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P E N I N S U L A
Monday, August 13, 2018 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Vol. 48, Issue 270
Strongestever earthquake hits North Slope KAVIK RIVER CAMP (AP) — Alaska’s North Slope was hit Sunday by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the region, the state’s seismologist said. At 6:58 a.m. Sunday, the magnitude 6,.4 earthquake struck an area 42 miles east of Kavik River Camp and 343 miles northeast of Fairbanks, the state’s second-biggest city. The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a depth of about 6 miles. State seismologist Mike West told the Anchorage Daily News that the earthquake was the biggest recorded in the North Slope by a substantial amount. “This is a very significant event that will take us some time to understand,” he told the Daily News. The previous most powerful quake in the North Slope was in 1995 at magnitude 5.2, West told the newspaper. The jump from a 5.2 to Sunday’s 6.4 is significant because earthquakes rapidly grow in strength as magnitude rises, he said. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake is 15.8 times bigger and 63.1 times stronger than a 5.2 earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. “That’s why at 6.4 this changes how we think about the region,” West said. “It’s a little early to say how, but it’s safe to say this earthquake will cause a re-evaluation of the seismic potential of that area.” Later Sunday, another magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit at 1:15 p.m. near the city of Kaktovik on Alaska’s North Slope, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter was (65 kilometers) southwest of Kaktovik, which has about 290 people. The magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit Sunday morning was felt by workers at the oil-production facilities in and around Prudhoe Bay, the Daily News reported. The newspaper says that Alyeska Pipeline said the earthquake did not damage the transAlaska pipeline. The company says in a tweet that “there are no operational concerns” related to the earthquake, but the pipeline will be inspected. Several aftershocks were reported across northern Alaska. The Alaska Earthquake Center says the earthquakes were felt across the eastern part of the state’s North Slope Borough and as far south as metro Fairbanks. The center adds that there are no reports of damage.
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Borough, Nikiski seek to have greater participation in LNG export project By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Peninsula Borough is seeking an official role in federal permitting of plans to export North Slope natural gas to Asia via a 806-mile pipeline to a liquefaction plant and export terminal planned for Nikiski — where the Kenai Peninsula Borough intends to keep it, countering efforts by other local governments to propose other locations. At their Tuesday meeting, the Kenai Penin-
sula Borough Assembly voted to petition the agency leading the LNG project’s environmental permitting — the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) — for intervenor status in the gasline’s environmental impact statement, which would allow the borough to request rehearing of FERC decisions or appeal them to a U.S Circuit Court. The borough’s legal representatives sent FERC their intervention petition Friday. It states that “the Kenai Borough
has a direct and substantial interest in and will be directly affected by the outcome of this proceeding. No other party can adequately represent Kenai Borough’s interests.” Two other local governments have previously become FERC intervenors, seeking to locate the terminal in their areas: the city of Valdez in May 2017, and the Matanuska Susitna Borough, which in January 2018 requested that FERC require the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC)
— the state-owed corporation planning the LNG project - to examine the Mat-Su Boroughowned Port MacKenzie, in the Knik Arm, as a terminal site. “Right now we have Valdez and Mat-Su hemming and hawing for this project, and they’re intervenors,” said John Quick, Chief of Staff to Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, in a Monday meeting of the borough’s LNG advisory committee. “And the Kenai Peninsula Borough has not been an intervenor… If we’re not at the table, we’re
not at the table. So I think this will put us in a better position to have a bigger voice from the Borough, and do everything we can to make sure this project lands in Nikiski.” In its January petition to FERC, the Mat-Su Borough stated that AGDC had ruled out Port MacKenzie and selected Nikiski based on “erroneous facts.” ADGC’s analysis hadn’t considered Port MacKenzie at all, according to the Mat-Su Borough, but rather an undevelSee LNG, page A2
In effort to unseat Young, education activist Galvin seeks Democratic nomination in U.S. House race By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — When Alyse Galvin ran into resistance from some state legislators in a fight over school funding, she didn’t give up. She got a loudspeaker. In 2017, the activist, along with other worried moms, helped gather hundreds of letters from Alaskans urging legislators not to cut school funding amid a state budget deficit. The letters were read on the Capitol steps during an hourslong event — replete with props — that Galvin helped organize. When a budget finally passed two months later, schools were fully funded. One legislator says the persistence of Galvin’s organization, Great Alaska Schools, made a difference. It’s that tenacity that supporters say will serve Galvin, a familiar face at the Capitol, well if she accomplishes her next goal: election to the U.S. House. The independent is seeking the Democratic nomination and a chance to challenge U.S. Rep. Don Young, a Republican who has held the office for 45 years. If elected, Galvin would be the first woman to hold Alaska’s lone House seat. Her opponents in the Aug. 21 primary are Democrats Dimitri Shein and Carol Hafner, who does not live in Alas-
In this Aug. 5, 2018, photo, independent U.S. House candidate Alyse Galvin, center, speaks during a meet-and-greet at a tea shop in Juneau. Galvin is running in the Aug. 21 Democratic primary for U.S. House in Alaska. The state Democratic party changed its rules to let independents run in its primary. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
ka, and independent Christopher Cumings. Young is expected to win his primary. Of her primary opponents, Shein has been the most active, pushing an agenda that includes Medicare for all. He said he’s bothered by Galvin’s ties to the oil and gas industry: her husband, Pat Galvin, is an executive with Great Bear Petroleum. Galvin said she wants to
diversify a state economy that relies largely on oil and see greater investment in renewable energy. She said she supports responsible resource development and that more needs to be done in response to climate change. Both she and her husband, a Democrat who served as state revenue commissioner during then-Gov. Sarah Palin’s administration, drive hybrid Priuses.
