

Geospatial data provides vital insight for industry

By Isaac Stone Simonelli

24 PIPELINES: EVOLUTIONS AND SOLUTIONS

We know what comes out, but what goes into a pipeline?

By Tasha Anderson

36 RECRUITING RUGGED WORKFORCES

Agencies offer HR departments an able ally

By Amy Newman

46 THE BEAUTY OF PUBLIC PROJECTS A little design goes a long way

By Danny Kreilkamp

Sonny Kula | Elko International

stanley45 | iStock

50 INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT SERVICES DIRECTORY

42 MAINTENANCE: KEY TO PRODUCTION

Proper rig care spells less down time for oil producers

By Rindi White

Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577; Telephone: (907) 276-4373. © 2021 Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication June be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Alaska Business accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials; they will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. One-year subscription is $39.95 and includes twelve issues (print + digital) and the annual Power List. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business are $4.99 each; $5.99 for the July & October issues. Send subscription orders and address changes to circulation@akbizmag.com.

To order back issues ($9.99 each including postage) visit simplecirc.com/back_issues/alaska-business.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Little Parts and Big Players It’s a few days past the summer solstice as I sit to write this. And the days don’t just feel long, they feel endless: a permanent twilight that—as a life-long Alaskan— I’ve learned to cherish. But not all things that linger are as welcome. The ongoing effects of a global pandemic come to mind, as does the unfortunately familiar trial of a challenged economy.

But although as a community we still feel the weight of COVID-19 and several years of a state-wide recession, there are little victories we can celebrate even now: there was a tourism season, even if it’s not quite back to its former glory; stores and restaurants are filling up (I’ve never been so grateful to wait forty-five minutes for a table at South); and here at Alaska Business we are once again conducting faceto-face interviews with our sources and attending events in person.

The barriers erected to keep people safe are being steadily and responsibly taken down, and now we can rebuild the intricate network of people and equipment we need to move Alaska forward.

It wouldn’t be possible without the companies and organizations that provide services and support to Alaska’s largest industries (which you can read about in our Industrial Support Services special section). For every project owner there are countless vendors and support companies gathering data, providing tools, sourcing skilled workers, building infrastructure, distributing information, addressing regulations, moving crews, designing solutions, securing sites, and a hundred other activities.

Everyone needs a project to work on—and every project needs a massive amount of support to find success.

And that goes for people, too. I’ve been working in support roles at Alaska Business Publishing Co. for nine years, first at the front desk and then with graduated responsibility in the editorial department. In many ways, over the years the business and I have grown together: I’ve been fortunate enough to support the launch of a new website, weekly and monthly newsletters, an expansion into social media, new directories, and the development of our Best of Alaska Business awards and annual issue.

Participating in so many aspects of what it really takes to pull a magazine together beyond its printed (and now digital) pages has given me ample opportunities for growth, and one of the greatest was learning from Kathryn Mackenzie, our managing editor for the last several years. Kathryn has moved on to find her own new networks and editorial possibilities, but the leadership she provided for the whole staff, and myself in particular, will have a long-reaching and positive effect on Alaska Business for years to come.

This month, as acting managing editor, I find myself in the dual-natured position of relying on my team while ensuring that I do my best to support them day after day. It’s a microcosm of the community we report on, a vast aggregate of little parts and big players. I’m excited to see it grow again.

VOLUME 37, #8 EDITORIAL STAFF

Acting Managing Editor Tasha Anderson 257-2902 tanderson@akbizmag.com

Digital and Social Media Specialist Arie Henry 257-2910 ahenry@akbizmag.com

Staff Writer Danny Kreilkamp danny@akbizmag.com

Editorial Assistant Emily Olsen 257-2914 emily@akbizmag.com

Art Director Monica Sterchi-Lowman 257-2916 design@akbizmag.com

Art Production Linda Shogren 257-2912 production@akbizmag.com

Photo Contributor Kerry Tasker

BUSINESS STAFF President Billie Martin VP & General Manager Jason Martin 257-2905 jason@akbizmag.com

VP Sales & Marketing Charles Bell 257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com

Senior Account Manager Janis J. Plume 257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com

Advertising Account Manager Christine Merki 257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com

CONTACT

Press releases: press@akbizmag.com

Postmaster: Send address changes to Alaska Business 501 W. Northern Lights Blvd. #100 Anchorage, AK 99503

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Tasha Anderson Acting Managing Editor, Alaska Business

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8 | August 2021

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TELECOM & TECH

Online and InCheck Third-party cybersecurity providers keep Alaska businesses vigilant

By Tracy Barbour

F

rom its inception, Anchoragebased DenaliTEK has focused on addressing cybersecurity issues and a range of other IT services. But for years, many businesses did not want to hear about cybersecurity, including medical practices that are legally required to maintain strict security practices, says President Todd Clark.

Now due to a rash of security breaches and evolving federal laws, more companies are ready to listen.

“Now people understand that it’s a real, urgent business need—and in some cases a problem,” Clark says. “And they want to know their IT provider is prioritizing cybersecurity.”

Cybersecurity is such a critical issue that it’s now part of DenaliTEK’s official mission statement: “Alaska will be the most cybersecure business community in America.”

10 | August 2021

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Alaska Business

August 2021 | 11

Like a variety of other managed services providers in Alaska, DenaliTEK is doing its part to ensure businesses have the IT resources necessary to address the increasingly vital area of cybersecurity. Alaska’s third-party cybersecurity providers offer a variety of solutions to help businesses of all types and sizes secure their operations against emerging cybersecurity threats, which are becoming more prevalent, sophisticated, and costly.

Key Cybersecurity Issues to Address So what are the most important cybersecurity issues for businesses to address? All of them, according to Clark, who says comprehensive security is a fundamental requirement. “Breaches can only be prevented by focusing on all areas of security,” he says.

There’s no silver bullet when it comes to safeguarding a business, says Cindy Christopher, director of Managed IT at Alaska Communications. That’s why Alaska Communications promotes the practice of using several layers of security, which can provide multiple defenses against cyber attacks. It also embraces best practices and employs best-of-breed products to support its customers and their networks.

Alaska Communications also prioritizes end-user training and employee awareness.

“No cybersecurity solution can block 100 percent of attacks,” Christopher explains. “Your employees are your first line of defense. You could have the tightest security controls in place and still be infiltrated if an employee falls for a phishing attack.”

Robert Thurston, chief technology officer at Ampersand (originally founded as AlasConnect), helps clients focus on effective IT risk management as a whole. “What it boils down to is we help organizations effectively look at their security risk from top to bottom and putting together a plan, so they can sleep at night,” he says. “This may not be flashy, but it comes down to having a risk management mindset.”

The real value, Thurston says, is in adopting a holistic approach and seeing the “whole battlefield.” He explains: “The threat in the news is ransomware, but that is just one battlefield. So we have to take that long view and make 12 | August 2021

sure our clients are prepared to move into the future.”

DenaliTEK’s Services DenaliTEK provides services to small and medium companies via its managed services offering and to large companies through its co-managed services solution. And to all businesses with at least ten computer users, it offers limited free network assessments to ensure they are currently protected.

“All our clients are on a managed services plan with a fixed monthly fee for an annual term,” Clark says.

“Imagine if you’re in a boat and are taking on a bunch of water.

Detect is when you’re taking on the water, and you can really minimize the damage if you have good tools and processes in place.

Respond is like patching the hole. Recover is like bailing out the boat.”

Todd Clark, President, DenaliTEK

When providing co-managed services, DenaliTEK normally works with larger entities that have their own IT personnel in-house. “We basically do everything for that company and support their front-line support staff,” Clark explains. “We have a team that manages antivirus, backups and patches, et cetera. What we find is that a lot of companies that have front-line IT staff may be struggling to perform really good IT services for those employees.

We can come in with our Net Admin,

VCIO, and project team and really make them successful.”

The length of time that DenaliTEK works with clients varies. Its free network assessments are completed and reported on within a week. It takes about a month to complete projects that involve providing full network audits for businesses concerned about security and compliance. DenaliTEK’s managed services and co-managed clients are typically on annual contracts for full support. “Our clients welcome an ongoing multi-year relationship,” Clark says.

Addressing cybersecurity can mean different things to different businesses.

DenaliTEK’s cybersecurity offering is based on National Institute of Standards and Technology standards, which ensures 24/7 security for all users, endpoints, and systems. “Our offering is developed using best-inclass components with comprehensive process, policy, and training,” Clark says. “With end-user training and a 24/7 Security Operations Center team, no question goes unanswered.”

DenaliTEK’s specific approach to cybersecurity encompasses five areas: Identify: Network vulnerability assessments to determine potentially vulnerable or weak systems Protect: Best in class firewalls, endpoint protection, and other systems to protect clients Detect: 24/7 system monitoring with a 24/7 Security Operations Center Respond: Written process for responding to potential security events, coupled with a 24/7 Security Operations Center Recover: Written process for recovering from potential security events, coupled with 3-2-1 backups [three copies of data, including one original and t wo backups stored separately] Unfortunately, many businesses tend to concentrate on the “protect” facet of cybersecurity, Clark says. They focus less on the aspects of detect, respond, and recover, which can be short-sighted. Clark thinks of these three areas this way: “Imagine if you’re in a boat and are taking on a bunch of water. Detect is when you’re taking on the water, and you can really minimize the damage if you have good tools and processes in place. Respond is

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like patching the hole. Recover is like bailing out the boat.”

DenaliTEK has staff with Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Hacker Forensic Investigator credentials.

But as a softer skill, cybersecurity also requires professionals that can exercise constant vigilance. Vigilance must be a core value of all team members, coupled with process, teamwork, and strong leadership, Clark says.

“Staying ahead of the threats requires a team of qualified personnel and strategic partnerships with exceptional cybersecurity vendors,” he says.

are identified. Then clients can take it from there and address the issues on their own or allow Ampersand to resolve them. Or clients can opt to have Ampersand manage their security program so they can be better prepared to address potential cybersecurity issues—before an attack happens.

Ampersand can help clients employ tabletop exercises to rehearse how they would respond to a security incident.

This can help them avoid making mistakes with breach notification, compliance, and not bringing in

the management, all of which can make cybersecurity incident more problematic and costly to mitigate.

Thurston says: “If you’re not prepared before the attack, you can have a haphazard response… So prepare for the worse and hope for the best.”

Ampersand employs experts in various disciplines. Its information security team is well versed in vulnerability management, incident response, risk assessment, and other areas of cybersecurity operations.

Beyond that, the company’s

Ampersand’s Offerings As a full-scale technology services provider, Ampersand offers a variety of cybersecurity services, including vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and IT risk assessments and remediation. The company also provides reactive incident response services to help companies address security problems, as well as a fully managed security program.

Ampersand works with medium and enterprise-scale businesses that need extra guidance to address specific concerns and complex issues. “We can help clients of any size, but we try to help them realize how we provide value in terms of risk mitigation and outcomes,” Thurston says. “We try to position ourselves as a partner to our clients; we try to make sure they are spending their resources effectively.”

When working with clients, Ampersand has a range of options. Its goal is to meet businesses where they are on their cybersecurity journey. In some cases, this can mean starting with a vulnerability risk assessment that could take four to six weeks to complete, depending on the complexity involved.

In other instances, the company builds longer-term relationships with clients.

In all cases, Ampersand tries to be flexible to what its clients’ needs are without compromising the security of their organizations. “We’re not just trying to sell someone a product, we want to make sure their security needs are addressed,” Thurston says.

Many businesses hire Ampersand for an initial assessment to evaluate their security program. In these situations, the company always recommends a solution to fix any problems that www.akbizmag.com

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professionals are equipped to help with basic maintenance, patch management, firewall configurations, network and software architecture, and a range of other requirements.

Although the IT industry often highlights technological acumen over soft skills, sometimes this can be a detriment, Thurston says. “At the core of it, the folks who are most successful [in IT] are those with soft skills and those who have an empathy for the people they protect,” he says.

As Ampersand’s slogan points out, technology is uniquely human. And the people behind the technology have to be “human” or it won’t be successful, Thurston says.

Alaska Communications’ Solutions With cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated than ever, cybercrime is a serious threat facing businesses of all sizes, Christopher says. Because of the complexity and risk associated with a cyber attack, many businesses look for help from managed services specialists.

Businesses need a provider that can provide layers of security, protecting from external threats, Christopher says.

Alaska Communications’ engineers follow current cyber trends and employ industry best practices to help businesses protect themselves against attacks. As part of these efforts, the company offers a wide range of managed security services, including user education and awareness; network security and monitoring; threat detection and response; data backup and recovery; malware prevention; security assessments; and security consulting.

Alaska Communications and its broad segment of industry experts serve the security needs of customers through assessments, consulting, and product sales. Its specialties include firewall engineering, network segmentation, identity and access management, gap assessment and remediation, incident response, and end-user training.

“From common threats to compliance management, our team delivers unified threat management and security services with advanced detection technology to protect our customers,” Christopher says.

14 | August 2021

In terms of its expertise, Alaska Communications’ managed security solutions experts are expected to earn and maintain advanced certifications.

Additionally, they are trained to implement and support the security products it offers. “For us, cybersecurity is a passion,” Christopher says. “Our team members are dedicated to their craft and to our customers.”

“Technology is a tool that we use to achieve human outcomes.

We’re trying to solve human problems, so we have to make it fundamentally human.”

Robert Thurston, CTO, Ampersand

Alaska Communications’ services can be scaled to fit any size business. It normally works with small-to mediumsized businesses (SMBs) as well as large government and enterprise organizations.

The company’s services are designed to be flexible and customizable, with customers working on a contract, project, or task basis. “Typically, SMBs are looking for a provider to serve as their dedicated counsel on security or IT issues,” Christopher says. “Larger organizations are often looking to augment their inhouse IT capabilities. We tailor our solutions and services to meet the customers’ needs and goals.”

The duration of time that Alaska Communications works with customers is also flexible. The company provides custom solutions to meet customer requirements and objectives.

Sometimes that happens in a short span of time, but more often it requires a longer-term relationship.

Christopher says Alaska Communications works to support

Alaska businesses with robust end-toend support. The company’s managed IT customers receive proactive monitoring and alerting, which is critical to thwarting and mitigating cyberattacks. Alaska Communications can also step in and work with new customers after they have experienced a cybersecurity incident, which can result in significant financial damage, business disruption, reputational harm, lawsuits— or even worse consequences. “Some attacks may even cause a business to shut down entirely,” Christopher says.

“It’s always best to be as proactive as possible, with robust monitoring and business continuity plans.”

Important Challenges Based on the Latest Trends Today, cyber criminals are constantly evolving to find new ways to attack.

Staying ahead of the trends and identifying emerging threats are paramount, Christopher says.

Phishing—using fake emails and other schemes to try to trick someone out of their personal information or money—is the single biggest threat to businesses. Phishing emails can come from trusted vendors or coworkers whose email addresses have been compromised. “The tell-tale signs of phishing have become harder to spot, requiring even more vigilance from employees,” Christopher says.

“Employee awareness training remains the best, first defense against business email compromise.”

Clark agrees, saying that a lack of employee training for computer users is the number one threat to cybersecurity.

A simple click on the wrong web page or email can set off a major security event. “Recent studies reveal that well over 80 percent of all breaches in recent years are due to human error,” he says. “The lack of training contributes to ransomware, CEO fraud, and other insidious threats.”

Companies can enhance employee awareness by conducting ongoing cybersecurity training and testing. And they can go a step further by emailing out simulated phishing attacks and monitoring to see if the recipient clicks on it. “The idea is that you find out which employees are leaving you vulnerable, then you can go back and deal with the issue,” Clark says.

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Phishing, ransomware, and other cyber attacks have become even more prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic. The FBI’s recently released 2020 Internet Crime Report includes information from 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime—an increase of more than 300,000 complaints from 2019—and reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. The accompanying report for Alaska shows that nearly 2,300 victims in Alaska filed complaints of suspected internet crime to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and reported losses exceeding $6 million. One of the top moneylosing scams for Alaska victims was business email compromise, a type of phishing attack (also called CEO fraud) in which fraudsters impersonate company owners or executives to trick employees into transferring money or turning over confidential data.

Cybersecurity incidents—many of which go unreported—have been increasing among businesses and individuals worldwide. In Alaska, for example, a recent cyber attack caused the Alaska Court System to temporarily disconnect most of

its operations from the internet.

Court filings, court record searches, payments of fines, and other services were temporarily inaccessible online, causing a major backlog.

Cyber attacks have become so widespread that many contractors now have to prove they are cybersecure before they can do business with the government. The Department of Defense requires companies bidding on defense contracts to certify that they meet the basic level of cybersecurity standards articulated in its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

Clark says cybersecurity attacks will continue to persist. “This problem is not going to go away,” he says. “Businesses are going to have to learn sooner or later how to deal with cybersecurity.”

This past year, there have been some remarkable trends in the business world involving the use of technology for remote work and the increased adoption of communication services.

But it’s not the right time to take an eye off the ball, Thurston cautions.

The capability of the adversary has evolved, with bad actors often having more resources than the companies

they are targeting. So it’s important for businesses to leverage allies to their defense and capitalize on any available resources that can help.

In addition, it’s essential that everyone—not just the security team— is well armed with the information they need to exercise good cybersecurity practices. “We need to help employees with practicing good ‘digital hygiene,’ but we can’t make it too cumbersome,” Thurston says.

Continuing, he explains: “Our challenge is to find that balance, to find what is effective and what is safe, so people will be able to get their work done. For example, simulated phishing campaigns can make people feel fatigued and then they might not reach out to the IT team when there is a problem. Or if it is too cumbersome for me to share a document safely, I might sign up for a Google account... We can’t make the medicine more harmful than the condition.”

Thurston adds: “Technology is a tool that we use to achieve human outcomes. We’re trying to solve human problems, so we have to make it fundamentally human.”

The 2021 Top 49ers

Alaska’s Largest Locally-owned Businesses Ranked by Gross Revenue

By Charles Bell, VP of Sales

T

he October issue of Alaska Business magazine features the annual Top 49ers, ranking Alaska’s top locally-owned businesses based on gross revenue. Last year, the companies comprising the Top 49ers reported combined revenue of nearly $18.5 billion which was a 7.24% increase over the prior year.

In addition to generating billions of dollars in annual revenue, these businesses employ a reported 21,794 people in Alaska and 80,034 worldwide.

With numbers like this, it’s safe to say that these forty-nine locally-owned businesses are significant contributors to keeping Alaska’s economy strong.

Enjoy trivia? Here’s a fun fact: Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) has ranked number one on the Top 49ers list since 1995 when it overtook VECO for the top position.

We are eagerly looking forward to finding out if ASRC will take the number one spot for the 26th consecutive year. Surveying for the 2021 Top 49ers was completed on August 3 and compilation, data review, and analysis are ongoing. We expect this year’s results to be particularly interesting as the pandemic has dramatically impacted so many businesses over the past year. Be sure to keep an eye out for the 2021 Top 49ers issue of Alaska Business in October which contains some fascinating results!

Suppose you want to advertise in our number one most popular issue of the year? In that case, the ad space reservation deadline for the October Top 49ers issue is coming up on August 20. Contact us for more information and rates!

Charles Bell is the Vice President of Sales at Alaska Business Publishing Co. and is known for his witty puns and successfully helping advertisers reach their target audience. Having worked at Alaska Business since 1998, Charles is well-versed in Alaska’s economic landscape and looks forward to assisting magazine clients with their marketing endeavors.

CHARLES BELL

907-257-2909 | cbell@akbizmag.com

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August 2021 | 15

CONSTRUCTION

Tools of the Trade

High-tech solutions for the construction industry

By Alexandra Kay

C

ontractors in the construction industry are driven to keep projects on track, on time, and within budget.

And lately there have been additional challenges for the construction industry, including labor shortages, heightened HSE requirements, and the rising cost of lumber.

“Alaska challenges are like any other state, but bigger,” says Nelson Hays, a construction technology engineer with Accupoint, which specializes in construction technology solutions. “The short construction season and challenges of remote work demand innovation to deploy and operate a system with minimal downtime.”

Technologies and techniques have been (and continue to be) developed to streamline processes and procedures, improve communication, build efficiencies, and reduce or mitigate challenges that a construction project may face.

Below Accupoint, PDC Engineers, Drake Construction, NANA Construction, Cornerstone General Contractors, and Remote Alaska Solutions share some of their insights and solutions for Alaska’s construction industry.

Building Information Modeling Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of creating and managing a digital representation of a project. It can be used for scheduling, decision making, cost estimation, and operations maintenance and sustainability. BIM allows engineers, architects, contractors, and other construction professionals to collaborate on a 3D model of a project. With BIM, when one aspect of a design is changed, the software updates to reflect that change—so everyone involved with the project is in the know. According to the Ernst & Young report Construction Technology Trends to Watch, the estimated savings of project cost using BIM is typically between 4 to 6 percent. And according to a Dodge Data & Analytics report, 73 percent of US contractors are using it.

Augmented Reality | Virtual Reality Augmented reality (AR) is a mixture of digital and real world, while virtual reality (VR) creates an entirely new digital world. AR and VR allow customers and companies to envision a project through design, build, and postconstruction. Working with one or both, companies can provide a 3D view of building exteriors and interiors, providing a final vision of what a project will look like. For example, Trimble SiteVision “uses augmented reality to help show inspectors and foreman on site the vision of the project without the need of survey stakes,” says Hays. “It also facilitates communication between the contractor, engineers, and project owner with a clear visual progress on the project or changes that need to be made.”

Natnan Srisuwan | iStock

UAVs Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) use cameras and sensors in the pre-planning stage of construction to obtain data and measurements in order to develop existing conditions for construction sites. Later, they can be used to provide builders and clients with real-time status reports, as well as provide monitoring for safety, efficiency, productivity, and waste avoidance. “The use of RTK-GNSS drones, or UAVs, for survey applications is a game-changer,” says Hays. “Large areas can be surveyed in a fraction of the time, allowing for precise 16 | August 2021

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

quantity estimates of material, progress tracking, and limiting costly mistakes.”

Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advanced computer software that uses algorithms to solve problems, recognize patterns, and make decisions based on data inputs. AI can sift through data and alert project managers to potential issues. It can also be used to prevent cost overruns, for project planning, and for a variety of other applications.

PDC Engineers is currently using AI in conjunction with drones “to transform point cloud data into 2D and 3D line work that qualifies as survey grade as-built or topographic CAD file,” says Chris Settle, chief drone pilot for the company. “With this post process data, we can design construction projects—for example, a commercial building—in a threedimensional environment, which can help clients and the public visualize what the building is going to look like in the real world… It helps designers design in a 3D space, reducing conflicts and ultimately saving the client time and money.”

Blockchain A secure, decentralized database where all transactions in a construction project can be stored in virtual “blocks,” blockchain allows for greater transparency and efficiency on projects.

Utilizing blockchain technology allows for better project management and oversight because parts of a project are confirmed and recorded once they are complete. With blockchain, companies can use smart contracts, reducing the use of intermediaries, track information for ease of payment, and track items from point of origin to

point of destination to keep a project running smoothly.

5G | WiFi Many construction companies are leveraging everyday electronics with the help of 5G and WiFi services to work efficiently in remote areas. “iPhone, iPad, laptop—ubiquitous in society, without even thinking about it, these are the heart of a mobile office in remote Alaska,” says Toby Drake, president of Drake Construction. “Scanning apps on an iPhone replace large office document

Grade Control Systems Site grading is a crucial step in preparing a site for construction, and grade control systems allow contractors to bid on a project competitively without the added expense of paying for a topographic survey. On the job site, they reduce the number of passes that need to be made to successfully complete a job, lowering or eliminating the need for grade stakes and reducing the number of workers needed.

“Grade Control systems, where heavy equipment is outfitted with GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite System] guidance and automatic hydraulics, has been the single biggest boon to construction in the last few years by far since it both speeds up production and reduces the need for outside help from surveyors and grade checkers,” says Hays. “This helps us in Alaska both from a schedule perspective, with our exceedingly short work season, and the project budget, as moving dirt twice [or more] is expensive.” www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

August 2021 | 17

Left: A handheld SiteVision device that uses augmented reality to display a finished design on a project site.

Right: A Level Best grading attachment equipped with Earthworks 3D GPS machine control.

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centers. Cameras on new iPhones are so good they replace traditional digital cameras. Pictures taken on an iPhone are already on a device that can be instantly uploaded to cloud-based project management software for daily reports or communicating changing conditions on the job site.”

Remote Collaboration | Cloud Technology Cloud technology allows all necessary parties access to remote resources to modify, use, and manage data stored in remote servers. This allows for data sharing in real-time, providing better opportunities for collaboration and improving production. “Through our use of mobile devices for ‘anywhere access,’ remote collaboration, and cloud technology, we provide our customers streamlined and secure project document processes,” says NANA Construction General Manager Fred Elvsaas.

For example, Cornerstone General Contractors uses Procore to manage every aspect of a project, from finance to daily operations to redline asbuilts, says Pearl-Grace Pantaleone, Cornerstone’s business development and marketing manager.

The Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the growing network of “things” equipped with technology to monitor, record, or communicate data—for the construction industr y, information like GPS tracking, fuel consumption, and how long a machine has been in use is invaluable. The information is automatically collected, uploaded to a server, and then analyzed. The data can then be used to schedule maintenance or to make sure machines are being used correctly.

“Emerging opportunities include installing monitors at the beginning of a construction project to 18 | August 2021

analyze output [energy, utilities, labor] and optimize supply chain interaction and jobsite conditions,” states the Construction Technology Trends to Watch report. “Predictive maintenance programs can also be established with IoT. When fitted with sensors, construction equipment can automatically send notice if any abnormal patterns are detected. This alerts workers to intervene early in order to avoid critical downtime.”

Pre-fabrication | Improved Materials The fabrication of components offsite is a growing trend in the construction industry, one of particular benefit in Alaska as it allows construction and progress to continue outside of the construction season.

NANA Construction is on board with that trend. “By investing in a 100 percent in-house fabrication process, NANA Construction utilizes over 32 acres of secure workspace and 105,000 square feet of heated shop space to complete year-round fabrication services for our customers, even in Alaska’s cold winter months,” says NANA’s Elvsaas.

In concrete work, the use of insulated concrete forms on concrete structures is allowing work to continue even in Alaska’s harsh winters. The technology uses foam blocks that act as a forming mechanism to keep the concrete in place as it dries. Once dry, the forms become the studs, cutting the labor

A WingtraOne VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) drone, which can collect data or monitor a construction job site throughout the life of the project.

Accupoint

involved in stripping to a minimum.

And the forms give an insulation value of R46 or better, an STC rating of 54, and a 250 mile per hour wind rating.

“We can build all winter long using this technology,” says Seth Kroenke, owner of Remote Alaska Solutions. “As soon as the walls are poured, we have an insulated shell to be able to do our inside work.”

What Might the Future Bring?

Developing tech never stops, and there are already additional exciting developments world-wide that could be implemented in Alaska.

“Other parts of the world have fully-automated equipment that runs without an operator on site,” says Hays.

“Trimble is working with Caterpillar, Dynapac, HORSCH, and dozens of others to bring autonomous tech we have seen in agriculture, Australian mines, and self-driving cars to construction sites. A remote workforce for a project in a remote part of Alaska changes things dramatically by reducing so many expenses.”

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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The Law of the Land Environmental law firms ensure clients remain on solid legal ground

By Vanessa Orr

E

nvironmental law is a vast field, especially in Alaska where so many different factors come into play. From protecting endangered species to developing natural resources in a safe and efficient way and making sure that landowners—including Alaska Native entities—are involved in decisions that affect their way of life, companies working in the Last Frontier must make sure that they’re on solid legal ground.

For this reason, many companies choose to hire firms that specialize in environmental law to work in conjunction with, or in addition to, inhouse counsel.

“In-house counsel usually does not specialize in environmental risks or hazards, and the broad umbrella of environmental law is very specialized within discrete subject matter areas,” explains Anna Crary, a senior associate at Landye Bennett Blumstein. “While in-house counsel can advise on governance matters and general risks across the organization, it is necessary for organizations to be aware of any possible environmental repercussions of their proposed activities.”

