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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWood-Peat Municipal Solid Waste Agricultural Byproducts Alaska Bioenergy Program Semi-annual Report Jul-Dec 1999wood - peat municipal solid waste agricultural byproducts Alaska Bioenergy Program Semi-annual Report July - December 1999 State of Alaska Alaska Energy Authority TABLE OF CONTENTS |. REGIONAL ADVISORY GROUP ACTIVITIES ........cccsssssscssssssessessensenseesnsenseees Il. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE .........::cseeeees Ill. INTERAGENCY AND INDUSTRY CONTACTS & PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ........cccscessssssssssssecseceessessessesseeseucsesaesessessesseeseesseasaesaeseeseessessenanees IV. ALASKA BIOENERGY PROGRAM PROJECTS .......cccssssssssseeeseeseesseeseesennes V. INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES IN ALASKA ........cccsscsessesessesseeseensenseesnsseseaneeseenentens Appendix A Partial List of Alaska Bioenergy Program Contacts Appendix B___ Letter to Senator Frank Murkowski Appendix C Current Industry-Related News Articles REGIONAL ADVISORY GROUP ACTIVITIES The Alaska program submitted monthly reports in October, November, and December for incorporation into higher level RBEP reporting. In September the AEA proposed a modified budget and grant to USDOE. Later, in December, the AEA prepared a proposed revised operating plan and budget for USDOE. Also in September the Alaska Bioenergy Program wrote a letter to energy committee chairman Sen. Frank Murkowski supporting the Regional Biomass Energy Program (RBEP) (see Appendix A.) The Alaska program participated in meetings of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass Energy Program Task force on Sept 8 (phone) and November 1-2 in Seattle. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE During this period the AEA received and responded to at least 22 requests for technical assistance and information regarding ethanol feasibility and tax credits, anaerobic digestion, wood and solid waste availability, densified fuels, publications, wood-fired power plant feasibility, energy and product markets, small-scale waste-to-energy and incineration, contacts, project status, and general program information. A partial list of contacts is given in Appendix A. Because of the transition from Division of Energy to the AEA, no issues of the Alaska Energy Update were produced. However, work was begun on revising the agency’s web site. lll. INTERAGENCY AND INDUSTRY CONTACTS & PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Interagency Coordination. During this period the Division maintained regular contact with industry and public officials regarding ongoing and potential projects in the areas of energy, solid waste management, forest management and utilization, technology development, and air quality. (See Appendix B for a partial list of contacts.) Project Development. In addition to activities associated with ongoing projects, AEA began work in the following areas (see Appendix B for contacts): Anaerobic Digestion (AD). AEA was contacted by a group including an Anchorage-area power utility Municipal Light and Power (ML&P) and a log trader who are interested in applying Univ. California Davis anaerobic digestion technology to bark beetle-killed spruce and fish waste in southcentral Alaska. Biogas would be fired in ML&P combustion turbines and marketed as “green power”. Following the group’s well attended kick- off meeting on November 3; the Alaska program has continued working with the group. The greatest potential for AD would appear to be in ports which process large quantities of fish, but which have waste disposal problems and relatively high energy costs. Paper cubing and co-firing. The Alaska representative traveled to Fairbanks in September to meet with officials of the Borough municipal solid waste department, coal-fired utility Aurora Power, and the local air base in an attempt to identify ways to overcome barriers to fuller utilization of paper wastes for energy. Although Aurora fires used railroad ties and the air base boilers co-fire cubed paper, the Borough is hesitant to ask voters for capital funds necessary to expand cubing operations. Cubing is a major component of the Borough’s least expensive solid waste alternative. Conversations with a representative of Warren and Baerg indicated little industry interest in commercial production. IV. ALASKA BIOENERGY PROGRAM PROJECTS Rural Energy from Wood McGrath Biomass/Waste Heat Project. MTNT Ltd.’s engineering consultant prepared a revised 35% design for the project in July. The new design refined the routing of the district heating system and provided access to more heat customers. In August the board of directors of MTNT Ltd. voted to accept the new design and authorized their CEO to pursue financing for the project. From October to December, the program manager worked with MTNT, utility