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P E N I N S U L A

Friday-Saturday, march 7-8 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska

Vol. 44, Issue 134

50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday

City in rush to finish well

Question Is this breakup? n Yes, it sure feels like spring. n No, winter still has a ways to go. To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com.

Project intended to meet summer water demand

Daylight Savings

Spring forward

Don’t forget to set clocks ahead 11 12 1 one hour 10 2 at 2 a.m. 9 3 Sunday. 8

By Dan Balmer Peninsula Clarion

DAYLIGHT SAVING 030113: Iditarod 2014

ADVANCE FOR MARCH 8; Peninsula graphic to be used as a reminder to turn the clocks mushers’ forward one hour; 1c x 1 inch; progress as with any related stores; staff; 8:15 p.m. ETA 2ofp.m.

Thursday:

C Y

8. Mitch Seavey, Sterling, out of Cripple 14. Paul Gebhardt, M Kasilof, in Cripple K 29. Travis Beals, Seward, out of Ophir 42. Kristy Berington, Kasilof, in Ophir 44. Anna Berington, Kasilof, in Ophir 48. Danny Seavey, Seward, in Ophir 51. Monica Zappa, Kasilof, in McGrath

In the news HEA plans outage Homer Electric Association is planning a scheduled outage for the Soldotna and Kalifornsky Beach Road area on Monday, March 10. The outage will begin at approximately 3 a.m. and last about 10 minutes. The areas affected by the outage will be: n City of Soldotna, from the HEA Generation Plant on the Sterling Highway and Boundary Avenue west to Skyview High School and all arterial roads, including Funny River. n Kenai Spur Highway from the Sterling Highway “Y” intersection to Knight Drive. n K-Beach Road from the Sterling Highway intersection in Soldotna along Kalifornsky Beach Road and all arterial roads to Helmsman Avenue (approximately Mile 13.5). — Staff report

Index Opinion.................. A-4 Nation/World.......... A-5 Religion.................. A-8 Sports.................... B-1 Recreation............ C-1 Classifieds............ C-3 Comics................. C-11 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.

Photo courtesy ENSTAR

ENSTAR equipment sits near the Kenai River Thursday where the company is working to drill beneath the river and connect residents in Funny River to a natural gas line in Sterling.

Boring for gas line begins Under-river pipeline will connect Funny River to natural gas By RASHAH McCHESNEY Peninsula Clarion

Drilling has begun on a $1.3 million natural gas pipeline that will cross the Kenai River and connect the community of Funny River to an existing line in Sterling. ENSTAR Natural Gas Company representatives said they were about 400 feet into the 1,100 foot line and while they are drilling into hard rock rather than an expected vein of sand 20 feet below the river bottom, they plan to finish drilling in about a week. The project is not sched-

uled to be completed until sometime between mid-May and early June, however the company plans to have the four bores required for the expansion completed by April, said Enstar Southern Division Operations Manager Charlie Pierce. Once completed, about 700 properties on the south side of the river could potentially receive natural gas line service from ENSTAR. Currently the extension project is being funded through a 2013 capital projects appropriation through the legislature but, while it extends the

potential for service to Funny River residents, further development will be necessary before homeowners and parcels can gain access. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during its March 18 meeting is set to review petition packet that would establish a utility special assessment district, or USAD, near Mile 14 of Funny River Road, the area where the line will cross the river. Special assessment coordinator and appraiser auditor for the borough Marie Payfer said if the borough approves the application, the sponsors will

then be responsible for getting signatures from the 264 affected parcel owners. More than 70 percent of the affected property owners must sign on to approve the USAD which will cost parcel owners in an approximately seven-mile area of Funny River Road $3,549.46 over the next 10 years. The assessment amount was calculated assuming an additional cost of about $912,580 to ENSTAR and an administrative fee of $24,477.44 to the borough according to USAD proposal documents. See BORE, page A-10

Following an emergency declaration from Kenai City Manager Rick Koch, the Kenai City Council approved a purchase order of $39,000 with M-W Drilling Inc. on a no-bid project to complete another water well in time to meet rising water demands. The declaration was a late addition to the Kenai city council agenda at the council meeting Wednesday night. Under Kenai Municipal Code 7.15.050, the city may award a contract without competition, “if the city manager determines an emergency threatening the public health, safety or welfare requires the contract be awarded without delay.” The City of Kenai has a contract with the Anchorage based M-W Drilling, which developed a second well, 2B, at the Beaver Loop Aquifer last fall. Well 2B is approximately 400 feet from the city’s only currently active well. Koch said a second well is needed to provide adequate water supply to the city and eliminate water use restrictions as the spring season nears. He said he called for an emergency declaration because there is no time to go through a competitive bid process and M-W Drilling has already been See WELL, page A-10

New group defends state in setnet ban appeal By MOLLY DISCHNER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce

ANCHORAGE — A new commercial fisheries group filed an amicus brief Thursday in the lawsuit regarding the initiative to ban Cook Inlet setnetters. The Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance, or AFCA, wants to ask voters to ban setnets in urban parts of the state. If the initiative made it on to the ballot and passed, it would

eliminate setnetters in Cook Inlet. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell denied the initiative petition in January based on a Department of Law opinion that found it was a prohibited appropriation of state resources. AFCA, however, has said that the effort is conservationfocused, and filed an appeal of Treadwell’s decision in Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage Jan. 22. AFCA, which is comprised largely of sport interests, formed in 2013. The initiative

is its first major action. Now, another new group wants to weigh in. Resources for All Alaskans, or RFAA, filed an amicus brief yesterday supporting the State of Alaska’s decision that the setnet ban initiative should not appear on the August 2016 ballot. Motions for summary judgment by state attorneys and AFCA are due today, with oral argument scheduled for April 22 in Anchorage. RFAA registered as a state

nonprofit corporation named Salmon for All Alaskans in December according to state records, and changed its name to Resources for All Alaskans in late February. RFAA President Jim Butler said the group’s federal nonprofit status is pending. RFAA filed its brief to add another perspective to the case, Butler said. “There was an interest in making sure that the voice of the industry affected was heard on this important issue,” Butler

said. The organization’s filing was two parts: a motion asking to be allowed to submit the amicus brief, and the brief itself, which argues that Treadwell’s decision not to certify the initiative was generally correct, and also that the initiative could be considered a prohibited attempt to enact local or special legislation by ballot initiative. RFAA is registered in Kenai, but has a statewide focus. See FISH, page A-10

Mayors seek assurances on gas pipeline project By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press

JUNEAU — Borough mayors want to ensure they have a say on terms that will affect local communities and be negotiated by the state in pursuit of a mega-liquefied natural gas project. An agreement signed by officials with the state, Alaska Gasline Development Corp., TransCanada Corp. and the North Slope’s major players — BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil Corp. — spells out broad terms for pursuing the long hoped-for project. Included in

the agreement is a provision that says, subject to consultation between the state and local governments, payments in lieu of property tax would be paid by the companies on each component of the project. It would be on a unit rate of throughput, such as cents per thousand cubic feet of gas. Also subject to consultation would be a series of impact payments paid by the companies to help offset increased service and other costs borne by the state and local governments during construction. The mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Mike Navarre,

told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday that consult is not a strong word. “We would rather have agreement in that process and what that structure looks like or, if not agreement in it, then we would like to negotiate a deal on our own behalves,” he said. The mayors are seeking greater assurances for the level of input they will have as the process moves forward. Committee co-chair Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said the AP Photo/Becky Bohrer issues raised by the mayors Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre, left, and Fairneed consideration as the panel banks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins appear before See GAS, page A-10 the Senate Finance Committee Thursday in Juneau. C