-
City Manager Tom Moran Port Director Joy Baker
Harbormaster Lucas Stotts
Nome Port Commission
Jim West, Jr., Chairman Charlie Lean, Vice Chairman
Doug Johnson Mike Sloan
Seat D Vacant Megan Alvanna-Stimpfle - Secretary
Tony Cox
102 Division St. P.O. Box 281 Nome, Alaska 99762
(907) 443-6619 Fax (907) 443-5473
AGENDA NOME PORT COMMISSION
MARCH 31, 2016 REGULAR MEETING ~ 7:00 PM
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
I. ROLL CALL
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
02.18.16 Regular Meeting - handout
IV. CITIZENS COMMENTS
V. COMMUNICATIONS
Feb 2016 AK Business Monthly Arctic Port Story
02.22.16 Letter - Lean/Baker to RADM Glang re: Marine Survey
Work
02.29.16 Letter - City to FEMA re: 2nd Appeal Delay Cape
Emergency Repairs
03.02.16 Letter - FEMA to City re: Resolution of PW17 Appeal on
Cape Jetty
03.03.16 Letter RADM Glang to Lean/Baker re: Marine Survey
Work
03.03.16 Murkowski News Release Arctic Port Discussion in
Capitol Hearing
VI. CITY MANAGER REPORT
03.25.16 City Manager Report VII. HARBORMASTER REPORT
1st QTR Report Port/Harbor Operations - handout
VIII. PORT DIRECTOR REPORT/PROJECTS UPDATE
03.24.16 Port Director/Projects Status Report
IX. OLD BUSINESS
X. NEW BUSINESS
Mid Dock Ramp Retrofit Design Sketch
Port & Harbor Project Prioritization Recommendations
XI. CITIZENS COMMENTS
XII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS XIII. NEXT REGULAR MEETING
April 21, 2016 - 5:30 pm
XIV. ADJOURNMENT
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24 Alaska Business Monthly | February 2016 www.akbizmag.com
Call of the Arctic Ports
TRANSPORTATION
Call of the Arctic Ports
Nome and Port Clarence emerge as contendersBy J. Pennelope
Goforth
A warming climate with a decreasing ice pack and an increasing
transit season are making commercial ship-ping, tourist travel, and
resource explora-tion a reality in the previously frozen Arctic
Ocean. A network of Arctic ports across the top of Alaska to
support the increasing ship-ping and commercial activity seems a
natural progression resulting from the opening of the Northwest
Passage and increased use of the Northern Route. But the region is
an unforgiv-ing one with none of the safety nets of modern
times, especially in the US and Canadian Arc-tic where only the
Inuit have made themselves at home. Alaskas Arctic encompasses a
coast-line over 3,500 miles longthe distance from Key West,
Florida, to St. Johns, Newfound-land. According to the US Arctic
Research Commission, the Arctic Boundary as de-fined by the Arctic
Research and Policy Act includes all United States and foreign
territory north fo the Arctic Circle and all United States
territory north and west of the boundary formed by the
Porcupine,
Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers; all contigu-ous seas, including the
Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi seas; and the
Aleutian chain, which boundary is demarcated by the Contiguous Zone
limit of twenty-four nautical miles.
Geographically, with few exceptions, the Arctic coast of Alaska
is a shallow slope ex-tending out to the Arctic Ocean. Bounded by
two seasthe Chukchi Sea west of Point Barrow to the Bering Strait
and the Beaufort Sea east of Point Barrow and off Alaskas
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North Coast. The low lands bordering the Beaufort Sea are called
the Arctic Coastal Plain: a vast flat area of deep permafrost
peppered with shallow lakes mostly at, or below, sea level. The
prevailing winds from the northwest constantly push the bottom silt
and the ice pack back toward the land. This geography is well
suited to the three oil developments that dot the offshore
shal-lows on the artificial gravel islands and causeways that
support production and operations at Endicott Island, Northstar,
and Oooguruk. The conditions along the Beaufort coast across the
northern edge of Alaska would require massive dredging and filling
to craft a deep-water port. As such, periodic summer sealifts
consist of
Arctic Boundary as defined by the Arctic Research and Policy Act
(ARPA)
All United States and foreign territory north of the Arctic
Circle and all United States territory north and west of the
boundary formed by the Porcupine, Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers; all
contiguous seas, including the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort,
Bering and Chukchi Seas; and the Aleutian chain (The Aleutian chain
boundary is demarcated by the Contiguous zone limit of 24-nautical
miles).