ML&P, and their consultants to refine the project, reassess economics, and prepare a project proposal booklet. The booklet was in final draft form in December. AEA also worked with the state Division of Forestry and others to confirm assumptions about workability of silvicultural methods and fuel harvest and handling. Stirling Biomass Power Generator (BPG) Demonstration. The Alaska program worked with Stirling Technology Company (STC), Kennewick, WA to organize the planned field demonstration of a 1 KW wood fired power generator. AEA organized meetings with STC, Chugach Electric, Alaska Village Electric Coop, Regulatory Commission of Alaska, University of Alaska, a local Tanana Valley sawmill, and others. AEA purchased a 24 kWh battery storage system for the planned demonstration. Southeast Alaska Ethanol Development. In November, AEA finalized a $240,000 grant to Sealaska Corporation to perform a detailed assessment of the various available ligno-cellulosic technologies and technology companies, project sites, potential equity partners, and financial feasibility of a wood-to-ethanol project in Southeast Alaska. With the assistance of the Washington biomass program AEA helped prepare the RFP for engineering services. AEA provided PNA Task Force members with copies of the RFP and NREL-sponsored wood-to-ethanol feasibility work performed earlier in the year. In July and August, AEA staff assisted USDoE contractors in organizing, publicizing and conducting the workshop “Meeting Mandates and Receiving Benefits from the Production of and Use of Ethanol-Based Fuels in Alaska”. The workshop, held August 19 in Fairbanks, included presentations by AEA, USDoE, NREL, US EPA, Alaska Dept. Environmental Conservation, Montana DEQ, and University of Alaska. AEA worked with two other groups in Alaska which are interested in developing to lignocellulosic ethanol plants in the Tanana and Matanuska valleys. Statewide Wood Residue Assessment. No further work was performed in this area other than reviewing work that was completed last reporting period. V. INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES INALASKA A. Forest Products Despite a newly approved land use plan for the Tongass National Forest, timber supply from federal lands remains uncertain with the inclusion of the Tongass in a list of forests whose roadless areas are being studied for permanent roadless status. Permanent roadless status would remove 2/3 of the remaining timber base, already dramatically reduced by the Tongass land management plan (TLMP). Governor Knowles, who counseled moderation in debates between timber development interests and environmentalists in the TLMP process, called inclusion of the Tongass in roadless consideration “an outrage and doublecross to the citizens of Alaska”. The Annette Hemlock Mill on Metlakatla Island south of Ketchikan closed permanently in October after 20 years of operation. The mill, owned by Louisiana Pacific (LP), employed around 60 people and processed cants for remanufacture in the Pacific Rim or Puget Sound. Closure is expected to hit the Tsimshian Indian community hard economically and socially, despite a $5 million economic disaster package obtained by Sen. Ted Stevens. Regardless of soft markets for chips and lumber and uncertain timber supply, industry is continuing to plan for and make investments in new equipment. In Ketchikan, Gateway Forest Products, a group of former Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC) employees, purchased the Ward Cove Sawmill, the KPC mill site, and much of the remaining equipment from LP with the assistance of a $7 million loan from the Ketchikan Borough. Gateway plans to develop a veneer plant that will employ around 250 people. Last year Sealaska Corporation and KPC were also considering a veneer mill in the area. Sealaska continues to study a potential veneer mill on Prince of Wales Island. Product would be shipped to the Northwest for manufacture of laminated veneer lumber and other products. Mill improvements are also being made in the Interior and Southcentral, with new sawmill buildings in Dry Creek, gang saws in Tok, and a log home manufacturing operation in Salcha. Alaska Spruce Products, a relatively new mill in the Kenai area, is steadily expanding and marketing dried dimension lumber in the Anchorage area. B. Solid Waste A Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) task force published the city recycling plan in late December. The plan calls for the city to increase recycling from the current 13% to 21% by 2005. An important component of the plan is to implement volume-based fees for garbage pickup. Citing the need for expensive repairs after many years of use, the Sitka Borough plans to close the Sheldon-Jackson Waste-to-Energy Facility by the end of 2000. Sheldon-Jackson College is facing serious financial problems, and the lack of free steam is expected to exacerbate the private college's fund shortfall. After