While many environmental firms are involved in long-term issues such as the effects of climate change, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and clean-up sites, these firms are also called on in times of crisis, such as when there’s an oil spill, newly found contamination, or if a client receives a notice of violation from a regulatory agency.

“Part of our role is to anticipate issues, such as knowing when proposed regulations will be coming out and 20 | August 2021

helping clients draft comments on them or making sure that, when a company takes over another business or operation, they are doing all of the things they are legally obligated to do,” explains Tina Grovier, chair of the Stoel Rives Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources group in Anchorage. “We want to be proactive and create a plan for any issues that are likely to arise.”

Trending Topics In Alaska, as well as the other fortynine states, there is no shortage of environmental issues for legal firms to address on behalf of their clients. While many are overarching, such as changes in rules and regulations as a result of the new presidential administration, others, like Alaska Native subsistence issues, are more specific.

“If you own a company that wants to become involved in resource extraction, development, or transportation on the North Slope, for example, you need to work with a firm that is familiar with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the different kinds of regulatory requirements under that law,” says Crary. “Any time you want to do exploratory work, you need to work with Fish & Wildlife to receive an incidental take authorization. If your business is conducting scoping activities, you need to understand that these will likely affect polar bear and walrus populations and receive authorization to conduct those activities.

“You also must be aware of whether proposed activities impact

or interfere with subsistence rights and get advice on how to approach and negotiate with Alaska Native corporations, tribes and tribal organizations, and other subsistence users,” she adds. “The scheme of law in Alaska is very different than in the Lower 48; ANCSA [Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act] and ANILCA [Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act] do not exist there, and in many cases, large entities who want to expand in Alaska aren’t aware of the importance of these laws and interactions and relationships with Alaska Native corporations and tribes.”

While still an emerging issue, Crary expects to see the state and federal governments begin to address the effect that climate change may be having on the health of Alaska’s fisheries.

“The past ten years have shown significant changes in the health of certain salmon populations and runs, such as the decline of king salmon in Kenai and the decrease in Copper River sockeye,” she says. “And the Chignik area sockeye fisheries have failed since 2018 because escapement goals haven’t been met.

“I think this is going to make federal and state regulatory entities address changes we’ve seen in wildlife populations and engage with stakeholders, including subsistence users and commercial fisherman, to make regulatory changes to support establishing or bringing back healthy fish populations,” she adds.

According to Scott Broadwell, counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine,

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Alaska companies need to understand the importance of environmental issues and receive proper counsel—or it could cost them in the long run.

“We’re seeing a lot more attention being paid to PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances], which are a wide range of compounds common in firefighting foams and other contexts that were not historically regulated as hazardous substances under state and federal law,” he explains. “While we haven’t yet seen sites where clean-up is required for PFAs, properties impacted by these chemicals that have been ignored in the past are starting to get on regulators’ radars.

“This is something that clients need to be aware of when looking at property,” he adds. “These chemicals can have pervasive impacts across the state, including in facilities in Anchorage, and anywhere where firefighting foams were used in the past, such as airport runways.”

Davis Wright Tremaine also specializes in legal work on clean-up sites, such as World War II relic sites where there are lingering environmental issues.

“Oftentimes, liability is being contested

“It can get very expensive very fast when looking at statutory penalties under the Clean Air Act and mounting legal fees on top of it. There can even be criminal liability associated with it, which is why it definitely behooves clients to get firms with environmental expertise involved early.”

Scott Broadwell, Counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine

at these multi-party properties, which require negotiations between the US government, state regulators, and the landowner, who is potentially the responsible party,” says Broadwell.

“It can be intimidating from a client point of view because of the nature of environmental liability, at least in the clean-up context,” he continues.

“Strict liability is not tied to fault; while that landowner may not have done anything to cause the impacts, as a matter of policy when CERCLA [Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act] passed, it was decided that landowners, operators, and the people who benefited from those properties, regardless of fault, are in a better position to take on those costs than taxpayers as a whole. It’s a black hole of liability that can get very expensive.”

One hot topic that might actually benefit landowners, particularly with the change in administration, is carbon banking. “There’s been a push from the Biden administration on the climate in general, and specifically on providing for some form of carbon banking as a market-based tool for combatting global warming,” Broadwell explains.

“There may be more traction for that on a nationwide basis, and large swaths of land in Alaska are suitable for that kind of use.”

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“We’re seeing a lot more attention being paid to PFAS [perand polyfluoroalkyl substances], which are a wide range of compounds common in firefighting foams and other contexts that were not historically regulated as hazardous substances under state and federal law. While we haven’t yet seen sites where cleanup is required for PFAs, properties impacted by these chemicals that have been ignored in the past are starting to get on

regulators’ radars.”

Scott Broadwell, Counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine

Climate change is definitely on the administration’s radar, which means that it is coming to the forefront of environmental issues nationwide.

“President Biden has begun reviewing some of the environmental regulations enacted by the Trump administration and issued an executive order earlier in the year directing the executive branch to focus more on climate change,” explains Grovier. “Greenhouse gases are a significant topic, and the EPA plans to propose new regulations on methane emission and organic compounds later this year.”

According to Grovier, changes to environmental laws now tend to be 22 | August 2021

driven by the executive branch and then litigated in the courts, rather than

by Congress legislating changes as it did in previous decades. Congress has, however, been working on a joint resolution related to the EPA’s current emission standards, and it continues to be a subject of debate in the House.

“While Alaska has unique statutes such as ANCSA and ANILCA, the anticipated regulations relate to oil and gas infrastructure, and we haven’t yet seen what the EPA is going to propose,” she adds. “I believe we’ll see drafts by this fall, but it isn’t clear that they will treat Alaska differently.”

Grovier says that environmental justice is also a priority for the EPA and for other agencies within the Biden executive branch.

“Environmental justice is the concept that all people regardless of race, color, income, or origin should receive fair treatment and be allowed to be meaningfully involved in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” she explains.

“Everyone should have the same degree of protection from environmental hazards and equal access to the decision-making process.

“You’ve got Alaska Native Corporations—both regional and village corporations—as well as tribes in Alaska that want to have a voice,” she says of projects that could affect the state. “This focus on environmental justice is intended to ensure that environmental impacts are not disproportionally experienced by underserved communities and that all stakeholders have fair access to information and are able to give input and to have their views considered.”

Grovier adds that the Biden administration is also considering making changes to water quality certifications under the Clean Water Act and to nationwide permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. Clients are already seeing increased enforcement of water issues in other jurisdictions.

“There’s a lot of water in Alaska, so these changes will impact everything from construction to natural resource development,” she says.

Staying Current With rules and regulations constantly evolving, how do environmental law firms and their clients stay abreast of the latest changes?

“It’s a lot of work to stay on top of all of these environmental issues as they evolve, which is why our attorneys specialize in particular areas,” says Grovier. “If a client comes to me with a Clean Air Act issue, I have two attorneys I can refer them to; there are two different experts for Clean Water Act issues. We also have experts licensed in Alaska who handle contaminated site matters, and still others who specialize in the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and other environmental laws related to protected species.

“These issues can overlap,” she adds, “which is why you have to be collaborative and come up with comprehensive solutions.”

“When clients are analyzing a project, they need to gauge the level of risk they are assuming before they break ground, and knowledge and awareness of environmental laws in the context of that project are crucial,” says Crary, adding that it is always preferable for an environmental law firm to be involved in a project at the beginning, versus when an issue may arise. “I’m not a proponent of ‘act now, seek forgiveness later,’ especially when, with certain environmental laws, clients could incur significant financial liability.”

While some companies might hesitate to hire an environmental law firm, often an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

“It’s never anybody’s first choice to spend money on legal fees, but it does pay off in the long run,” says Broadwell.

“If you are proactive and can help your clients manage compliance issues as they move forward, they can avoid enforcement actions down the road.

“It can get very expensive very fast when looking at statutory penalties under the Clean Air Act and mounting legal fees on top of it,” he continues.

“There can even be criminal liability associated with it, which is why it definitely behooves clients to get firms with environmental expertise involved early.”

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

Pipelines: Evolutions and Solutions

We know what comes out, but what goes into a pipeline?

By Tasha Anderson 24 | August 2021

A

few years ago a friend and I were on a road trip exploring Alaska, somewhere in the vicinity of the Denali Highway. At some point we saw a side road, pulled onto it, got out to walk for a while, and stumbled across one of the locations where the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) transitions from above to below ground.

As we walked next to the pipeline, taking a moment to appreciate our first encounter with an iconic piece of infrastructure, I wondered why it would be buried there, in that particular place. To my untrained eye, there weren’t any immediate answers.

Of course, when it came to constructing TAPS, there were plenty of trained eyes inspecting every decision about the pipeline’s design and construction. And over the nearly forty-five years since TAPS was completed, those and other expert eyes have been guiding the implementation of a multitude of pipelines across the state, utilizing best practices learned from TAPS and innovating new solutions to meet the needs of Alaska’s oil, gas, and mining projects.

For most of those projects, the engineering firm of choice is Michael Baker International. “There aren’t too many North Slope pipeline projects that we haven’t had a hand in,” says Chief Pipeline Engineer Paul Carson, who’s been with Michael Baker for twenty-five years and worked for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company before that. “There were a couple where we didn’t actually do the design, but they brought us in for value engineering.”

“Our first North Slope project in Alaska, other than TAPS and prospective gasline projects, was the Alpine project—

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When Is It a Pipeline?

Particularly in Alaska, with the 800-mile TAPS and several proposed major gasline projects over the years, the word “pipeline” invokes images of transporting oil and gas. But pipe is used to transport liquids and gasses for all kinds of applications like sewage systems or natural gas distribution to residences.

So when is it pipe, and when is it a pipeline?

There’s no universal delineation.

Scott Lust, senior pipeline engineer at Michael Baker, says that if he had to pick a simple definition, in his mind it’s a pipeline when the contents are under pressure, while Senior Vice President Jeff Baker conceptualizes pipelines as systems that move a product or commodity. www.akbizmag.com

But Lust and Baker are both speaking to the fact that a pipeline’s contents, purpose, and location affect the terms applied to it.

Carson gives the example of “[nonfederally regulated] infield lines, where they are either taking fluid from a well pad to a processing facility or going from the processing facility out for reinjection.” He considers them transmission lines, though others might call them distribution lines, “or some of them might be considered gathering lines,” he says.

“There are some distinctions in nomenclature and definition which hinge on federal regulations, so we are careful when we’re talking about what we call a DOT line, which is going to be federally regulated… A lot of the infield lines, we don’t use the same terms per se because we don’t want to get anyone confused.”

At Michael Baker, “We work almost exclusively under federal mandated code requirements, and they describe the pipelines that we usually concentrate on as transmission pipelines, and that’s in opposition to Alaska Business

distribution pipelines,” explains Meyer.

Distribution refers primarily to getting a liquid or gas to its end user, like a residence or business. “We’re more focused on transmitting the product, whether it be natural gas or some hazardous liquid, from the place of origin to the point where it starts being distributed.”

Solid Analysis Long before construction or operations, pipelines need to start with solid design. And while the evolution of technology has changed certain aspects of the design process, it hasn’t necessarily changed the results. “We get to do a lot more analysis because we’ve got much more sophisticated tools these days,” says Lust. “That said, when you look at TAPS, they were able to design it with slide rules and Fortran.” Fortran is a general-purpose, compiled imperative programming language which, at the time, utilized a punch card system to input data for analysis.

This was the system that engineers used to design TAPS, including August 2021 | 25

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we were the engineers of record for that,” adds Keith Meyer, the company’s Arctic Pipeline Technical Authority; he was the first employee in Michael Baker’s Anchorage office when it opened to work on the then-proposed Trans Alaska Gas System.

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

“We work almost exclusively under federal mandated code requirements, and they describe the pipelines that we usually concentrate on as transmission pipelines, and that’s in opposition to distribution pipelines.

We’re more focused on transmitting the product, whether it be natural gas or some hazardous liquid, from the place of origin to the point where it starts being distributed.”

Keith Meyer Arctic Pipeline Technical Authority Michael Baker International

26 | August 2021

determining how to account for the event of a major earthquake. Where the pipeline crosses over the Denali fault, for example, it sits on top of approximately 20- to 30-foot beams; in the event of a quake, the beams move with the earth and the pipeline rides on top of them, remaining in place.

This design was put to the test in 2002 by a 7.9 magnitude quake that ruptured three faults, including the Denali fault. Meyer and Carson were in Anchorage at Carson’s birthday party when Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. contacted them, requesting their presence on site. “We said, ‘We’ll be up first thing tomorrow,’ and there was a little silence on the phone and they said, “No, Keith, you don’t understand. We need you now,’” Meyers says.

So Meyer and Carson traveled to the site: “It was amazing,” Meyer recalls.

“You could see where the fault occurred along the pipeline, and it occurred almost exactly where we predicted it.”

The pipeline performed beautifully.

“We went through and reanalyzed all of those faults,” Lust says, “And the thing that was interesting was we came up with the same results. The answer didn’t change. The tools we used were different, but what they’d done back in the late ‘60s—that was the answer.”

“Math is math,” Baker adds with a laugh.

The industry standard pipe stress program that Michael Baker continues to use today is the one that was originally developed for TAPS. “It turned into a commercial program which pretty much everybody knows and most everybody uses for pipelines and piping,” Carson explains.

Evolution and Solutions TAPS remains an 800-mile example of quality engineering and still informs pipeline construction today, but the industry has continued to further refine pipeline design. In the early days of construction at Prudhoe Bay, many pipelines were constructed with “hat loops,” where the pipe would bend into a rectangular shape with four bends in it. Today, “we can accomplish the same goals with two bends, where you just make a Z loop,” explains Lust.

“You still allow for the pipe to flex, but it gets rid of two bends, it gets rid of

four welds, and all of the dollar costs associated with those additional welds and bends.

“We [also] got rid of some remote valves on the North Slope,” he continues. “It only works because of the North Slope geometry: it’s flat.”

Traditionally valves are installed in a pipeline to create a shutoff point for maintenance or emergencies.

However, valves have leak points, so a pipeline has fewer points of potential failure without them. Instead of installing valves, Michael Baker played a significant role in developing vertical loop design. “[A vertical loop] becomes the highest point of the line, it pulls a vacuum, and it gets rid of the valve,” Lust explains. “Piping that leaks the least is welded pipe, and if you can make a vertical loop out of welded pipe, you now have a valve that doesn’t leak. It only works for liquid lines, but that’s a huge deal, and it’s been used on the Slope where they can.”

“All of these refinements have been directed toward lowering the cost of construction and materials for installing the pipelines,” says Construction/Estimating Manager W.P. (Wes) Nason. “Even if you have to make a 50-foot loop, it’s still cheaper in the long run than sticking in all these valves,” Lust adds. “And every valve you put in you need to maintain.”

“One North Slope-specific issue on the above ground pipelines is wind induced vibration, or WIV. TAPS was not susceptible to it—it's big, it's heavy, it doesn't get excited too much by the wind—but some of our smaller diameter pipelines on the Slope do get excited and can experience some problems if not taken care of,” says Meyer.

“It’s a windy place,” says Baker. “I think of wind before I think of cold when I think of the North Slope.”

The lack of trees, hills, or mountains on the North Slope means there’s nothing to interfere with the wind.

One potential solution is to realign the pipeline, though that often isn’t practical: it needs to go where it needs to go.

The more typical solution is a tuned vibration absorber. One version is a kind of ball that hangs off the pipe, another resembles a hammer and might be on top of or suspended from the pipeline.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

practice is to use fusion bonded epoxy, which is considered one of the best corrosion coatings there is.” He adds the caveat that there are other coating and erosion solutions, but they generally aren’t approved for use on US projects—though that isn’t stopping Michael Baker from trying to adopt them.

“It only works for liquid lines, but that’s a huge deal, and it’s been used on the Slope where they can.”

Scott Lust Senior Pipeline Engineer Michael Baker International

“We worked on the AK LNG project, and they had to get a special permit from PHMSA [Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration] to be

able to use what outside the United States is considered the best coating around. PHMSA said: Ok, you need a special permit, because US regulations don’t address this. You’ve got to prove it’s as good or better than what the current regulations allow.” Over time, processes or materials allowed only by special permits are often adopted into federal regulations.

Made to Suit Not surprisingly, there’s no cookie cutter pipeline design.

The alloy of the pipe, pipe diameter, the installation of valves or bends, and other design decisions are all determined project by project to meet industry standards and the needs of the project.

For example, pipe diameters on the North Slope range from 2 to 60 inches. “Gathering lines, which are the lines that come from drill sites into the central processing facilities, and some flow gas or water injection lines— those lines typically are 12 inches to 24 inches in diameter,” says Nason.

“The short lines that go from the wells into the manifold buildings on the

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Whatever the shape, they help prevent steady wind from vibrating the pipe.

“It’s not high winds that are causing problems, it’s the one that are five to eight miles an hour: very consistent, always blowing,” says Lust.

“It’s not that the wind blows hard enough to damage the pipe directly— in time you get fatigue in the metal if it keeps doing it over and over,” Baker explains.

“Technology and evolving awareness of environmental influences have also affected construction,” Meyer says. “One of the most successful evolutions for construction is horizontal directional drilling [HDD] under rivers. We don’t often dig up rivers anymore if we can drill under them. We did one under the Colville River for the Alpine project—it was pretty innovative for the North Slope at the time. Now HDD is much more accepted and commonplace.”

Even solutions as simple as pipe coatings have evolved, and continue to do so. “Back in the day, pipelines on the slope weren’t coated. They might have insulation on them,” Carson says. “But now the standard

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

“[Vertical construction] is fast-paced, it’s fun, and it’s got a unique sub-culture of construction workers.”

Wes Nason Construction/Estimating Manager Michael Baker International

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drill site, those are usually between 4 and 8 inches, depending on what the production is at the particular drill site. And then you have transit lines carrying water, gas, and crude between a field and flow station or between the eastern and western areas of Prudhoe Bay, and those are typically 24 inch to 30 inch diameter range, something like that.”

According to the Michael Baker team, generally speaking a practical minimum size of pipe on the North Slope is 6 inches. North Slope pipelines are constructed above ground due to the permafrost and smaller pipes require more supports because they are not rigid enough to span vertical support member spacings of larger pipes, and vertical support members are expensive to install. So while smaller pipe might be suitable for a task, it’s difficult to justify the economics for long, above ground, small diameter lines unless accompanied by larger pipelines.

The transported material also makes a difference. Nason explains that the Point McIntyre and Endicott fields have highly corrosive crude,

“so they made their flow lines out of duplex stainless steels,” a steel alloy that Lust says is “orders of magnitude more expensive per foot” than carbon steel.

Water and sewer lines on the slope are generally constructed with highdensity polyethylene (HDPE), which is relatively inexpensive and easy to hook together, and they “don’t need to have the same kind of pressure containment,” Baker says.

In Alaska, another big question is whether to bury a line or not.

“The decision is almost always thermal,” Meyer says.

According to Baker, “If a pipe is above ground, it’s because it needs to be above ground.”

“It’s not anybody’s first choice,” Lust echoes, as it’s more expensive and the pipe is exposed. “[Burying it] is cheaper and it’s less visible: you don’t see it,” Carson adds.

Permafrost unfortunately forces the issue.

“On the North Slope they tried buried pipelines a time or two or three,” Carson laughs. “The problem you have is most of the pipelines are

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“Pipelines last,” Meyer says. “With good maintenance pipelines last a very, very long time.”

They work in situations where other transportation solutions simply wouldn’t. Roads and railways have

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warm. Putting a warm, insulated pipe in the frozen ground, it’s really hard to make sure that the insulation retains its integrity.” The pipe will lose too much heat.

Even worse, it loses that heat into the ground, which needs to remain frozen. “You don’t want it to melt because there’s a lot of ice and you can have what’s known as thaw settlement… Pipelines have a cer tain strength and they can handle some of it, but if it gets too bad, basically they’re tr ying to bend too close and they might buckle or break,” Carson says.

TAPS is again a highly visual example of how burying a pipeline is always preferable—when possible. “If you get north of Fairbanks and start going through the rolling hills, on the north side TAPS is above ground, and the minute it breaks over and gets a southern exposure, it dips in, goes through the stream crossing, and then hops back up onto the next hill and is above ground, and then drops back again,” Lust says. “They were doing that because wherever they could bury it, they were sticking it in the ground.”

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Approximately 50 percent of TAPS is buried; because it produces heat, whether its above or below ground depends on the soil underneath it. stanley45 | iStock

pretty restrictive maximum grades that pipelines don’t share.

For instance: an important aspect of planning a pipeline is actually walking the route, and Lust walked a route for a project on the north side of the Alaska Range. “We had flown over it with fixed wing, and I had flown over it in helicopters, and I rode it on a snowmachine, and when I got on the ground it was like, ‘Holy smokes, this is a lot different than I remember,” he says. “Everything softens terrain until you put boots on the ground.”

Along the route, an area that had been identified as a shadow on aerial photography was, in fact, a 150-foot drop in the terrain. “The angle was as 30 | August 2021

steep as it could possibly be and still grow vegetation,” Lust says. The team had to grab hold of the devils club (luckily with heavy leather gloves) to climb back up the incline. But even that wasn’t enough to discount the route.

“You can go pretty darn steep,” Baker says.

“You can put a pipeline where you can’t put anything else, just about,” Lust adds.

Pipelines are a type of linear construction, and “you can build them with a specialized crew in a moving assembly lines method,” Nason says. “It’s fast-paced, it’s fun, and it’s got a unique sub-culture of construction workers.”

In an area with a steep grade, equipment is moved up or down the hill using a high-line, similar to when the timber industr y moves logs up a hill.

“You can do anything on a pipeline if it’s short enough,” Lust says. “If you’ve got a small enough section, you can do just about anything to get it built.”

And that’s good news for the project, the people, and the environment.

Pipelines are highly reliable and costeffective infrastructure, as TAPS has demonstrated. Baker adds, “Pipelines don’t need much maintenance, either.”

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The Gist of GIS

Geospatial data provides vital insight for industry

By Isaac Stone Simonelli

F

rom checking on an Amazon package to firing up the Garmin to head out to a favorite bend of a remote stream, geospatial data provides layers of information vital to people’s everyday lives and the industries that employ them.

Given its role in the world, it should come as little surprise that geographic information systems (GIS) is one of the five fastest growing technologies in the public sector.

“The reason that it's growing so fast right now is because it’s embedded in our daily business operations,” says Alaska’s State Geospatial Information Officer Leslie Jones. “We use the tools to automate workflows, to increase efficiency, and improve our communication.

But, most importantly, we use it to make data informed decisions.”

Essential to Industry GIS is used in Alaska for economic development, education, health, public safety, human services, infrastructure management, zoning, election redistricting, disaster preparedness, and more, Jones explains. Unlike static, printed maps, GIS maps often have built-in, real-time features, providing the most up-to-date information possible to interested parties. This makes them particularly powerful for emergency situations.

Part of Jones’ role with the state is to coordinate across government, public, private, tribal, and academic sectors to address Alaska’s geospatial deficiencies. These deficiencies are 32 | August 2021

defined as areas where data is needed by various stakeholders to make data driven decisions but are lacking.

Jones is also the executive director for the Alaska Geospatial Council (AGC), which is a coordinating council for state, local, federal, private, academic, and tribal stakeholders in Alaska, focused on spatial data priorities and initiatives. The council consists of eleven different technical working groups focused on tackling a variety of issues from wetlands to transportation to help shore up the geospatial deficiencies of the Last Frontier.

By creating the state’s first geoportal, Jones and her team have created a one-stop shop for geospatial data and maps that are managed by local, state, and federal organizations. While the site does not host the data or the maps themselves, it does offer users a direct link to the resources managed by different agencies.

“You're getting it straight from what we call the authoritative source,” Jones says. “It really improves data quality, where you know you're getting the most accurate, up-to-date information to make a decision.”

While there are various maps already constructed and available on the portal, such as a map of Alaska’ Environmentally Threatened Communities and the “Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Dashboards,” data layers can also be accessed and downloaded by companies and the public.

“Users can access public data that is available in the portal and then layer

their proprietary information on top of that to make data driven decisions,” Jones says. “That’s the beauty of the portal—we're now eliminating the need for someone to make a phone call to an agency, request the data, and wait for them to respond to that data request— that’s cost savings.”

Access to this data is important to many of the clients of Resource Data, an Alaska-based IT company that specializes in providing GIS solutions.

“Both the State of Alaska and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as other agencies like the USGS, have data that’s really important for industry,” says Dan Rathert, a senior project manager and senior analyst at Resource Data.

“We access them all the time, whether it’s downloading data or using data directly from the open portal services.”

Challenging Geography One map of particular importance for the public is the Alaska High Resolution Imagery (50cm resolution), which can be used as an incredibly detailed base map for additional layers to be added. A base map is the foundation for custom maps to be created in a GIS. The imagery web mapping services are publicly licensed to be used as a base map. However, only federal and state organizations are licensed to use the "raw" data, which is not licensed for commercial use.

“People across all sectors get really excited about the high-resolution imagery when they see that they have the ability to pull this layer into their map, overlaying their proprietary information

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that is coordinating across agencies to be more efficient and effective,” Jones says.

The end goal for Jones is to bring in all the publicly available, yet siloed, data from various agencies, government entities, and other stakeholders into one useful map.

“Building a map is like building a lasagna: you have all these different data layers,” Jones says.

In this way, interested parties— including businesses—are able to select a base map and then add any relevant data layers, such as wetlands or utilities.

“Data is generated across government agencies and jurisdictional entities, and bringing all that information together into a one map is really important, but that's not an easy lift,” Jones says.

Tapping into New Tech Another creative way the state is tackling issues with data deficiencies is through a program that is testing a new geospatial technology that gives users access to daily imagery across Alaska collected by satellites.

“With this technology we can task a satellite anywhere over Alaska to collect

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high resolution imagery,” Leslie says.

“This technology is changing business operations. Instead of flying to a remote location to get boots on the ground, we can simply task a satellite to capture a high-resolution image from above.”

The state is testing the technology on a number of data points, including wildfires, timber sales, volcanic activity, and mining permits.

“The cost savings to modernizing business operations could be tremendous,” Jones says.

There are several other ongoing geospatial data collection initiatives in the state, including a coordinated effort with USGS to map all the streams, rivers, and lakes in Alaska over the next ten years.

Another project, spearheaded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, is focused on wetlands, Jones explains.

“We're getting close to completing statewide wetland mapping, which is really important for infrastructure development cost savings,” Jones says.

Making wetland inventory data available to the public and private sector can result in huge savings for a development project.

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on it,” Jones says. “This quality of data is very expensive. The state coordinates with the US Geological Survey [USGS] to make this base map publicly accessible.”

Rathert agrees.

“I’ve worked for clients who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect data like that,” says Rathert.

Collecting data remains one of the biggest hurdles to GIS efforts in Alaska.

“Alaska is really challenged by its size and its remoteness and rugged and complex terrain and ecosystems.

It makes data collection and mapping difficult and really costly, quite frankly,” Jones says. “Alaska is different than the Lower 48. We're our own unique snowflake.”

While maps are incredibly important to nearly every industry—and nearly everything else—those maps rely on geospatial data. And, in a lot of cases, that data simply doesn’t exist in Alaska, Jones says. Identifying those data gaps and finding funding to fill them is part of the work being tackled by the Alaska Geospatial Council.

“We're always challenged to come up with creative ways to get to an end goal. And one of the ways we do

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“One of the questions about drinking water is where does it come from? What could impact it? And that's a spatial question, right?

So GIS allows us to display that in a map for people to see and understand that it's not just turning on the faucet in your home, but there’s source water associated with it...

And activities on the land may impact that water.”

Charley Palmer Hydrologist, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

“Every bit of wetlands delineation work that gets done builds a broader basis that we can share to simplify and streamline projects going forward,” says Rob Clark, the GIS coordinator for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Recent Efforts A state-led program utilizing GIS is focused on mapping the source of public drinking water, explains Charley Palmer, a hydrologist with the DEC Conservation Drinking Water Source Protection.

