Northwest

Eleven villages within the northwest arctic borough will soon decide how to better their infrastructure through yearly payments from Teck Alaska, the operator of Red Dog Mine.

This year, $11 million of profits from Red Dog Mine will be invested into a Village Improvement Fund (VIF), as well as between $4 and 8 million annually for the next nine years. Although it is unclear how the VIF will be used at this time, Northwest Arctic Borough’s Chief of Staff, Patrick Savok, assures that each community will have a say.

“We are needing to come up with an advisory council of one individual from each community to have a say on how this money will be spent in the communities. The two main stipulations of the agreement, after establishing this Village Improvement Fund, are targeted at critical infrastructure and programs for the eleven villages,” summarized Savok.

In accordance with the Borough Assembly’s policy, a new 10-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) agreement between Teck Alaska and the Northwest Arctic Borough was voted on and approved during a public meeting last month. Savok says the general consensus in the room was positive:

“We did receive three phone calls and one visitor to comment on this acceptance, and they were in agreement. One was former mayor Reggie Joule, who was integral to the Borough severance tax.” Savok continued, “Also, former mayor Martha Whiting called in and expressed her appreciation for moving forward.”

Besides Teck Alaska and Northwest Arctic Borough, the NANA corporation will also benefit from this new PILT agreement. Senior Director of Corporate Communications for NANA Amy Hastings says the corporation will receive slightly more of a percentage than it has in the past.

“It’s 30%. That’s part of our agreement with Teck, and so, that 30% would only become greater as their profits rose,” stated Hastings.

Both Savok and Hastings commented positively on the sustainability and longevity of Red Dog Mine. Hastings suggested that the zinc being mined at Red Dog is reliable right now, in spite of its fluctuating market prices.

“Even now, even with zinc being at a nice level in terms of market value, currently, it’s a very volatile market; we have a very small window of opportunity to get the zinc concentrate out of Alaska and to the various factories where it is processed,” explained Hastings. “This high that we are currently experiencing has been expected for quite a few years; we are also expecting, again, significant dips based on market conditions.”

For the Northwest Arctic Borough, Red Dog Mine is one of, if not the main source of, funding at this point in time, in addition to State grants. Savok says that has been more of a recent change in the Borough’s revenue.

“Well, we’ve always looked to Community Revenue Sharing, however, with the shift over to a Community Assistance Program, and we know that the Governor has stated they are cutting back by 50% already; that is our other main source. I know we’ve got some permitting fees, but those are very very small compared to some of these other ones,” said Savok.

It is unclear when the advisory council will be formed with representatives from each Borough member village: Buckland, Kivalina, Kotzebue, Noatak, as well as Kiana, Noorvik, Selawik, Deering, and then Ambler, Kobuk, and Shungnak.

However, Savok says the administration and the Borough Assembly are looking forward to putting the funds towards village projects in the near future.

Alaska House members are demanding Rep. David Eastman apologize for saying some women are glad to become pregnant so they can receive Medicaid-funded travel to have abortions. So far, he’s declined.

Eastman hasn’t backed down from comments he made earlier this week. The Wasilla Republican said there are “individuals who are in villages and are glad to be pregnant, so that they can have an abortion, because there’s a free trip to Anchorage involved.”

Nome Democratic Rep. Neal Foster joined with three other rural representatives – Speaker Bryce Edgmon of Dillingham, Dean Westlake of Kotzebue and Zach Fansler of Bethel – in demanding Eastman apologize. Foster said on the House floor Friday that he, his constituents and people across Alaska are shocked.

“It shocks the conscience to think that a female in a village would want to endure the physical and the emotional pain of getting an abortion just so they can get a free trip to Anchorage,” Foster said. “Most of the women who live in the villages that I represent are Alaska Native and they feel like these comments were directed toward them.”

Many of Foster’s fellow representatives signaled their support by thumping on their desks.

Eastman spoke after Foster. He didn’t apologize. He did call for legislative hearings on Medicaid funding for travel for abortions.