considerable debate, the Borough has decided to ship its garbage to Waste Management's Washington landfill. Cc. Air Quality Responding to the U.S. EPA’s and reclassification of the Anchorage and Fairbanks airsheds as “serious” CO non-attainment areas, the MOA is working to revise its implementation plan. The plan, which is due 12/31/2000, is expected to include continued ethanol oxygenate usage in winter months for Anchorage. APPENDIX A Partial List of Alaska Bioenergy Program Contacts Alaska Bioenergy Program Date August 8/3 8/4 8/5 8/6, 11 8/9 8/13 8/17-18 8/19 Partial List of Contacts July to December 1997 Contact Steve Clautice Division of Forestry Fairbanks Carol Purvis US EPA Research Triangle Pk, NC John White Oregon Office Energy Salem, OR Jim Kerstetter Wash State Univ. Olympia, WA Jeff James USDOE Seattle, WA Carl Propes MTNT Ltd. McGrath Marci Tucker Bryan and Bryan Colopaxi, CO Jeff James USDoE Seattle Conference on Renewable Energy Fairbanks Workshop: “Meeting Mandates and Receiving Benefits from the Production of and Use of Ethanol-Based Fuels in Alaska” Fairbanks Description Info request, upcoming ethanol conference in Fairbanks. Update on small biomass power technology development. Need for Alaska conference in this area. Info request, ethanol workshop. Southeast AK ethanol project, involvement of regional task force. Grant issues and funding for FY2000. McGrath diesel recovered heat/biomass project, support by MTNT board. Mailing list for Fairbanks ethanol workshop. Proposed amendment to biomass grant and operating plan. Presentations on biomass energy, fuel cells, wind, tidal, conservation. Co-sponsored by AEA and University of Alaska Fairbanks. Co-sponsored by AEA and USDoE. Presentations by AEA, USDoE, NREL, US EPA, Alaska Dept. Environmental Conservation, Montana DEQ, UAF 8/23 8/24 8/24, 31 8/25 8/26 8/27 8/30 Chad Converse U.S. Forest Service Anchorage Terry Brady, Charlie Nash Anchorage, Big Lake Lt. Col. Zachmeier, Sgt. Merle Kibbe Eielson AFB Eielson Bob Jordon FNSB Public Works Fairbanks Don Spafford Alaska Forest Refinery Fairbanks Jim Strandberg Regulatory Commission of AK, Anchorage Jerry England Aurora Energy Fairbanks Alan Simmons Ft. Wainwright Pollution Prevention, Fairbanks Anchorage Municipal Light and Power Anchorage Jim Kerstetter Washington State Univ. Olympia, WA Jamie Kenworthy Alaska Sci. and Tech. Foundation, Anchorage Lawrence Spotted Bird Shawn Seet Ltd. Klawock Gerry England, Becky Phipps, Bartley Coiley Aurora Energy Bob Jorden, Fairbanks Borough Fairbanks Mike Ruckhaus University of Alaska Fairbanks Stuart Jacques Central Environmental Co. Anchorage Info request, wood-fired power production in rural areas. Interest in wood-to-ethanol production in Mat-Su Valley. Status of wood pelletization operation at base. Impacts of paper fuel production on tipping fees. Info request, motor fuels tax exemption for ethanol. Plans for Tanana Valley wood-to-ethanol production. Interest of coal-fired power plant in co-firing biomass. Ongoing railroad tie co-firing program. Public interest in paper fuel utilization, generation of waste by schools in Fairbanks area. Meeting of utility, state forestry, Anchorage fire department, congressional delegation staff, log trader regarding anaerobic digestion of biomass. Biomass conference in Oakland, contacts at Sealaska. Southeast AK Ethanol project, log sort yard proposed in Mat-Su valley. Info request, small waste-to-energy for Prince of Wales Island. Meeting to explore options for increased waste paper and biomass utilization in existing coal-fired power boilers in Fairbanks. Status of low rank coal water fuel project at university. Separating wood out from demolition debris does not pay. 8/31 September 9/1 9/2 9/2, 13 9/3 9/7 9/7, 10 9/8 9/8, 23 9/13, 27 Norman Kroenig Wasilla David Blecker MSB Energy Associates Middleton, WI Gary Williams Eielson Air Force Base Eielson Maury White Stirling Technology Company Kennewick, WA Bob Baerg Warren and Baerg Dinuba, CA Attendees of Fairbanks ethanol workshop. Ray Erbeznik Stirling Technology Company Kennewick, WA Melody Owens Sheldon Jackson WTE Sitka Bill Beebe Alaska Div. Forestry McGrath Alex Reeve MBA Engineering Anchorage Russel Dick Sealaska Corporation Juneau PNA RBEP task force teleconference Seattle, WA Norman Kroenig Wasilla John Scott Coomb Equipment Portland, OR Proposed timber salvage of beetle-killed trees and use with fish waste for anaerobic digestion process in cooperation with Anchorage electrical utility. Interest in working with Native communities on biomass and other renewable energy projects. Staffing of paper cuber, potential for expansion. Status of Stirling biomass power generator project. Costs of new paper pellet operation at Fairbanks. Possibility of private party to run. Synopsis of workshop and findings. 