34 | August 2021

“We rely on GIS to help get our message out and provide awareness of public drinking water systems in the state,” Palmer explains.

The data layers and maps of drinking water systems in the state created for the project help the team, outside consultants, contractors, and other agencies with planning and permitting for development projects.

Palmer says the Drinking Water Source Protection program reviewed and issued permits for about 600 projects last year and is on track to do the same this year.

“One of the questions about drinking water is where does it come from? What could impact it?

And that's a spatial question, right?”

Palmer says. “So GIS allows us to display that in a map for people to see and understand that it's not just turning on the faucet in your home, but there’s source water associated with it... And activities on the land may impact that water.”

Jones has also recently received funding to develop what she calls a “critical database and map dashboard” that can be used in emergency situations.

“We have all of these different data sets generated by different agencies and organizations, but bringing it all into a map that can be used to support decisions during emergency and crisis situations is really important,” Jones says. “It'll be an extremely valuable tool to ensure that when multiple agencies go to respond to an emergency situation, we're all using the same data to make a decision.”

The success of these projects—and future GIS projects in Alaska—require coordination and collaboration across various agencies and stakeholders.

“AGC facilitates that collaborative stakeholder engagement,” Jones says. “AGC brings all pertinent stakeholders together to work toward common goals.”

The other part of that process is creating a shared data framework, Jones says, which Rathert says is important.

“Having that data available from the agencies gives everybody a common picture of what we're working with,” Rathert says.

A Myriad of Applications Rathert explains that his clients always have lots of internal proprietary data, but that being able to see those layers in relation to other relevant data can make a huge difference when it comes to planning and developing new iterations of a design for a project.

Part of this planning comes down to regulatory compliance, which Clark says is a huge part of any project.

“If you're working anywhere in the state, the first step is you got to see what kind of data is available for the area you're working in,” Clark says.

This spatial data provides a snapshot of the sort of regulatory impact the project will have.

“When you think about natural resources or energy development, they use GIS for cost benefit analysis: locating new extraction sites, managing the infrastructure to get to that site, forecasting risks, thinking about environmental impacts from an ecological, social, cultural standpoint,” Jones says. “From a business perspective, choosing strategic market locations, improving productivity, optimizing supply-chains, or cutting costs just from automating workflows in a more efficient way.”

Cloud-based ser vices and detailed public data in Alaska is creating an environment that is opening up GIS tools for smaller companies wanting to make these sorts of data driven decisions.

“Some of the newer tools are really useful for smaller businesses or smaller enterprises that don't have a huge budget,” Rathert says.

In addition to the challenges all agencies using GIS in Alaska face when creating the data needed in the state, Jones says she also has the challenge of educating the public about what geospatial data really means for stakeholders.

Jones emphasizes how utilizing GIS to collect data allows businesses to optimize their operations in the field and automate workflows.

“I think that's the one thing that people don't understand. They think that GIS is just data on a map,” Jones says. “It’s actually a tool for creating a lot of efficiencies when it comes to business operations.”

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Recruiting Rugged Workforces

Agencies offer HR departments an able ally

By Amy Newman 36 | August 2021

laska’s resource development industry offers some of the state’s most lucrative jobs. But the trade-off for those hefty paychecks is logging time in some of the state’s most rugged locations and harshest climates, working long hours isolated from family for extended periods of time.

So the ability to recruit and retain a reliable, skilled workforce that can handle the technical, environmental, and even mental aspects of these jobs is a crucial component of a project’s success.

Most large companies have an equally large human resources (HR) department capable of overseeing the hiring process. Coeur Alaska, which operates the Kensington gold mine outside of Juneau, for example, typically handles hiring for both salaried and hourly positions, says Chrissi Gilbert, HR manager for Coeur Alaska.

Smaller companies, however, don’t always have the resources to handle mass hirings. Even companies that do often turn to outside agencies to handle the process.

“If we’re finding we’re having a hard time filling a position, or if we know it’s going to be a very specific skillset we know is going to be hard to find, we will use a recruitment firm,” Gilbert says.

Recruitment agencies are an often unheralded support ser vice in Alaska’s resource development industry, working alongside HR departments to help find and woo the right worker for the job. And Alaska recruitment firms are uniquely positioned to meet their clients’ needs.

“Recruitment agencies in the Lower 48 who have a foothold in Alaska may specialize in one area,” explains Paula Bradison, CEO and managing director of Alaska Executive Search, which has provided recruitment and staffing services to Alaska businesses for more than forty years. “As an Alaskanbased firm, we’re just experts in Alaska.”

Recruitment firms help companies across industries fill a variety of positions—from oil and gas to mining, construction to healthcare, or administrative assistants to engineers— through temporary, contingent, or direct hires. And they do it through a combination of intense networking, word-ofmouth, and traditional recruitment practices.

The Role of Recruitment Agencies Why would a company—especially large, multi-national ones—use a recruitment agency to fill positions rather than its HR department?

A lot of reasons, it turns out. And like most business decisions, those reasons usually come down to time and money.

“To recruit effectively requires a lot of time and effort to engage with the client and candidates,” says Debi Hartley, operations manager at Hawk Consultants, which works primarily with the oil, gas, and energy industries. “And a lot of times, the clients don’t have the time.”

Internal HR hiring processes typically include a request to recruit followed by preparation to conduct an internal or external job search, Bradison says. That means a delay between when HR is notified of a vacancy and when they can post a job. And when a project has a strict timeline, a delay of even one or two days can be costly.

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process short of making the final decision, they don’t view themselves as supplanting a company’s HR department; rather, they consider themselves partners who work in tandem with the company to achieve a common goal.

“Really, we think of it very similar to recruitment departments that an HR department has,” Hartley says. “It is really just an extension of that, to be able to provide that same type of service. It’s just a support for them.”

From Hiring to Candidate Recommendation Recruiters begin the applicant search long before they’ve received a job requisition. Extensive networking, word-of-mouth recruitment, and reaching out to industry and nonindustry-related organizations—like industry associations, local Chambers of Commerce, jobs centers, colleges, and Alaska Native organizations— help them amass a pool of potential candidates they can pull from when jobs become available.

This expanded resource pool of thousands of potential candidates means agencies can begin reaching out to qualified potential candidates immediately, on top of seeking candidates through traditional means, such as posting on websites and job boards.

“The advantage of working with a staffing firm, our clients tell us, is by the time they come to us we already have a bunch of people we already know we can reach out to,” Bradison explains.

“There are very few industries where we have to start from scratch.”

Recruitment agencies typically handle every aspect of the hiring process, from vetting applicants to conducting interviews to whittling down the number of candidates they forward to the client, says Debbi Miller, co-owner and partner of TDL Staffing. They also verify prior employment, conduct reference checks, arrange for any required preemployment screening, and perform testing assessments where necessary, she adds.

Ensuring potential employees have the required technical competencies the job requires, such as education, experience, skillsets, and any jobAlaska Business

“We hire for Alaska first, and then the employer second, because we know it won’t work out any other way. There are some behavioral things that we look for, [and] we ask a lot of questions about lifestyle when we’re talking about Alaska. We want them to be happy once they get here, and the worst thing we can do is talk someone into a position where they’re not committed.”

Paula Bradison, CEO/Managing Director Alaska Executive Search

related certifications, is one aspect of the recruitment process, Miller says.

Alaska experience is another, and agencies and companies alike look to hire Alaskans first.

“Our preference is absolutely to hire Alaskans,” says Rochelle Lindley, Coeur Alaska’s community and government affairs manager. “The best thing is to hire people who are from here. It’s already their home, they’re already settled here.”

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Recruitment agencies, however, can begin the candidate search immediately.

“Employers often access recruiting companies to condense that process,” Bradison says. “With a job order approved, a recruitment team can commence a search within hours of the initial request.”

Budgetary constraints are another reason companies turn to recruitment firms, particularly when hiring for project-based positions. A budget may include headcount restrictions that limit the company to a certain number of direct hires—limits that don’t apply to agency, or contingent, hires, Hartley explains. In these cases, the contingent employee receives work direction from the company, but the recruitment firm is the actual employer.

“If they have limited-term, projectfocused personnel, it makes more economic sense,” she says. “They don’t have the long-term fixed overhead cost, they don’t pay the benefits, and there are no headcount restrictions.”

Compared to HR departments, which are focused on the company’s day-to-day operations, a recruitment agency’s sole function is to identify, interview, and evaluate applicants, giving them an unmatched level of expertise in determining who is the best fit for a job.

“Staffing companies definitely can help companies because we’re doing this every day; that’s all we do. We’re like the experts at it,” says Terrie Froese, co-owner and staffing coordinator of TDL Staffing, which helps staff administrative, light industrial, and medical positions through its offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks. “Human resources, they’re doing compliance and other things on top of that, so that’s why a staffing company can be an addition to the HR department. We can help them.”

Recruitment agencies al so lend a d e g re e o f o b j e c t i v i t y to t h e hiring process.

“We have algorithms so to speak that we’ll set up in terms of weighted scoring for competency, experience, education, those types of things, so that we know that our opinion has been validated,” Bradison says. “We’re able to be really objective.”

Although recruitment agencies handle almost every step of the hiring

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To ensure potential applicants are a good fit, recruitment agencies and resource development companies make it a point to be upfront about working conditions at the job site, particularly those based in challenging or isolated locations.

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“Staffing companies definitely can help companies because we’re doing this every day; that’s all we do. We’re like the experts at it… Human resources, they’re doing compliance and other things on top of that, so that’s why a staffing company can be an addition to the HR department.

We can help them.”

Terrie Froese, Co-owner/Staffing Coordinator, TDL Staffing

Because working and living even in Alaska’s less rugged locations is different from living and working down south, recruiters do their best to determine whether an outside candidate can successfully adapt to Alaska’s environment. “ We hire for Alaska first, and then the employer second, because we know it won’t work out any other way,” says Bradison, who estimates that 88 percent to 92 percent of AES hires are Alaskan. “There are some behavioral things that we look for, [and] we ask a lot of questions about lifestyle when we’re talking about Alaska. We want them to be happy once they get here, and the worst thing we can do is talk someone into a position where they’re not committed.”

Being clear about the working conditions and the job location also helps ensure applicants understand everything the job entails.

38 | August 2021

“We’re always open and honest in our interview process and explain where we’re at—it takes a bus ride, then a boat ride, then another bus ride to get to the mine. It rains. So, we’re very honest in talking about those types of things,” Gilbert says.

Laurie Fuglvog, an employment security analyst with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, says the division recommends that applicants new to the seafood processing industry watch its Seafood Employment Orientation, which is available online, before applying for seafood processor positions.

Depending on the job location, some companies make Alaskan hire, or at least prior Alaska work experience, a condition of employment.

“Sometimes a client will specify they have a requirement that [the candidate] has North Slope

experience, and sometimes they’ll just have a preference,” Hartley says. “But we definitely will look for prior Arctic experience, because we recognize the unique challenges that the North Slope presents.”

The Right Fit Matching experience and skill set to the job’s qualifications is arguably the easier part of the hiring process— candidates either have the desired skills and experience or they don’t.

But recruiters want more than “ just a live body” to fill a position, Miller says.

“We want the skill set to match along with the personality that the manager is looking for.”

That involves looking at a combination of factors to ensure the candidates they recommend are a good fit.

“We’re looking for clues all the time as we put all of these together as one package,” Froese explains. “Our

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Recruitment agencies pull from a vast network of contacts to help resource development companies find qualified applicants. Coeur Alaska, which handles the majority of its hiring in-house, still occasionally utilizes recruitment firms to locate potential candidates with specialized skillsets.

Coeur Alaska

They also solidify recruiters as a trusted part of the team.

“We go out and see the industry where [the client] is working; we want to see the location,” Miller says. “We go into the business so we can walk

and interview with the client so we can get a better feel for that [workplace culture], because we’re not there every day. We’re helping them evaluate their needs. Making that physical touch out there to the client is really important.”

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interviews are pretty extensive. We ask a lot of personal questions, a lot of questions about where they worked in the past and what they’re looking for in the future, so hopefully we get a lot of information out of them.”

But without personal experience of a company’s workplace culture, ensuring the candidate has the right personality to match the position can prove challenging.

That’s why vetting the client is just as important as vetting the candidate.

“We have learned to interview our clients in a way that gives us some pretty key indicators of the type of person we’re looking for,” Bradison says. “We have about a 20to 25-minute onboarding with the client, asking them a lot of strategic questions that have nothing to do with hiring, and that helps us quite a bit.”

Site visits also help recruiters gain a deeper understanding of both the workplace culture and working conditions at the job location, which improves their ability to offer potential candidates an accurate description of the position and ensures a good fit.

Left-to-right: Doug Adams, Caitlin Vernlund, Adam McCullough, Jason Simpson, Steve Sparks

NV5 Geospatial Is Helping to Solve Alaska’s Toughest Geographic Challenges Conducting environmentally responsible and sustainable projects that help us adapt to a changing landscape and climate

A

lthough many Alaskans may not recognize its new name, NV5 Geospatial has been providing geospatial services in the state for over 60 years. Most recently known as Quantum Spatial, the company has been entrenched at its Merrill Field location in Anchorage for decades.

It has supported Alaska on many of its major mapping initiatives such as aerial surveys for the U.S. government, and mapping route alternatives before construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. NV5 Geospatial has been with Alaska through many of its changes and continues to adapt to solve new challenges.

Today, “mapping” means so much more than taking pictures from above and drawing features of the ground. With an arsenal of advanced sensor technologies such as lasers,

multi-spectral imaging cameras, and massive computing power, modern geospatial companies can expand the catalog of questions that can be answered with geospatial solutions.

From measuring the changing coastline, to identifying specific geo-hazards along pipe, rail, and road systems, to developing impact studies of earthquakes, and analyzing potential landslide hazards, NV5 Geospatial is answering some of the most pressing geographic questions facing Alaska.

Providing Actionable Information through Remote Sensing, Analytics, and Modeling Many of Alaska’s challenges today stem from a changing climate. As permafrost degrades, glaciers retreat and forest ecosystems undergo

stress from infestation, Alaska’s landscape is shifting, and the impacts are widespread. By leveraging technology to better understand these changes, NV5 Geospatial provides the expertise to plan, design, and build solutions that uncover details about the environment and help inform decisions for managing Alaska’s unique resources, which enhances sustainability.

“We can tell you where and by how much your pipeline infrastructure is shifting due to changes in permafrost, or how wetlands are being impacted by fluctuations in drainage patterns or from accelerated glacial melt,” says Adam McCullough, NV5 Geospatial’s Alaska Program Manager. “We can help identify which lakes and ponds have more water volume to use to sustainably build ice roads without

impacting fish populations or damaging tundra while saving engineering and construction costs. Our clients identify their resource challenges, and we apply the sensor technology matched with airborne platforms such as airplanes, helicopters, and drones, to acquire mapping data that we turn into actionable information like high-resolution aerial imagery, digital elevation models, and analytics.”

With 600-plus employees across the U.S., including its production office in Anchorage, NV5 Geospatial is North America’s largest provider of geospatial services. As a technology company, NV5 Geospatial differentiates itself with cutting-edge software like INSITE, a cloud-based geospatial data management platform that centralizes geospatial data and fuses it with multimedia analytics.

“Every client has a specific data objective that requires attention,” McCullough explains. “We have clients that use our solutions to monitor year-over-year changes. Each year we review how our technology has improved and ask how we can enhance what we offer and better deliver the results. We accept that just because something worked a few years ago doesn’t mean it’s still the best solution today. We constantly challenge ourselves to improve, and our clients have rewarded us with repeat business.”

Leveraging Advanced Sensor Technology Within its profession, NV5 Geospatial has the distinction of having the most advanced geospatial sensor and processing technology in the country. The company matches its advanced imaging, topographic, and bathymetric lidar scanning systems with the most capable aircraft being deployed in its industry. “This enables us to reach any corner of Alaska to acquire data in the precious small weather windows the state allows,” says NV5 Geospatial Alaska Project Manager Caitlin Vernlund. “When we combine the power and variety of

our sensor fleet with our analytical processing capabilities, we stand out by applying the best tools for the job.”

By honing its proficiency in using advanced sensor technology to map and model features above ground and below water, NV5 Geospatial has built a strong reputation for its superior acquisition and accuracy practices with deep experience in Alaska’s challenging remote locations. As a result, the company participates in some of the most consequential projects around the state—from Prudhoe Bay to Ketchikan and everywhere in between. Some of its most impactful projects involve assisting energy companies in studying the impacts of resource developments, providing aerial imagery of the state’s vast national forests, utilizing elevation-models to analyze landslide risks, accurately delineating Alaska’s rivers, lakes and streams for the USGS, and mapping Alaska’s nearshore environment for NOAA to study navigation hazards.

Whether consulting for government agencies, electric utilities, oil and gas companies, or other commercial entities, NV5 Geospatial focuses on promoting environmentally responsible and sustainable projects that help mitigate climate change.

“Our solutions enable industries to minimize impacts to the tundra ecosystem, which is important to us.”

Vernlund says.

AlaskaBusiness Profile

Adapting and Growing For surveys of near-shore and deep water environments, the company draws upon its expertise in newer technologies like topo-bathymetric lidar as well as from its experience in marine geology and coastal science that supports bathymetric and geophysical mapping, monitoring, and geospatial analyses. NV5 Geospatial offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for geospatial surveys of aquatic environments for essential applications including coastal management, flood monitoring, ecosystem protection, and research.

The company is committed to being an industry leader that Alaskans can look to for advancements in geospatial analytics. “We will continue delivering the best data as we focus on the future and providing innovative technologies to answer Alaska’s toughest geospatial questions,” McCullough says.

For more information, contact: Adam McCullough 2014 Merrill Field Dr. Anchorage, Alaska 99501 (907) 771-5232 https://www.nv5geospatial.com

Sonny Kula | Elko International

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F

Maintenance: Key to Production Proper rig care spells less down time for oil producers

By Rindi White

42 | August 2021

rom spearing new prehistoric pools of crude oil to reworking a field to extract oil deposits previously untapped, drilling rigs are the machines that power the oil and gas industry. But, like any machine, they require significant maintenance and care to keep operating at maximum efficiency.

That’s one goal, says Luke Lawrence, wells manager for ConocoPhillips Alaska. And it’s an important one.

“For us, time is money. If the rig is efficient and is able to operate during the time we’ve planned it to operate, that’s better business for us. We do a lot of auditing and checking on how [rig owners] go about their maintenance processes.

In our evaluation of a competitive tender, that’s part of what we look at,” Lawrence says.

A properly maintained rig is also safer for employees— that’s why the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development sets out Petroleum Drilling and Production Standards that specify proper operating conditions and prescribe various maintenance standards.

But how does it play out in the oil field? Who actually does the maintenance? And what does it take to do it?

Lawrence says his company—a producer—generally contracts with a rig operator, like Doyon Drilling, Nabors, or Nordic Calista. He likens it to a rental car agreement: ConocoPhillips is renting the rig, but the rig owner is responsible for ongoing maintenance.

The length of each contract varies according to use: a rig used for an exploration program might be under a seasonal contract, while a rig used for working over an old field might have a longer contract.

“In Alaska, we typically have what we consider long-term contracts. Maybe they run for a few years or have options to extend them,” Lawrence says. “That can vary according to where you are in the world; some might be for one well, others might be for a scope of ‘x’ wells, others might be time-based.”

The drillers, for their part, design and create rigs specifically for use in Alaska. Nordic Calista, for example, designs its own rigs and contracts with specialty rig engineering and manufacturing companies in the United States and Canada to develop each rig to Nordic’s specifications. Nordic Calista General Manager Udo Cassee says the company has four rigs capable of doing well maintenance (called workovers) drilling or exploration work on the North Slope. Maintenance rigs typically operate year-round, he says, while exploration rigs often have shorter contracts.

Proper Maintenance Is the Best Insurance Provisions for maintenance are generally included in the contract, Lawrence says. For example, a contract might state that the rig will be shut down for thirty minutes each day for scheduled maintenance, or it might set out a longer shutdown to perform more significant repairs.

What happens during those dedicated maintenance periods varies, Cassee says.

“A drilling rig is a combination of a lot of things. An arctic drilling rig consists of the arctic structure, then power generation—generators—then power distribution, then a heating system, then the equipment to drill,” Cassee says.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

A crew reinstalls a refurbished derrick on Nordic Calista’s Rig 2.

Dave Hiler, Toolpusher | Nordic Calista

One example, he says, is the “slip and cut” program. A large portion of drilling is running pipe in or out of a hole with the drawworks, a hoisting system.

As a precaution against drilling line failure due to fatigue, the work done by the drilling line is closely monitored and limited. After a predetermined limit of induced fatigue, new line is unspooled from the storage reel and slipped through to move the fatigued sections of line.

“We do that until we have to replace the whole drill line,” Cassee says.

Blowout preventers, or BOPs, are another carefully maintained item.

They must be tested every seven to fourteen days, depending on the operation. Testing them is a five- to six-hour process, Cassee says. In addition to regular testing, the BOPs must be regularly inspected either by the manufacturer or with their supervision; every five years they must be removed and completely disassembled, inspected, repaired, and readied for use again. The BOP www.akbizmag.com

is a combination of rams that seal around the drillpipe to close in a well during a well control event.

A key to efficient maintenance, Cassee says, is standardization. If the same basic parts are used across all four of Nordic Calista’s rigs, it makes it more efficient to maintain them and easier to maintain stock of replacement parts on hand. Each rig carries normal maintenance parts, he says, along with critical parts to allow for onsite repairs as much as possible. While the goal is for most repairs to be made onsite, sometimes a complex issue will mean a component must be sent to Anchorage to be rebuilt or repaired.

Remote vs. Rural Operations While maintenance schedules and the tasks needed to keep a drilling rig operating well don’t differ much between Prudhoe Bay and Cook Inlet—Alaska’s two primary drilling locations—there are many other differences. Ryan Peterkin is president and owner of MagTec Alaska, a full oil field service company that provides drilling support and production support. MagTec operates out of both locations year-round.

Peterkin says operating in the Cook Inlet region is generally more restrictive than operating on the Slope.

Companies hauling rig pieces and equipment or otherwise servicing rigs in eastern Cook Inlet must adhere to Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities’ size and weight restrictions and deal with overhead power lines, among other things.

“We’re usually restricted to haul around 100,000 pounds a load,” Peterkin says. “You can easily run 800,000 pounds a load in Prudhoe Bay. A normal vacuum truck, often used in servicing, holds typically 100 barrels on the Peninsula; it’s 300 barrels in Prudhoe Bay,” he says.

Vacuum trucks are used for several purposes: to haul drilling mud to a drill site, to bring fresh water for making drilling mud, or they might haul drill cuttings away from the drill site for disposal. The same activities must happen at a drill site on the North Slope or Cook Inlet, he notes, but operating in eastern Cook Inlet might mean having to use more trucks to do so.

Alaska Business

The “legal load” requirement on Department of Transportation & Public Facilities-maintained roads also means a slightly different drilling season in eastern Cook Inlet, Peterkin says.

“Really, the rigs don’t start moving until about June 1,” he says, due to post-winter breakup conditions that lead to reduced-weight loads on roads around the state.

Rigs in Cook Inlet tend to be smaller than those on the North Slope, but at roughly a million pounds, they’re still larger than most rigs in North America, Peterkin says. Even though they might operate mostly in summer, they are still fully enclosed and winterized.

Road restrictions don’t come into play as much for operations on the western side of Cook Inlet—Beluga and Tyonek and south to Drift River—and on offshore rigs within the inlet. Different restrictions are in place there: all equipment and supplies, from drilling mud to food, must be carried by service boats or flown in.

It Takes a Village ConocoPhillips’ Lawrence estimates it takes around 100 people to operate a drilling rig. Although fewer than 10 people might be at work at one time on the rig, Cassee explains that two shifts are needed to keep it running around the clock. With typical rotational schedules of two weeks on and two weeks off, that means a total of four crews are employed in basic rig operations. But that’s just the start.

There are people who clean the snow off the rig and people who bring in water, both potable for use in the man camp and water for the drilling operation. There are caterers and cleaners and companies that provide waste removal.

“The supportive crew—doing the trucking, bringing water and fuel, bringing mud, all the testers, the tooling guys—it’s never smaller than 300 people,” says Jeff Miller, vice president of operations for Cruz Construction.

Cruz is one of a half-dozen companies providing comprehensive oil field support services—similar to MagTec, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, Worley, and Northern Energy Services.

“If you’re adding in the people in Anchorage, working for parts stores, August 2021 | 43

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Maintenance is continual, he says.

Nordic Calista’s maintenance program specifies daily checks on various components of rig equipment, coupled with less frequent checks on other pieces. Most maintenance programs are similar across the board, Cassee says, whether the rig is operating in summer or winter, on the North Slope or in Cook Inlet. All conform to state regulations, American Petroleum Institute standards, and other industry standards.

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The floor of Nordic Calista’s Rig 2 during refurbishment.

Nordic Calista

ConocoPhillips Alaska is using Doyon Drilling’s Extended Reach Drill rig, called Doyon 26.

Judy Patrick | ConocoPhillips Alaska

et cetera, it’s a significant amount of people,” Cassee says.

A 2020 report by McKinley Research about the role of the oil and gas industry in Alaska’s economy states that, according to 2018 figures, about 4,111 Alaska residents worked for the seventeen primary oil companies the report identified as working in Alaska at the time. Another 5,800 Alaska residents worked in oil field support jobs, and 31,900 more worked in indirect and induced jobs—for example, companies that provide goods to oil production companies or jobs and income generated when oil workers or those in oil field support jobs spend money in the local economy. For each $1 earned by an employee of a primary oil producer, $4 in indirect and induced wages are generated in the state, the study reports.

Operating with an Eye on the Environment

A crew raises the mast after rig startup on Nordic Calista’s Rig 2.

Nordic Calista

44 | August 2021

Oil production generates waste, as do maintenance activities.

Cassee says if Nordic Calista is operating under a contract, some waste removal responsibility falls under the purview of the operator. If that’s the case, his crew separates waste at the rig site and the operator oversees disposal. If his crew is in Deadhorse and not working with a client, the waste is handled by the North Slope Borough.

“We make a really good effort to segregate all the waste: recycling and reusing everything we can,” Lawrence says of ConocoPhillips Alaska. While waste collection and segregation on the working rig is the responsibility of the rig owner, the operator— ConocoPhillips Alaska in this case— handles transportation from the drilling site to the disposal location.

Not all waste has to be handled offsite. Peterkin says drill cuttings, for example, are primarily ground up gravel.

If it has no sheen of contamination, the cuttings are cleaned and reinjected.

Some of the waste—contaminated glycol, for example—is handled by environmental waste handler NRC. All waste is handled according to the Alaska Waste Disposal and Reuse Guide, referred to as the “Red Book,” which guides how oil and gas drilling waste should be properly disposed.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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The Beauty of Public Projects A little design goes a long way

By Danny Kreilkamp

But who decides when a roundabout gets a face lift? And what amount of funding is allocated to the beautification of a bridge?

First of Its Kind In most cases, these decisions lie with Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF).

“All the planning—whether there was going to be an artistic component or some of the extra landscape features—was decided before by the client [in this case DOT&PF],” says Kelly Kilpatrick, a project manager and transportation engineer with DOWL who was involved with designing the iconic Glenn/Muldoon DDI. “We developed all the details, all the colors, every design, and basically told the contractor, ‘This is what it needs to look like.’”

The DDI, also referred to as the double crossover diamond, is a fairly

recent design to the United States.

There are less than 150 completed and currently in use in the Lower 48, though plenty more are in construction.

The Glenn/Muldoon DDI project was first pitched back in 2013 in response to growing concerns over safety and traffic congestion. The DDI was touted as: • more efficient and having a longer life span than other redesign alternatives; • the least disruption to traffic during construction; • and almost $10 million cheaper than other alternatives.

After navigating the usual hoops like preliminary engineering assessments and securing the proper documentation, construction began in spring of 2016 and was completed two years later, funded jointly by state and federal governments.

Public projects like these take “quite a large team to develop”

Only twenty years ago, Alaska didn’t have a single roundabout in the state. Today, there exists more than forty, with many more in the pipeline.