“I would ask, because of the interest in this issue, because of confusion, certainly because of media reports which have not allayed that confusion, that rather than taking the word of my constituents or my word that we have a hearing to delve into how our funds are currently being used,” Eastman said.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Geran Tarr then spoke, raising the issue of censuring Eastman.

“This is not a topic I would bring up lightly and it something we should all take very seriously,” she said. “But there are comments that continue to be made that are so deeply offensive, racist in nature and misogynistic that I think that this body should consider censuring one of our members.”

The last time a lawmaker was censured was in the early 1990s, when the Senate censured Democrat George Jacko for a series of ethics-law violations.

Eastman’s comments have received criticism from both parties, including from Republican Minority Leader Charisse Millett on Thursday.

“That statement was incredibly hurtful,” she said. “That’s not the feeling that we have in our caucus. That’s not the caucus position. I hope that Rep. Eastman has some time to reflect on his comments.”

The House majority has asked attorneys to research the censure process.

When President Donald Trump signed an order last week lifting his predecessor’s restrictions on offshore leasing in the Arctic, he also revoked a decree that created the “Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.”

“People on the coast that we work with are a mixture of outraged and disappointed,” said Attorney Natalie Landreth, who represents Bering Sea Elders Group.

The elders are concerned increased ship traffic through the Bering Strait will damage their marine mammal hunts.

Barack Obama’s protection of the Bering Strait was done at their request, the group said. For Landreth, the key part of Obama’s order was that it created a tribal advisory committee.

“That was the big victory in it, … the inclusion of local Alaskan voices in federal decisions,” Landreth said. “They cannot figure out why that would be targeted to be taken away. They just don’t understand it.”

Trump’s order cited the goal of “streamlining” regulations.

Back in December, Alaska’s congressional delegation issued a joint statement slamming Obama’s Bering Sea directive as an attempt to lock up resources.

Besides creating the advisory group, the directive also put Norton Sound and St. Lawrence Island off-limits to off-shore oil and gas leasing, using the same “12a” authority Obama used in the Arctic.

Sen. Dan Sullivan called it a “unilateral action to hurt Alaskans.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s spokeswoman said Monday the senator thinks federal officials should still consult with Bering Sea Elders and other locals when they make decisions for the area.

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — The mayor of Bethel has failed at getting city council members to agree with his plan to lower the southwest Alaska city’s sales tax.

KYUK-AM reports Mayor Rick Robb had proposed lowering the sales tax from 6 percent to 5.75 percent in response to the council’s 2014 decision to increase water and sewage rates.

Robb says water and sewage rates have since risen by between 30 and 50 percent per Bethel household. He says he wanted to lower sales taxes for residents to offset those costs.

But the city council turned down the proposal in a 3-2 vote last week.

Council member Leif Albertson says it would not be right to change the city’s revenue before officials finalize next year’s budget.

The Port of Nome could face negative net revenues by 2035 if it doesn’t begin increasing rates annually, according to a new analysis from Cordova Consulting.

The consultants laid out three scenarios for the future:

• no vessel traffic growth,
• 2 percent annual growth,
• 5 percent annual growth.

Though the timelines differ for each scenario, each one eventually shows negative revenues when depreciation is considered.

The port has historically relied on state and federal grants for funding, but Port Director Joy Baker reports that those grants are getting more competitive, and the port won’t always be able to depend on them.

Instead, the consulting group suggested a few alternate ways of increasing the port’s revenue. These include cruise ship passenger fees and small but regular increases in dockage and storage rates.

Cordova Consulting will now begin phase two of their analysis.

Meanwhile, the Nome Port Commission intends to take phase one into consideration as they make budgetary decisions in the future.

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — A high school in Alaska is helping students with disabilities find summer jobs.

KYUK-AM reports that Bethel Regional High School is participating in a state-funded program that will match students with disabilities with local businesses. The program is designed for students with different types of disabilities, including those with learning disabilities and those on the autism spectrum.

Bethel teacher Jane Belanger says the students will be able to work for about four to six weeks up to full time, depending on their interest. She says they will also participate in a classroom component that meets for a couple hours once a week.

Ashley Crace, the director of special education for Lower Kuskokwim School D