1 kW Stirling engine fueled by CPC wood gasifier. Potential demonstration in Alaska. Project planning. WTE plant planned for shutdown in Summer, 2000. Forest practices act relationship to wood fuel harvesting in McGrath. Status of expanded scope on McGrath Biomass project. Timing of Southeast ethanol project affected by proposed veneer plant. Program planning, state reports. Proposal to use Zhang/U.C. Davis gasifier. Project status. Cost of cubing paper in Fairbanks, interest by industry in independent production. 9/15 9/16 9/17 9/20 9/22 9/28 October 10/1 Sveinung Ims Agricultural University of Norway Craig Chase Cody, WY Lawrence Duffy University of Alaska Fairbanks Ron Johnson University of Alaska Fairbanks Carl Propes MTNT Ltd. McGrath Kevin Porter National Ren. Energy Lab. Golden, CO David Blecker MSB Energy Associates Middleton, WI Bill Miller Village of Dot Lake Clarissa Quinlan Precision Power Anchorage Gene Long Chugachmiut Anchorage Jeff James USDoE Seattle Brent Petrie Alaska Village Elec. Coop Anchorage Alex Reeve MBA Engineering Anchorage Carl Propes MTNT Erne Baumgartner McGrath Light and Power McGrath Info request, biomass energy and resources in Alaska. Scheduling for RBEP meeting. Interested in follow-up to Fairbanks ethanol workshop. Stirling biomass power generation demonstration in Fairbanks area. Revised 35% design for McGrath project. New heating loads accessed. Info request. Biomass power facilities in Alaska. Info request, solid fuels model. Wood boiler system working well. Specs for battery storage system for Stirling biomass demonstration. Interest in biomass power or thermal project in Pt. Graham area. Grant administration, budgeting. Letter from Percy Frisby: support for biomass program, suggestions for program. Microturbine project, Stirling biomass generator project. 35% design for McGrath project. McGrath biomass project planning. 10 10/4 10/5, 21 10/5, 21, 29 10/5 Mike Jones Univ. No. Dakota Grand Forks, ND Ray Erbeznik Stirling Technology Co. Kennewick, WA Pat Dimarco, Tim McConnell, Jim Strandberg, Paul Morrison Regulatory Commission of Alaska, Anchorage Brent Petrie AK Village Electric Coop. Anchorage Steve Gilbert Peter Poray Chugach Electric Assoc. Anchorage Deben Das Chuen Sen-Lin Ron Johnson Univ. Alaska Fairbanks Steve Houston Larry Cox Dry Creek sawmill Dry Creek Norm Kroenig Wasilla Deborah Vernet Manley Hot Springs Russel Dick Sealaska Corp. Juneau Dennis Walker Whitestone Logging Hoonah Charlie Roberts Petro Marine Haines Gloria Service Transfer Sitka Dan Beard, Dan McDonald Tetra Tech Juneau Info request, McGrath Proj. Status of small biomass power project. Meetings with utilities, University, agencies (below). Stirling biomass power generator project. Stirling biomass power generator project. Stirling biomass power generator project. Stirling biomass power generator project. Stirling biomass power generator project. Update on anaerobic digestion project. Info request, energy options. Ethanol feedstock assessment, grant financing, planned veneer plant, grant issues. Info request, hog fuel-fired power generation versus hydro. Cost of propane Cost of propane—options for fuel cell, continued WTE in Sitka. Describe current project for assessing WTE shutdown at Sheldon Jackson College impacts, measures. 11 10/12 10/21 10/25 November 11/1-2 11/1 11/3 Jim Strandberg Regulatory Comm. Alaska Anchorage Phil Kaluza Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Anchorage Hugh Bevan Sitka Public Works Sitka Geoff Feiler Homer Charlie Nash Big Lake Terry Brady Husky Wood Products Anchorage Jolene Siirila Alaska Div. Occup. Lic. Juneau Don Spafford Alaska Forest Refinery Fairbanks Ron Johnson University of Alaska Anchorage Dave Shelbourne Iditarod Area School District McGrath Glen Hanway MTNT Ltd. McGrath PNA Regional biomass program meeting Seattle, WA Dave Bogard Tesoro Alaska Anchorage McGrath Project Team: Lynne Ballew, Anchorage Ernie Baumgartner, Carl Propes, MTNT Ltd. McGrath Alex Reeve MBA Engineering Rural energy issues, power cost equalization program. Potential market for small biomass cogen units. Alternatives for waste management in Sitka following planned shutdown of existing WTE plant. Walk through assessment of Sheldon Jackson facilities, WTE plant. Info request, ethanol tax credit statutes. Listing of businesses in Alaska on CD for project development. Status of his planned wood-to-ethanol project in the Tanana Valley Info request, rural district heating systems. Biomass and conservation retrofits at McGrath school facilities. School tank farm. Site visit of proposed fuelwood harvest area in McGrath. Program planning, briefings, project discussions. Info request, rural power statistics, Tesoro buys most of ethanol in state and sells to Williams. McGrath project—finance brochure, regen costs, fuel storage design 12 11/3, 23 11/5, 15, 23 11/5 11/15 11/17 Anchorage Meeting at Anchorage Municipal Light and Power Wastewater and electrical utility, forestry, congressional staff, fire department, others Jim Strandberg Regulatory Comm. Alaska Anchorage Russel Dick Sealaska