Growing with Alaska.

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Our new facility increases our capacity, improves our security, offers customizable storage areas, and streamlines freight handling — all to enable faster, smoother, and more consistent delivery of your cargo to its final destination.

Stop by our new ASC and see what Span Alaska can do for you.

Or, to schedule a pickup or find the terminal nearest you, call 1-800-257-7726 or visit us at spanalaska.com. www.akbizmag.com

Serving Alaska since 1978 Alaska Business

August 2021 | 47

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P

erched in the northeast corner of Anchorage lies a curious piece of infrastructure that serves as a gateway to the City of Lights and Flowers.

Approaching from the north and south, drivers pass under a pair of bridges etched with detailed scales resembling those of a fish. When they aren’t questioning what brought them to the wrong side of the road, crossers east and west might take note of a crimson fence or tasteful landscape elements.

This gateway is the Glenn Highway/ Muldoon Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI): the only of its kind in the state.

Public projects don’t always contain aesthetic design elements, but when they do—like in the case of Alaska’s first DDI—they add an intangible, though intrinsic value to the city and its residents.

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“There’s special features that help drivers as they go through roundabouts— sometimes they don’t necessarily want them to see through roundabouts because it slows down the traffic. We use landscaping elements a lot to help drivers navigate through the interchange.”

Kelly Kilpatrick Transportation Engineer/ Project Manager DOWL

according to Kilpatrick, from the contractor performing the bulk of the construction to the specialized subconsultants handling more peripheral details like the etchings of the wall panels. Kilpatrick notes that project management software like Deltek helps keep the process running smoothly along the way.

For the Glenn/Muldoon interchange, DOT&PF’s Request for Proposal already included a recommendation for a landscape architect: Vicki Scuri. As an interdisciplinary artist and designer, Scuri had worked on a variety of similar projects in the past.

Scuri partnered with DOWL’s internal landscape architects for the Glenn/ Muldoon interchange’s final design.

And Kilpatrick says there were a lot of considerations that went into the design decision.

“When Vicki came up, she and our design team did a site visit in that area. And when we’re choosing artistic elements, we like to take the surroundings into it,” she explains, pointing to the bridge walls that took inspiration from the Native Heritage Center just around the corner.

“Vicki actually went on site when they were making those wall panels, just to make sure they came out just right,” Kilpatrick laughs. “It’s not something that’s typically done up here, but because it was a gateway feature, DOT allowed a little bit more intricacies in those MSE [mechanically stabilized earth] walls.”

The Price of Pretty While the final products are typically a welcome sight, these projects can still face their share of resistance during the development stage.

“It’s a little controversial because people attribute all these added features as taxpayer money,” admits Kilpatrick. One way that those involved with developing public projects try to combat this is through extensive public outreach campaigns.

Throughout a project’s lifetime, a number of public meetings take place where developers share design renderings and field public opinion.

48 | August 2021

“We have to find that balance of what’s not over the top versus what’s acceptable by the community,” says Kilpatrick. “We try to make them part of that decision process… Because as outsiders, they might see things that we don’t see when we’re engrained in it.”

During the outreach campaign for the Glenn/Muldoon DDI, state transportation officials doubled down on marketing efforts with a variety of social media posts and visual animations to educate the public on the benefits of DDIs. One of these efforts, in the form of a 30-second video preview reminiscent of a Star Wars intro, even premiered in a local movie theatre.

Form and Function But in addition to being easy on t h e e ye , t h e re a l s o o f te n e x i s t s an underlying function for a e s t h e t i c design.

Per the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2021 Diverging Diamond Interchange Informational Guide: “The DDI constructed on the Glenn Highway at Muldoon Road outside Anchorage, Alaska, applied the symmetrical widening technique and constructed new bridges on either side of the existing bridge. The wide median simplified the crossover design by reducing the crossover spacing. This also allowed large portions of the roadway approaches to be constructed while maintaining traffic on the existing bridge and cross street.”

A roundabout is another excellent example of planning that is both visually pleasing as well as serving an important purpose for society.

Only twenty years ago, Alaska didn’t have a single roundabout in the state. Today, there exists more than forty, with many more in the pipeline.

The reason?

They’re a safer alternative

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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The Glenn/Muldoon DDI is 1 of less than 150 in the entire United States.

Ken Graham Photography.com

to intersections. And quite simply— they work. Per DOT&PF’s Design & Construction Standards section, several national studies revealed that roundabouts converted from signalized intersections experienced: • a 90 percent reduction in fatalities; • a 76 percent reduction in injuries; • and a 35 percent reduction in crashes overall.

Additionally, roundabouts have been shown to reduce congestion, fuel usage, and long term costs.

These findings have led the DOT&PF to adopt a “Roundabout First” policy, which requires designers to submit a written justification for any decision to install a traffic signal instead of a single lane roundabout.

As Kilpatrick explains, the landscaping aspects of roundabouts (which were also implemented in the Glenn/ Muldoon interchange) can serve important functions.

“There’s special features that help drivers as they go through roundabouts—sometimes they don’t necessarily want them to see through roundabouts because it slows down the traffic,” she says. “We use landscaping elements a lot to help drivers navigate through the interchange.”

Another big element in landscape planning, Kilpatrick notes, is recognizing www.akbizmag.com

“We have to find that balance of what’s not over the top versus what’s acceptable by the community. We try to make them part of that decision process… Because as outsiders, they might see things that we don’t see when we’re engrained in it.”

Kelly Kilpatrick Transportation Engineer/Project Manager DOWL

the ongoing maintenance needs. For the Glenn/Muldoon interchange, DOWL Alaska Business

implemented glare screens to help prevent opposing vehicle direction glare, which also aids vehicles in directing them through traffic patterns.

Roadblocks In terms of obstacles, no two projects are ever exactly alike.

“It definitely varies by project. I would say every project has its own challenges and we tend to adapt to those,” says Kilpatrick.

Though Kilpatrick admits an overarching theme is maintaining the partnerships between the public, the consultant, and the DOT&PF. But rather than viewing this as a challenge to overcome, DOWL approaches it as one of the most important aspects of a project.

And fortunately for DOWL and DOT&PF, the Glenn/Muldoon interchange is simply one of many projects the pair has collaborated on.

“It’s a very long partnership— they’re actually our number one client. We’ve probably got a good dozen or more projects a year with them,” says Kilpatrick.

Some of DOWL’s latest projects include the Windy Corner project along the Seward Highway and the Sterling Highway Milepost 45-60 in Cooper Landing.

August 2021 | 49

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Industrial Support Services Directory Alaska oil and gas industry trade association.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees: ADVOCACY, PERSONNEL, TRAINING 1966/1966 | 4/4 & FACILITIES ALASKA SAFETY ALLIANCE

ALASKA EXECUTIVE SEARCH Paula Bradison, Pres.

821 N St., Ste. 201 Anchorage, AK 99501 akexec.com 907-276-5707 Providing recruitment and staffing in and outside of Alaska since 1977. With highly trained recruiters, certified by the American Staffing Association, we offer specialty recruitment services in most all disciplines.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1977/1977 | 50-100/50-100

ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION Deantha Skibinski, Exec. Dir. 121 W. Fireweed Ln., Ste. 120 Anchorage, AK 99503 alaskaminers.org 907-563-9229 Nonprofit industry support organization for the mining industry.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1939/1939 | 3/3

ALASKA OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION Kara Moriarty, Pres./CEO 121 W. Fireweed Ln., #207 Anchorage, AK 99503 aoga.org 907-272-1481 50 | August 2021

Cari-Ann Carty, Exec. Dir. 2600 Cordova St., Ste. 105 Anchorage, AK 99503 alaskasafetyalliance.org 907-770-5250 The Alaska Safety Alliance works with industry and educators to create, connect and enhance the quality of industry training and education programs in Alaska with the goal of powering the Alaska economy with a skilled and dynamic workforce.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1999/1999 | 7/7

ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF ALASKA

800 Cordova St. Anchorage, AK 99501 beaconohss.com 907-222-7612 Beacon provides turn key health and safety solutions for our clients’ workforces to include remote medical, occupational medicine, safety staffing, COVID mitigation/ care, and training solutions.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1999/1999 | 330/316

BLUEPRINT ALASKA Sarah Erkmann Ward, Pres.

600 Barrow St., Ste. 400 Anchorage, AK 99501 blueprintak.com 907-222-9933 As Alaska’s public affairs leader, Blueprint Alaska uses both old (media relations) and new tools (digital and social media) to help clients impact policy, amplify messages, and win campaigns.

Alicia Siira, Exec. Dir. 8005 Schoon St. Anchorage, AK 99518 agcak.org 907-561-5354

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

The AGC of Alaska is a construction industry trade association representing more than 600 member companies and their employees in Alaska. We are proud to promote the skills, responsibility, and integrity of our members throughout the state.

John Sims, Pres.

PO Box 190288 Anchorage, AK 99519 enstarnaturalgas.com 907-277-5551

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1918/1948 | 6/6

BEACON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY SERVICES Holly Hylen, Pres.

2018/2018 | 3/3

ENSTAR NATURAL GAS

ENSTAR is a regulated public utility that delivers natural gas to 150,000 customers across Southcentral Alaska. For 60 years, ENSTAR has heated homes and businesses with clean-burning and efficient natural gas.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1961/1961 | 200/200

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS UA LOCAL 375

Marq Couey, VP North America 201 Post Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 essalaska.com 907-865-9818

Bob Hubbard, Bus. Mgr. 3980 Boat St. Fairbanks, AK 99709 ualocal375.org 907-479-6221

Restaurants, lounges, espresso. Catering including offshore platforms, camp janitorial and

Train and refer members to signatory contractors for employment in the plumbing, pipefitting, and pipeline industry.

other employee staffing and leasing, in-flight

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

services, governmental agency support services.

1947/1947 | 585/585

services: remote sites: short-or long-term,

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1986/1986 | 2,000/250

ICE SERVICES TJ Bourdon, Pres.

2606 C St. Anchorage, AK 99503 iceservices.net 907-644-0385 ICE Services has served many clients and completed numerous projects all over Alaska.

From designing, building, and installing O&G camps and utilities to providing catering and camp operations, help desk outsourcing, and maintenance services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1986/1986 | 550/500

LYNDEN TRAINING CENTER Eric Badger, Pres.

4325 Cinch St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 lynden.com/training 907-456-2223 Provides training in hazardous materials transportation, emergency response, incident management, hazardous waste, workplace safety, and equipment operation.

A division of Alaska West Express, we are “the hands-on training facility.”

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1995/1995 | 4/4

OPTI STAFFING GROUP Avonly Lokan, CEO 3601 C St., Ste. 1220 Anchorage, AK 99503 optistaffing.com 907-677-9675

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL FOR ALASKA Marleanna Hall, Exec. Dir. 121 W. Fireweed Ln., Ste. 250 Anchorage, AK 99503 akrdc.org 907-276-0700 RDC is a statewide trade association comprised of individuals and companies from Alaska’s fishing, forestry, mining, oil and gas, and tourism industries, as well as Alaska Native corporations, local communities, and organized labor.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1975/1975 | 3/3

YUKON FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES Matt Atkins, GM 5451 Laona Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518 yukonfire.com 907-563-3608 Fire and gas detection and suppression system design, supply, installation, and service. Alaska’s only representative of Detector Electronics. Kidde Fire Systems, Marioff Hi-Fog, Ansul, Tyco Fire Protection Products.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1978/1978 | 78/45

CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN, DRILLING & TRANSPORTATION

We’re about people. Results. And relationships. We specialize in recruiting top

ACUREN INSPECTION

tier talent on a contract, contract to hire,

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Frank Noble, Reg. Mgr. AK 7910 King St. Anchorage, AK 99518 acuren.com 907-569-5000

1999/1999 | 75/10

Materials engineering, nondestructive

and direct hire basis within a wide range of industries: manufacturing, finance, customer service, heavy industrial, and more.

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

examination, and integrity management for the oil and gas, power, mining, transportation, and construction industries.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1976/2002 | 5,000+/28

AECOM Bill Craig, Sr. Mgr./Office Lead 3900 C St., Ste. 403 Anchorage, AK 99503 aecom.com 907-562-3366 AECOM Alaska is a team of engineers, scientists, planners, and support staff providing Arctic-smart engineering and environmental services for the complete project life-cycle from permitting for air, water, soils and solid waste to planning and design.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1990/1990 | 80,000 /36

AHTNA SOLUTIONS Tim Finnigan, VP 110 W. 38th Ave., Ste. 200L Anchorage, AK 99503 ahtnasolutions.com 907-563-3233 ASL is a self-performing 8(a) government contractor that performs a wide range of services nationwide including environmental, engineering and geomatic services, as well as construction, IT, and professional services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2018/2018 | 12/12

AIRSIDE SOLUTIONS Rick Lafferty, VP/Region Mgr. 2222 W. Valley Hwy. N., Ste. 140 Auburn, WA 98001 airsidesolutionsinc.com 253-833-6434 AirSide Solutions is a full line provider of Airfield and Heliport Lighted Navigation systems, technical services, and logistics support to the aviation market in Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1978/1988 | 12/-

ALASKA AGGREGATE PRODUCTS Kirk Zerkel, Pres.

5563 N. Tazlina Dr. Palmer, AK 99645 ak-gravel.com 907-746-4505 Mine development and infrastructure. Earth moving. Liner installation and welding.

Roads, dams, and bridge construction.

Shotcrete and slurry. Structural steel.

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ESS SUPPORT SERVICES WORLDWIDE

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Concrete structures and foundations. HDPE piping. Carpentry and structure restoration.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2006/2006 | 80/50

ALASKA AIRLINES Ben Minicucci, CEO 3600 Old International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 alaskaair.com 907-266-7200 Alaska Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air provide passenger and cargo service to 115 destinations in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and the Lower 48.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1932/1932 | 23,000/1,825

ALASKA COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP Matthew L. Greer, Pres.

3324 Koba Way Fairbanks, AK 99709 alaskacdg.com 907-457-1861 General contractor located in Fairbanks specializing in design/builds. Wood and metal framed industrial buildings. Has space for lease for oil/gas semi-haulers looking for affordable/secure/clean warehouse.

660 Western Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 lynden.com/aml 907-339-5150 Alaska Marine Lines is a marine transportation company providing barge service between Seattle, Alaska, and Hawaii. We offer regularly scheduled service to Southeast Alaska, Central Alaska, and Hawaii, and seasonal service to Western Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1980/1980 | 236/18

ALASKA MATERIALS John Horjes, Pres.

PO Box 92688 Anchorage, AK 99509 alaskamaterials.com 907-290-8031 Alaska Materials is a “direct ship” wholesale construction materials supply company.

We serve all industries including oil, power, LNG, mining, marine, seafood, federal, state, tribal, and village projects. We specialize in full truckloads.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2017/2017 | 11/5

ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION

ALASKA DIRECTIONAL

Bill O’Leary, Pres./CEO PO Box 107500 Anchorage, AK 99510 alaskarailroad.com 907-265-2300

Billy Long, Pres./CEO 200 E. Commercial Dr. Palmer, AK 99645 alaskadirectional.com 907-357-9015

Freight rail transportation, passenger rail transportation, and real estate land leasing and permitting. Year-round employees 590610; Seasonal (summer) employees 125-135; Total employees 700+.

Horizontal directional drilling, trenching, plowing, underground utility installation, telecom installation, fiber optic installation/ splicing, communication towers.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Kevin Laurin, Pres.

2051 Foundry Way Wasilla, AK 99654 akroteq.com 907-376-0550

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1997/1997 | 10/10

2012/2012 | 89/89

ALASKA DREAMS Meini Huser, Pres./CEO 2081 Van Horn Rd., #2 Fairbanks, AK 99701 alaskadreamsinc.com 907-455-7712 Design, sales, and construction of fabriccovered steel buildings and pre-engineered metal buildings.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1914/1914 | 600/600

ALASKA ROTEQ

Machine shop work, pump repairs, valve repairs, welding and coatings. Distributor for numerous pump and valve companies, Flowserve mechanical seals, and Ingersoll Rand air compressors.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1993/1993 | 24/24

1994/1994 | 25-30/25-30

ALASKA TENT & TARP

ALASKA MARINE LINES

Sean McLaughlin, CEO 81 E. Commercial Dr. Palmer, AK 99645

Kevin Anderson, Pres.

52 | August 2021

airframesalaska.com 907-331-4480 Secondary containment products.

Geomembrane liners and berms. Portable fabric structures. Arctic Oven tents. Custom sewing projects and repairs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1945/1945 | 80/80

ALASKA TEXTILES Clif Burnette, Pres.

620 W. Fireweed Ln. Anchorage, AK 99503 alaskatextiles.com 907-265-4880 We are the number one supplier of FRC apparel, to include our very own Korbana Protective Apparel, in Alaska and around the world. With a highly trained sales staff we make customer service and quality control our priorities.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1978/1978 | 15/15

ALASKA WEST EXPRESS Eric Badger, Pres.

1048 Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 lynden.com/awe 907-339-5100 Alaska West Express provides oversized and bulk truckload transportation throughout the United States and Canada, specializing in shipments to, from, and within Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1978/1978 | 190/175

ALASKAN ENERGY RESOURCES Lee Smith, Sr. VP 1120 Huffman Rd., Ste. 234 Anchorage, AK 99515 alaskanenergyresources.com 907-336-4664 Provides oil drilling equipment to operators.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2001/2001 | 3/3

ALCAN ELECTRICAL & ENGINEERING Chrys Fleming, Pres.

6670 Arctic Spur Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 alcanelectric.com 907-563-3787 Electrical and telecommunications, security, CCTV, integration, oil production modules, hazardous electrical installation, and 508A control panel fabrication.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1971/1971 | 105/105

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

ARCTIC CONTROLS

4000 Old Seward Hwy., Ste. 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 aleutcorp.com 907-561-4300

Scott Allan Stewart, Pres.

1120 E. Fifth Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 arcticcontrols.com 907-277-7555

Federal government contracting, O&M, logistics, IT; remediation, demolition, telecommunications; engineering, prototype, manufacturing; fuel sales, oil and gas related services; oil well-testing; real estate; and mechanical fabrication and installation.

Arctic Controls is Alaska’s leading expert in valves, flow meters, actuators, instrumentation, and process controls for commercial oil, gas, mining, and water management.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1972/1972 | 900/90

1985/1985 | 1.5/1.5

ALYESKA PIPELINE SERVICE COMPANY

ARCTIC FOUNDATIONS

Brigham McCown, Pres.

PO Box 196660, MS 542 Anchorage, AK 99519 alyeskapipeine.com 907-787-8700 Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has operated the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since 1977 and delivered more than 18 billion barrels of oil. Focused on safe and flawless operations, employees are committed to keeping TAPS sustainable for Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1970/1970 | 750/715

AMERICAN MARINE INTERNATIONAL David Shahnazarian, VP 6000 A St. Anchorage, AK 99518 amarinecorp.com 907-562-5420 American Marine is a full service marine contractor providing commercial diving, marine construction, ABS and nondestructive examination, marine salvage and emergency response, and vessel support for a wide variety of projects.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1973/1993 | 150/25

AMERICAN RELOCATION SERVICES Kristina Blackadar, Terminal Mgr. 5491 Electron Dr., Unit 1 Anchorage, AK 99518 americanrelocationservices.com 907-561-5166 Commercial/residential relocation, moving and storage, temperature-controlled facilities, ocean freight forwarding, complete packing and crating services, free detailed estimates, military approved, certified moving consultants, budget service options.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1988/1988 | 120/60 www.akbizmag.com

Edward Yarmak, Pres.

5621 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518 arcticfoundations.com 907-562-2741

blackgoldalaska.com 907-490-3222 From civil work to oilfield services, from interstate moves to heavy hauls, Black Gold Express has the experience and knowledge to handle all your transportation needs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1984/1984 | 48/43

BRICE EQUIPMENT Togi Letuligasenoa, GM PO Box 70908 Fairbanks, AK 99707 briceequipment.com 907-457-1132

Two-phase thermosyphons for long-term ground freezing: used for permafrost stabilization, frozen dams, containment, etc.

Equipment rental: heaters, loaders, excavators, articulated haulers, generators, light plants, service trucks, office trailers, bathrooms/envirovacs. Services: pipeline maintenance services, maintenance pigging, on-site mechanic services, drilling.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1972/1972 | 15/15

2006/2006 | 25/25

BAKER HUGHES

BRICE INCORPORATED

Jon Rhodes, Area Mgr. AK 795 E. 94th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99515 bakerhughes.com 907-267-3431

Luther Brice, Pres.

590 University Ave., Ste. 200 Fairbanks, AK 99709 briceinc.com 907-452-2512

Baker Hughes covers every segment of the oil and gas industry as a full-stream company, including upstream, midstream, and downstream solutions. Delivering integrated oilfield products, services, and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Remote heavy civil, marine, quarry and equipment rental.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1969/1980 | 60,000/100

BERING MARINE CORPORATION Rick Gray, Pres.

6520 Kulis Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502 lynden.com/bmc 907-248-7646 Bering Marine Corporation provides highly specialized marine services to reach water-locked villages and other remote Alaska locations. Our fleet of shallow-draft equipment supports construction of docks, roads, and airstrips in Alaska communities.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1985/1985 | 71/71

BLACK GOLD EXPRESS Jim Huffman, Pres.

1520 Sailor Ct. North Pole, AK 99705 Alaska Business

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1961/1961 | 60/60

BRISTOL ENGINEERING SERVICES COMPANY Travis Woods, Pres./CEO 111 W. 16th Ave., Third Fl. Anchorage, AK 99501 bristol-companies.com 800-563-0013 Civil engineering, permitting, and planning; total project management encompassing planning, design, and construction.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1994/1994 | 200/50

C & R PIPE AND STEEL Dennis Wilfer, Pres.

401 E. Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99701 crpipeandsteel.com 907-456-8386 C & R Pipe and Steel has the largest selection of low temp pipe in Alaska. We provide a range of steel and pipe products for any project. For the largest inventory at August 2021 | 53

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ALEUT CORPORATION

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affordable prices for pipe, aluminum, and steel in Alaska, think of C & R Pipe.

CONAM CONSTRUCTION

CARLILE TRANSPORTATION

Mike Colombie, Pres.

301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Ste. 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 conamco.com 907-278-6600

Terry Howard, Pres.

1800 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501-1833 carlile.biz 907-276-7797

General construction contractor specializing in design and construction of oil and gas facilities and pipelines, mining facilities, water and sewer facilities, and other remote infrastructure projects.

Transportation and logistics company offering multi-model trucking as well as project logistics services across Alaska and North America.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Jeff Johnson, Pres.

4510 Old International Airport Rd., Ste. 101 Anchorage, AK 99502 cookinlettug.com 907-277-7611

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1992/1992 | 50/50

1980/1980 | 378/277

CENTERLINE LOGISTICS / PACIFIC COAST MARITIME PO Box 920086 Dutch Harbor, AK 99692 centerlinelogistics.com 907-581-1664

1984/1984 | 200/150

COOK INLET TUG & BARGE

7000 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy. Palmer, AK 99645 cruzconstruct.com 907-746-3144 Experts in resource development and heavy civil construction.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1981/1981 | 280/280

DEADHORSE AVIATION CENTER Tim Cudney, Dir. 301 Calista Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 deadhorseaviation.com 907-685-1700 Fairweather’s Deadhorse Aviation Center is strategically designed to provide North Slope operators with a state-of-the-art Fixed Base Operation (FBO), providing logistics, lodging and support activities in the Arctic.

Harbor tug services, rescue and general marine towing, petroleum barge services, freight barge services.

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge is a marine transportation company, specializing in harbor services and fuel distribution, with focus on the Port of Anchorage and Cook Inlet, Seward, Southeast Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Western Alaska, and Prudhoe Bay.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1988/1975 | 700/35

1924/1924 | 72/72

COFFMAN ENGINEERS

CRAIG TAYLOR EQUIPMENT

Tom Looney, VP/Mng. Principal 800 F St. Anchorage, AK 99501 coffman.com 907-276-6664

Chris Devine, Pres./CEO 733 E. Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 craigtaylorequipment.com 907-519-0055

Civil, commissioning, corrosion control, electrical, forensic, fire protection, industrial design, instrumentation and controls, mechanical, pipeline integrity management, pipeline and process facility design, project management, and structural.

John Deere, Bobcat, Doosan, Honda, Stihl.

Full equipment sales, rentals, service and parts covering all of Alaska. Local experts for all equipment needs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Ron Pichler, Pres.

8240 Petersburg St. Anchorage, AK 99507 denalidrilling.com 907-562-2312

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1979/1979 | 590/106

COLVILLE Dave Pfeifer, Pres./CEO Pouch 340012 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 colvilleinc.com 907-659-3198 Colville’s family of companies provides essential supplies and services across the entire state from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula. Our services include fuel, aviation, solid waste, transport, industrial supply, camp/hotel, and office space.

1954/1954 | 95/93

CROWLEY FUELS Rick Meidel, VP/GM 201 Arctic Slope Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 crowleyfuels.com 866-770-5587 Crowley is a leader in the Alaska fuel industry selling and distributing petroleum products to more than 280 communities across the state. Crowley serves its customers via 72 million gallons of storage, 160 delivery vehicles, and 7 tug-barge sets.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1892/1953 | 6,300/350

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION

1981/1981 | 133/133

Dave Cruz, Pres.

54 | August 2021

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2012/2012 | 6/6

DELTA CONSTRUCTORS Ed Gohr, CEO 351 E. 104th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99515 deltaconstructors.net 907-771-5800 Delta Constructors specializes in project management, procurement, fabrication, self-perform construction, commissioning, and integrated EPF&C project delivery. We primarily focus on industrial clients in oil and gas, as well as the mining industry.

2007/2007 | 600/200

DENALI DRILLING

DDI provides geotechnical, environmental, mineral exploration, commercial water well, and large diameter (8’) shaft drilling.

We also drill, install tie-backs, and construct retaining walls. We have provided these services throughout Alaska since 1970.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1970/1970 | 15/15

DENALI UNIVERSAL SERVICES Maria Bourne, Pres.

11500 Sukdu Way, Ste. 100 Anchorage, AK 99515 denaliuniversal.com 907-522-1300

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1946/1946 | 660/528

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DESERT AIR TRANSPORT Joey Benetka, CEO 4001 Old International Airport Rd., Unit #9 Anchorage, AK 99502 desertairalaska.com 907-243-4700

akbizmag.com/subscribe Promo Code: SUMMER21

Desert Air Transport provides large haul cargo capacity (6,500 lbs) into more than 200 destinations with rural airstrips (2,800-foot min), direct from Anchorage International.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2000/2000 | 15/15

DOYON ASSOCIATED Warren Christian, Pres.

615 Bidwell Ave., Ste. 100 Fairbanks, AK 99701 doyonassociated.com 907-374-9130 Doyon Associated (DAL) specializes in arctic pipeline construction and associated infrastructure. DAL has an established presence in Alaska with offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage and shop/yard facilities in Fairbanks and Deadhorse.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Investing in Alaska’s Future

2006/2006 | 5-250/5-250

DOYON, LIMITED Aaron Schutt, Pres./CEO 1 Doyon Pl., Ste. 300 Fairbanks, AK 99701-2941 doyon.com 888-478-4755 Doyon, Limited operates a diverse family of companies in the areas of oil field services, utilities, construction, information technology, natural resource development, tourism, laundry, real estate, and wireless telecommunications.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Serving our Industries in Oil & Gas, Mining, and Renewables PROJECT MANAGEMENT • PROCUREMENT • CONSTRUCTION FABRICATION• MAINTENANCE • COMMISSIONING

1972/1972 | 1,046/708

DXP | ALASKA PUMP & SUPPLY David Little, CEO 8400 Sandlewood Pl. Anchorage, AK 99507 alaskapump.com 907-563-3424

351 E 104th Ave, Anchorage Alaska (907) 771-5800 DeltaConstructors.net

Serving industrial, municipal, and commercial customers, DXP|Alaska Pump & Supply is at the leading edge of www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

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Operational support including catering, housekeeping, facility maintenance, and security.

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technology providing the best rotating

FRAWNER CORPORATION

equipment.