Acknowledgement: Funding for the map was provided by the
National Science Foundation throught the Arctic Research Mapping
Application (armap.org) and Contract #0520837 to CH2M Hill for the
Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee(IARPC). Map author:
Allison Gaylord, Nuna Technologies. May 27, 2009.MAP: United States
Arctic Research Commission
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Alaska
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ighter future for the next generat ion.
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26 Alaska Business Monthly | February 2016 www.akbizmag.com
tug and barge delivery to shallow docks.The coast from Barrow
south offers op-
tions with sheltered bays on the Seward Pen-insula and deeper
waters around the islands in the Bering Sea. But along the Chukchi
Sea, ice-free from mid-July through September, the potential for a
deep-water sheltered port declines. Point Franklin, Wainwright,
Point Lay, and Point Hope, all in close proximity to the Chukchi
Sea OCS oil and gas leases that have all been cancelled by the
federal gov-ernment, are capable of shallow to medium-draft vessels
in somewhat sheltered bays that offer potential for logistics
support rather than a deep-draft major port facility.
Southeast of Cape Lisburne, and twenty-six miles south of Point
Hope, Cape Thompson is under consideration primarily as a potential
terminal shipping extraction minerals and gas and potentially as a
Coast Guard hub. In 1957, Cape Thompson was selected as the site
for an artificial deep-water port to be created by detonating a
series of five nuclear bombs, one to create the harbor and four to
create a channel connecting the harbor to the deeper ocean.
Improbable as that seems today, Proj-ect Chariot was the first
project conceived for the US Atomic Energy Commissions Plow-share
Program, which was engaged in find-ing peaceful uses for the power
of the atomic
bomb. In 1959 the Commission was ordered by Congress to conduct
bioenvironmental studies and produce an environmental re-port, now
considered the first Environmen-tal Impact Statement. Project
Chariot, for which planning began in 1958 and studies were
conducted from 1959 through 1962, was scrapped in 1962 due to
public outcry.
Farther south is a shallow-draft portpart of the DeLong Mountain
Transportation Sys-tem, twelve miles south of Kivalina. The port,
ore concentrate conveyor and storage facil-ity, and road system was
financed through bonds by the Alaska Industrial Development and
Export Authority to encourage devel-opment of the Red Dog mine, a
partnership between NANA Regional Corporation and Teck. Tolls and
fees have repaid the invest-ment over the years with annual
dividends from the public-private partnership.
As a new era emerges with the opening of the Northwest Passage
and the expan-sion of the Northern Route over Russia, pressure for
Alaska Arctic port capacity is on. Defining the key elements needed
by a port to serve Arctic maritime transporta-tion and shipping
needs has been the topic of several conferences and numerous
stud-ies over the past decade.
Serious Port Planning EffortsThe focus on Arctic ports was a
part of a larger economic development effort by the state. Building
the Arctic Marine Infrastruc-ture was one of the three main themes
of the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (2005-09) by Lawson W.
Brigham, PhD Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Enhancing
Arctic marine safety and protecting Arctic people and the
environment are the other two goals of the assessment. The first
Alaska Re-gional Ports Conference was convened in 2008 with local,
state, and federal agencies; private transportation businesses; and
tribal entities to discuss the issues impacting Alaskas ports and
harbors. The US Army Corps of Engineers and Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) jointly
com-missioned a study to establish the baseline information needed
for a statewide ports and harbors plan. Two years later the second
con-ference further refined the aims and policies, identifying the
Arctic as one of eight statewide regions, with Barrow as a hub to
provide a fo-cal point for regional investment.
In 2010, the Alaska State Legislature es-tablished the Alaska
Northern Waters Task Force to identify Arctic issues requiring
state participation and support. The task force convened a number
of town halls and eventually listed eleven sites for consid-eration
as potential deep-draft port sites. It turned out to be vast and
complex task spawning further study by the Arctic Policy
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ABM February 2016 4 Digital Edition.indd 26 1/20/2016 2:57:58
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www.akbizmag.com February 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly 27
Commission, set up in 2012. Among the is-sues this group
identified was the need for a northern ports assessment.