Corp. Juneau Charley Nash Wasilla Jamie Kenworthy Alaska Science and Technology Foundation Anchorage Steve Strube and Bill Beebe Alaska Div. Forestry Big Lake Howard Kane Champaign Asiac Band Yukon Territory Jim Kerstetter Washington State Univ. Olympia Lynne Ballew Anchorage Paul Morrison Regulatory Comm. Alaska Anchorage Norm Kroenig Compass Timber Wasilla Steve Stassel Alaska Energy Engineering Anchorage Terry Brady Husky Wood Products Anchorage Proposal to use Zhang digester for local wood, sewage, and fish wastes. Parasitic load on district heating versus decreased radiator need for cooling. Veneer plant relationship to ethanol project feasibility. He requested sample contract. Ideas for fuel handling, transportation and storage at McGrath. Wasilla interested in ethanol production. Info request on PURPA, Livestock rancher interested in cogen. Info request, ethanol project. Silvicultural requirements of forest practices act for black spruce regeneration. Performance of wood-fired boiler heating facilities. SE Alaska ethanol project RFP considerations. Paper cubing in Seward. McGrath project. Utility regulation of heat sales. Log transfers, chip market. Variable speed pumping for heat recovery loops. Planning formal proposal to RBEP for funding ethanol feedstock assessment. 13 11/18 11/23 11/29 11/30 December 12/1 12/2 12/3 12/3,15 Rick Davidge City of Wasilla Econ Dev. Wasilla Don Spafford Alaska Forest Refinery Fairbanks Steve Clautice Alaska Div. Forestry Fairbanks Cindy Heil Alaska Dept. Env. Cons. Anchorage Kathy Bryan BBI Colopaxi, CO Dennis Witmer University of Alaska Fairbanks John White Oregon Office Energy Salem, OR Steve Morris Municipality of Anchorage Sam Provenzano Municipality of Anchorage Chuck Bartholomew US Postal Service Anchorage David Beatty Juneau (?) Gene Long Chugachmiut Corp. Michael Johnson Alaska Dept. Commerce Juneau Lynn Marino Alaska Dept. Env. Cons. Anchorage Russel Dick, Sealaska Juneau Mark Yancey, NREL Info request. Ethanol development activities, feasibility. Status of his Tanana Valley ethanol development project. Timber development in Interior. Stumpage prices $40-60/mbf, $25/ccf. New equipment in Dry Creek and Tok. Status and outlook of ethanol requirement for Anchorage oxygenate. Follow-up from Fairbanks ethanol workshop. Interest in hosting energy demonstration projects at UAF Energy Lab. Status of Oregon ethanol feasibility work. Outlook for ethanol as Anchorage oxygenate, competition with other alternatives, CNG. Alternative fuels committee for Anchorage area. Requirement to use flex fuel vehicles Info request. Stumpage prices in Southeast on government land, contacts. Info request, woodfiber collection costs. Delivered biomass cost in Pt. Graham area. Possible thermal or power project. Status of statewide mill residue survey. Incinerators in use in rural part of state, contacts. RFP for Southeast Ethanol project. How to handle market assessment. 14 12/3,16 12/6 12/7, 1 12/10 12/15 12/16 12/17 12/20-31 Golden, CO Charlie Nash Big Lake Glen Hanway MTNT Ltd. McGrath Alexi Hill Univ. Alaska Anchorage Norm Kroenig Compass Timber Wasilla John Olofsson University of Alaska Anchorage Hank Nichols Anchorage Municipal Light and Power Anchorage McGrath Project Team Anchorage Wade Davies Dynamotive Ltd. Vancouver, BC Carrie Sykes Tlingit and Haida Central Council Juneau Ed Emswiler Alaska Dept. Env. Cons. Juneau Bristol Bay Native Association Dillingham Clarissa Quinlan Precision Power Anchorage Info request, ethanol RFP. Wood-fired cogen in Pt. McKenzie area. Arc View infobase of MTNT lands. Her analysis and paper on statewide sawmill survey. Info request, handbook of biogas utilization. Status of his anaerobic digestion project. Rural sewage waste. New technical review board for technologies applied in Bush. Interest in anaerobic digestion in Anchorage area as a green power alternative. Project planning. Info request. Market, feedstock for pyrolysis process, wood waste to oil. Info request, Thorne Bay energy recovery from woodwastes, garbage. Waste-to-energy options, statewide planning for solid waste management. Interested in cooperative approach to incineration/WTE publication. Teleconference on alternative energy. Battery systems suitable for rural areas. Crimp on Leave. 15 APPENDIX B Letter to Senator Frank Murkowski DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND 299 WEST FOURTHAVE. SUITE 220 REGIONAL AFFAIRS ANCHORAGE, ALASKA $9501 234 DIRECTOR'S FAX: (907) 269-4645 DIVISION OF ENERGY ENGINEERING FAX: (907) 269-4685 September 23, 1999 The Honorable Frank Murkowski United States Senate 522 Hart Building Washington, DC 20510-0201 Subject: Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass Energy Program Dear Senator Murkowski: | am writing to request your support for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass Energy Program. