The Anchorage Assembly took several actions this week in response to Governor Dunleavy's invitation for stakeholders to provide input on the Final Proposed Fish and Wildlife Plan for the Eklutna Hydro Project. At yesterday's joint meeting with the Native Village of Eklutna, a joint resolution was passed in support of exploration of pumped storage hydro (PSH) as an alternative for restoring the Eklutna River to achieve the mitigation goal of the 1991 agreement, and during a special meeting Tuesday, the Anchorage Assembly voted to approve a legal brief stating the Municipality's position for submission to the Governor.
As part of the 1991 Agreement to transfer the Eklutna Hydro project from federal to local ownership, the Project Owners (Municipality of Anchorage, Chugach Electric and Matanuska Electric) were required to submit a Fish and Wildlife Plan to mitigate the negative impacts to wildlife caused by the project. A proposed final plan was submitted by the minority owners (Chugach Electric and Matanuska Electric) to Governor Dunleavy in April for approval. Governor Dunleavy is currently reviewing the plan and has called for a meeting with invited stakeholders on September 9th.
"We want to thank Governor Dunleavy for his deliberate approach to the process of approving a final Fish and Wildlife Plan and giving the Municipality the opportunity to make our case," said Assembly Chair Christopher Constant. "We are hopeful that the Governor will be open to exploring alternative concepts that have better outcomes than the plan proposed by the minority owners."
Assembly Chair Constant went on to add, "the minority owners proposed a plan that seems reasonable on its face. But when you dig a little, it becomes apparent that their proposed plan misses the mark by reducing energy production from Anchorage Hydropower by roughly 10%, potentially putting Anchorage water at risk, and falling short of the fish and wildlife mitigation goals of the 1991 Agreement. The modest amendments put forward for further consideration by the Municipality have the potential to increase available power, protect Anchorage's water supply, and rewater all twelve miles of the Eklutna river, fully achieving the mitigation goal of the 1991 Agreement."
In the time since the minority owners submitted the Proposed Fish and Wildlife Plan to the Governor in April, Anchorage Hydropower has brought forward a new concept exploring pumped storage hydro (PSH) as an alternative solution to deliver additional water to Eklutna Lake. Pumped storage hydropower is an energy storage solution used worldwide that provides carbon free power production, storage and grid stabilization.
"Pumped storage hydro isn't a foregone conclusion, but it shows incredible promise for meeting the goals of restoring wildlife to the Eklutna River, protecting our drinking water, and ensuring reliable, affordable energy for the region," said Assembly Vice Chair Zaletel. "It is in the best interest of our community to explore all of the options so that we are not stuck with a suboptimal solution for the next thirty years."
The Municipality's legal brief was submitted to Governor Dunleavy on Wednesday and the Municipal delegation will represent the Municipality's position in a meeting with the Governor and the Eklutna Hydro stakeholders, including the Native Village of Eklutna, on September 9th.
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