Casey Kelly

NOTE: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A hearing is now underway in Juneau for a Coast Guard officer facing charges related to the deaths of two of his crewmates during a crash off the coast of Washington last year.

Lieutenant Lance Leone was the co-pilot of a Coast Guard H-60 helicopter being flown to its new assigned station in Sitka in July 2010. It crashed after striking power lines near La Push, Washington. Leone was the only survivor. Lieutenant Sean Krueger — the pilot — and Aviation Maintenance Technicians Adam Hoke and Brett Banks were killed.

In testimony today (Wednesday), a civilian helicopter pilot who witnessed the H-60 flying near Long Beach said it appeared to be flying about 150-feet off the ground and as fast as 150-knots on the day of the crash. Under cross examination she admitted she had sent an email to a Coast Guard officer days after the crash that indicated the chopper wasn’t flying quite that low or fast.

A Coast Guard mishap investigator testified that Leone’s helicopter traveled at an altitude that was too low and violated regulations for flight through two wildlife refuges. He also said the chopper was traveling at about 125-knots for most of the flight. That’s considered the normal maximum operational airspeed for preservation of the aircraft’s mechanics.

At this hour (noon), Leone’s defense counsel, government counsel, and the hearing’s investigating officer are listening to cockpit voice recorder tapes behind closed doors. The Article 32 hearing will reconvene afterward. The hearing is much like a grand jury proceeding or preliminary hearing in civilian criminal court, but the accused has the right to refute the government’s evidence or cross- examine witnesses.

Proceedings are now expected to last into Friday before the hearing’s investigating officer drafts a set of recommendations. He could call for dismissal of the charges, administrative or internal discipline, or a general court martial on the charges.

Today’s proceedings are being observed by Leone’s wife, father, stepmother, friends from Sitka, and other Coast Guardsmen who served with him. Kyla Krueger, widow of pilot Sean Krueger, has come from Florida to attend the hearing and support Leone.

(Photos by Ty Scales)

Governor Sean Parnell and First Lady Sandy Parnell held the 99th annual holiday open house at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday. It’s among the most popular holiday events in the Capital City, with eager citizens lining up around the block to get a picture taken with the Governor and First Lady. KTOO’s Danny Peterson has more.

The Alaska Department of Transportation is moving forward with a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Juneau Access project.

In February 2009, Federal District Court Judge John Sedgwick directed the state and Federal Highway Administration to re-do the original EIS with a full analysis of improvements to Lynn Canal ferry service as an alternative to a new highway.

Earlier this year the state exhausted its appeals to the federal 9th Circuit Court, and decided to proceed with the supplemental EIS. Today (Tuesday), DOT announced that it has contracted with HDR, Inc. to prepare the document.

Juneau Access Project Manager Reuben Yost says the update will likely take another year and a half.

“Federal highway regulations state that, when you do a supplemental EIS, you follow the similar process for an initial EIS in that you produce a draft supplemental EIS. That’s released to the public. You have public hearings, where the public has a chance to comment. And then you analyze those comments and then prepare a final EIS, which is also released for review,” says Yost. “And then, it’s not until that process is complete before federal highways can then issue a new Record of Decision.”

The draft supplemental EIS is expected by this time next year, with public hearings in January 2013, and final completion by June 2013.

Juneau Access would extend the highway north of the Capital City by 50 miles, from Echo Cove to the Katzehin River. It would end at a new ferry terminal, where a boat would carry passengers and vehicles the rest of the way up Lynn Canal.

The project was challenged in court by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and other groups. Though Judge Sedgwick only ruled on the EIS issue, Yost says DOT will look at other claims made in SEACC’s lawsuit.

SEACC Spokesman Dan Lesh is hopeful that the analysis will seriously consider the pros and cons of the proposed road.

“We identified what we thought were misleading assumptions about traffic forecasts under the different road and ferry alternatives. Ways of analyzing the difference between ferries and roads, we felt like didn’t properly capture the differences between roads and ferries, and was a little biased toward roads,” Lesh says. “We identified issues around sea lions, old growth forest habitat, cultural resources, bald eagle nests – all those things are just part of the public interest and they should be addressed.”

HDR, the firm DOT contracted to do the supplemental EIS, has extensive experience preparing Federal Highway Administration environmental documents in Alaska. Yost says the update will cost about two-million dollars, most of which will be paid for by the Federal Highway Administration.

Contraband tobacco was found at Juneau’s Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Monday.

Prison officials found two balloons filled with tobacco in a holding cell, and reported it to Alaska State Troopers.

According to a release from the troopers, a suspect has been identified and charges are being forwarded to the District Attorney’s office.

Juneau Police are investigating vandalism at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in the Mendenhall Valley overnight.

Shortly after 1 a.m. officers received a report that the church had been graffitied. Officers arrived and discovered that the church and a separate garage had been spray painted with a large swastika, the number “666” and the drug reference “420.”

No other graffiti was discovered in the area. Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact JPD at 586-0600 or online at juneaucrimeline.com.

An agreement between two federal agencies announced Monday leaves just one formal step before the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska – or NPR-A – is open for development.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has refused to allow Conoco Philips to access the area via a bridge across the Colville River. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency had declared the Colville an Aquatic Resource of National Importance.

The agreement between the EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declares a bridge across the river as the preferred alternative for accessing the reserve. Final approval by the Corps of Engineers is expected within a few weeks. That will allow Conoco to begin working on leases it holds in the CD-5 oilfield on the North Slope.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski says the agreement is great news.

“For years we have been talking about the potential available within the NPR-A. So to finally be on the way where Conoco will be able to advance a bridge over the Colville River – to get to the other side – is very welcome news,” says Murkowski.

Conoco-Philips’ spokeswoman Natalie Lowman says the agreement is a positive step. But without final approval she couldn’t say when work would get underway in the CD-5 field.

“Because we haven’t seen the permit or its conditions, we can’t really say when we would start. But receiving this permit is one of the key steps in order to receive the go-ahead to sanction the project,” Lowman say.

Murkowski says she spoke with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who assured her that the EPA is no longer objecting to the development. Though she says it remains to be seen what conditions the agency puts on its final approval.

“We are very hopeful that there will be no surprises with these conditions once we learn the exact nature of them,” says Murkowski.

Congressman Don Young welcomed the agreement, but added – quote – “It should have happened sooner.” And Senator Mark Begich praised Conoco-Philips and the Interior Department for continuing to work toward a deal. He said “Alaska’s oil and gas industry needs to hear some good news on the development front.”