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the program aims to use waste and wood to generate power, heat, and processed fuels, such as ethanol. In Alaska, the program provides us with funding which helps us toward our goals of rural energy self-sufficiency and economic development. Current projects include: e Tongass Ethanol Development. Provides Sealaska Corporation funding and technical assistance to develop a plant that converts logging and sawmill waste into ethanol, a valuable fuel additive used in Anchorage gasoline. e Rural Power Production. Demonstrates small, reliable power systems that can use local fuels in rural Alaska. We are working with a Stirling engine manufacturer to place a wood-fired unit in Alaska by next year. e McGrath Biomass District Heating. Construct a system that combines waste energy from diesel generators and low-value wood to heat the school and other buildings. Total fuel savings are projected at around $200,000/year. A major strength of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass Energy Program is that it is driven by local needs. Most of the program's resources are directed to state government and industry. The Tongass Ethanol project is a good example of a project that responds to our state's needs for value-added timber development and wood waste disposal. | would appreciate your support to ensure funding for the Regional Biomass Energy Program at current or higher levels so that we can maintain our efforts in this area. The Honorable Frank Murkowski Subject: Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass Energy Program September 23, 1999 Page 2 Please let me know if | can provide more specific information on the current and future program activities. Sincerely, Percy Frisby Director cc: Office of the Governer, Washington D.C. Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy APPENDIX C Current Industry-Related News Articles a Town >. Pulp mill buyers plan plywood veneer plant The Associated Press KETCHIKAN — A group of former Ketchikan Pulp Co. managers has completed pur- chase of the shuttered mill and still-operating Ketchikan sawmill from Louisiana-Pa- cific Corp. The purchase price paid vy Gateway Forest Products was not revealed. Gateway plans a plywood veneer plant on the site of the former pulp mill, which was ploy 30 to 60 people, and eventually the company ex- pects to employ about 250 people. Jim Erickson, Gateway president, said Gateway will hire most of Ketchikan Pulp’s current employees. He said work on the veneer mill would start as soon as possi- ble. “We've already done a lot of the preliminary engineer- ing and design work,” he shut down in 1997, The ve- neer plant is expected,to em- Please see Page F-4, A : verauieeal [- Continued from Page F-1 said. “We hope to have the mill operational by late summer of next year.” The Ketchikan Pulp sawmill will be shut down through Tuesday. On Wednesday, it is scheduled to open as Gateway. ; Along with bank loans, Gateway will re- ceive a $7 millign loan from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough for construction of the veneer plant. = David Dugan, a _ Louisiana-Pacific spokesman, said his company is glad an agreement was finally reached. “This is an end of an era for KPC in that we will be ceasing operations,” Dugan said. “We wish the best of luck to Gateway.” Gateway Forest Products was formed last spring by three Ketchikan Pulp executives and a former timber manager for Sealaska Corp. The company also has several un- named investors. Louisiana-Pacific owned and operated the Ketchikan Pulp Co. for the past quarter-cen- tury. The company stopped producing pulp in March 1997, putting about 500 people out of work in the Ketchikan area. loses” its mill 60 jobs gone in Metlakatla _The Associated Press KETCHIKAN — _ The largest private employer in the Southeast community of Metlakatla closed its doors Friday, sending the town’s unemployment rate soaring to more than 50 percent, offi- cials said. Continued from Page D-1 Metlakatla Mayor Tim Gil- martin. “We’re losing a fourth of our jobs, but a third of our income.” _ The closure spells hard times for local businesses, which are struggling to stay afloat ina community with one of the state’s highest unem- ployment rates. Ed , Leask owns Leask’s Market, Metlakatla’s only su- ermarket, and the Mini art. He has run businesses n Annette Island for 37 years d says this is one of the ughest economic times the ommunity has had to weath- r. “Now that (the mill) will be ae i gring to feel it,” ask said. “It doesn’t | ood.” = Higher unemployment kely will spur more social sroblems, especially those shut down its Annette Island hemlock mill after 20 years. The company blamed the clo- sure on a lack of timber sup- ply. The mill was owned by the Metlakatla Indian Communi- ty and leased by Louisiana- Pacific. Louisiana-Pacific said around 60 people will be out of their mill jobs by this weekend, with a small crew remaining on the payroll for cleanup. The mill employed more than 130 workers at the