Jay Frawner, Pres.

8123 Hartzell Rd. Anchorage, AK 99507 frawnercorp.com 907-561-4044

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Sewer, water, and storm systems using

Dennis McGiboney, VP Sales/Mktg.

18460 SW 126th Pl. Tualatin, OR 97062 pistenbullyusa.com 503-783-1935

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1908/1978 | 600/17

EVERTS AIR CARGO Robert W. Everts, Pres./CEO PO Box 61680 Fairbanks, AK 99706 EvertsAir.com 907-450-2300

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Everts Air Cargo provides scheduled cargo

2000/2005 | 47/40

service to 11 hubs within the State of Alaska (using C-46, DC-6 and MD-80 aircraft), and on demand air charter services to domestic and international destinations.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1995/1995 | 337/315

FAIRWEATHER Rick Fox, CEO 301 Calista Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 fairweather.com 907-346-3247 Fairweather offers highly-specialized services supporting oil and gas and mining operations. These services include remote medical and HSE support, drilling program management and support, weather forecasting, bear guards, aviation and airstrip services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1976/1976 | 181/165

FIVE STAR OILFIELD SERVICES Jenny Dickinson, Ops Mgr. 6407 Brayton Dr., #204 Anchorage, AK 99507 fivestaroilfieldservices.com 907-272-9877 Remote catering and camp services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2002/2002 | 45/45

FOUNDEX PACIFIC

trenchless technologies and traditional methods. Excavation, HVAC systems, general construction, building remodel.

GEOLOG AMERICAS James R. Carson, AK Reg. Mgr. 301 E. 92nd Ave., Ste. 2 Anchorage, AK 99515 geolog.com 907-561-2465 Geolog is a world leader in oilfield services delivering solutions and expertise to national, international and independent oil, gas and geothermal operators globally.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1982/2017 | 1,800/22

GEOTEK ALASKA Scott Vojta, Pres.

PO Box 141007 Anchorage, AK 99514 geotekalaska.com 907-569-5900 We specialize in the acquisition of subsurface data for both the environmental and geotechnical professional communities.

If your needs involve the characterization of the subsurface we offer drilling, UVOST, utility clearance, GPR, please call.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2002/2002 | 25/25

HAWK CONSULTANTS Chuck Heath, GM 3201 C St., Ste. 406 Anchorage, AK 99503 hawkpros.com 907-278-1877

Ship repair.

2018/2018 | 100/90

KASSBOHRER ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES

PistenBully tracked utility vehicles and Power Bully tracked carriers. Up to 520 horsepower.

Up to 18-ton payload. Ice road construction, snow removal, equipment transport, pull heavy sleds, personnel cabins, special use.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1969/1985 | 600/-

KIEWIT INFRASTRUCTURE WEST CO. Pat Harrison, Exec. Area Mgr. 2000 W. International Airport Rd., #C6 Anchorage, AK 99502 kiewit.com 907-222-9350 Heavy civil construction including transportation, marine, dams, and resource development.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1884/1947 | 27,000/100

LOUNSBURY & ASSOCIATES Tom Adams, Pres.

3230 C St., Ste. 201 Anchorage, AK 99503 lounsburyinc.com 907-272-5451 Civil engineering, land surveying, planning, construction management. Servicing local and state government, oil and gas industry, and private development. Offices in Anchorage, Wasilla, Fairbanks, and Kuparuk.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1949/1949 | 38/36

LYNDEN AIR CARGO

Howard J. Grey, Mgr. 2261 Cinnabar Lp. Anchorage, AK 99507 Foundex.com 907-522-8263

Serving the energy industry with honor and distinction since 1985. Hawk provides professional staffing and inspection services to our clients in Alaska and throughout North America.

Rick Zerkel, Pres.

6441 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 lynden.com/lac 907-243-7248

Provide geotechnical and environmental

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

drilling services. Equipped for drilling with

1985/1985 | 123/62

Lynden Air Cargo provides scheduled yearround service from Anchorage to Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, and St. Mary’s and flag stop service to any Alaska community with a runway. We also offer worldwide charter services with our fleet of Hercules aircraft.

air and mud rotary, sonic, coring, and auger tools. Some of our equipment is specially

JAG ALASKA

designed for helicopter support. This year

PO Box 969 Seward, AK 99664 jagalaska.com 907-224-3198

we added a jack-up rig.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1983/1983 | 63/11 56 | August 2021

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1996/1996 | 219/146

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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LYNDEN INTERNATIONAL John Kaloper, Pres.

6441 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 lynden.com/lint 907-243-6150 Domestic and international freight forwarding and customs services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1980/1980 | 222/57

LYNDEN LOGISTICS Alex McKallor, Pres.

6520 Kulis Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502 lynden.com/llog 907-245-1544 Arrangement of freight transportation, information management, and logistical services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1984/1984 | 13/6

LYNDEN OILFIELD SERVICES Eric Badger, Pres.

1048 Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 lynden.com/loil 907-339-5100 Lynden Oilfield Services, a division of Alaska West Express, provides support for exploration, production, and service companies on the North Slope working to develop Alaska’s oil and gas resources.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2015/2015 | 30/30

LYNDEN TRANSPORT Paul Grimaldi, Pres.

3027 Rampart Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 lynden.com/ltia 907-276-4800 Lynden Transport has been the trusted leader for shipping freight to, from, and within Alaska since 1954.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1954/1954 | 242/149

MAGTEC ALASKA Ryan Peterkin, Pres.

43385 Kenai Spur Hwy. Kenai, AK 99611 907-335-6305 Oilfield equipment rental and project support. Logistic service, North Slope camps, equipment sales and service. Based 58 | August 2021

in Kenai with a camp and service center in Deadhorse.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2008/2008 | 76/69

MARINE CONTAINER SOLUTIONS Todd Shirley, Owner/COO PO Box 407 Seahurst, WA 98062 marinecontainersolutions.com 206-499-0474 Cargo container sales (new-used-customrelated equipment) and leasing.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2011/- | 1/-

MARITIME HELICOPTERS Robert Fell, Dir. Ops 3520 FAA Rd. Homer, AK 99603 maritimehelicopters.com 907-235-7771 We support oil, construction and marine trades. Our fleet includes a Viking 400 Twin Otter, Bell 206L, 407 and twin-engine 412HP & BO105 Eurocopters. Our 86’ helipad equipped vessel supports remote marine operations. Bases throughout all of Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1973/1973 | 75/75

MICHAEL BAKER INTERNATIONAL Jeff Baker, Sr. VP/AK Ops Mgr. 3900 C St., Ste. 900 Anchorage, AK 99503 mbakerintl.com 907-273-1600 Engineering: transportation, pipeline, geotechnical, mechanical, civil; GIS and LiDAR; environmental/permitting/NEPA; public involvement.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1940/1942 | 3,469/53

MICHAEL L. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Michael L. Foster, PE/Owner 13135 Old Glenn Hwy., Ste. 200 Eagle River, AK 99577 907-696-6200

880 H St., Ste. 208 Anchorage, AK 99501 moffattnichol.com 907-313-5000 Moffatt & Nichol has provided waterfront engineering services to the energy industry since our founding in 1945. Today, we serve clients globally for projects ranging from piers and wharves to deep foundations and offshore floating facilities.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1945/2012 | 850/7

N C MACHINERY 6450 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518 ncmachinery.com 907-786-7500 Cat machine sales, parts, service, and rental. Cat engines for marine, power generation, truck, petroleum, and industrial applications. Sales and rental of Cat and other preferred brands of rental equipment and construction supplies.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1926/1926 | 1,050/220

NANA CONSTRUCTION Fred S. Elvsaas Jr., GM PO Box 520788 Big Lake, AK 99652 nanaconstruction.com 907-892-3383 Specializing in industrial and commercial fabrication and installation, camp design, constructability support and longevity services. Full-service general contractor safely providing core services to Alaska’s mining and oil and gas industries.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2008/2008 | 264/264

NANA WORLEY Wyche Ford, Pres.

3700 Centerpoint Dr., 7th Fl. Anchorage, AK 99503 nanaworley.com 907-273-3900

A/E planning, investigation, design, permitting, oil spill cleanup, environmental remediation, construction CA/CM and expert witness/litigation support services.

Experts in civil, geotechnical, environmental design and cold regions construction.

NANA Worley provides multi-discipline engineering and design, project management, procurement, project controls, and construction support services for various industries including the hydrocarbons, mining infrastructure, and power industries.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1998/1998 | 20/20

1997/1997 | 170/170

MOFFATT & NICHOL

NORDIC-CALISTA SERVICES

Shaun McFarlane, VP AK Bus. Leader

David Farmer, Pres.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

吀漀爀挀匀椀氀氀 椀猀 琀栀攀 眀漀爀氀搀ᤠ猀 氀攀愀搀椀渀最 瀀爀漀瘀椀搀攀爀 漀昀 栀攀氀椀挀愀氀 瀀椀氀攀 猀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀猀 昀漀爀 䤀渀昀爀愀猀琀爀甀挀琀甀爀攀 戀甀椀氀搀 漀甀琀⸀

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匀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀 䄀昀琀攀爀 椀渀琀攀渀猀椀瘀攀 搀攀猀椀最渀 攀渀最椀渀攀攀爀椀渀最 愀渀搀 倀爀漀樀攀挀琀ⴀ猀瀀攀挀椀昀椀挀 栀愀爀搀眀愀爀攀 愀渀搀 瀀椀氀攀 洀愀渀甀昀愀挀琀甀爀椀渀最Ⰰ 吀漀爀挀匀椀氀氀ᤠ猀 䌀漀渀猀琀爀甀挀琀椀漀渀 匀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀 吀䔀䄀䴀 猀愀昀攀氀礀 椀渀猀琀愀氀氀攀搀 琀漀 ㈀㔀 昀琀ⴀ欀椀瀀猀 愀渀 愀氀氀ⴀ猀琀攀攀氀 栀攀氀椀挀愀氀 昀漀甀渀搀愀琀椀漀渀 猀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀 琀栀愀琀 洀攀琀 漀爀 攀砀挀攀攀搀攀搀 愀 氀椀昀攀 攀砀瀀攀挀琀愀渀挀礀 漀昀 愀琀 氀攀愀猀琀 㔀 礀攀愀爀猀⸀

䄀渀挀栀漀爀愀最攀 匀攀爀瘀椀挀攀 䌀攀渀琀攀爀 㔀㜀 ㄀ 匀椀氀瘀攀爀愀搀漀 圀愀礀 䰀ⴀ㈀ ㄀ 䄀渀挀栀漀爀愀最攀Ⰰ 䄀氀愀猀欀愀 㤀㤀㔀㄀㠀

眀眀眀⸀琀漀爀挀猀椀氀氀⸀挀漀洀

䌀漀渀琀愀挀琀 䐀攀爀攀欀 䨀漀栀渀猀琀漀渀 倀栀漀渀攀㨀 㤀 㜀ⴀ㈀㤀 ⴀ ㈀ 㜀 䔀洀愀椀氀㨀 搀樀漀栀渀猀琀漀渀䀀琀漀爀挀猀椀氀氀⸀挀漀洀

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

219 E. International Airport Rd., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99518 nordic-calista.com 907-561-7458 Drilling, workovers, coiled tubing, and remote camp leasing.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1985/1985 | 30/30

NORTHERN AIR CARGO

A marine transportation and logistical support company with offshore supply vessels, research vessels, and a landing craft.

Area of operation is from the Beaufort Sea to the Gulf of Mexico.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1982/1982 | 40/30

ODYSSEY LOGISTICS

Betsy Seaton, Pres./CEO 3900 Old International Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 nac.aero 907-243-3331

Keith Hancock, Pres. Multi-Modal Global Solutions 5025 Van Buren St. Anchorage, AK 99517 odysseylogistics.com 907-248-5548

Northern Air Cargo, Alaska’s largest all-cargo airline since 1956, offers multiple service options that help Alaskans find solutions to all of their shipping needs. The people of Alaska have established NAC as their preferred precious cargo carrier.

Ocean freight forwarding, freight consolidation of all kinds, LTL/LCL, full loads and single shipments, temperature protected, dry vans, specialized equipment, heavy haul, project logistics, intrastate trucking, warehousing and distribution.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1956/1956 | 429/321

1984/1988 | 2,500/300

NORTHERN ENERGY SERVICES

OFFSHORE SYSTEMS-KENAI

John Ellsworth Jr., Pres.

PO Box 224889 Anchorage, AK 99522 nes-ak.com 907-245-6190

Kelly McNeil, Pres.

PO Box 8505 Nikiski, AK 99635 osk-ak.com 907-776-5551

Rig moving, rig support, oilfield trucking, fabrication and welding, O&M support, ice road and civil construction services, piling installation, overland transport, crane and rigging services, pipeline repair and maintenance.

A full-service marine terminal facility supporting Cook Inlet Oil and Gas operators. Providing shore-side services for OSV s, landing crafts, tug and barge operators, dive support vessels, and others.

Nikiski Fuel provides bulk diesel fuel.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2010/2010 | 395/315

1983/1983 | 20/20

NORTHSTAR SUPPLY

OXFORD ASSAYING & REFINING CORP.

Richell Carmichael, Owner PO Box 3637 Palmer, AK 99645 nssalaska.com 907-357-1147 Alaska’s premier supplier of industrial construction materials specializing in calcium chloride, geotextiles and erosion control products as well as dust and ice control solutions. We are a local, woman owned company in Palmer.

Gene E Pool, VP/CEO 3406 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99503 oxfordmetals.com 907-561-5237

pacaklumber.com 907-341-3500 Suppliers of construction and specialty products. Serving all industries in AK. All grades and species of lumber/timber/ply/ panels, treatment, EWP, GLB, metal, SIP, GEO, rigid foam, GWB, helical piers, HM doors/ frames /hardware. Matting solutions.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2007/2007 | 4/1

PACIFIC PILE & MARINE Wil Clark, CEO 4753 W. 80th Anchorage, AK 99502 pacificpile.com 907-276-3873 Pacific Pile & Marine is a heavy civil and marine infrastructure contractor specializing in driven and drilled piling, over-water construction, and logistically demanding projects with season restrictions and environmental sensitivity. Built safely.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2008/2009 | 150/25

PATHFINDER AVIATION Rogan Parker, CEO 1936 Merrill Field Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 pathfinderaviation.com 907-257-1550 Pathfinder Aviation supports mineral exploration, wildfire, heli-ski, offshore oil and gas, and more utilizing twin-engine Bell 212/412s, an EC135, and single engine AS350 B2 and B3, Bell 206 series helicopters with OAS-approved pilots and aircraft.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2001/2001 | 70/70

PDC ENGINEERS A RESPEC COMPANY Matt Emerson, Pres.

1028 Aurora Dr. Fairbanks, AK 99709 pdceng.com 907-452-1414

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Oxford is proud to be the only gold refiner and bullion dealer with two locations in Alaska for more than 40 years. Buying, selling, or trading–Oxford provides the service, value, honesty, and integrity that Alaskans have counted on for generations.

PDC is a RESPEC owned company made up of Alaskan multi-discipline engineers.

We are aligned with four sectors: facilities, transportation, utilities, and land development.

2017/2017 | 3/3

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1980/1980 | 5/4

1975/1975 | 400/100

PACIFIC ALASKA LUMBER COMPANY

PETRO MARINE SERVICES

OCEAN MARINE SERVICES Kelly McNeil, Pres.

PO Box 7070 Nikiski, AK 99635 omsi-ak.com 907-776-3685 60 | August 2021

Vint Jones, Pres.

9810 40th Ave. SW, Ste. C Lakewood, WA 98499

Kurt Lindsey, Pres./CEO 1813 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 petromarineservices.com

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Anchorage, AK 99503 petroak.com 907-272-1232

intervention landing strings, early production facilities, long term testing, production rental equipment.

Alaska’s oil and gas consultants specializing in geoscience, engineering, project management, seismic, and well data.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1959/1959 | 215/215

1997/1997 | 48/48

PETROLEUM EQUIPMENT & SERVICES

PRICE GREGORY INTERNATIONAL

Kevin Durling, Pres.

5631 Silverado Way, Unit G Anchorage, AK 99518 pesiak.com 907-248-0066 We are in the business of supplying specialty products in the Alaska O&G market.

Representing the following: Halliburton Bits, Sprung Engineered Structures, Cortec corrosion control, Innovex cementation products, and Stream-Flo well heads.

Robert Stinson, Sr. VP AK Division 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Ste. 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 pricegregory.com 907-278-4400 Pipeline, power, heavy industrial construction, EPC, and consulting services.

Infrastructure construction services provider.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1974/1974 | 300/50

PRODUCTION TESTING SERVICES

PETROTECHNICAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA

Robert Hoff Jr., Pres.

440 E. 100th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99515 pts-technology.com 907-344-2024

Tom Walsh, Mng. Partner 3601 C St., Ste. 1424

Well testing, drill stem test-DST, frac flowback services, subsea test trees/subsea

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1983/1983 | 12/12

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

1988/1988 | 40/1

RAIN FOR RENT Paul Harrington, COO PO Box 1931 Kenai, AK 99611 rainforrent.com 907-283-4487 Pump, tank, pipe, filtration solutions for environmental, construction, and oilfield operations.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1934/2002 | 1,900/4

ROSS AVIATION Toni Michaud 6160 Carl Brady Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502 rossaviation.com 907-550-8500 We’re Alaska’s 24 hour, full service FBO with fuel, aircraft support, crew resting facilities, and business services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2016/2016 | 21/21

August 2021 | 61

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

907-562-5000 Serving the unique petroleum needs of a broad range of Alaska industries including fishing, home fuel sales, power generation, tourism, timber, transportation, construction, mining, and retail gasoline.

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

SAEXPLORATION

SIEMENS INDUSTRY

TAKU ENGINEERING

8240 Sandlewood Pl., Ste. 202 Anchorage, AK 99507 saexploration.com 907-522-4499

Dan Hart, Branch GM 5333 Fairbanks St., Unit B Anchorage, AK 99518 usa.siemens.com 907-563-2242

William Mott, GM 406 W. Fireweed Ln. Anchorage, AK 99503 takuengineering.com 907-562-1247 Taku Engineering is an Alaskan-owned and operated multi-discipline engineering firm dedicated to providing innovative engineering and corrosion control design solutions.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Energy services company and system integrator, including automation/energy management control systems, fire alarm, HVAC mechanical systems, security (card access, CCTV, intrusion, etc.), mass notification systems, and electrical distribution.

2006/2011 | 700/450

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

SAExploration provides unique geophysical acquisition services to companies that operate on the North Slope. We offer a full range of geophysical ground acquisition services from design, prospecting, drilling, analysis of field quality.

SECURITY AVIATION Stephen “Joe” Kapper, Pres.

6121 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 securityaviation.biz 907-248-2677 24/7 on-demand air charter. Approved carrier for the Corps of Engineers, state, and federal agencies. Executive travel, crew changes, HAZMAT, “HOT” cargo, and medical transports.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1985/1985 | 25/25

SHANNON & WILSON Kyle Brennan, VP/Anchorage Office Mgr. 5430 Fairbanks St., Ste. 3 Anchorage, AK 99518 shannonwilson.com 907-561-2120 Statewide geotechnical and environmental engineering. Offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Palmer. Services include geotechnical analysis/design; frozen ground engineering; environmental compliance, assessments/remediation, PFAS; earthquake analysis.

1849/1982 | 385,000/100

SPILL SHIELD Lark Christensen, Ops Mgr. 2000 W. International Airport Rd., #D-1 Anchorage, AK 99502 spillshield.com 907-561-6033 Supplier for Smart Ash, Oil Away, Drug Terminator, and MediBurn incinerators.

Absorbents, water scrubbers, oil spill response kits, Super Sacks, harbor boom, nitrile gloves, MicroBlaze, absorbent pads, rolls, boom, sock, duck ponds, spill kits.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1992/1992 | 5/5

STANTEC Gord J. Johnston, Pres./CEO 725 E. Fireweed Ln., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99503 stantec.com 907-276-4245

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. We care about the communities we serve.

1954/1974 | 300+/50+

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

SHORESIDE PETROLEUM Kurt Lindsey, Pres.

1813 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 shoresidepetroleum.com 907-344-4571

1954/1972 | 22,000/81

SWAGELOK ALASKA Tarek Sheira, Reg. Bus./Ops Mgr. 341 E. 56th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 alaska.swagelok.com 907-563-5630

Shoreside Petroleum is 100% Alaskanowned fuel and lubricants distributor marketing fuels, lubricants, and other petroleum products in Alaska. Shoreside operates physical terminals in Anchorage, Cordova, Seward, Wasilla, and Whittier.

Swagelok Alaska is your source for the highest quality fluid system products, solutions, and training in Alaska. Our endto-end quality system helps to guarantee consistent quality, each and every time.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1986/1986 | 140/140

1965/1965 | 10,0000/10

62 | August 2021

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2001/2001 | 18/18

THE SUPERIOR GROUP Dave McAllen, Pres.

PO Box 230387 Anchorage, AK 99523 superiorpnh.com 907-344-5011 The Superior Group serves general contractors and building owners as a full service mechanical and electrical contractor, whose work is backed by our long-standing quality and experience.

We field an all-pro team with extensive credentials.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1964/1964 | 100/100

TORCSILL 5701 Silverado Way, L-201 Anchorage, AK 99518 torcsill.com 907-290-0207 Helical piles, steel foundations, oil and gas construction, tank repair and remediation, pipeline construction, and foundation engineering.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2012/2011 | 250/15

TRANSGROUP GLOBAL LOGISTICS Rich Wilson, Station Mgr. 8321 Dagan St. Anchorage, AK 99502 transgroup.com 907-243-4345 US-owned full-service freight forwarder and global logistics provider. We provide transportation international and domestic lanes, warehousing, and specialized logistics solutions.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1987/2011 | 1,000+/3

TRANSMARK CARTAGE SERVICES Ken Maccabee, Ops Supervisor 6200 Boeing Ave., Ste. 350 Anchorage, AK 99502

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

tcsdelivers.com 907-351-2328 TCS is your full service cartage company offering an array of services: white glove service, cargo screening, 53’, 24’, flatbed, and vans, TSA/STA compliant, cold chain services, military deliveries.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1990/2017 | 175/4

TRI-JET PRECISION CUTTING SERVICES Danielle Davis, GM 1960 S. Eklutna St. Palmer, AK 99645 trijetprecision.com 866-607-1653 Waterjet cutting, ceramic coating, welding and fabrication, machining-including 5-axis, 3D modeling, 3D printing, laser engraving/ marking, and drafting.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2004/2004 | 13/13

TTT ENVIRONMENTAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES Deborah Tompkins, Owner 4201 B St. Anchorage, AK 99503 tttenviro.com 907-770-9041 Portable gas detection, health and safety monitoring, environmental equipment.

Rentals, sales, service, and supplies.

Warranty center. Alaskan-owned small business.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2003/2003 | 12/10

TUTKA Amie Sommer, Member 2485 E. Zak Cir., Ste. A Wasilla, AK 99654 tutkallc.com 907-357-2238 Heavy civil general contractor (roads, bridges, culverts, site work), environmental cleanup and consulting. DBE, WOSB, HUBZone.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1999/1999 | 35/35

UIC OIL & GAS SUPPORT Don Gray, GM 6700 Arctic Spur Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 UICAlaska.com 907-677-5213 UIC Oil & Gas Support is a professional oilfield service subsidiary of Ukpeaġvik www.akbizmag.com

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907-258-2727 August 2021 | 63

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Iñupiat Corporation specializing in Alaska Arctic oilfield operation support services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2005/2005 | 20/20

UMIAQ ENVIRONMENTAL Terri Mitchell, GM 6700 Arctic Spur Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 uicalaska.com 907-677-5208 UMIAQ Environmental services include natural resource management, permitting, regulatory compliance support, stakeholder relations, spill response planning, and contaminated site clean-up. State of Alaska DBE and SBA 8(a) certified.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2016/2016 | 10/10

VALLEY GENERAL ENERGY SERVICES Justin Shields, Pres.

PO Box 875783 Wasilla, AK 99687 vgesllc.com 907-357-8444 Consulting, logistics, management, i ce road design and development, employee placement, procurement, and engineering services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2016/2016 | 5/5

VIGOR ALASKA Bergan Wieler, GM Ketchikan Shipyard 3801 Tongass Ave. Ketchikan, AK 99901 vigor.net 907-225-7199 Vigor is a values-driven, diversified industrial business. We repair ships and build projects in support of energy generation, our nation’s infrastructure, national defense, and the maritime industry.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1994/1994 | 2,200/95

WEST-MARK SERVICE CENTERFAIRBANKS Scott Vincent, CEO 3050 Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709 907-451-8265 Liquid transportation tank trailer repair.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1967/2009 | 194/8 64 | August 2021

WOLSELEY INDUSTRIAL GROUP

DAT/EM SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL

Mark King, Area Mgr. AK 151 W. 95th Cir. Anchorage, AK 99515 wolseleyindustrialgroup.com 907-273-2100

Jeffrey F. Yates, GM 2014 Merrill Field Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 datem.com 907-522-3681

Wolseley Industrial Group provides PVF materials in every Alaska market. Locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna, and Wasilla. We are the only ISO9001:2015 certified PVF supply house in the State of Alaska. Full time quality assurance provided.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

DAT/EM Systems International develops solutions for the photogrammetric, engineering, and GIS industries. The DAT/ EM Photogrammetric Suite includes Summit Evolution 3D stereo mapping software, LandScape point cloud viewing, and Summit ‘UAS’.

1950/1981 | 15,000/85

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1987/1987 | 8/6

WORLEY Kelly Droop, VP AK Field Svcs./US O&M 949 E. 36th Ave., Ste. 500 Anchorage, AK 99508 worley.com 907-275-5100

GBA ASSAYING AND REFINING Lee W. St Pierre, Owner/CEO 915 30th Ave., Ste. 111 Fairbanks, AK 99701 gbarefining.com 907-479-4653

Program management, procurement, fabrication, construction and operations and maintenance, sustaining capital projects, all field services including drilling support and fluid hauling, equipment services, and commissioning/decommissioning.

Buy and sell bullion; refine placer gold, melt and assay materials with XRF. We offer pool accounts, trade in kind, and gladly make deposits/wires for you.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2009/2009 | 5/5

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1962/1962 | 48,000/900

GCI

DATA, TESTING, TELECOM & IMAGING ALASKA ENERGY SERVICES

Ron Duncan, CEO 2550 Denali St., Ste. 1000 Anchorage, AK 99503 gci.com 907-265-5600

Oil and gas, all leasing, telecommunications.

GCI delivers communication and technology services in the consumer and business markets. GCI has delivered services in Alaska for 40 years to some of the most remote communities and in some of the most challenging conditions in North America.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2010/2010 | 4/1

1979/1979 | 1,900/1,900

CIS CARDOSO INTEGRATED SECURITY

GPS ALASKA

Diane Bachman, Pres./Owner 880 N St., Ste. 101 Anchorage, AK 99501 alaskaenergyservices.com 907-632-1180

Thomas Craig, Security Consultant/Owner 220 Center Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 cisalaska.com 907-276-2776

Michael Williams, VP 360 E. International Airport Rd., Ste. 10 Anchorage, AK 99518 gpsalaska.com 907-562-8000

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

GPS Alaska is a technology provider for the oil and gas, construction, survey, and engineering industry in Alaska. Our core business is providing solutions through positioning technology to make the industries we serve safer and more efficient.

2014/2014 | 7/7

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Camera systems, monitored alarm systems, building integration, access control, gate controllers, surveillance trailers, and proactive video monitoring.

2004/2004 | 7/7 Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Judy Patrick, Owner/Photographer 1700 E. Bogard Road, Ste. A-100 Wasilla, AK 99654 judypatrickphotography.com 907-223-4704

We ship anywhere in Alaska

USE WASTE OIL TO HEAT YOUR FACILITY!

Creative photography for oil and gas, mining, construction, and transportation companies. We also specialize in location business portraits and headshots. Call for an estimate and see how good we can make you look!