Recognizing the potential for increased resource explo-ration and
development that would require massive infrastructure investment
(among many other attendant issues such as ef-ficient energy
generation, construction, maintaining healthy communities, food
security, etc.), the commission proposed an Alaska Arctic Policy.
That policy called for increased development of mineral and oil and
gas resources in the Arctic.
In 2013, the joint US Army Corps of En-gineers (USACE) and
ADOT&PF three-year report, the Alaska Deep-Draft Arctic Port
System Study, added three more sites, inves-tigating the potential
of a total of fourteen. The possible sites for a deepwater port
were St. Paul Island, St. Lawrence Island, Nome, Port
Clarence/Teller, Kotzebue/Cape Blossom, Me-koryuk, Cape Thompson,
Wainwright, Point Franklin, Barrow, Prudhoe Bay, Mary Sachs
Entrance, Bethel, and Cape Darby. Based on evaluation criteria such
as natural depth of water and navigational accessibility,
proxim-ity to economic development (oil, gas, mining, fishing), and
intermodal connections, that list was shortened to four likely
candidates: Nome, Port Clarence, Cape Darby, and Barrow.
In advance of the US chairmanship of the
Arctic Council, the federal governments at-tention was directed
to the Arctic through two pieces of legislation introduced by
Senator Lisa Murkowski and Congressman Don Young. Neither the
Arctic Deep Water Sea Port Act of 2009 nor the one initiated in
2010 got any traction, but they did get the discussion going on the
need for US action in the Arctic and especially the need for
icebreakers. The Distant Early Warning sys-tem, known as the DEW
Line, was the last significant activity the federal government
sanctioned in the Arctic region, built from 1954 through 1957
during the Cold War.
The 2013 National Strategy for the Arc-tic Region sets forth the
US governments strategic priorities for the Arctic region. This
strategy is intended to position the United States to respond
effectively to chal-lenges and emerging opportunities arising from
significant increases in Arctic activity due to the diminishment of
sea ice and the emergence of a new Arctic environment. It defines
US national security interests in the Arctic region and identifies
prioritized lines of effort, building upon existing ini-tiatives by
Federal, state, local, and tribal authorities; the private sector;
and inter-national partners and aims to focus efforts where
opportunities exist and action is needed. On the federal level, the
Depart-
ment of Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the US Coast Guard, and the US Arctic Research
Com-mission would all benefit from a deep-draft Arctic port,
although none of the agencies individually can fund such a
project.
The Ideal Arctic PortPorts used to grow organically: located at
a strategic marine location like a deep water bay or harbor with
connections to roads and cities where commerce could be conducted
at a profit for transporting people and commod-ities. Its a law of
physics that marine trans-portation requires less energy (cost)
than any land-based transportation. Nearly every vi-able city in
the world sprang from a port on a body of water. Both of these
facts figure heav-ily into the situation in the Alaska Arctic.
In addition to the traditional primary functions of a maritime
facilitymoving people and commodities in and out of the
regionAlaska Arctic ports are expected to provide support for oil
spill response, national security, and search and rescue.
Challenges of building and operating ports in the Alaska Arctic are
formidable. Plus, they must have the capacity to eventually service
the full gamut of marine vessels: cruise ships, ferries, tank and
cargo barges, fuel and commodity tankers, cargo carriers,
Let us help you get there.
Jack Grieco and his department ensure that we get excellent
service with a personal touch. I would encourage other business
owners to invite Jack over to talk with them about their business
insurance needs.
- Edward Yarmak, P.E. | President, Arctic Foundations,
Inc.Kumtor Mine Portal | Kyrgyzstan Republic
YOUR BUSINESS TAKES YOU PLACES.
alaskausa.org/insurance | (800) 478-1251
Call today to speak with a risk management consultant.