height of its operation. Harold McGilton worked at the mill 14 years and said L-P offered one of the few high-paid jobs in Metlakatla. “T liked the job that I was doing down there,” he told the Ketchikan Daily News as he left the mill after one of its final days of operation under LP. ee linked to alcoholism, said Lar- ry Hill, a chemical dependen- cy counselor in Metlakatla. Hill said booze remains a problem even though it’s ille- gal to sell or possess alcohol in the community. “Any time you have peo- ple with too much idle time on their hands, there is going to be a problem,” Hill said. “We are waiting for the back- lash (from the closure) to hit us.” Although the mayor con- cedes the mill closure will make a big impact on the com- nye Gilmartin said there cou some bright sg; ahead. : — Five thousand tourists visit- ed Metlakatla this year, up from 500 the previous year, he said. Still more people from around the region might make their way to Annette Island, Gilmartin said. Metlakatla also can depend McGilton said he will stay in Metlakatla, which is 15 miles south of Ketchikan, and look for another job, but he wasn’t sure there was any work to be had. Millwright Stan Mosely, who had worked at the mill six years, said he intends to move after the closure be- cause there were no jobs. The town is taking a sub- stantial economic hit, said upon more funding from the federal and state govern- ments, the community’s two largest employers. The Bureau of Indian Af- fairs has said it was doubling its general assistance funding for Metlakatla this year. Gilmartin didn’t know how much money that would mean, but said it should be enough to pay several resi- dents to build a trail around town. The aid also will be used to pay Metlakatla’s small mill to cut lumber for dock im- provements. And thanks to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, it looks as though another $5 million in economic disaster aid is head- ed to Metlakatla, the mayor said. “I don’t think it’s going to be nearly as bad as people think it will be,” Gilmartin — said. ikea going to get through is. MONDAY, January 3, 2000 *&& ANCHORAGE DaILy Ni eWS «© WWW.adn.com SECTION B Recycling plan links trash bill, load By ELIZABETH MANNING Daily News reporter The more trash that households put out for pickup, the more they should pay. That's one of the main changes to trash collection proposed in a new city recycling plan. Called a volume-based rate, it's a relatively simple tool to reduce the amount of waste that goes into Anchorage’s RECYCLING: Task force recommends linking trash bill, Continued from Page B-1 “This sets a course for Anchor- age to integrate recycling into its solid waste collection program,” he said. “It puts some accountability within local government to coordi- nate recycling efforts, and it spurs on local market development.” The task force plans to present its plan at community meetings over the next several months and hopes the Assembly will adopt it by late March. Recycling has never been easy in Anchorage because of Alaska’s small population and the great dis tance to markets where recycled landfill, according to the city’s recy- cling task force. Because of community interest in recycling, Mayor Rick Mystrom and the Anchorage Assembly formed a citizen task force nearly three years ago to investigate, among other things, whether curb- side recycling would work in the city and how to increase low recy- cling rates. materials can be refashioned into us- able products, said Joel Grunwaldt, director of the city's Solid Waste Ser- vices. But in recent years, several private and nonprofit ventures have stepped up efforts to increase what and how much Anchorage recycles. Anchorage Refuse, for example, started a pilot program two sum- mers ago to recycle yard waste. The Anchorage Regional Composting Facility began crushing glass this summer to sell for sandblasting grit and other uses. And in the past six months, a company called Little Woman Enterprises founded a pri- vate curbside recycling business. For a small fee per pickup, Cindy The plan is the result of those in- vestigations. Anchorage is not ready for curb- side recycling because of the cost, the task force concluded. But it could be ready soon. In the mean- time, the task force recommended several interim steps. Among them: setting a goal for recycling, hiring a full-time recycling coordinator and establishing a variable rate for Goodwin will take recyclable mate- rials from homes and businesses and distribute them to recycling centers and area stores, such as Mailboxes Etc. for packing materi- als or a Wasilla store that turns in- ner tubes into toys. Peg Tileston, chair of the task force, said she’s encouraged by the changes she’s seen on the Anchor- age recycling scene in the past three years. She hopes the plan, * along with recycling grants that the city will hand out in February, will help spur more recycling. Anchor- age is still well