April 3, 2009

Senate Passes Denali Commission, Arctic Oil Spill Research Amendments

Predictable, stable funding goal of Begich-sponsored amendments

The U.S. Senate has approved to two budget resolution amendments important to Alaska. Both amendments, sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich, were passed last night by unanimous consent.

The first amendment would set up a predictable, annual funding stream for The Denali Commission, which was created in 1998 to focus attention on the immense infrastructure and economic challenges faced by Rural Alaska communities.

Traditionally, funding for the Denali Commission has come through several Appropriations bills with transfers of funds from multiple federal agencies, and funding for the work of the Commission has been reduced each year since 2006.

"My goal as we move into the appropriations process is to continue to work toward a funding level and a funding stream that will allow the Denali Commission to continue to do the important work it's doing across Alaska," Sen. Begich said. "By approving this amendment, my colleagues are showing their support for this important organization that helps thousands of Alaskans every year."

Since 1998, the Denali Commission has been able to complete work on 2,000 training programs, 252 economic development programs, 158 energy facilities, 105 health facilities, and more than 20 programs each in solid waste management, domestic violence prevention and services, and property acquisition, rehabilitation, and construction to house teachers, healthcare professionals, and public safety officials. Including its 2008 successes, the Denali Commission has 263 projects in progress in economically distressed communities in Alaska, and is working with the Alaska State Legislature and the Alaska Federal Executive Association to coordinate information and opportunities created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The U.S. Senate approved another amendment last night recognizing the importance of fully funding the Oil Spill Recovery Institute in Cordova, Alaska. If reconciled with the U.S. House and funded in the appropriations process, it will dramatically improve Arctic oil spill research.

After the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Congress established the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) to identify and develop the best available techniques and equipment for dealing with oil spills in the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. OSRI works closely with federal agencies, and industry and research institutes from both home and abroad to diversify its funding steams yet it remains the only U.S. entity whose mission is devoted exclusively to researching oil spill response Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions.

Congress ensured continuing financial support for OSRI in 1996 by setting aside $22.5 million from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) - a source funded not by taxpayers but through a tax on petroleum producers and importers - and authorizing OSRI to use the interest earnings on the principal.

When this funding method was established, the principal generated approximately $1.2 million in interest earnings annually for OSRI's oil spill research. As interest rates declined and inflation cut into its spending power, OSRI received less and less support to fulfill its mandate just as the thawing ice pack increased the need by attracting more nations to the Arctic's resource potential and increasing marine shipping traffic. In the last Congress, the Commerce Committee passed legislation to set aside an additional $12,851,340 from OSLTF to bring OSRI's interest earnings back toward the $1.2 million originally generated in 1996. Regrettably, the increase never passed the full Congress.

"As we recently marked the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, it is vitally important for Congress to take action to ensure the necessary research in spill prevention and response in the emerging Arctic region is funded at the level originally intended by Congress," Begich said.

From a Senator Mark Begich press release