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28 Alaska Business Monthly | February 2016 www.akbizmag.com
tugs, fishing boats and factory trawlers, fed-eral research
vessels, Coast Guard icebreak-ers and patrol vessels, Alaska
Department of Fish and Game vessels, and oil spill response ships
and barges, among others. (It should be noted that one of the huge
expenses Shell encountered in their bid for an Arctic oil discovery
was the contracting the operation and maintenance of a fleet nearly
thirty ves-sels to support their drilling efforts.)
In their port development checklist, the Marine Exchange of
Alaska identified the key elements needed to establish a port:
suf-ficiently deep waters; adequately charted wa-ters; aids to
navigation; and access to pilots, tugs, and functioning
infrastructure on docks such as cranes, staging, and trucking.
Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment of 2009 listed similar points on
planning for Arctic ports: existence of intermodal transportation
(air, rail, and road); emergency, search and rescue, and pollution
response access; staging capac-ity for marine activity (offshore
development, fishing, research, traffic); accessibility of civil
services (law enforcement, security); and sup-port services such as
marine repairs, commu-nications, stores, chandleries, etc.
Two years into the Alaska Deep-Draft Arc-tic Port System Study
two sites emerged as the most feasible: Nome and Port Clarence,
neither of which is actually in the Arctic.
Currently classified as a medium-draft port, Nomes vessel
traffic has increased ten-fold over the past twenty-five years,
accord-ing to the study, from thirty docked vessels in 1988 to 304
in 2011. Nome is positioned close to various economic development
ac-tivity (fisheries, mining operations, oil and gas drilling); it
is a solid year-round commu-nity with an airport, a hospital, and
whole-sale and retail services. Still there are pros and cons: it
is about 130 miles south of the center of the Bering Straits and it
does ice up in the winter. But it is closer than search and rescue
capacity at Kodiak or Dutch Harbor.
Port Clarence, located on a spit in Port Clarence bay just a few
miles from the cen-ter of the Bering Strait, is the former site of
a LORAN-C station administered by the US Coast Guard. Fewer than
thirty people now live in the village a few miles from Teller,
which is connected by road to Nome and has a small airfield. With a
depth of about thirty-five feet and an approach channel that has
forty feet of clearance, little to no dredging would be required,
which means less cost to develop the port facility.
Three major decisions in 2015 affected the likelihood of
actually developing an Arctic port in Western Alaska. By 2015 the
USACE/ADOT&PF study settled on Nome despite the expense of
dredging. That same
year Bering Straits Native Corporation an-nounced they were
partnering with Crow-ley Maritime Corporation on a deep-water port
development plan for the Port Clar-ence site. Royal Dutch Shell
announced in late September 2015 that it ceased further exploration
activity in offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future citing the
Burger J well result, the high costs associated with the project,
and the challenging and unpre-dictable federal regulatory
environment in offshore Alaska. In the wake of that an-nouncement
the USACE/ADOT&PF study was put on hold for at least twelve
months.
Despite the seeming setbacks, funding mechanisms for Arctic port
development took a giant leap forward as several Alaska Native
corporations and private equity firms moved ahead with their plans
to finance the needed infrastructure. The Golden Days scenario of
the USACE/ADOT&PF study of high demand and active collaboration
leading to productive development with a healthy social, cultural,
environmental, and economic future could still materialize.
Investments Fund DreamsIn the summer of 2015 representatives of
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, NANA Regional Corporation, and
Bering Straits Native Corporation announced the estab-
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www.akbizmag.com February 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly 29
lishment of the Iuit Arctic Business Al-liance. Its purpose is
to ensure that local people have a voice in economic
develop-mentinfrastructure, transportation, ener-gywhile sustaining
cultural stewardship. Iuit Arctic Business Alliance members own a
total of 9.3 million acres of Arctic sur-face and subsurface real
estate and represent more than 31,900 Alaska Native sharehold-ers.
Global interests continue to focus on the Arctic, and we, Iuit,
have always worked together to ensure our collective destiny
re-mains in the hands our people, said Bering Straits Native
Corporation President and CEO Gail Schubert in a press release. The
Iuit Arctic Business Alliance is the conduit to ensure we lead this
effort. The inclusion of local residents in the planning of Arctic
infrastructure and its resultant benefits have been a primary
goal.