below the national recycling average of 27 percent, she noted. trash pickup, which should encour- age people to use less and recycle more. The task force said it would like to see the city increase its recycling rate from the current 13.2 percent, to 21 percent by 2005. To get there, the plan recom- mends a number of changes, from stepping up recycling education to rewriting government contracts so One of the plan's main compo- nents is the variable rate for trash pickup. Tileston sees it as a step to- ward curbside recycling. Setting a variable rate would likely require a new city ordinance and approval from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, Grunwaldt said. But he thinks it's an idea that would work. “Certainly it will impact people's wallets,” he said. The city still picks up garbage within the old city limits while the rest of Anchorage is served by mainly by a private hauler, Anchor- age Refuse. Kirk Duncan, district manager for Anchorage Refuse, recycled materials can be used for building large projects like schools and roads. The plan establishes for the first time citywide goals and a coordinat ed plan for recycling, said task force vice chair David Wig- glesworth, who works for the Alas- ka Conservation Foundation. Please see Page B-3, RECYCLING trash quantity also said setting a variable rate is a good idea. No one can say yet exactly how the new rate system would work. But most likely, trash haulers would set a basic rate for trash pickup for one or two cans. Additional cans would cost extra. Anchorage Refuse charges about $15 a month to pick up three 32-gallon trash cans. “I personally think it’s a very fair method,” Duncan said. “If you throw away a lot of garbage, you should pay for it.” UW Reporter Elizabeth Manning can be reached at emanning@adn.com. The Anchorage Times Publisher: BILL J. ALLEN "Believing in Alaskans, putting Alaska first” Editors: DENNIS FRADLEY, PAUL JENKINS, WILLIAM J. TOBIN The Anchorage Times Commentary in this segment of the Anchorage Daily News does not represent the views of the Daily News. It is written and published under an agreement with former owners of in the interests of preserving a diversity 0 viewpoints in the community. Tree stand \ K ] HEN GOV. Tony Knowles came into office five years ago, he had a pragmatic view of the Tongass controversy. On one hand, he recognized the economic importance of the forest and the job base that it provided to Southeast communities. On the other, he knew that national environmental organizations had made lock- ing up the Tongass their top objective. He called, at the time, for consensus building and for both sides to await the completion of the master land management plan that was being prepared by the U.S. Forest Service. Knowles said he trusted the federal foresters to come up with a plan that balanced the concerns of the residents and those of the environmentalists. That was five years ago. Over the interim, the governor's optimism for balance has waned as he witnessed the completion of the Tongass Land Management Plan and its subsequent revisions, plus a number of legal chal- lenges and other political obstacles thrown in the plan’s way. Last week, when the White House announced its plan to set aside as much as two-thirds of the remaining roadless federal forests — possibly including large areas of the Tongass — Goy. Knowles no longer voiced optimistic views about the potential for balance. In fact, he said he considered the administration’s potential ac- tion “an outrage and a doublecross on the citizens of Alaska.” He vowed to do “everything within my power to protect the families and communities of Southeast Alaska.” Knowles wasn't the only Alaska official to hit the roof over the president's proclamation. Sen. Ted Stevens challenged the president's authority to make such a move. He said under current law, the Tongass management plan must be amended before a withdrawal of the size envisioned by the president could be made. Furthermore, a “no more” clause in the 1980 Alaska lands bill requires congressional approval of the decision. Sen. Frank Murkowski said he was outraged. The White House plan was motivated by politics, he said. “The Forest Service spent 10 years and $13 million developing TLMP and now they are Proposing to sweep that all away with a stroke of a pen.” And, as usual, Rep. Don Young was particularly blunt. “The Clinton-Gore administration is reaffirming what we already knew — it is willing to take every measure possible to appease the national environmental organizations that want to end traditional multiple-use land policies for working people and communities in the West.” When Alaska’s three-member, Republican congressional delegation blasts the president, some might want to dismiss it as political differences. But with Alaska’s Democratic governor joining the chorus, there should me no mistaking the message. Mr. President, Alaskans don’t like what you're doing.