The Mat-Su Borough Assembly at its November 22nd meeting voted to repeal in its entirety MSB 17.06, a code that detailed how and where new electrical generating facilities may be built.
When asked if there was anything specific that prompted the repeal, the sponsor, district six assembly member Jesse Sumner says, “I looked at the code and it looked pointless to me.”
MSB 17.06 focused on land use and only affected facilities of 10 megawatts and larger. According to Mat-Su Borough Planning and Land Use Director Alex Strawn, no facilities have met the size threshold to prompt the permitting process since the legislation was enacted. Though MSB 17.06 has already been repealed, there still may be some Borough permit requirements, such as those for driveways or building in floodways, but there will be no land use or zoning permits or size limitations. There likely will also be other regulatory hurdles for new electrical generating facilities.
“Surely the Regulatory Commission of Alaska will definitely have some oversight over it. My understanding is that there is no other agency that really looks at land use though, which is what the Borough tends to focus their regulations on,” says Strawn.
While MSB 17.06 has already been repealed, the repeal of MSB 17.05 will be discussed at the December 8th Assembly meeting. MSB 17.05 is a code that provides for public participation to determine where and how essential service utilities are built. It was enacted to help ensure public health, safety, and welfare, while minimizing negative impacts.
The proposed repeal of 17.05 may leave the Borough open for utilities to build without notifying the public. The current requirements include a public meeting in the immediate area where the facility will be built, a formal hearing to allow for public comment, public postings in local facilities such as libraries and schools, public notifications on local radio stations, and mailings.
When asked if the Borough Assembly would suggest new legislation that allows for public participation to replace MSB 17.05, Strawn indicates that there may be some support to do so.
“If they go ahead and approve the ordinance and just outright repeal 17.05 that’s to me probably a pretty good message that they just want to be done with those regulations. But there’s a good possibility that if they were to not adopt the ordinance that they would direct staff to develop standards. That was the big gripe about the existing regulations. Right now, there are no real standards. If there is going to be some sort of utility line, large power line, or pipeline or something like that built, there is a public process, but there are no real standards for approval and that was the complaint. So they can go one of a couple different directions here. One is to repeal the thing entirely and the other is to come back with actual standards,” says Strawn.
Assembly Member Sumner indicates that reducing regulatory hurdles for electrical generating facilities will be important, especially as the Borough and State push to electrify the grid with solar installations and electric vehicle charging stations.
The next Borough Assembly meeting will be held on Thursday, December 8 at 6pm.