Pt Capital, an Alaska based private equity firm run by former
Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, president, and former Beth-el
Mayor Hugh Short, chairman and CEO, re-cently announced they had
raised $125 mil-lion in an Arctic investment fund. In a recent
press release the firm stated, The fund is fo-cused exclusively on
the emerging market of the Arctic. The fund intends to invest in
and grow companies in Alaska, Canada, Green-land, and Iceland in a
broad set of industries.
A diversified group of global investors and Arctic
indigenous-owned businesses have invested in the fund. Treadwell
said there are currently more than $100 million worth of Arctic
infrastructure projects seeking funding. These include port
facilities requir-ing massive construction like breakwaters and
causeways, docks, wharves, railroads, roads, warehouses, and
offices. Upgrades to airports and existing roads and other
exist-ing facilities are also part of the great trans-formation
envisioned by proponents.
Pt Capital connects regional stakehold-ers, indigenous
businesses, and global inves-tors. Due to the teams Arctic
investment ex-perience, we believe that we are positioned to
provide attractive returns, said Hugh Short. Were proud to have
leveraged local and global investment to bring needed capi-tal to
this part of the world. Short envisions a transformation of the
Arctic: oil wells and mines, new roads and pipelines, with ports
serving commercial vessels transiting the Arctic Ocean rather than
using the Panama Canal, shortening by thousands of miles the
distance between east and west.
Guggenheim, a New York- and Chicago-based firm that manages more
than $210 billion in stocks, bonds, real estate, and infrastructure
such as pipelines and elec-trical equipment, sees value in Arctic
proj-
ects such as new deep-water ports and toll roads whose fees will
rise as trade grows, said Scott Minerd, a managing partner at
Guggenheim. At the Alaskan Arctic Sum-mit in Anchorage last summer
Minerd said that his company is compiling an inventory of all
planned and discussed infrastructure projects for potential
investors represent-ing trillions of dollars in investment
oppor-tunities. He said the firm plans to reveal the database of
projects and their respec-tive estimated costs in early 2016.
Wild cards still loom on the horizon for the proposed network of
Alaska Arctic ports. The warming climate presents opportunities for
the growth of existing harbors and potential ports, it also means
geographic change. The village of Kivalina and other Arctic and
sub-arctic Alaska villages are being washed away by rising sea
levels. Will investors and insurers be assured of a return on their
investments in such an unstable climate? Will the state and the
federal government be persuaded to step up to provide the necessary
civil services? The new frontier of the Arctic promises great
wealth along with great risk. R
Alaskan author J. Pennelope Goforth is home ported in
Anchorage.
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Mr. Charles Lean, Port Commission Vice-Chair Ms. Joy Baker, Port
Director City of Nome P.O. Box 281 Nome, Alaska 99762
Dear Mr. Lean and Ms. Baker:
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE Office of Coast
Survey
Srlver Spring, Maryland 20910-3282
MAR 0 3 2016
Thank you for your acknowledgement of our recent surveys to
acquire modern bathymetry data in the proposed Port Access Route
from Unimak Pass through the Bering Strait. While these surveys
were not full-on hydrographic surveys, the bathymetry will
significantly inform improvements to our nautical charts. I would
also like to express my appreciation for hosting NOAA ships Rainier
and Fairweather this past summer while they were conducting
these
surveys. With limited facilities to support operations in the
Arctic, access to the port of Nome is vital for efficient
operations.
Limited ship resources for data acquisition in Alaska make it
critical for Coast Survey to focus
our efforts on the most significant needs, and we appreciate
your suggestion regarding the shipping lane north of Saint Lawrence
Island to King Island. Lieutenant Timothy Smith is our navigation
manager for Alaska, and he will contact you shortly to further
understand your requirements.
I would also like to invite you to attend a stakeholder meeting
that Coast Survey has organized in
Anchorage. The Alaska autical Charting Workshop is scheduled for
March 22, from 8:30 to 5:00, at 222 West 8th Ave. Please let
Lieutenant Smith know if you are interested in joining us that day.
He can be reached at 907-271-3327, or by email at
[email protected].
Thank you again for your support. The port of Nome has been an
important stop for Coast Survey, dating back to the very early
years of Arctic charting, and we look forward to your
future support of our NOAA vessels .
