Fairbanks under the gun on PM 2.5 particulates; emissions control

State Dept. of Environmental Conservation officials laid out a tough scenario for Fairbanks in meeting “PM 2.5” harmful particulate air quality standards. It includes a possible $54 million in modi cations to install chimney stack filters in ve power plants in the area along with other requirements like registration of home heating units, sharp limits on wood stoves and a requirement to use ultra-low sulfur (ULS) diesel for home heating.

The ULS requirement, if implemented, could add 40 cents a gallon to the cost of heating oil. Fairbanks faces a December 2019 deadline to meet the air quality requirement. The problem is a winter temperature inversion that concentrates pollutants from exhaust and wood smoke at low levels in certain conditions, creating human health problems. The community has been working on a plan to expand a natural gas system with lique ed natural gas trucked from Southcentral Alaska. Meanwhile, important state legislation that would extend loans for an expansion of the Fairbanks LNG project are pending in the Legislature. They are Senate Bill 125 and House Bill 261.

One twist to this is a pending ballot proposition on the October municipal election to strip the Fairbanks North Star Borough of powers to regulate home heating units (this is in reaction to the borough’s efforts to curb use of wood heat in winter, which exacerbates the air problem). If that were to happen, state officials warn, EPA would most likely step in to enforce rules.

U.S. COAST GUARD TO HOME-PORT MORE NEW CUTTERS IN ALASKA: The U.S. Coast Guard will “home port” four more of its new Fast Response Cutters in Alaska coastal communities, Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced. Two of the new vessels will be in Kodiak, with one each in Seward and Sitka. Two of the Fast Response Cutters are already in Ketchikan. The Coast Guard received $340 million in the federal FY 2018 budget to fund the new cutters, which are now in various stages of construction. The Fast Response Cutters are larger than the 110-foot Coast Guard patrol vessels now operating in Alaska. This is a big deal for coastal communities because it means Coast Guard personnel and families will be located in Alaska, with various maintenance and support work also done in-state.

HAINES GETS A NICE BOOST FROM FISH TAXES, TOURISM: The Haines Borough got a nice nancial boost from sh tax revenues after Ocean Beauty Seafood ramped up production at its Excursion Inlet pro-

cess plant last summer after the company’s Petersburg plant closed. An additional $300,000 in revenues were received by the borough, helping push the municipality’s $13.3 budget into the black by $407,000 for this year. Haines also enjoyed a nice 6.3 percent increase in sales tax revenue thanks mainly to a strong 2017 tourist season. Sales tax payments by tourism-related businesses were up 16 percent. Tourism will be strong in 2018 also.

ANCHORAGE HOME PROPERTY TAXES TO DIP; COMMERCIAL TAXES RISE: Anchorage homeowners will feel a little property tax relief this year but municipal taxes on commercial buildings and apartments will rise a bit. A typical homeowner will see a $270 drop in the city tax bill while taxes will rise $190 on a $350,000 building used for commercial purposes. The changes re ect new revenues from the city’s new gasoline tax as well as a revenue offset due to a higher homeowners’ tax break approved in the recent municipal election, which will shift more of the tax burden to other taxpayers. Anchorage’s assembly approved the FY 2019 budget and new tax rates April 23.

PALMER DEVELOPER WANTS AN IN-CITY SHOOTING RANGE; LOCALS NOT SO SURE: Developers are looking at creative ways to use vacant retail space, but there’s sometimes community pushback. Valkyrie Security and Asset Protection of Palmer plans to buy the vacant Fred Meyer retail store there and convert it into an indoor shooting range, which has stirred local opposition from residents uncomfortable with a range in a mixed-use community setting. The company said it would employ 80 people if the plan moves ahead.

PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP TO HELP ANCHORAGE HOMELESS: Weidner Apartment Homes and Cook Inlet Housing Authority, a nonprofit, will partner on a $500,000 project to house some of Anchorage’s low-risk homeless people in vacant apartments. Money has been raised from a variety of donors. The project, the rst in Alaska involving a major private rental property owner, is intended to ease pressure on Anchorage’s overcrowded emergency shelters. Financial counseling and job-training assistance will be provided by local nonprofits. Weidner, based in Seattle, has rental properties nationwide and if the Alaska experiment works it could be tried elsewhere, the company said.

BIG NEW RETAIL TENANT POSSIBLE FOR MIDTOWN ANCHORAGE SEARS MALL: Carr-Gottstein Properties will remodel a 41,970-square-foot block of space in the Sears midtown Anchorage mall and has negotiations underway with a potential retail tenant. The space housed a Carrs grocery until it was closed. Meanwhile, Safeway, which now owns the Anchorage Carrs groceries, will open a new store in the space now occupied by Sears at the opposite end of the mall. There’s some speculation that outdoor retailer REI, now at the Northern Lights mall, might move into the vacant space.

The state Supreme Court ruled April 4 that independents can run in party primaries in Alaska elections, opening the door for Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, to seek support from Democrats in the primary.

WITH LEGISLATURE’S ADJOURNMENT DELAY, BALLOT PROPOSITIONS PUSHED TO NOVEMBER: The state Legislature was still in session last Sunday, the last day for adjournment that would have allowed two pending propositions to be put on the Aug. 21 primary election ballot. State law requires 120 days between the end of a regular legislative session and an election in which the proposition is presented. This bumps the “Stand for Salmon” proposition and another pushing for greater government accountability to the Nov. 6 general election ballot. Stand for Salmon must rst clear a state Supreme Court test in a lawsuit brought by the state of Alaska. The salmon initiative isn’t so much about salmon as enacting a stringent new habitat permitting regime that will pose challenges for resource development.

CUSTOMER FOR ALASKA AEROSPACE CANCELS LAUNCH FROM KODIAK AT LAST MINUTE: An unnamed private California customer cancelled a planned launch at Kodiak’s state-owned Pacific Spaceport Complex in early April. The cancellation came at the last minute. Alaska Aerospace Corp. officials wouldn’t comment on the reason for the cancellation other than it had no connection with the operational readiness at the launch site. The plan was for the company to test its rocket, not to put a satellite into space. Although state officials would

not identify the customer under terms of its agreement, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had issued a commercial launch license to Astra Space, a company based in Alamenda, Calif.

Despite the setback, Alaska Aerospace has signed contracts with several private customers for launches and support. There is a growing niche in small payload satellite launches as well as defense-related missions.

SOUND PUBLISHING BUYS FOUR ALASKA NEWSPAPERS AFTER GATEWAY SELLS: Sound Publishing of Everett, Washington purchased four Alaska newspapers from GateHouse Media just months after GateHouse purchased them from Morris Communications, the long-timer owner. The newspapers include the Juneau Empire, Capital City Weekly, also in Juneau; the Homer News and Peninsula Clarion of Soldotna. Sound Publishing is a subsidiary of Black Press, of British Columbia. Industry sources said GateHouse, a national company, purchased several other Morris newspapers in the Lower 48 in its deal and was actually less interested in the Alaska properties. Sound Publishing, on the other hand, is a regional publisher in the Pacific Northwest, so that the Alaska newspapers offer a better t.

WINTER SEA ICE IN WESTERN ALASKA AT LOWEST LEVEL IN 150 YEARS: Scientists said western Alaska sea ice was at its lowest level this spring in 150 years of record-keeping. Diomede Island reported open water in February, which is unheard of. The winter sea ice shelf never reached St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea this year. In a more typical year the sea ice is well south of St. Matthew, often by 200 miles. Lack of winter ice cover in the Bering Sea will exacerbate coastal erosion from storms, adversely affect subsistence activities and complicate the winter crab fishery.