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P E N I N S U L A
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 136
50 cents newsstands daily/$1.00 Sunday
School funding options abound
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.
Legislature considers compromise
Iditarod 2014 Peninsula mushers’ progress as of 8 p.m. Sunday:
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6. Mitch Seavey, Sterling, out of Koyuk 28. Paul Gebhardt, Kasilof, in Unalakleet 38. Kristy Berington, Kasilof, out of Kaltag 39. Travis Beals, Seward, in Kaltag 41. Anna Berington, Kasilof, in Kaltag 44. Danny Seavey, M Seward, out of Nulato K 52. Monica Zappa, Kasilof, out of Ruby Find more Iditarod coverage on Page A-5.
In the news Parnell names members to Medicaid advisory group JUNEAU (AP) — Gov. Sean Parnell has named nine members to a group created to recommended changes to Alaska’s Medicaid program. Health commissioner Bill Streur will lead the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group. The group is charged with reaching out to health care interests, insurers and constituents. A report to lawmakers is due by Nov. 15. Members include Republican Sen. John Coghill and Rep. Pete Higgins, who’s a dentist. Also chosen were Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre and John Torgerson, chairman of the Alaska Redistricting Board. The other members are Renae Axelson, Dr. Ilona Farr, Sandra Heffern, Gene Peltola and Kevin Turkington. Parnell spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said some people applied or were recommended. She said Parnell’s office did some outreach and legislative leadership weighed in.
Index Opinion.................. A-4 Alaska.................... A-5 Nation.................... A-6 World..................... A-7 Sports.....................A-8 Classifieds........... A-11 Comics................. A-14 Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
By MATT WOOLBRIGHT Morris News Service-Alaska Juneau Empire
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, answers questions from a capacity crowd Saturday at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna. This past weekend, the former Soldotna mayor returned from Juneau to give an overview of his work at the mid-point in the legislative session.
Senator shares progress
Micciche addresses range of topics at town hall meeting By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
State Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, returned from Juneau to answer questions at a wide-ranging town hall meeting in Soldotna Saturday afternoon. After meeting in Homer Friday, the former Soldotna mayor was greeted by a capacity crowd at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers. He gave an overview of his work at the mid-point in the legislative session and fielded questions on a number of issues, with the most popular topic referring to House Bill 77.
The bill, from Gov. Sean Parnell, is expansive, hitting on issues of land exchange, water use and permitting procedures. As it is currently written, it would remove the ability of groups to apply for water reservations to protect fish habitat and water quality while allowing the Natural Resources commissioner more authority to issue permits if the commissioner finds activity to unlikely cause “significant or irreparable harm” to state land or resources. The measure, which passed the House last spring, is currently in the Senate Resources Committee, of which Micciche
is a member. The committee will discuss the bill Monday. Several people in the audience Saturday were concerned about having enough time to read changes to the bill before being able to give public testimony. The public has expressed displeasure for two portions of HB77: the restriction of public input on permits and the loss of personal access to water reservation. Micciche said when he first read HB77, he did not support it and asked members of the Kenai Watershed Forum to review it and see how it would impact the Kenai See UPDATE, page A-10
Lawmakers will increase school funding this year — but with the majority of the session in the books, no one is saying by how much. In the fight over the per-student Base Student Allocation, the final result likely will be a compromise between Republican and Democratic proposals. School districts are scheduled to receive $5,680 per student in fiscal year 2014. That amount has not changed since 2011, and school districts say they need more money to balance rising costs. Republican Gov. Sean Parnell has recommended adding $85 next year and $58 each of the two following years. The Democrat-backed proposal would add $404 this year and automatically increase the perstudent payment to follow inflation. The end result likely won’t be known until the very end of the legislative session, as it’s a significant factor in the overall state budget picture, House See SCHOOL, page A-10
404(c) veto of Pebble would be unprecedented By ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service-Alaska Alaska Journal of Commerce
The Environmental Protection Agency set a potentially unprecedented process in motion when it began work on Feb. 28 to preemptively block Pebble mine as an effort to protect Bristol Bay fisheries. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a formal statement the agency was initiating action to invoke its authority to veto the proposed Iliamna-area copper-gold mine under the
seldom-used Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. The regional U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handles Section 404 permit applications for all projects, public or private, that could impact wetlands. Subsection 404(c) of the Clean Water Act gives the EPA the authority to veto Section 404 applications and the agency has issued 13 final veto determinations nationwide since the act became law in 1972. All of the prior veto actions came after a Section 404 permit ap-
plication had been submitted, meaning Pebble would be the first case in which use of the veto power occurred without a permit application. The entire process usually takes at least a year. “Extensive scientific study has given us ample reason to believe that the Pebble mine would likely have significant and irreversible impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed and its abundant salmon fisheries,” McCarthy said in an EPA release. If fully developed, the Peb-
ble deposits could become one of the largest surface coppergold mines in the world. EPA’s most recent action comes after the agency issued its final watershed risk assessment of Bristol Bay in January that found large-scale mining could have “potentially destructive impacts to salmon and other fish” in the region. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest commercial sockeye fishery; the 2013 exvessel value for all commercial salmon harvested in Bristol Bay was $140.5 million, according
to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The move drew immediate praise from fishing groups — sport and commercial — as a conservation-minded approach to development, as well as criticism from some political leaders. In statements from their offices, Rep. Don Young and Sen. Lisa Murkowski both spoke out against EPA’s intent to begin blocking the mine prior to a mine plan or environmental permits being submitted. See 404, page A-5
Gas line, permitting bills on the agenda By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press
JUNEAU — With the Legislature more than halfway through its scheduled 90-day session, major bills are starting to take shape — and a controversial bill from the past has reemerged. House Finance is set to complete its version of the state operating budget with a floor vote expected later this week. The committee took public comment last week after unveiling a $9.1 billion proposal that included $41 million less in unrestricted general funds that Gov. Sean Parnell’s proposal and $1.3 billion less than the authorized level of spending at the start of the current year. The package does not address how the state will approach its
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unfunded pension obligation. Parnell has proposed moving $3 billion from savings toward helping pay down the roughly $12-billion liability for the public employees’ and teachers’ retirement systems. Senate Finance Committee co-chair Pete Kelly said he sees that as a different discussion than determining what the cost of government operations for next year will be. But he said the pension discussion will have to happen. Here are three other things to watch for: n GAS LINE: Senate Fi-
Noteworthy performance
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion
Classical guitarist Valeria Hartzell grins at the audience after her opening piece — an adaption of the prelude for Bach’s unaccompanied cello suite 1 — Friday in Soldotna.
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