Sincerely,
:1::,:a,!!a'l, Director
@ Prin1ct.l on Rcqclct.l P;ipcr
-
From: Boyle, Garrett (Murkowski)To: Joy Baker; Larry
MarkleySubject: FW: Murkowski Stresses Need for Deep Water Port in
the ArcticDate: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 4:24:49 PMAttachments:
Letter to President Obama.pdf
image002.png
Wanted to make sure you folks saw this. We are still poking
them.
From: Petersen, Karina (Murkowski) On Behalf Of Press Office
(Murkowski)Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2016 7:22 PMSubject:
Murkowski Stresses Need for Deep Water Port in the Arctic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karina Petersen 907.350.5102March
2, 2016 or Jenna Mason 202.224.8069
Murkowski Stresses Need for Deep Water Port in the ArcticYou
Cant Be An Arctic Participant Without A System of Ports
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
pressed Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen
Darcy, on the need for a deep water port in the Arctic region.
During an Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee
hearing focusing on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget
request, Murkowski challenged officials for not funding the
proposed port project in Nome, Alaska. Murkowski asked, When the
President was up in Alaska in September, he announced the need for
a deep water port that would be north of Dutch Harbor. Given the
Presidents support for this, why have we not included construction
funding going forward in this next fiscal year? Assistant Secretary
Darcy responded, Since that time and since the Presidents visit, we
are now going to look at further scoping of that study, because it
was limited to just some economics involving oil and gas, but there
are other things that can be included in this. For instance, the
Port of Nome may be considered a port of national significance in
addition to the fact that it could possibly house the Coast Guards
icebreaker in the future as well as other benefits that could be
gotten from that.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
-
(Click image to watch video of Murkowski questioning Army Corps
of Engineers on status of Nome port study.)
Murkowski said that while she supports increasing the potential
scope of the Nome port study, she raised concerns that the Nome
study was dependent on just one project.
I do find it really quite surprising that the assessment for a
port could have been built upon one project without recognition of
the expanded role, the activities in the region. This is one of
those areas where when you talk to the people, whether they are in
Nome or anywhere south of that they say, the Arctic is more than
just oil and gas exploration. Its more than just Shell up north. It
is about having infrastructure to accommodate a dawning reality
that its almost as if a new ocean has been discovered at the top of
the globe, Murkowski said. Background: After beginning an initial
study into the feasibility of expanding the Port of Nome, the Army
Corps of Engineers put a pause on the study in October 2015 after
Shell pulled out of the Arctic. In response, the Alaska
Congressional Delegation sent a letter (attached) to President
Obama, expressing strong concerns about the fate of the proposed
deep water port in Nome and explaining the need for a deep water
Arctic port. Murkowski is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee and the Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee.
###
Note: Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is
unattended. For further information, please contact Senator
Murkowskis press office at 202-224-9301 or 202-224-8069. Visit our
website at
http://murkowski.senate.gov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH6NxM8yWUUhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/10/26/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-puts-nomes-port-expansion-on-12-month-hold/http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=C6D0DDEC-B0CB-4F2F-BD97-FA5A29863066http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=C6D0DDEC-B0CB-4F2F-BD97-FA5A29863066http://murkowski.senate.gov/
-
Memo To: Tom Moran City Manager
From: Joy L. Baker Port Director
CC: Mayor & Nome Common Council
Nome Port Commission
Date: 3/23/2016
Re: Port & Harbor Report/Projects Update March 2016
The following provides a status update on active issues and
projects pertaining to the Port & Harbor. Information in
italics represents no status change from previous report.
Administrative: Staff actively pursuing A/R collections through
vessel/equipment impounds, resulting in a 66% collection rate
between closing 2015 balance of $149K to less than $50K today.
Efforts continue on the remaining accounts with impound hearings
scheduled for the end of March. Planning has begun for F17
budgetary forecasts as far as staffing needs, annual maintenance
work as well operational equipment and supplies. The Port
Commission is scheduled to hold a work session for March 31, 2016
to discuss prioritization of pending Port & Harbor projects,
both large and small, based on needs/costs.