®

ENERGY SYSTEMS The World Leader in Used-Oil Heating Systems

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

– Burns waste oil – Generates more heat – Long service life

1984/1984 | 1/1

LEONARDO DRS Vickie Kelly, Bus. Dev. Mgr. AK 310 K St., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99501 leonardodrs.com/ges 800-330-0784 Ext 8620

We are the exclusive distributor for Clean Burn waste oil heating equipment in Alaska. We carry a full range of Clean Burn Genuine OEM parts and offer sales, installation help, unit cleaning and return services.

Resilient fiber-optic, microwave, and satellite networks, broadband internet, 24x7x365 network operations, cyber security, IT services, video teleconferencing, VoIP, VPN, field service, and full life-cycle sustainment.

Serving remote AK locations.

Nenana Heating Services, Inc. Inc. PO Box 9 • Nenana, AK 99760 (907) 832-5445 or (800) 478-5447 E-mail: NHSI@alaska.net cleanburn.com/nenana-heating

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1968/2002 | 40,000/40

NV5 GEOSPATIAL Adam McCullough, AK Program Mgr. 2014 Merrill Field Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 nv5.com/geospatial 907-272-4495

COMMITTED TO SERVING

NV5 Geospatial is the geospatial pioneer pushing the boundaries of data and analytics to deliver actionable solutions to transform the way our clients utilize and value geospatial data.

ALASKA FOR OVER 70 YEARS

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1960/1960 | 535/17

O L E S .CO M

RESOURCE DATA Jim Rogers, Pres.

560 E. 34th Ave., Ste. 100 Anchorage, AK 99503 resourcedata.com 907-563-8100 Since 1986, Resource Data has implemented thoughtful IT solutions for most of Alaska’s major industries including telecommunications, natural resources, utilities, and more. We offer data analysis and management, GIS, and custom software development.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

We all have a job to do to keep Alaska’s economy strong. Our clients are the ones improving state transportation infrastructure, expanding military facilities and building new commercial and residential buildings.

As a law firm, our job is simple – help our clients find solutions to legal issues that arise at all stages of the construction process so the job can get done and our state can thrive.

1986/1986 | 184/98

ALASK A

www.akbizmag.com

I

WA SHINGTON

I

Alaska Business

CALIFORNI A

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JUDY PATRICK PHOTOGRAPHY

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maintenance solutions.

ENVIRONMENTAL, 1998/2008 | 140/9 CONSULTING & EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGNEW::BECK CONSULTING

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1-CALL ALASKA Todd Duke, GM 6231 Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 1callalaska.com 907-243-0069

Thea Agnew Bemben, Pres.

645 G St., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99501 agnewbeck.com 907-222-5424

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Energy planning, energy efficiency, energy conservation, energy policy, environmental assessment, energy supply, housing, FERC licensing, hydroelectric, sustainable recreation, impact studies, sustainable communities, and transportation choices.

2015/2015 | 500/60

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Oil spill response. Environmental compliance services ship monitoring.

ABR Adrian Gall, Pres./Dir. Research PO Box 80410 Fairbanks, AK 99708 abrinc.com 907-455-6777

2002/2002 | 30/23

AHTNA ENGINEERING SERVICES Tim Finnigan, VP 110 W. 38th Ave., Ste. 200A Anchorage, AK 99503 ahtnaes.com 907-646-2969

Known for objective, rigorous work, ABR’s unrivaled experts provide innovative, costeffective solutions for wildlife science; wetland and landscape ecology; fisheries and aquatic sciences; marine science; statistics, GIS and database management.

Ahtna Engineering is a self-performing federal and commercial contractor. The firm performs services nationwide including engineering, construction, environmental, administrative, and professional services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1976/1976 | 45/45

2003/2003 | 95/95

ADVANCED SUPPLY CHAIN INTERNATIONAL

AHTNA ENVIRONMENTAL

Christine Hopkins, CEO/Co-Owner 721 Depot Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 ascillc.com 907-345-2724 ASCI specializes in contracting, procurement, transportation coordination, warehousing, inventory management, surplus disposition, catalog management, data cleansing, documentation management, parts equipment, and asset development and maintenance.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1999/1999 | 250/190

AESOLUTIONS Ken O’Malley, Pres.

3201 C St., Ste. 606 Anchorage, AK 99503 aesolutions.com 907-865-5992 aeSolutions is a complete system integrator specializing in safety instrumented systems, automation, process safety consulting, alarm management, and operations and 66 | August 2021

Tim Finnigan, Pres.

110 W. 38th Ave., Ste. 200B Anchorage, AK 99503 aeiak.com 907-644-0760 Specializes in the execution of timesensitive, complex, and multifaceted environmental, engineering, construction, and professional services projects for government and commercial clients.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2010/2010 | 172/72

AHTNA GLOBAL Tim Finnigan, Pres.

110 W. 38th Ave., Ste. 200J Anchorage, AK 99503 ahtnaglobal.com 907-569-8250 AGL is an 8(a) and HUBZone subsidiary specializing in the execution of timesensitive, complex, and multifaceted environmental, construction, engineering, and professional services projects for government and commercial clients.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2016/2016 | 112/67

ALASKA CLEAN TANKS Robert Wilson, Pres./Owner PO Box 60415 Fairbanks, AK 99706 alaskacleantanks.com 907-385-3975 Fuel tank cleaning services: Non-Volumetric UST Tank Tightness Testing; SP001 AST Inspection and line testing; stored fuel testing, re-conditioning and polishing; tank purging and decommissioning; installs and removals; Vac Truck and hazmat services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2013/2013 | 4/4

ALASKA SCRAP AND RECYCLING Thomas Welte, Dir. Ops 720 E Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 alaskascrap.com 907-277-2727 Scrap metal recycling.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2013/2013 | 33/33

ALASKA SOIL RECYCLING Kris Shippen, Env. Coordinator 1040 O’Malley Rd. Anchorage, AK 99515 anchsand.com 907-348-6700 Alaska’s leader in remediation of petroleumimpacted soils by non-destructive thermal desorption. Results are quick and guaranteed. Soils are recycled into beneficial products after treatment to comply with green and sustainable recycling practices.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1988/1988 | 12/12

ARCADIS Kent Crandall, AK Ops Leader 880 H St., Ste. 101 Anchorage, AK 99501 arcadis.com 907-276-8095 Arcadis is Alaska’s leading provider of construction and program management services and a leading global design, project management, and consultancy firm.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1888/1994 | 27,000/17

ARCTIC DATA SERVICES Rodney Guritz, Owner/Principal Chemist 250 Cushman St., Ste. 3D Fairbanks, AK 99701 arcticdataservices.com

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

ADS provides a broad range of environmental services in Interior AK, from spill response to contaminated site characterization and cleanup. With expertise in chemistry, we also serve as third-party data quality consultants for projects across the US. Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2014/2014 | 2/2

ARCTIC FOX ENVIRONMENTAL Ralph Allphin, Pres.

PO Box 340043 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 arcticfoxenv.com 907-659-2145 Analytical laboratory and hazardous waste consulting office in Prudhoe Bay. Arctic Fox also has rooms available for rent in our brand new facility. Each room includes a private bathroom, flat screen TV, and individual climate control.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

across Alaska...

we’ve got you covered.

2004/2004 | 4/4

ARCTOS ALASKA, A DIVISION OF NORTECH Peter Beardsley, CEO 3105 Lakeshore Dr., Ste. A106 Anchorage, AK 99517 arctosak.com 907-222-2445

Anchorage Whittier

Soldotna Homer

Seward

Cordova

Skagway Juneau Petersburg

Sitka

Kodiak

Wrangell Craig

Full service environmental regulatory compliance contractor, tank and piping inspection, field compliance services, permit and compliance management, oil discharge contingency and SPCC plans, plan audits, full range oil spill response plan services.

Ketchikan

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1979/1979 | 25/25

B.C. EXCAVATING Nathan Haines, Pres.

2251 Cinnabar Lp. Anchorage, AK 99507 bcxllc.net 907-344-4490 Remediation services, soil farming, site cleanup for PCB, TCE, diesel/gasoline contamination, UST removal/replacement, contaminated soils hauling and disposal, etc.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1982/1982 | 35/35

SERVING YOU SINCE 1959

BGES

Fine Fuels, Super Service, Quality Lubricants

Robert N. Braunstein, Pres.

1042 E. Sixth Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501

907.562.5000 | petromarineservices.com

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

PETRO 49

companies

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907-457-3147

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

bgesinc.com 907-644-2900 Environmental site assessment, remediation, ground-water monitoring programs, project management and permitting. Lead and asbestos inspections.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2002/2002 | 10/9

C & R METAL RECYCLING Dennis Wilfer, Pres.

401 E. Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99701 crrecycle.com 907-452-4417 Full-service metal recycling center serving Alaska’s Interior and surrounding areas for more than twenty years. Largest buyer of non-ferrous metals in the Interior. Ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal processor.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1992/1992 | 45/45

CAMPWATER INDUSTRIES Jon Dufendach, Pres.

Box 309 Delta Junction, AK 99737 campwater.com 907-895-4304 Design/build portable and emergency drinking water plants. NSF61-approved models to meet USEPA drinking water standards available off-the-shelf. Affiliates worldwide; see website.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2009/2009 | 2/2

CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL Stuart Jacques, Pres.

229 E. Whitney Rd., Ste. 200 Anchorage, AK 99501 cei-alaska.com 907-561-0125 Provides civil/environmental construction services including decontaminated soils handling, excavation and site restoration, asbestos abatement, lead abatement, hazardous materials abatement, and demolition.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1983/1983 | 175/80

CENTRAL RECYCLING SERVICES Stuart Jacques, Pres.

2400 Railroad Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 centralrecyclingsevices.com 907-748-7400 Scrap metal and inert debris recycling facility. Accepts separated and mixed loads 68 | August 2021

of recyclable debris including wood, plastic, metals, concrete, asphalt, cardboard, tires, sheetrock, etc. Preparation of Waste Management Plans and LEED consulting.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2009/2009 | 30/30

CHEMTRACK ALASKA Carrie Jokiel, Pres.

11711 S. Gambell St. Anchorage, AK 99515 chemtrack.net 907-349-2511 Please check out our Statement of Qualifications at chemtrack.net/about_ us.htm.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1973/1973 | 25/25

CHENA POWER Bernie Karl, Pres.

PO Box 58740 Fairbanks, AK 99711 chenapower.com 907-488-1505 Recycling centers (wholesale); municipal recycling programs; large facility recycling programs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1984/1984 | 16/16

COLDFOOT ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

crweng.com 907-562-3252 Civil, environmental, structural, electrical, mechanical, and geotechnical engineering; surveying, permitting, aviation design, planning, public involvement, grant writing, and construction management.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1981/1981 | 76/76

CULTURAL RESOURCE CONSULTANTS Linda F. Yarborough, Anthropologist 3504 E. 67th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99507 crcalaska.com 907-349-3445 CRC specializes in identifying and evaluating historic, archaeological, and traditional cultural properties in Alaska; advises clients on cultural resource issues; and assists them with complying with their obligations under state and federal laws.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1975/1975 | 7/6

DOWL Stewart G. Osgood, Pres./CEO 4041 B St. Anchorage, AK 99503 dowl.com 907-562-2000

Cuauhtemoc Rodriguez, Pres.

6670 Wes Way Anchorage, AK 99518 coldfootenv.com 907-770-9936

DOWL is a multi-disciplined consulting firm that has been providing civil engineering and related services in Alaska since 1962.

Some of our additional in-house services include environmental, land survey, and land use planning.

Hazardous waste removal, demolition.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1962/1962 | 420/125

2001/2001 | 35/35

COOK INLET SPILL PREVENTION & RESPONSE Todd D. Paxton, GM 51377 Kenai Spur Hwy. Kenai, AK 99611 cispri.org 907-776-5129

EEIS CONSULTING ENGINEERS Richard Buttton, Principal Engineer 624 W. International Airport Rd., Ste. 104 Anchorage, AK 99518 eeis.net 907-258-3231

Provides oil-spill response services to member companies in the greater Cook Inlet area. Registered with the US Coast Guard (OSRO) and ADEC (PRAC).

Architectural services, structural, civil, mechanical, mechanical process, electrical, and instrumentation engineering.

Projects include camps, office buildings, warehouses, hangars, and various projects for rig and production support.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1991/1991 | 34/34

1989/1989 | 20/20

CRW ENGINEERING GROUP

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

D. Michael Rabe, Mng. Principal 3940 Arctic Blvd., Ste. 300 Anchorage, AK 99503

Larry Helgeson, Principal Eng. 206 E. Fireweed Ln., Ste. 201 Anchorage, AK 99503

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Environmental and civil engineering, Phase I & Phase II ESAs, asbestos management and design, HUD lead paint activities, UST closure, SWPPPs, SPCCs, GIS mapping, and safety training. A team of dedicated professionals working to make Alaska cleaner.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1988/1988 | 12/12

FAIRWEATHER SCIENCE Laura Young, Bus. Mgr. 301 Calista Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 fairweathersciencellc.com 907-346-3247 Fairweather Science provides a wide range of environmental support services to industries and agencies throughout Alaska.

These services include marine mammal permitting and monitoring, logistics, and permitting.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

FLEXIBLE. MOBILE. READY TO WORK.

GET TO WORK FASTER WITH TEMPORARY WORKSPACE. We understand that on remote Alaskan jobsite locations, having durable temporary workspace that is configured to your exact needs is key to being productive from day one. At WillScot, our team of experts work hard to deliver quality modular work camps, mobile offices and storage containers where and when they are needed so our customers can focus on what they do best – working their projects and meeting their goals.

One call, one quote, one delivery and you can get right to work.

2010/2010 | 3/3

GEOSYNTEC CONSULTANTS

Contact our team at 907.315.9755 or visit willscot.com

Ben Martich, Principal 3003 Minnesota Dr., Ste. 302 Anchorage, AK 99503 geosyntec.com 907-929-3326 A specialized consultant for complex site assessment and remediation projects and water resource and flood risk management with a focus on innovative technologies, data management, litigation support, and managing risk.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1983/2013 | 1,500/5

GLENN AIR Doug Glenn, Owner/Pres.

PO Box 1924 Palmer, AK 99645 907-746-2585 Aerial application service, bulk fuel hauling.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1988/1988 | 4/4

GREEN STAR OF INTERIOR ALASKA Art Gelvin, Board Pres.

PO Box 82391 Fairbanks, AK 99708 iagreenstar.org 907-452-4152 Green Star provides recycling bins and coordinates volunteers to collect recyclables at special events, publishes and www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

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emi-alaska.com 907-272-9336

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

distributes the Fairbanks Recycling Guide annually, and offers waste reduction and recycling education and outreach to our community.

studies. APDES/NPDES permit and mixing

management, permitting, project planning,

zone applications; storm water evaluations;

site assessment, remediation, NEPA,

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

sediment characterizations; dredge studies.

permitting and compliance.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1972/1979 | 30/5

2012/2012 | 8/8

KUNA ENGINEERING

NORTECH

Jay Hermanson, GM 4300 B St., Ste. 605 Anchorage, AK 99503 kunaeng.com 907-339-6500

Peter Beardsley, Pres./CEO 2400 College Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709 nortechengr.com 907-452-5688

Professional consulting services for energy;

Multi-disciplined consulting firm with

water/environmental; civil, electrical,

registered professional engineers and

structural and mechanical engineering;

certified industrial hygienists providing

surveying; transportation; planning; and

environmental, engineering, oil spill

construction/program administration.

contingency planning, water/wastewater,

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

compliance, industrial hygiene, and health

1998/1998 | 7/7

HDL ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS Mark Swenson, GM 3335 Arctic Blvd., Ste. 100 Anchorage, AK 99503 hdlalaska.com 907-564-2120 HDL’s services include civil engineering, transportation engineering, aviation engineering, W/WW engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental services, surveying and mapping, construction administration, material testing.

1981/1981 | 55/55

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2000/2001 | 75/75

HDR Tim Gallagher, AK Area Mgr. 2525 C St., Ste. 500 Anchorage, AK 99503 hdrinc.com 907-644-2000 Comprehensive infrastructure development services for transportation, water/ wastewater, solid waste, power, mining, and oil and gas, including engineering, environmental, planning, permitting, cultural resources, and stakeholder engagement.

LIFEMED ALASKA Russ Edwards, CEO PO Box 190026 Anchorage, AK 99519 lifemedalaska.com 907-563-6633

INTEGRITY ENVIRONMENTAL Shannon Oelkers, Owner 12110 Business Blvd., Ste. 6 PMB #434 Eagle River, AK 99577 integrity-environmental.com 907-854-7347

1979/1979 | 17/17

NORTHERN LAND USE RESEARCH ALASKA

in Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Juneau,

Lindsay Simmons, GM 725 Christensen Dr., Ste. 4 Anchorage, AK 99501 northernlanduse.com 907-345-2457

Palmer, and Soldotna, Dutch Harbor, and

National Historic Preservation Act Sec. 106

Kodiak. Anchorage-based ALS ground

assessments; identification, evaluation,

ambulance services. CAMTS Accredited.

mitigation services; prehistoric/historic

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

archaeology, historic architecture;

2008/2008 | 140/140

documents for NEPA and permitting;

LOGIC GEOPHYSICS & ANALYTICS

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Your Alaska Owned Medevac Company.

Statewide air ambulance services with bases

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1917/1979 | 10,300/110

services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

regulatory compliance.

Esther Babcock, Geophysicist 1120 Huffman Rd., Ste. 24-378 Anchorage, AK 99515 logicgeophysics.com 907-744-8111

1991/1991 | 10/8

NRC ALASKA, A US ECOLOGY COMPANY

site characterization using ground-

Blake Hillis, VP NRC AK 425 Outer Springer Lp. Rd. Palmer, AK 99645 usecology.com 907-258-1558

penetrating radar, seismic (refraction, MASW,

Emergency spill response, hazardous/

and downhole), EM31/61, and resistivity

non-hazardous waste disposal, petroleum

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

tools.

product recycling, industrial cleaning

2010/2010 | 11/11

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

services, vacuum truck services, glycol

2017/2017 | 2/2

recovery and sales, thermal soil

Near-surface geophysical surveys, including

Integrity Environmental is an innovative and experienced environmental consulting group dedicated to supporting companies managing bulk fuel storage operations in Alaska.

geologic mapping, gravel exploration,

KINNETIC LABORATORIES Mark Savoie, VP 704 W. Second Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 kinneticlabs.com 907-276-6178 Offers environmental consulting and marine monitoring of biological, chemical, and toxicological parameters; oceanographic 70 | August 2021

engineering geophysics, and environmental

MIDNIGHT SUN ENVIRONMENTAL

remediation, Valvoline products, Alaska made automotive fluids.

Brian Kovol, Pres./Principal Scientist 7941 Sandlewood Pl. Anchorage, AK 99507 midnightsunenvironmental.com 907-344-3244

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

MSE is a full-service environmental firm,

Shawn Decker, AK Area Mgr. 6000 A St.

providing expertise in environmental

2014/2014 | 3,000/100

PACIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL CORP (PENCO)

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO) specializes in land and marine spill response, environmental cleanup and remediation.

PENCO’s array of environmental services includes supplying teams of 40 hour HAZWOPER trained spill response technicians.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

sdg-ak.com 907-745-3500 SDG is a woman-owned, small business located in Palmer . Our design firm offers innovative land architecture and environmental solutions using our specialized process to create exceptional, high quality land planning, and integrated designs.

Eagle River, AK 99507 srk.com/en 907-677-3520

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

SRK is an internationally recognized consulting firm with 45 offices on six continents. We have been in business for 40+ years. Roughly half of SRK’s staff provides expertise related to environmental science, engineering and construction services.

2009/2009 | 3/3

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1974/2008 | 1,400/6

1985/1994 | 145/80

SRK CONSULTING (US)

PACIFIC PETRO RECOVERY ALASKA

Christopher Stevens 11901 Business Blvd., Ste. 110 (PO Box 770401)

Kevin Kennedy, Owner/Inventor PO Box 111722 Anchorage, AK 99511 ppralaska.com 907-299-9818

TALARIK RESEARCH AND RESTORATION SERVICES

Summer

At 99.9% oil recovery efficiency, the Otter Series Skimmers are the most efficient oil recovery systems in the world. They are easily transported and quick to deploy.

It doesn’t last long in Alaska.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Take a flight with Ravn Alaska and get out and enjoy it!

2010/2010 | 2/2

RESCON ALASKA Nathan Oberlee, Principal 8361 Petersburg St. Anchorage, AK 99507 resconalaska.com 907-677-7423 Rescon Alaska is an environmental consulting company. Rescon’s expertise includes project management, investigations, feasibility studies, remedial design/application, construction management and performance monitoring, and emergency spill response.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2012/2012 | 12/12

RESOLVE MARINE SERVICES ALASKA AW McAffee, GM 6231 Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 resolvemarine.com 907-243-0069 Marine salvage, emergency towing and vessel repair, commercial diving, oil spill response, and charter aviation for passengers and cargo.

Anchorage • Aniak • Cold Bay • Dillingham • Dutch Harbor Homer • King Salmon • Kenai • Sand Point • St. Mary’s • St. Paul Unalakleet • Valdez Call 800.866.8394 or visit ravnalaska.com to book your flight now!

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1980/2013 | 500/60

SDG Luanne Urfer, Principal/Owner 247 S. Alaska St. Palmer, AK 99645 www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

August 2021 | 71

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

Anchorage, AK 99518 penco.org 907-440-7385

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

Greg DuBois, GM 301 Calista Court, Ste. 101 Anchorage, AK 99518 alaskapeninsulacorp.com 907-274-2433 Environmental projects primarily for remediation of contaminated sites and restoration of impacted lands and streams from industrial activities.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2015/2015 | 20/20

TELLUS Scott Erdmann, Pres./Prof. Geologist 2416 Loussac Dr. Anchorage, AK 99517 907-248-8055 Project management, environmental assessment and compliance, corrective action programs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

on recycling matters. Also non-ferrous metal buyer.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1991/2005 | 150/4

TRIHYDRO CORPORATION Kurt Tuggle, Pres./CEO 312 Tyee St. Soldotna, AK 99669 trihydro.com 907-262-2315 Trihydro specializes in strategic project implementation, air quality and process management, engineering and surveying, environmental, water resources and IT consulting. We serve a diverse clientele: petroleum, federal and state, mining and natural resource.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1984/2015 | 500/8

1997/1997 | 1/1

WASTE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL SERVICES

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

Mike Holzschuh, Sr. Territory Mgr. 1519 Ship Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 wm.com 907-274-0477

Steve Cohn, AK State Dir. 715 L St., Ste. 100 Anchorage, AK 99516 nature.org/alaska 907-865-5700 A non profit organization whose vision is a world where the diversity of life thrives and people act to conserve nature for its own sake and its ability to fulfill our needs and enrich our lives.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1951/1988 | 4,000+/20

THRESHOLD SERVICES Wendel Capilli, Plant Mgr. PO Box 8709 Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-6551 We are a nonprofit corporation that provides employment and training to people with physical disabilities and other barriers to employment. We do this by operating Kodiak’s recycling facility.

Hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal, project management, complete logistical oversight, complete US and Canadian manifesting, rail transportation, over-the-road transportation, marine transportation, and turnkey remedial services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1971/1971 | 50,000/8

WN RECYCLERS Nancy J. Castle, Owner PO Box 82193 Fairbanks, AK 99708 907-488-4582 Recycling copper and brass.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1985/1985 | 2/2

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1989/1989 | 13/13

TOTAL RECLAIM ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Gary Smith, AK Branch Mgr. 12050 Industry Way, Unit 10 Anchorage, AK 99515 907-561-0544 Recycler for electronics, fluorescent lights, household batteries, and refrigerants.

Community resource regarding information 72 | August 2021

EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SUPPLIES ACE HARDWARE John Venhuizen, Pres./CEO 240 Muldoon Rd. Anchorage, AK 99504 acehardware.com 907-333-6648

Paint, sundries, custom paint matching and mixing, power tools, hand tools, electrical, plumbing, heating, hardware, fasteners, lawn and garden, outdoor living, BBQ, housewares, key cutting, special orders, online orders, business-to-business services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1924/1969 | 61,000/260

AFOGNAK LEASING Matt Thorpe, COO Afognak Native Corporation 3909 Arctic Blvd., Ste. 500 Anchorage, AK 99503 afognakleasing.com 907-222-9500 Lease and sell temporary and permanent remote camp and workforce housing facilities, portable offices and oil field support equipment. Build to suit mancamp and workforce housing facilities. Provide camp relocation, operations and management services.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2004/2004 | 17/17

AIRGAS, AN AIR LIQUIDE COMPANY Brian Benson, Area VP 6415 Arctic Blvd.

Anchorage, AK 99518 airgas.com 907-562-2080 Airgas-an industrial supplier with 66 years of experience in the state. Gas-bulk or packaged, machines-sales, rent or repair, welding consumables, or safety; we know Alaska and can help get your project delivered on time and under budget.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1902/1955 | 64,500/62

AIRPORT EQUIPMENT RENTALS Jerry Sadler, Owner/Pres.

1285 Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99707 airportequipmentrentals.com 907-456-2000 AER has the largest and most diverse fleet across Alaska. With six locations providing rentals, sales, and service for the construction and oil and gas industries. AER has the expertise, inventory, and dedication to meet any of your equipment needs.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1986/1986 | 100/100

ALASKA PREMIER AUCTIONS & APPRAISALS Dan Newman, Founder/Auctioneer 1310 W. International Airport Rd.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Safety is our number one priority. Brenntag is a founding member of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD). We are ISO certified and have operated in the State of Alaska for more than thirty years.

We are a statewide company serving all of Alaska. We pride ourselves on selling inventory in an easy, efficient, and profitable manner. We specialize in estate sales, business liquidations, benefit auctions, real estate, consignments, and appraisals.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1874/1990 | 17,000/24

2018/2018 | 20/20

ARCTIC FOX SAFETY & SUPPLY Jerry Fox, Owner 1500 N. Post Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 arcticfoxsafety.com 907-278-1500

BROOKS RANGE SUPPLY Dave Pfeifer, Pres./CEO Pouch 340008 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 brooksrangesupply.com 907-659-2550

We offer a full line of environmental and safety items including a large stock of DOT/ UN containers and spill response supplies.

Delivery available in Anchorage, Mat-Su, Fairbanks, and Delta Junction areas.

Automotive and heavy equipment parts, industrial and hydraulic hose, hardware, welding equipment, electrical and plumbing supplies, safety and MRO supplies, propane, oil spill materials, lubricants, hand and power tools.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

2004/2004 | 3/3

1982/1982 | 26/26

BRENNTAG PACIFIC

CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY INDUSTRIAL

Christian Kholpaintner, CEO 4199 S. Lathrop St. Fairbanks, AK 99701

Ken Gerondale, Pres./CEO 5400 Homer Dr.

Anchorage, AK 99518 cmiak.com 907-563-3822 Construction and mining equipment sales, rentals, service, and parts.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1985/1985 | 109/109

DELTA INDUSTRIAL SERVICES FAIRBANKS Rick Circle, GM 2630 Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709 deltaindustrial.com 907-457-4577 Construction and agricultural equipment, sales, rentals, parts, and service. Volvo, Volvo-Penta, New Holland, LeeBoy, Gehl, Heatmeister, Major Wire, Clark, Manac.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1997/1997 | 75/75

ESI ALASKA (EQUIPMENT SOURCES INC.) Nick Ferree, VP 1919 Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99701 esialaska.com 907-458-9049 ESI designs, develops and builds quality,

The Solutions Company - When experience meets ingenuity • Safe, cost effective solutions to the most challenging projects • From the Arctic to the Gulf Coast • Full facility removal, asbestos, remediation, waste management, demolition and site work

Central Environmental Inc. CEI I The Solutions Company

Locations: Anchorage I Fairbanks I Las Vegas I Los Angeles 888-876-0125 I www.cei-alaska.com I #centralenvironmentalinc www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

August 2021 | 73

I N D US T R I A L SU PP O RT SE R V I C E S SPEC I A L SEC T I O N

brenntag.com 907-952-4075

Anchorage, AK 99518 alaskapremierauctions.com 907-570-7050

907-522-3434

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

With more than 50 years of experience, our team has the knowledge to repair and maintain your MTU Onsite Energy system as well as all other major brands, including Kohler, CAT/Caterpillar, Generac, Cummins and many others.