But she’s the candidate, she notes — not her husband. “I’m my own person. … Anybody who knows me knows that.” In college in California, Galvin trained to be an opera singer but found it “a little bit self-serving,” so she switched her focus to political science. Her background includes work in fish processing, managing a hotel and volunteering with Great Alaska Schools.
Alison Arians, who worked with Galvin on Great Alaska Schools, said Galvin is the smartest, hardest-working person she has known.” To me, I can’t think of somebody who would be more likely to get in there and be able to, I’m not saying change how Congress works, but maybe she could,” Arians said. Deena Mitchell, who knows Galvin through their education advocacy, said Galvin listens and has empathy but is also tough and does what she thinks is right. “She can push back when she needs to,” Mitchell said. Galvin initially intended to help like-minded candidates get elected before deciding to jump in herself, becoming part of a record number of women running for the House. Her own top-level campaign staff is all women, which she said was intentional, though she said that could change as the campaign grows. Galvin, 53, said she was frustrated by what sees as a lack of leadership and the ongoing partisan rancor. Most registered voters in Alaska identify as independents, and Galvin said she’s grateful the Democratic Party opened its primary to give those like her — whose values align closely with the party’s — a voice. It’s important for people See HOUSE, page A2
Ketchikan aviation mechanic honored by FAA for service By BILLY SINGLETON Ketchikan Daily News
KETCHIKAN (AP) — Expecting a small company gathering in honor of his 70th birthday, Stephen Sustarich was surprised to receive instead the Federal Aviation Administration’s most prestigious award for aircraft mechanics. Sustarich, the quality control supervisor for Temsco Helicopters, fought back tears as he was presented the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award on Friday morning. The award recognized Sustarich for his 50-year career in the field. The award has only been achieved by one other mechanic in Ketchikan’s history. FAA Principal Maintenance Inspector Lana Bowler, who presented the award on Friday, explained that the honor is reserved for “individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill and aviation expertise for at least 50 years in the
aircraft maintenance profession, as a master mechanic.” The award is named for Charles Taylor, the mechanic who designed and built the engines for Wright brothers’ first powered airplanes. “I never thought it would happen,” Sustarich said on Friday. “To be honest, I never thought I’d make 50 years. But I sure appreciate everybody and everything. It’s a great honor. And for that, I want to thank everybody. Thank you very much.” His wife, Pam Sustarich, wrote a speech for the event, which was read by their friend, Bett Union-Jakubek. “The man you are honoring today is a very private, simple, hardworking man that doesn’t quit or back down from anything,” Pam Sustarich wrote. “The life he has lived has been anything but ordinary or simple, and anyone that knows me knows I am his biggest fan. She was recognized by the
FAA during the ceremony as well. “With any lifelong mechanic’s career, there are many long nights, missed holidays and birthdays, equating to substantial time away from home and family as duty calls to ensure the safety of the flying public,” Bowler said. “. The FAA recognizes the sacrifices made not only by the mechanic, but the mechanic’s other half.” Also during the ceremony, Stephen Sustarich was presented with a Quilt of Valor from the Rainy Day Quilters, a symbol of gratitude for his service in the Army. Cheri Davis and Cathy Tillotson presented the red, white and blue quilt. In addition to possessing excellence and 50 years in the field, recipients of the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award must be nominated by their peers. Sustarich was nominated by more than four of them. One of the nominators was
his son Evan, who works as an aircraft mechanic in Nashville. Evan Sustarich said that his father was the reason he chose the profession. “Great father,” Evan Sustarich said following the ceremony. “Always been my hero, someone to look up to. And honestly, other people look up to him as well.” Evan Sustarich and his mother helped coordinate the event, which included a barbecue and an extensive display of photographs from Stephen Sustarich’s career. The event took months of planning on the part of the family, Temsco and the FAA. “It was a lot of work trying to keep it hidden from him,” Evan Sustarich said. “That’s the biggest part, because he notices everything.” Stephen Sustarich’s career in aviation began in 1967, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. After attending aviation maintenance school at Fort
Eustis, Virginia, he served two tours in Vietnam maintaining helicopters. Sustarich remained in the Army following his service overseas. He said he flew in an Army medevac helicopter for five or six years while stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. “It was actually before there were EMS helicopters,” he explained. “When the military was doing it, we were basically doing everything that EMS does today.” At Fort Carson, Sustarich also met his future wife, who was managing a beauty shop. In her speech on Friday, Pam Sustarich highlighted the sacrifices her husband made on behalf of his crew and those they protected. “Stephen had always volunteered to work on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day so that the guys could be home with their families,” she said. See FAA, page A2