Causeway: Deep Draft Arctic Port Study: We have been continuing
to advocate for movement on the USACEs Arctic Deep Draft Port Study
at the federal and state levels, and were pleased to see the Nome
project specifically mentioned in the attached excerpts; page 9 of
the March 2016 Presidents Progress Report on the Implementation of
the National Strategy of the Arctic Region, and page 5 of the
Framework (Appendix A). (www.whitehouse.gov) We were equally
pleased with the brief exchange between USACE Secretary Darcy and
Senator Murkowski on the Nome project during a March 2, 2016
appropriations subcommittee hearing on the USACE budget, with
Secretary Darcys response confirming their intent to move forward
with rescoping the project to capture benefits that exist outside
the economics program. Although the City has not received a written
response to the Mayors February 2016 letter to OMB, the rescoping
decision is excellent news for Nome and the region. We are in
communication with USACE Headquarters and Alaska District to
determine timeline and scope of their plan for moving forward. More
to come
JLB
-
3/23/2016 Page 2 Port Director/Projects Status Report
Middle Dock: Project is in freeze status until 2016 breakup
occurs, when remaining dredging and small list of punch list items
will be completed. The first project planning meeting was held
March 16, 2016 to discuss anticipated modifications to the ro-ro
ramp to mitigate surface erosion from storm surges.
Inner Harbor: Snake River Floats Phase II & Travel Lift:
This project remains in the planning/development phase for
discussion. Although a funding source has not yet been identified,
efforts continue to seek an appropriate mechanism or partner to
develop this highly needed project.
Garco Building Upgrade: Staff looking into affordable ways to
make improvements to this unit with new siding/roofing with
insulated panels. EEIS ROM estimate was over $500K, which exceeds
budgetary limits at this time; therefore, we continue to evaluate
options to reduce costs.
Port Industrial Pad: Port Pad Development: Efforts continue to
seek out new options for clean fill to develop the new Thornbush
Subdivision in an effort to generate additional uplands needed for
lay down storage. Cost estimates are being sought from local
contractors to determine how to fill this site incrementally as
funding is available. Another option would be to use spoils from
dredging the Snake River moorage area, also based on funding.
Port Road Improvements: Periodic teleconferences with the ADOT
planning team continue to occur to discuss progress on the scope of
work/design based on the Citys priorities for this project.
Construction is scheduled for FY2018, based on STIP funding.
Snake River Bridge Stage II - Jafet Drive Lighting Improvements:
ADOT awarded this project in January 2016, which will resolve
lighting and turning radius issues on Jafet Road along the Snake
River Bridge. Construction is scheduled to be complete in July
2016.
West Nome Tank Farm (WNTF): The USAF is making reasonable
progress on accomplishing specific tasks required by ADEC in order
for the property to be officially conveyed to the City.
Environmental Baseline and Cadastral Surveys are complete and
perimeter fencing installed. The work for the placement of a
permeable liner and cap has been awarded and is scheduled to occur
in 2016. We are hopeful completion of this work will allow
ownership to transfer to the City during FY2017.
External Facilities: Seawall Erosion Repair: Orion Marine will
be actively positioning armor rock near the project site from the
Causeway beach from late March to early April 2016 per the hauling
& stockpiling plan provided in the previous report. Pending ice
stability, the hauling may take place across a direct/short route
(across the harbor channel mouth) or by road, whichever is best.
Once a sufficient quantity of stone has been relocated, this
portion of the work will cease, with Orion returning in mid-May to
begin the repair work.
Cape Nome: Following FEMAs receipt of the Citys 02.10.16 letter
regarding the ongoing delay of the award appeal, FEMA has now taken
the necessary action to modify the Project Worksheet 17 based on
PNDs Mitigation Repair Plan, which was submitted to FEMA
Headquarters for approval and funding obligated. We received an
email from Region X (SEA) on Monday, 03.21.16 that indicates the
revised PW17 has cleared all necessary reviews and funding has been
obligated for the project. We await transmission of the award
packet, while engineers finalize plans/specs and bid documents,
which are anticipated to be issued by mid-April 2016.
Additional information on any of these projects is available
upon request.
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Progress Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy
for the Arctic Region
9
Dutch Harbor and the southern Alaska Peninsula, Kotzebue Sound,
Port Clarence, and
Point Hope.