2000/2000 | 40/35

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1958/1982 | 500/20

PCE PACIFIC

Bob Tsigonis, Pres.

1963 Donald Ave. Fairbanks, AK 99701 LifewaterEngineering.com 907-458-7024

Scott Davis, VP Sales 4730 Business Park Blvd., Ste. H-18 Anchorage, AK 99503 pcepacific.com 907-243-3833

Design and manufacture: onsite wastewater treatment plants to serve hotels, lodges, man camps, clinics, schools, villages, and private homes in extremely cold climates; high-speed, rough duty, whitewater river and ocean boats.

EMERSON-DeltaV Control System, SIS systems and SIL instrumentation, Fisher Control Valves, Anderson Greenwood and Crosby Safety Relief Valves, Rosemount Instruments, MicroMotion Flow Meters, wireless devices and systems.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1998/1998 | 10/10

1983/1983 | 135/8

MODULAR TRANSPORTABLE HOUSING

PUGET SOUND PIPE & SUPPLY CO.

A leading distributor of industrial maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) replacement parts (over 10 million SKUs), including bearings, power transmission, fluid power, electrical/automation, linear, pumps, hose, belting and industrial/safety supplies.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1946/2010 | 7,000+/12

PACIFIC POWER GROUP 7260 Homer Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518 pacificpowergroup.com 74 | August 2021

Gary Alan Moss, Pres.

5007 Pacific Hwy. E., Ste. 19 Fife, WA 98424 rjmprecision.com 253-922-8808 Sales of underground locating equipmentpipes, cables, etc. Sales of leak detection equipment-gas, water.

Sales, service, parts, rental and lease equipment, including Case Construction, Case IH, Trail King, Elgin, Vactor, Oshkosh, Etnyre, Monroe, Trackless and more.

Located in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Wasilla. A proud subsidiary of Calista Corporation.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1945/1945 | 35/35

Don’t be Left out Be sure your company listing is included in our industry directories and the annual Power List.

To request a survey for your industry or update company information please contact Emily. (emily@akbizmag.com) Surveys are quick. Listings are free.

Year Founded/Est. in Alaska | Worldwide/Alaska Employees:

1990/2016 | 4/-

SURVEYORS EXCHANGE CO. David Larry Wilmarth, Owner 3630 Springer St. Anchorage, AK 99503 satellitephonesak.com 907-561-6501 Satellite phone sales and rentals, auto-desk software, surveying instruments, sales, rentals, and service.

de provi a, on Air Alask m r Horiz ations in r.co kaai -7200 nal carrie destin alas regio e to 115 r 48.

-266 907 Airlines and servic the Lowe Employees: a ii, and wide/Alaska Alask and cargo Hawa nger passe Mexico,in Alaska | World . da, 00 ed/Est Cana 0/1,8 Year Found | 23,00 /1932 ISTICS M 1932 ER/G LOG

voice and a DMV DOT, try and provides as well. bers ol. ATA een indus Capit to its mem e betw bridg in the Staten services Employees: nce, a ing truck registratio wide/Alaska guida ding | World defen title and . in Alaska expedited ed/Est S RES Year Found | 4/4 /1958 ST EXP 1958

ALA

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-334 passenger offering ACE Logis wide/ SKA Hwy 907 a. | World nd der ALA N FALV EY, corpo Alask . gass yees: . in Alaska On dema tion provi ions in der.

Emplo JOH N. TonAK 99901 ov les and states ed/Est 0 porta E ka.g trans ty-one locat ics provi wide/Alaska 7559 hikan, om alas and vehicet Year Found | 30/3 MARIN . | World ngers and logist Ketc alaska.c stomer@ to twen CAN DEV. MGR 1997/1997 passe s. No pre-s g, rding . in Alaska ferryamhs.cu G ed/Est forwa unitie tion for 50 , dinin AMERI BUS .

066 VIN Found porta 150/1 comm ooms | dot.

LE, ALL WIL Year e trans a coastal de stater 25 & MO Ave. -642-0 / 1988 marin 800 RON Hilton WA 982 m 1988 m IVERY der of thirty Alask ble inclues. yees: nger, , GM 1010ingham, arine.coarine.co DEL Provi than passe ities availang loung Alaska Emplo 389 ACE K SCH AUB89 Bell ericanmericanm quality innovative mic to more Amen 22-1 viewi wide/ in highand aries.

2213 HANBox m dyna allams@allam 02 AK 995 itiner theaters, in Alaska | World s custo We specializestatic and red nt of . e PO horage, om sale ls. ed/Est movi geme es, local powe with -647-76 e build 800 ES Anc kanace.c gci.net 360 ican Marin rch vesse arans fuel-cell es, arran servic party Year Found | 800/ E LINS. servic alas kanace@ 84 ation third/1963 and catamctric and All Amer and resea sport 1963 ckage and PRE hulls MARIN -66 boat, alas yees: ON, work mono as hybrid-ele -522 express-pat, freight-tran storage, Emplo SKA inum 907 and Alaska ALA AND ERSDr. 01 ing with freigh alum foils, as well wide/ Air cargo tion of local truck moves. Employees: | World KEV INWesternAK 995 ENT hydro porta ls.

IPM . in Alaska any ii. trans ry services, l and officewide/Alaska 660 horage, aml .com ed/Est vesse EQU | World Hawa tion comp Anc en.com/@lynden delive Residentia O & ER Year Found | 75/1 porta a, and a, ics. . in Alaska /1990 lynd rmation 0 ed/Est logist e trans le, Alask S ARG 1990 S, OWN east Alask ern Seatt SON -515 a marin info Year Found | 12/12 EO SEA BON TEM -339 e Lines is e between e to South e to West /1994 S./C 907 H ALL 1994 servic nal servic Ave. 18 ADA CU, PRE. W. servic a Marin Alask barge scheduledand seaso CAN DEB ORA E. 80thAK 995 ding 1Z3 AIR ROV INESrtu Blvd ii, yees: arly 1300horage, o.com provi de Argo ing.

Emplo regul Hawa CAL INCote-Vet, QC H4S Alaska Anc asonsargka.net , to incluanic servic nger We offer Alaska, and wide/ a rship al passe 7373 t-Lauren World alas | allse ak@ nad US, mech ION deale Centr 8 der of a.ca m/airca sales plus full Sain RAT . in Alaska a. and the e . provi -618 argo ed/Est Alask RPO e and Canada nal servic 18 -277 ATV retail sories, r since 1998 yees: k.co 2 aircanad airlin 907 een Seaso boo Year Found | 234/ rt.

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UTV and , and acces deale Alaska Emplo -226 ervice face /1980 Argo Argo -247 st full-s n Canada, destination ational Airpo 1980 les, partsawarded | Worldwide/ RAILRO S./C EO 888 ES al vehic Intern da’s large s withi , PRE ng . in Alaska SKA VIC S Cana for flight r internation orage Employees: 500 SER ALA O’LE ARY 00 Top ranki ed/Est e 10-7 and ON CIAL SALE servic every majo Stevens Anchwide/Alaska tion, BILL Box 1075AK 995 Year Found | 5/5 MER porta OCATI oyees /1998 at Ted Alaska | World and to PO horage, d.com , COM REL 1998 rail transround empl tions . in kown nger CAN CKA DAR Anc karailroa 0 ed/Est opera 0/un passe itting. Year- 35; Total BLA -230 AMERI Year Found 0 | 3700 alas tion, 1 GO DIR. TINA porta and perm oyees 125-1 -265 Unit .

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1937/000 907 rail trans g ort Rd. Dr., 18 MNG AIR .com s.co leasin mer) empl yees: SKA ZUB ECK , ional Airp MGR1 ElectronAK 995 servicesyLogistic land Freight Emplo (sum nal ALA QUE ge, Alaska rnat 02 549 horage, ocation ysse real estate Seaso . wide/ stora , ity TOR 0 Old InteAK 995 rding Anc ricanrel adar@Od ng and 590-610; s 700+in Alaska | World l, prior , movi freight forwa estimates,e 470 horage, com . oyee ame inaBlack 6 al Trave 00 ation ed/Est empl n led 23 Anc kacargo. aair.com . of 737-7 -516 tial reloc ies, ocea free detai Krist ect Anim et servic Year Found | 725/7 ns ALS ER/P RES budg Conn -561 siden alas o@alask 2 rn fleet 907 ial/re ntrolled facilitg services, ultants, ss, Pet mode connectio and 1914/1914 TERMIN, OWN -275 carg es. Our s with Hawaii, 3 Commerc re-co and cratinmoving cons -225 package expre SON SKA unitie r 48, eratu ng 800 t servic yees: ALA D HALVERAve., Ste. temp packi certified streak air freigh Emplo a comm the Lowe 18 , lete Gold Alaska ral ved, in Alask TOD W. 70th AK 995 s comp appro rm localrate, s 19 wide/ yees: ation ry and gene perfo | World Emplo 400 horage, om milita ters serve destin a, we for corpo Alaska ns. . in Alaska freigh than 100 es Anc rminals.c57 wide/ ed/Est optio t for Alask 5 | World -66 agen moving servic akte to more ER Year Found | 80/5 . in Alaska 00 -349 Van Lines nd. al OLD yees: /1988 907 Atlas NG ed/Est beyo ation 0/3,0 Emplo ERS SHA REH ts.

1988 te clien wide/Alaska Year Found | 24,00 2 As the and intern WARDI COURIMNG . priva /1932 tate, ER FOR AMS E FINK , Blvd., Unit 1932 inters nt, andin Alaska | World OWN AIR 03 . rnme SKA NES , CO- , Ste. 6 JAIM1 Arctic AK 995 ed/Est 60 gove ALA DOR ries in e Ave. 02 500 horage, .com /1985 Year Found | 100/ CO. delive ics nwid 1985 JEFF 0 W. 50thAK 995 om GM/ VP ion -day , natio Anc couriers riers.com 1981/1981 TRAFFIC er/Pres. Alaska: same and logist Stat tions al GLE R, 400 horage, rcargo.c ian olida ams @amscou 6 , and ing, d, and , Own ation WAE Field ed in SKA 5 estr eman warehous unications Anc alaskaai 97 ent consand intern ALA REW SCH7 -273 info Freeman Establish n AK Ped es: 75/7 te, -278 in route, on-d tion, omm -46 s, shipm Curt aln@ ded/ , freigh AND Box 383 98124 porta 907 s , telec Chicke ntasta AK Statew ide Employe -248 trade show rement servic yees: ;yees: Foun 907 of cargo duled LTL, laska t, Emplo PO tle, WA .com des trans cal, legal 365. cks t: Year Specialize Emplo procu ; Me de/A Alaska and all types es. Sche a. Provi the medi .

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1969 trans consolidain Alaska | World ION BOA ER/CO-F . Ear AIR PRE S./O 1964 e: 907tion .

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T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

Staying on Track

Alaska to Alberta railway considers refinancing to steam ahead

By Vanessa Orr

T

he Alaska Railroad, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, World War II military infrastructure, and TAPS: there are a select number of large-scale infrastructure projects that have helped make Alaska what it is today.

It was hoped that the Alaska to Alberta Railway (A2A) would be a similar groundbreaking project, connecting producers and consumers in western Canada with the large and growing markets in East and South Asia.

“There are certain types of beachhead investments that create a lot of other jobs and contribute to increased economic activity in the state,” says A2A Vice-chair Mead Treadwell of these move-the-needle projects. “And while our ports are fundamental, in this case, the A2A could help Alaska find its destiny as a transportation powerhouse.”

While the idea of creating this type of railway has been around for more than a century—it is thought that the 1899

76 | August 2021

Harriman expedition along the coast of Alaska might have been in part to scout for a railroad route through the state—it hasn’t come near to fruition.

In the past five years, however, a lot of work—from receiving presidential border crossing permission to working with Indigenous communities along the proposed route—has been done to try to make it a reality.

Like Harriman’s vision, however, the A2A might remain a dream—at least for the time being—as the A2A works its way through even rougher territory than the Alaska and Canadian landscapes. In June, the A2A filed for protection from creditors after its main lender, Bridging Finance Inc., was placed into receivership.

The Project A2A , an Alberta corporation, proposes to build a 2,000-mile rail link between the existing North American rail grid, the Alaska Railroad, and Alaska tidewater ports.

Its construction will enable Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Alberta to have greater access to world markets for their raw materials and manufactured goods, in addition to providing for tourism and passenger travel. The project is expected to cost approximately CA$22 billion-plus, or roughly US$18 billion.

“The chief benefit to Alaska is that it would diversify our economy, putting the state right in the middle of Eurasian cargo traffic,” Treadwell explains. “If we had a rail link starting at Seward, Anchorage, or Port Mackenzie that goes to Maine or Florida, it would mean that Alaska would be the closest port on the Pacific to goods coming in from Asia. It would create a two- to four-day time advantage, meaning that goods made in Asia would get to markets more quickly, like auto parts heading to factories in Toronto or Michigan.

“It would also make it easier to get the state’s own goods to market,” he adds.

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“Today, some of the minerals mined at the Red Dog Mine north of Kotzebue go to smelters in British Columbia, and while we’re not expected to serve the Red Dog, A2A Rail could help other hard rock mines in the Brooks Range that are being developed with plans to bring ore through Fairbanks.

It would also create a lot of different opportunities as companies benefitted from cheaper shipping.”

The A2A is expected to create 4,000 construction jobs and 2,200 railroad operating jobs. Once in operation, it is estimated that Alaska’s GDP would see an increase of 10 percent, or $5 billion a year.

Treadwell adds that a rail line would dramatically increase business at Alaska’s underused ports, doubling or tripling the amount of cargo coming in.

The project is also expected to benefit Canada in a number of ways.

“Much like Alaska, Canada is a natural resource producer, so if you can get a railroad into Yukon crossing north of Whitehorse, it provides access to one of the country’s more active mineral exploration areas,” says Treadwell. “This would make it

“Even if a lender puts up $500 million, financing the project will require twenty times that to be built, so it will require global investors.”

Mead Treadwell, Vice-chair, A2A

easier to move mineral concentrates to market, whether that’s smelters in Dalian, China, or in British Columbia.

“Canada is currently struggling with how to get potash, grains, and more to market with restrictions on Canadian ports,” he adds. “A rail line is expected to increase Canada’s GDP by approximately 30 to 40 percent; Alberta alone would see an increase of

up to 20 percent, and the Northwestern Territories by 50 percent. It has tremendous potential.”

The People One of the goals of the A2A is to provide significant employment and ownership opportunities for members of the Indigenous communities along the proposed railway line.

“Early on, A2A was told by both infrastructure experts and the finance community that we needed two things to succeed: to be able to cross the border, and to have a relationship with the First Nations in Canada,” says Treadwell. “So we pursued a presidential border crossing permit, which [then] President Trump issued in September 2020, and we launched a five-year intensive consulting process involving more than fifty Native entities in Canada, seven Native landowners in Alaska, and a number of tribal villages and organizations.”

One of the things that Treadwell says is dramatically different about the A2A project, compared to previous mining, pipeline, and other infrastructure projects, is that the company set a goal

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of helping Indigenous people gain 49 percent ownership in the project.

“Canada has a number of Indigenous investment guarantee programs, and Alaska also has some opportunities where when you cross Native land, you can trade for equity in the project,” Treadwell explains. “We’re also looking at structuring debt financing so that long-term Native ownership becomes part of the project.”

The Problem On June 18, A2A Rail filed for protection from creditors after its largest lender, Toronto-based investment firm Bridging Finance, was placed in receivership by the Ontario Securities Commission on April 30. It took this action as a result of the courtappointed receiver of Bridging Finance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, calling in a CA$149 million loan made to A2A by the finance company.

This past year, Ontario financial regulators began investigating Bridging Finance for alleged improper use of investor funds to benefit the firm and its chief executive, David Sharpe.

According to Ontario Securities Commission documents and media reports, A2A’s original founder and 78 | August 2021

“Much like Alaska, Canada is a natural resource producer, so if you can get a railroad into Yukon crossing north of Whitehorse, it provides access to one of the country’s more active mineral exploration areas.

This would make it easier to move mineral concentrates to market, whether that’s smelters in Dalian, China, or in British Columbia.”

Mead Treadwell, Vice-chair, A2A

chairman, Sean McCoshen, paid CA$19.5 million into Sharpe’s personal bank account around the time the investment firm lent the railway project more than CA$100 million.

In an A2A press release dated June 23, 2021, the company said that it intends to start a court-approved sale and investor and solicitation process to pursue financing with other investors. This could include a sale of the company’s business on a going-concern basis including engineering, permits and pending permits, right-of-way agreements, marketing materials, agreements, and relationships with its proposed First Nations and Alaska Native partner entities.

McCoshen will not be involved in the process, which will be driven by a thirdparty consultant.

“Despite the lender’s receivership, the company believes that the A2A rail project concept is sound and has already made significant progress toward full financing above and beyond the development capital provided by Bridging Finance over the past five years,” the release reads.

In an interview the week prior to the announcement, Treadwell said that A2A

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was already looking to global investors to help fund the $18 billion project, on which more than $100 million has already been spent.

“On an infrastructure project, like a mine, an entrepreneur or small company will often take the project development risk and invest money to de-risk the project,” he explained of the original investment.

“This provides major permitting and engineering cost estimates that can then be taken to infrastructure investors backed by global wealth funds to show permitting feasibility.

Before the Bridging Finance issue, we were basically financing on the guarantee of the original owner that A2A would bring in strategic investors and infrastructure investors, and possibly some government debt programs.

“Even if a lender puts up $500 million, financing the project will require twenty times that to be built, so it will require global investors,” he adds.

The Prospects While the status of the project and any further permitting or engineering activities are now on hold, Treadwell holds out hope that the A2A will move for ward, albeit on a different timeline than was originally planned.

“The company needs to refinance to move forward with the whole project, and a lot of different things could happen—some faster, some more slowly,” he says. “The main point is that a lot of work has been done, and no matter what happens on the financing side, that work has created a lot of value.

“If you were planning to build a house and got an option on the land, preliminary designs from the architect, an estimated path with the building code department, and knew where the rent would come from once it was built—you might say that’s worth something,” he continues. “That’s where we are.”

He adds that it’s important to note that while Alaska is currently in the process of trying to figure out what types of actions will renew the state’s perception of its own economic future, the A2A is one project that could clearly help do that. www.akbizmag.com

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August 2021 | 79

OIL & GAS

New Administration, New Agenda

Mixed messaging from Biden Administration spells uncertainty for oil and gas investment

P

resident Joe Biden sent a clear message early this summer about his position on oil and gas development in Alaska.

The president set parameters for future energy development in Alaska, in what at first appeared to be contradictory back-to-back actions on exploration and drilling. Upon closer look, the pair of decisions underscored the president’s recognition that the US economy depends on fossil fuels in its energy portfolio.

Biden signaled that Alaska oil and gas development will continue in areas long used for that purpose.

The back-to-back decisions illustrate the balancing act faced by the Biden administration as it proceeds on a campaign promise to move the nation toward less dependence on fossil fuels for renewable energy sources.

Several Interventions The Biden administration intervened in an environmental lawsuit to support ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, located 80 | August 2021

in America’s northernmost National Petroleum Reserve.

The vast tract of public land on Alaska’s North Slope is owned by the federal government and spans more than 20 million acres, which were originally set aside a century ago for oil production.

The Willow Project would be one of the first new major Alaska gas and oil projects in several years. It is projected to provide up to 2,000 temporary construction jobs during development and 300 permanent jobs.

The Biden administration followed that court action with a decision to temporarily halt oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Biden also signed an executive order right after taking office to put a moratorium on new gas and oil activities on public lands and offshore waters, an action that is now being litigated.

The opposing messages—to allow oil and gas production in one area of Alaska, while denying it in another— vexed advocates and stakeholders in

AOGA

By Linda F. Hersey the oil and gas industry, the state’s largest taxpayer.

“The Biden administration’s energy policies have been a mixed bag for Alaska’s oil and gas industry,” says Alaska litigator Lee Baxter, who works closely with Alaska Native corporations, tribal and state governments, public entities, and companies throughout Alaska.

“On one hand, the Department of Justice is currently defending the NPR-A Willow Project in Alaska federal court,” says Baxter, who specializes in natural resources at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. “But, significantly, on the other hand, President Biden has imposed a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities, and his Interior Department suspended leases” in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

E. Colleen Bryan, communications director for the Alaska Industry Development & Export Authority (AIDEA), notes that the oil and gas industry supports up to a quarter of the Alaska workforce through direct employment and support industries.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

AIDEA, the state development finance agency, purchased leases in the wildlife refuge in the days before Biden took office.

“It’s our hope that President Biden will choose to spotlight Alaska as the leader it is for responsible resource development and lift the suspension of these leases out of respect for Alaska’s local communities’ right for responsible economic development,” Bryan says.

Following Through—For Better or Worse Yet the Biden administration’s actions in Alaska come as little surprise to political observers. Biden’s suspension of new oil and gas lease activities upheld his promises in a detailed climate action plan that served as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.

The Biden plan called for permanently protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and ending new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters in favor of a new focus on solar, hydroelectric, and wind power, among other renewable resources.

Biden’s long-term energy goals are to lower greenhouse emissions and

transition the nation to sustainable energy sources. But he also maintained that he will not sharply reduce oil and gas production or fracking, reflected in the legal brief filed by his administration on the Willow Project.

The president’s endorsement of ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project was the most visible demonstration yet that the president recognizes the need for a robust domestic fossil fuel supply and that Alaska production will be focused on the designated expanse of the National Petroleum Reserve.

Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil & Gas Association (AOGA), says the decisions by the Biden administration to set limits on oil and gas leases has fueled an environment of uncertainty for companies considering long-term investments in Alaska’s oil and gas industry.

With any new administration, there is a “political whiplash effect” for stakeholders as they seek to understand and respond to the new permitting and regulatory environment. The Biden administration is no different.

But Biden’s suspension of new oil and gas leases, followed by a halt to

all leasing in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, has had “material impacts on Alaska” that extend beyond any transition period from one administration to the next.

Biden’s actions represent “very real concerns for future jobs, long-term revenue streams, and economic activity in Alaska,” says Moriarty.

Oil and gas stakeholders should pay close attention to environmental permitting and regulations as they are developed and implemented under the new administration, Moriarty and advocates say. As Biden articulates policy goals, they become reflected in regulatory changes that are just getting underway.

“We are only five months into the Biden Administration, and it often takes much longer for new presidential policies to achieve all of the intended— or unintended—impacts,” Moriarty adds.

For example, the Biden administration has made it clear that it will be changing several policies and regulations by the Trump administration that relate to environmental permitting. But the policy changes take time to implement fully, which can delay projects as

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August 2021 | 81

A North Slope worker at Prudhoe Bay. AOGA

Hilcorp’s central gas facility at Prudhoe Bay. AOGA

agencies “are noticeably slower to act when they are unsure of what policies to apply,” Moriarty says.

Navigating Uncertainty Stakeholders in the gas and oil industry need to be prepared for delays.

Federal permitting for oil and gas drilling already involves a complex 82 | August 2021

maze of permitting requirements by key federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, in addition to a deep understanding of statutes.

“The preparation of an environmental impact statement, for example, can be time-consuming

and complicated because of the number of agencies typically involved and the numerous draft iterations,” she notes. “A change in presidential administrations makes the permitting process even more complex.”

Bryan of AIDEA says that the oil and gas industry is trying to navigate the new landscape. “It's unclear at this time what new regulatory or permitting challenges the oil and gas industry can expect with the Biden administration, especially due to the administration’s confusing and inconsistent industry actions within the state,” Bryan says.

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan is advocating in Congress for reforming and streamlining the federal permitting process, which has not been substantially updated in fifty years. “If the president really wants a bipartisan [infrastructure] bill,” Sullivan recently stated, he “needs to address permitting reform. I know that sounds very boring, but it's very bipartisan.”

Threats and legal actions by environmental activists, emboldened by the new, pro-environment Democratic administration, also can create volatility.

Environmental advocacy groups are rarely satisfied with any Alaska oil permitting decisions, no matter how comprehensive the process, Moriarty explains. At the same time, “litigation filed by those groups adds yet another process layer and potential source of delay to getting projects developed.”

Biden’s orders “obviously hurt Alaska’s oil and gas industry,” adds Baxter, noting that energy lawyers are challenging orders in court.

“Oil and gas development requires significant capital investment. Any time the president is using executive orders to halt, suspend, or temporarily pause oil and gas exploration or extraction, it makes investment in Alaska’s oil and gas less attractive and hurts the industry.”

Despite the backdrop of uncertainty, Hilcorp, ConocoPhillips, and other energy companies are continuing to invest in legacy oil fields with new technologies that expand their lifespan.

ConocoPhillips officials have said there is a greater recognition globally that the world needs oil and gas

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

for critical infrastructure, including transportation, heating, and electricity generation, even as renewables outpace fossil fuels in 2020 across the European Union.

Oil to Be Had The potential for significant amounts of new oil in Alaska is real—billions of barrels of oil remain to be produced in Alaska, but it is critical for Alaska to remain a stable and competitive place to do business, Moriarty says.

“As Alaska continues to navigate this new economic landscape created by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s crucial that AIDEA, as an economic development corporation, has as many tools as possible to promote Alaska’s economic interests,” Bryan adds.

Before the pandemic, Alaska officials reported that North Slope oil and gas was at peak activity, the highest production in twenty years.

The Willow Project has the potential to add 100,000 barrels per day in new production, with the Oil Search and Repsol Pikka Project on the North Slope expected to produce about the same amount of oil.

The Alaska Arctic also is increasingly seen as an abundant energy source that holds an estimated 15 percent of the world's undiscovered petroleum and 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas, according to ConocoPhillips.

New technologies and innovation are lowering the costs of doing business for global giants like ConocoPhillips in extreme and remote environments and lessening the environmental impact of drilling and production.

In the ‘70s, an oil pad covered about 65 acres, and underground drilling extended only 3 miles. Today surface areas are 12 to 14 acres, with underground drilling extending to 55 miles, with many of the techniques pioneered in Alaska.

Alaska is home to the largest extended-reach drilling rig in North America, nicknamed the Beast. Doyon Drilling’s Rig 26 sets the record for a total of 154 square miles underground extended reach drilling.

“That extended reach will allow ConocoPhillips to reach pockets of oil that previously would have required substantial new infrastructure from

existing pads,” Moriarty says, thus reducing footprint, development cost, and timelines.

The Beast also has a lower carbon footprint, burning a mix of processed field gas and diesel. This has a potential to displace about 50 percent of the diesel needed to operate the rig, reducing emissions substantially.

In addition, the Pikka Project, as currently designed, aligns with criteria in the Paris Agreement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through several actions, including distributing power from gas-fired equipment to satellite facilities, instead of producing power at multiple locations.

So what does the future hold for gas and oil employment in Alaska, where fossil fuel development is a driving force for the economy?

“Given the fluidity of the market and workforce recalibration in post-COVID America, it is impossible to predict,” Moriarty says.

“What is certain, however, is that a stable fiscal regime, along with increased certainty in federal leasing and permitting, will be critical to maintain and grow the Alaska workforce.”

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August 2021 | 83

E N V I R O N M E N TA L

Long Forgotten— Far From Gone USACE scrubs away at $1 billion of environmental liability

K. Eldridge | USACE Alaska District

By Isaac Stone Simonelli

W

ith an estimated billion dollars of remediation projects left to manage in Alaska alone, it’s a long road for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Alaska District to clean up formerly used defense sites in the state. Nonetheless, the USACE– Alaska District has been steadily chipping away at the herculean effort since October 17, 1986, whittling the list of properties that need to be investigated for possible remediation from 137 to 60.

“We're working on almost forty to forty-five of those actively,” says Ken Andraschko, the USACE–Alaska District’s Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program manager.

84 | August 2021

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

The FUDS program was created in the ‘80s to tackle environmental contamination at properties formerly owned, leased, possessed, or used by the military. Because of Alaska’s key strategic location, especially during World War II and the Cold War, the program is of particular importance.

