News from the Senate Majority

Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

For Immediate Release: April 24, 1997 Contact: Senator Loren Leman 907/465-2095

Legislature Asks Congress to Amend the Federal Clean Water Act

Juneau -- The Alaska State House endorsed the efforts of Senators Ted Stevens and Frank Murkowski to amend the Clean Water Act by modifying the wetlands regulatory program. Senate Joint Resolution 20 passed unanimously on Thursday.

"Because 98% of all Alaska communities are located in or adjacent to wetlands, services such as building schools, removing snow, and constructing ice roads are often met with burdensome mitigation," said Senator Loren Leman (R-Anchorage), sponsor of SJR 20.

Leman noted that SJR 20 asks Congress to recognize that Alaska has an outstanding record of wetlands conservation and reward that conservation with flexibility in permitting. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study showed that Alaska has conserved more than 99 percent of its wetlands since the 1700s.

"Alaskans have proven we care about our wetlands environment. We are tired of carrying the guilt and paying for the mistakes of the rest of the nation," Leman said.

SJR 20 encourages Congress to amend the federal Clean Water Act to:

• Continue existing airport safety, logging, mining, ice pads, roads, and snow removal without adding to the "cumulative" loss of wetlands nationally.
• Allow the establishment of general permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into disposal sites.
• Eliminate existing requirements to mitigate unavoidable impacts or to prove alternative sites do not exist.
• Require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to customize a permitting process that does not include burdensome mitigation or avoidance requirements.

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