In 2016, NOAAs Office of Coast Survey will acquire survey data
in areas around Etolin
Strait, the Southern Alaska Peninsula, and the approaches to the
Yukon River, with plans
to return to the North Slope in 2017. The data will be used to
assess and update nautical
charts.
In fiscal year (FY) 2015, NOAA updated 1,714 nautical miles of
shoreline on Alaskan
nautical charts. This effort is continuing into FY 2016.
NOAA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) within the
Department of the
Interior (DOI), and the State of Alaska are collaborating to
advance shoreline and near-
shoreline coastal mapping by using satellite data. This action
has been determined to be
critical to monitoring climate change. NOAA is incorporating
USGS, State of Alaska,
and other stakeholder input to prioritize locations for FY 2016
satellite imagery-based
shoreline products. In support of ongoing efforts, the June 2016
Coastal Mapping
Summit/Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of
Excellence Workshop will
include an Alaska-focused coordination meeting to support
advancing these efforts.
Evaluate Deepwater Port Capabilities
There currently are no U.S. deep-water harbors north of Dutch
Harbor to provide shelter
to vessels in the Arctic region. To address this need, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers is
evaluating the feasibility of deepening and extending harbor
capabilities in Nome, Alaska. As
part of this effort, a draft Environmental Assessment was
published in the Federal Register in
February 2015. The planning, funding, and implementation
timeline originally called for on-site
operations to tentatively begin in 2020. Shell Oil Companys
recent decision not to continue
Arctic oil exploration will require the project to be
reevaluated because harboring vessels
involved in offshore oil development was a critical driver in
the cost-benefit analysis of the draft
Environmental Assessment.
Monitor Climate Change
NOAA will update and install additional instrumentation on the
Arctic coast to monitor
the effects of climate change and enable safe marine operations
and transportation. In support of
this Presidential initiative:
In 2016, NOAA will establish a permanent National Water Level
Observing Network
station to monitor sea-level rise. Six temporary water-level
stations were installed and
removed in 2015 as part of the preparations for the permanent
station. NOAA and
partners are working to prioritize locations for water-level
sensors in order to close
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Implementation Framework for the National Strategy for the
Arctic Region
5
Line of Effort 1: Advance U.S. Security Interests
Protecting the American people, our sovereign territory and
rights, and the natural
resources and other interests of the United States remains the
highest priority of the Federal
Government. The first line of effort focuses on activities
intended to support these priorities:
preparing for increased activity in the maritime domain;
sustaining and supporting evolving
aviation requirements; developing communication infrastructure;
enhancing domain awareness;
sustaining Federal capability to conduct maritime operations in
iceimpacted waters; promoting
freedom of navigation and overflight and other uses of the sea
in accordance with international
law; and developing renewable and nonrenewable energy
resources.
The National Security Council Staff is the overall coordination
lead for this line of effort.
Evolve Arctic Infrastructure and Strategic Capabilities
1.1 Prepare for Increased Activity in the Maritime Domain
Objective: Guide Federal activities related to the construction,
maintenance, and improvement of
ports and other infrastructure needed to preserve the mobility
and safe navigation of United
States military and civilian vessels throughout the Arctic
region.
Next Steps: Create a coordinated approach toward improving and
maintaining infrastructure in
support of Federal maritime Arctic activities prioritized in
consideration of national security,
navigation safety, and stewardship of national resources. This
coordinated approach will include:
1.1.1 Deliver a 10year prioritization framework to coordinate
the phased development
of Federal infrastructure identified through a Department and
Agency validated needs
assessment by the end of 2016. Lead: Department of
Transportation (as Chair of the
Committee on the Marine Transportation System)
1.1.2 Develop recommendations for pursuing Federal publicprivate
partnerships in
support of the needs assessment and identified prioritized
activities by the end of 2017.
Lead: Department of Transportation (as Chair of the Committee on
the Marine
Transportation System)
1.1.3 Evaluate the feasibility of deepening and extending harbor
capabilities in Nome,
Alaska, and if the evaluation determines that navigation
improvements are appropriate,
begin planning efforts, including developing a construction
timeline by 2020. Lead:
Department of Defense (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
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