“As far as priority goes, we generally do the riskiest first,” Andraschko says.

“We also work in conjunction with our state regulators, the EPA, and land managers to review our sites and determine a priority status for those sites.”

Much of what is left to be investigated and cleaned up in Alaska are remote locations among the Aleutian Islands, which were rapidly developed by the military in response to the Imperial Japanese Army occupation of the Alaska islands of Attu and Kiska in June 1942.

“The less risky ones, per se, were out in the Aleutian, and that's generally what we have left,” Andraschko explains.

Cleaning Contaminants The USACE uses a rating system when deciding what projects to tackle.

It weighs a site's potential risk to human health and human safety, as well as negative environmental impacts due to contaminants.

The typical contaminants found during the investigation stage of a potentially contaminated site in Alaska include lead, oil, diesel, gas, and chlorinated solvents, explains Matthew Flynn, Ahtna Engineering’s program manager for the USACE small business environmental remediation services contract.

Ahtna Engineering has been awarded a five-year contract with USACE, which contracts out both the investigations of potentially contaminated sites and the remedial work.

“For World War II [sites], we're getting pretty good at these, we've been doing a lot of these investigations and clean ups,” Flynn says. “So, we have a pretty good list of things to go looking for, mostly petroleum products, diesel, gas, a little bit of motor oil here and there.

Occasionally, we'll find a chlorinated solvent. You know, we're always on the lookout for that kind of stuff.”

Chlorinated compounds, such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and www.akbizmag.com

“What separates us from our counterparts in the Lower 48 is there you can run to the store and grab additional supplies, if you didn’t bring it with you. Here, our contractors, they've got to think about all the different things they need and have it all there on the site, because you just can't, you know, run over to your local hardware store or pick up another sheet of plywood.”

Ken Andraschko, FUDS Program Manager USACE–Alaska District

trichloroethene (TCE), are of particular concern because they are very toxic to both humans and animals at very low concentrations.

“While some fuel-related compounds are toxic at low concentrations (benzene for instance), they tend to volatilize readily and naturally remediate quickly compared to chlorinated compounds, which do neither,” Flynn says.

Alaska Business

During the investigation process, contractors are also on the lookout for lead batteries, lead bullets, and other munitions.

Andraschko explains that USACE– Alaska District is actively working on more than 100 phases of project work. The USACE follows the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabilities Act (CERCLA) process and additional regulatory framework.

“That covers it all the way from the preliminary investigation to the site inspection to remedial investigation, feasibility study, proposed plan, signing a decision document, and then, finally, implementing the remedial action or… long term management of the process,” Andraschko says.

Ahtna holds contracts that allow the Alaska-based company to conduct site investigations, as well as perform remedial efforts. Investigations, as well as pre-investigation work, is extraordinarily important in Alaska FUDS projects due to the high costs associated with managing projects in remote parts of the state.

“What separates us from our counterparts in the Lower 48 is there you can run to the store and grab additional supplies, if you didn’t bring it with you,” Andraschko says.

“Here, our contractors, they've got to think about all the different things they need and have it all there on the site, because you just can't, you know, run over to your local hardware store or pick up another sheet of plywood.”

The logistics of the projects that are left are particularly difficult.

“We're getting into the more challenging ones, because no one really wants to tackle those because they're hard,” Flynn says. “And they're not going to be easy or cheap.”

Knowing What to Look For Pre-investigation work helps contractors plan their onsite investigation and ensures better data is collected when they’re there. This is done by collecting historical aerial images and as-built photos of the sites, identifying the types of structures, where they are located, and what contaminants are likely onsite.

August 2021 | 85

Shelley Williams of Mammoth Consulting completes final field survey tasks.

Ahtna

The remains of a WWII Pacific Hut. K. Eldridge | USACE Alaska District

86 | August 2021

“If it was a mess hall or a barracks, we're usually not looking for much other than say heat. So, you would expect maybe a fuel source. If you had a motor repair shop, we're usually on the lookout for more things. A lot of times you might have used solvents to clean the engine, might find battery remnants, that kind of stuff,” Flynn says. “We're always trying to craft our investigations to each building or each feature that we're trying to investigate.”

By using an app developed in conjunction with Geosyntec Consultants, Ahtna is able to overlay historical images and other relevant data on top of a map on their field iPads that are linked to GPS units.

“That allows us to see, in real time, where we are on the islands,” Flynn says. “We can flip through the images that are rectified. So we know what it looked like in 1950, or whatever our image may be.”

The primary purpose of a field investigation team being dispatched to a location is to collect data, including soil and water samples.

Often, contractors such as Ahtna will outsource some of the data work to companies like Geosyntec Consultants and Arctic Data Services.

“You have to go out and collect various types of data in order to understand the problem, the environmental issues,” explains Ben Martich, principal scientist with Geosyntec Consultants.

“We provide solutions to how that data are collected and stored and then ultimately transferred back to the Army Corps.”

Geosyntec Consultants has developed a single-solution app specifically to allow field operators to better log collected data.

“The higher the quality and reliability of the data, the sounder the remedial choice that will be made,” Martich says.

Rodney Guritz, the principal chemist for Arctic Data Services, agrees that quality data is vital. “[USACE–Alaska District], they lead some of the most expensive, logistically challenging, and time sensitive cleanup projects in the world,” Guritz says. “On those projects, it's really important that you have data that's of good enough quality to base pretty major decisions on—major in terms of the risk to human health and

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

the environment, also major in terms of cost and taxpayer dollars.”

Arctic Data Services helps with quality assurance planning ahead of a project, the selection of the best lab for the project, and data validation, Guritz explains.

“We are pretty much involved in all aspects of data quality, except actually producing the data, and that's done by commercial labs,” Guritz says.

Given that it can cost upward of $700,000 to mobilize an investigative team to a site to collect data, accurate data is vital, notes Andraschko.

“It's imperative that you get the data and get good quality data the first time and not have to go back,” Andraschko says.

Even with the strong attempts to conduct solid pre-investigation work and collect good data in the field, there have been cases where the quality of the data has come up short of expectations, says Andraschko.

In those cases, a team is sent back out.

Mindful Remediation While Ahtna conducts investigations for the USACE, it also carries out the

“The Corps is definitely trying really hard to work on cleaning these jobs up. It's a thankless side [of their work] that you don't always see. You don't hear much about it unless it touches a community.”

Matthew Flynn, Program Manager, Ahtna

remediation and cleanup efforts. Ahtna recently completed an investigation on Ogliuga Island, an uninhabited, remote island in the Aleutians.

The Army built an emergency runway on Ogliuga Island, now part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, during World War II to provide support for airplanes headed toward Japanese occupied Kiska.

Two separate one-month trips to the island allowed the team to drill and take soil samples from more than 200 separate features to determine what contaminants are present and if they are only in the soil or if they have migrated into the water table, Flynn says.

“Working in the remote parts of Alaska is always a challenge, and the COVID pandemic added even more complications. The work on Ogliuga Island in 2020 and 2021 could not have been completed without the extensive network of local Alaskabased companies,” explains Ahtna Program Manager Vivian Tokar. “The Alaska-based companies provided Alaska-based skilled professionals, local equipment, and supplies during the pandemic.”

The investigations of these sites, as well as any possible clean-up project, needs to navigate a number of additional considerations, including

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Alaska Business

August 2021 | 87

Ahtna field geologist Mike Ebert collects soil samples.

K. Eldridge | USACE Alaska District

impacts on wildlife—Ogliuga Island has a couple seal pullouts—and the archaeological value of the area, as the sites are part of US history and sometimes connected to Alaska Native history.

“If it's sensitive enough, the USACE will bring along an archaeologist to make sure that we stay away from any culturally sensitive areas, and there are many out there in the Aleutians,” Flynn says.

The data and analysis for a project will be passed on to the USACE, regulators, and other stakeholders, often the landowner.

“Once everyone is in agreement, there may be some intermediary steps depending on whether it's CERCLA or state types of contamination, but ultimately it will result in a cleanup—if there's one required,” Flynn says.

‘Bang for Your Buck’

Abandoned WWII equipment.

K. Eldridge | USACE Alaska District

88 | August 2021

For Andraschko, one of the biggest successes of the FUDS program in Alaska has been increasing the efficiency of the work.

“I always hate to see a barge go out and the barge come home empty,” Andraschko says. “When it’s feasible and reasonable, we try to combine doing the source removals at the same time [as an investigation].”

This sort of combined effort on a single trip is made possible by contractors, such as Ahtna, that are capable of providing both services.

“If you spent the money to get there, you might as well try to get the best bang for your buck,” says Flynn.

While it’s one thing to deal with the logistics of mobilizing an investigation team, it’s another to organize a cleanup effort, which usually requires large equipment, including earthmovers and diggers.

“Working in Western Alaska or even Northern or Southeast, they all have their unique logistical challenges,” Flynn says. “Sometimes, we are working on projects where we literally have to use a helicopter to fly parts and people to and from these remote locations.”

Such extremes were required for a project at Cape Prominence on Unalaska Island, home to a remote radar facility during World War II. For projects in the Aleutians, everything is brought out on a barge Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

or a landing craft. Once onsite, equipment is unloaded onto the beach, when possible.

“A lot of times, we build a camp and we'll live there for thirty days or so while we work,” Flynn says.

Where Does It All Go? About 95 percent of the FUDS projects Ahtna has worked on are focused on contaminated soil.

What’s on the surface is the “biggest exposure to humans and the animals,” Flynn explains.

The soil is collected, containerized, and usually shipped to Seattle for disposal. “Technically, we could bring it to Anchorage and treat it here. But it's usually cheaper for us in the long run to send it to Seattle,” Flynn says.

Unlike soil contaminated by petroleum products, which can be dealt with in Alaska, all hazardous materials dug up during these projects have to be disposed of in the Lower 48. Usually, they are taken to the hazardous waste landfill in Arlington, Oregon.

While the clean-up and remediation process for soil contamination is

“On those projects, it's really important that you have data that's of good enough quality to base pretty major decisions on—major in terms of the risk to human health and the environment, also major in terms of cost and taxpayer dollars.”

Rodney Guritz, Principal Chemist Arctic Data Services

relatively straightforward, contaminated groundwater is not.

“How do you clean up groundwater on an island that is 1,200 miles west of Anchorage in the middle of absolute nowhere, right? Sometimes, I'm not sure how to solve that problem,” says Flynn.

While directly treating groundwater contamination in such remote locations is rarely cost-effective or possible, Flynn points out that scraping up soil and sediment often provides a long-term solution to groundwater issues.

“If we remove the contaminated soil, in time, the groundwater will clean up, because the soil was the source,” Flynn says.

With an annual budget that ranges from $20 million to $50 million, USACE—Alaska District is continuing to quietly chip away at the environmental liabilities in the Last Frontier.

“The Corps is definitely trying really hard to work on cleaning these jobs up,” Flynn says. “It's a thankless side [of their work] that you don't always see.

You don't hear much about it unless it touches a community.”

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Alaska Business

August 2021 | 89

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS Koniag | TecPro Koniag is excited to welcome TecPro to its Energy and Water business sector. Based in Anchorage, TecPro is a wellestablished industrial electrical and security services provider whose clients and projects span Alaska, the Lower 48, and Hawai’i. Koniag Chairman and CEO Ron Unger says, “TecPro has an experienced, knowledgeable staff and has a history of winning valuable contracts in Alaska and across the Pacific Northwest. With TecPro’s addition to the Koniag family, we can continue to grow and diversify in pursuit of our mission— continually increasing benefits and opportunities for our Shareholders.”

TecPro will join Dowland-Bach, Glacier Services, Big G Electric & Engineering, and newly acquired Great Northern Engineering in Koniag’s Energy and Water sector. koniag.com

Trihydro | JJ&A Trihydro Corporation has completed the acquisition of California-based consulting firm Jacobson James & Associates (JJ&A). The acquisition diversifies and broadens Trihydro’s market presence and enhances the firm’s ability to better serve its West Coast and national client base with expanded resources and expertise. With similar solutionsfocused cultures, both companies are committed to serving as trusted advisors when partnering with clients on projects. In addition to enhancing Trihydro’s core service areas of complex environmental

clean-up, stormwater, hazardous materials management, and natural resource permitting, JJ&A strengthens Trihydro’s regulatory planning and strategy services and adds new areas of expertise to the team, such as forest resiliency planning, biomass management, and post-fire stabilization and restoration. trihydro.com | jacobsonjames.com

R&M Consultants Engineering News Record ranked R&M Consultants at #484 on their 2021 Top 500 Design Firms List. R&M is the only fully Alaskabased firm represented. “The real challenge in 2020 was how to help our employees navigate through the change and stress of the pandemic,” says Len Story, R&M’s CEO. “Thankfully, we have created a team that was able to adapt quickly, effectively, and worked hard at finding the right balance between work and life. Our team’s collaboration and support for each other was truly something special, and under these circumstances, we ended up having one of our best years ever.” R&M closed 2020 with a revenue of $25.5 million. Projects consisted mainly of transportation improvements, rounded out with work in the general building, water supply, and sewer/waste sectors. rmconsult.com

SHI Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has released its first-ever children’s book entirely in the Haida language,

X̅ aad Kíl. The book, Nang Jáadaa Sgáana ‘Láanaa aa Isdáayaan, or The Woman Carried Away by Killer Whales in English, is part of SHI’s award-winning Baby Raven Reads program.

The traditional Haida story features a hunter who successfully hunts a sea otter and forgets to thank the otter for its life. When he gifts the otter to his wife, it comes back to life and swims away. She jumps in after it and is captured by the SGaan, the killer whales. An adventurous rescue begins. “The story is so ancient but we are still telling it today. The power of oral tradition is infinite,” says Janine Gibbons, Haida artist and illustrator of the book. sealaskaheritage.org

APU Alaska Pacific University (APU) has chosen to become a testblind school and will no longer consider standardized test scores when determining undergraduate admissions or merit-based scholarships. APU is the first university in Alaska to implement this change in procedure. The decision continues the university’s mission to expand equity and access initiatives for all students.

As a test-blind university, the APU Admissions office will take a more holistic and meaningful approach to each applicant by prioritizing their experiences and goals in place of test scores. Scholarship consideration will follow a similar procedure, offering students equal access to an affordable education. alaskapacific.edu

ECONOMIC INDIC ATOR S ANS Crude Oil Production  475,860 barrels  -1% change from previous month

ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices  $76.53 per barrel  8% change from previous month

Statewide Employment  350,818 Labor Force  6.7% Unemployment

6/30/21 Source: Alaska Department of Natural Resources

7/1/21 Source: Alaska Department of Natural Resources

5/1/21. Adjusted seasonally.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development

90 | August 2021

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

RIGHT MOVES RISQ Consulting RISQ Consulting announced Colby Swenor has joined its team as a Strategy Consultant. Swenor works with both current and Swenor prospective clients, providing them with customized and comprehensive insurance programs to ensure that their risks are successfully managed. He joins RISQ following a successful fifteen-year career in the financial services industry and has held management positions with Wells Fargo and Key Bank, as well as a commercial loan officer position at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. Prior to joining RISQ he was the CFO for a large Anchorage-based contracting company.

Northrim Bank Northrim Bank announced two new officers and a promotion: Jeffrey Sanford, VP – Loan Officer, Kodiak Loan Production Office; Asanya Lloyd, Assistant Branch Manager, Jewel Lake Branch; and Michelle Lozano, Special Credits Associate Officer.  Sanford joins Northrim Bank with more than twenty years of commercial banking experience. He specializes in Alaska’s commercial fishing Sanford and seafood industry, helping customers from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Alaska. He holds a bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.  Lloyd comes to Northrim with six years of experience in finance, investments, and lending. She holds a bachelor’s from the University Lloyd of Technology, Jamaica.

Lloyd volunteers with the Food Bank of Alaska, Financial Education Seminars, and the Out of the Darkness 5K run.  Lozano started at Northrim in January 2019 and has twenty-five years of experience in banking and financial services. She has Lozano worked at a variety of Alaska financial and title institutions throughout her career. Lozano enjoys spending time with her family, getting outdoors in Alaska, and traveling.

Doyon Foundation  Tiffany Simmons is Doyon Foundation’s new Executive Director. A Doyon shareholder, Simmons is Central Koyukon Athabascan and was raised in Simmons the Yukon River communities of Koyukuk and Galena. Simmons graduated from the Galena City High School and earned a bachelor’s in business administration from UAF. She has extensive experience working with tribal members and tribal governments in various management and senior leadership positions. In her free time, Simmons enjoys beading, sewing, teaching others to bead and sew, and getting out on the rivers and land.

EDBG Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) announced changes to its executive leadership team.  John Reeves has been promoted to Principal in Charge. As a Principal, Reeves oversees technical projects and provides direction and engineering support to ensure project success. He maintains his current duties and responsibilities as director of

business development to grow EBDG's maritime industry leadership position.  Michael Complita has been promoted to Vice President Reeves of Strategic Expansion. In his new role, Complita leads the expansion of EBDG's service offerings both inside and outside of the marine industry. His initial focus will support EBDG's strategic goal to create an avenue to effectively plan, research, explore, develop, and execute business opportunities that will Complita expand the reach of EBDG and its family of companies.

Toast of the Town  Toast of the Town announced Martha Keele is the organization’s new Chief Operating Officer and Co-owner. Keele previously served as the managing director at Toast of the Town, producing more than eighty virtual events last year.

Keele joined Toast of The Town in 2020 with more than fifteen years of hospitality and event experience. She is responsible for organizational growth, overseeing the event logistics team, and strategic fundraising consulting. She has extensive nonprofit and government advocacy experience at Keele both the local and national level and has organized events ranging from 20-person fly-in conferences to 1,500-person award-winning galas. Keele also created and championed fundraising development plans and executed successful advocacy campaigns that increased both awareness and capital.

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

Keeping Alaska Open for Business 92 | August 2021

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Alyeska Pipeline  Danika Yeager has joined Alyeska Pipeline Service Company as the Vice President of Operations and Maintenance. In this role, Yeager is responsible for the safe, effective, and efficient maintenance and operations of TAPS facilities, including pump stations, response bases, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. Yeager brings decades of midstream experience in operations, HSE, regulatory compliance, commercial, and joint venture Yeager owner relations during her time at two of the country’s largest pipeline companies. Most recently she led the development of a $1.2 billion crude export terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas.

DCI Engineers  David Tatarenko has been hired as a Project Engineer in the DCI Engineers Anchorage office. He brings structural analysis and design experience to his new role; he’s currently supporting light industrial projects in the region comprised of steel framing or pre-engineered metal building components, Tatarenko as well as wooden structures.

Tatarenko graduated with a bachelor’s in petroleum engineering and earned an MBA from UAF. While working at the firm, he is completing his master’s in civil engineering from UAA.  John Oldfield has been promoted to Associate in the DCI Engineers Anchorage office. He quickly advanced at the firm as a reliable senior project manager interfacing a variety of clients and subcontractors.

His notable work includes the Medline Warehouse, KANA Oldfield Marketplace, Homer Police

www.akbizmag.com

Station, Elizabeth Place, Bartlett Outpatient Facility, High Port Condos, and 100 E. Ocean (Long Beach, California). Oldfield co-chairs the in-house steel and aluminum technical committee. He shares his previous engineering experience with long span steel trusses integrated into airplane hangars, industrial, and military facilities.

AIDEA The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) announced the addition of Dona Keppers as CFO and Tiffany Janssen as Commercial Finance Director.  Keppers has worked in Alaska’s energy sector with Keppers specialized experience leading finance, accounting, and tax teams within Alaska’s state government.

As CFO, she is responsible for planning, implementing, and managing all corporate financial-related activities for AIDEA and AEA, including direct responsibility for accounting, finance, budgeting, job costing, internal and external financial reporting, forecasting, overseeing bond issuances, and participating in key committees.  Janssen has more than fifteen years of experience managing commercial lending teams across Southeast, Southcentral, and Interior Alaska.

She specializes in assetbased lending working with small- to large-sized businesses with expertise in partnering with third Janssen parties to customize financial structuring for large capital projects. As commercial finance director, Janssen oversees AIDEA’s commercial finance function. Prior to joining AIDEA, she was the commercial lending manager for Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union.

Alaska Business

UAF  Brock Anundson has been named the new Director of Athletics for the Alaska Nanooks. Anundson was the assistant director of athletics Anundson for internal operations and events at Black Hills State University in South Dakota, where he was responsible for overseeing administrative operations and multiple athletic facilities on the campus. He previously served as the program coordinator for the US Olympic Committee’s Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and worked for four seasons in stadium operations for the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.

He has a bachelor’s in sport and recreation management from the University of Minnesota, an MBA from the University of Colorado, and a doctorate in education leadership and innovation from Arizona State University.

University of Alaska  University of Alaska President Pat Pitney announced former Alaska Governor Sean Parnell as the next Chancellor of UAA. Parnell “He understands the range of issues facing UAA and has proven skills in diversifying and generating revenue,” Pitney says. “He will help stabilize our budget through building UAA’s reputation and expanding enrollment and fundraising.”

Parnell graduated from East Anchorage High School in 1980, earned a bachelor's in business administration in 1984 from Pacific Lutheran University, and a juris doctorate in 1987 from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now the Seattle University School of Law). He is admitted to the bar in both Alaska and Washington, DC.

August 2021 | 93

ALASKA TRENDS

S

ummer might be on its way out, but Alaskans can take solace in the fact that a different kind of fun is on its way in.

Perhaps second only to fishing (depending on who you ask), the Last Frontier’s hunting scene attracts outdoor enthusiasts from around the world. Serving these enthusiasts are a number of local guides and other hunting industry professionals to ensure a safe and unforgettable experience. Per a report by the McDowell group prepared for the Alaska Professional Hunters Association, the guided hunting industry employed 1,380 direct jobs and contributed $62.4 million in total state revenue.

This month’s installment of Alaska Trends charges headfirst into some other impressive numbers that underline this storied industry. Not just big game—Alaska’s hunting industry means big money for the state and its recreationally spoiled residents.

SOURCE: The Economic Impact of Guided Hunting in Alaska, McDowell Group for Alaska Professional Hunters Association; January 2021

1,380 DIRECTLY EMPLOYED The Guiding Operations industry employed 1,380 people, including registered guides, assistant guides, packers, pilots, and camp/office support staff.

Registered 400 Packers 200

Assistant 500 Support 280

70% LIVE IN RURAL AREAS 85% of the registered guides reside in Alaska, 70% of those guides lived outside large urban areas.

Anchorage 56 Juneau/Douglas 10

Fairbanks/North Pole 27 Other 296

$62.4M TOTAL REVENUE Industy revenues totaled $62.4M; $57.4M was spent in-state by guides, hunters, and companions.

$35.3M IN NON-PAYROLL SPENDING Non-payroll spending totaled $35.5M. 79% ($28M) was spent with Alaska vendors.

Transportation $8.4M Food/Beverage $4.6M Equipment $4.8M Other $10.3M 94 | August 2021

3,090 3,090 nonresident hunters visited Alaska in 2019.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

$56.9M

3,090 nonresident hunters spent an estimated $18,400 each on hunting packages for a total of $56.9M.

$25.5M IN LABOR SPENDING Guides’ in-state costs for labor (payroll and business-owner net income) totaled $25.5M.

9 OUT OF 10

BROWN BEARS Brown bear outnumberd tags black bear tags approx 2 to 1.

$3.2M IN GAME TAGS Guided hunters purchased 4,464 game tags (4,137 out-ofstate hunters and 327 non-citizen hunters) totaling $3.2M. Brown bear tags accounted for 44% of tag revenue.

Brown 1,414 Moose 658 Black 572 Dall 484 Caribou 396 Wolf 347 Deer 277 Mt. Goat 268

Wolverine 31

Musk 8

Elk 6

Bison 3

Contracting guides hired at least 1 person in 2019.

These jobs are seasonal with guides hunting for four to six weeks in spring and six to eight weeks in fall.

2.5 NIGHTS

Hunters and companions spent 2.5 nights in Alaska before and after their hunts.

7 MONTHS

505 COMPANIONS

Registered/Contracting guides reported working 7 months.

505 companions spent an estimated average of $3,170 per hunt for a total of $1.6M.

3 MONTHS Assistant guides worked less than 3 months.

2.5 MONTHS Support staff worked 2.5 months with a small number reporting year around employment.

2 MONTHS Packers averaged less than 2 months of employment in 2019. www.akbizmag.com

59% OF TOTAL INDUSTRY SPENDING $31.5M (59%) of the $53.5M was spent outside Alaska’s largest communities.

Southcentral $10.4K Central/Southeast $7.3K Interior/Northwest $4.8K Southwest $4.2K Northwest/Western $1.4K Alaska Business

August 2021 | 95

AT A GLANCE What book is currently on your nightstand?

The only thing on my nightstand is dust.

That said, currently in the queue is a book called Thug Kitchen.

What charity or cause are you passionate about?

Both my wife and I are big supporters of public radio and public television.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

Images ©Kerry Tasker

That’s in the crosshairs right now, but I really want to do one of those longer rafting trips through the Colorado River on the Grand Canyon.

OFF THE CUFF

Bill O’Leary B

ill O’Leary is the President & CEO of the

like a little pop-up thing. They usually only serve one meatless entre and one other type of entre. And it’s just fantastic. It’s nothing fancy but it’s just really fresh and amazingly inventive.

Alaska Railroad. The Fairbanks native has

led the company at every level, from COO to CFO, eventually “ascending to the throne” back in 2013.

O’Leary’s leadership is rivaled only by his sense of humor—something that likely helped him through the brutal tourism season of 2020.

Despite seeing passenger levels decline a whopping 95 percent from the previous year, the new season has O’Leary optimistic.

“We're coming back,” he says. “We’ve had strong bookings and a lot of it has really come in the last six weeks. Had you told me that in January, I would have said: ‘Not happening.’” At the time of the interview, the Alaska Railroad’s passenger season was set to kick off at the end of May, and O’Leary is looking forward to what’s in store for 2021.

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time?

Bill O’Leary: Free time… Quite the concept [he laughs]. Oddly enough, I really enjoy cooking. I’m not great at it but it’s fun and it’s kind of rewarding to create something out of disparate ingredients. All that said, I have two vegetarians in the house, so it really is a challenge for a guy from Fairbanks who grew up eating roast beef all of the time… So it’s interesting.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

O'Leary: I’ve always wanted to learn how to skate ski. It just looks magnificent; very fluid, very rhythmic. But I haven’t really done anything like that of late so as I continue to age less and less gracefully here, golf is certainly looking more appealing. One of my goals is to be able to hit a driver further than I can actually throw the ball.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

O'Leary: So here’s the deal: It’s a really small place out in the wilds off Dimond, near Anchorage Brewing. It’s called Familia.

They only work from Thursday through Saturday and it almost www.akbizmag.com

AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be?

O'Leary: Doesn’t every kid want to be an actuary looking at mortality tables? [he laughs]. I actually like project type work with a really defined scope and a schedule. So probably some type of project management or consulting type work would be kind of appealing. One way or the other, it would have to involve transportation.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?

O'Leary: Springsteen. But only on the River or Born in the USA tour (not that I’m stuck in the ‘80s or anything).

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

O'Leary: I’m a certified public accountant: there’s no room for extravagance.

AB: What is your best attribute and your worst attribute?

O'Leary: I think I’m good at not making snap judgements about issues. I really do like to hear both sides to a story before any decisions are made. And I think that’s something that has served me well over the years. The worst attribute—there’s a really good chance that at times I’ll give people more chances than I probably should about certain things. And I think that sometimes can be problematic.

Alaska Business

August 2021 | 97

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Anchorage 907.522.6466

www.airportequipmentrentals.com

The Rental Zone 907.474.2000 Kenai 907.335.5466

Only pay for the speed you need...

Dynamic Routing!

On time and on budget.

At Lynden, we understand that plans change but deadlines don’t.

That’s why we proudly offer our exclusive Dynamic Routing system.

Designed to work around your unique requirements, Dynamic Routing allows you to choose the mode of transportation – air, sea or land – to control the speed of your deliveries so they arrive just as they are needed. With Lynden you only pay for the speed you need.

1-888-596-3361 | www.lynden.com