Petitions delivered to state for vote on coastal management

And they're really hoping the Legislature will take up the cause so that it doesn't have to go before voters at all.

Bruce Botelho, Juneau mayor, former state attorney general and one of the prime sponsors of the coastal management initiative, said about 26,000 signatures of registered Alaska voters had to be collected in support of putting the matter on the ballot and that his group gathered almost 34,000. That should provide enough of a cushion, considering some signatures surely will be duplicates or from people who aren't registered voters.

Under time frames set out in state law, the petitions had to arrive at the elections office before the official start of the 2012 legislative session -- or else the effort would be delayed until the 2014 election year.

"Our choice was to go for it now or wait two years. So we're going for it," Botelho said.

The state's coastal management program covered a range of projects -- dock building and wetlands filling, oil drilling and mining, things that need a significant permit to proceed -- and required that they conform to state and local standards, said Glenn Gray, a Juneau land-use consultant who used to work for the program. Coastal communities crafted plans identifying the resources and uses that mattered, the sensitive environmental areas.

The program was on the Alaska books for 34 years. It ended suddenly July 1 after the state Legislature failed to renew it during last year's regular session and two special legislative sessions. It died in a weakened state. Back in 2003, the Murkowski administration pushed changes that removed air and water quality reviews and reduced the role of local communities, according to the grassroots group behind the initiative.

Alaska is now the only coastal state without a program under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, passed by Congress in 1972 during the heyday of the environmental movement.

It could reemerge in a streamlined state with better written regulations than before, Gray said.

In some ways, the extra oversight eased the path for projects, said Beth Kerttula, a Juneau Democrat who serves as House minority leader and used to handle coastal management issues as a lawyer for the state.

"We went to court twice and there were thousands and thousands of permits," Kerttula said.

State coastal management workers would guide projects through the permitting process of various state and federal agencies. "One-stop shopping," she said.

The program's demise has added to the workload of agencies and small developers. The Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, for instance, used to be able to request an environmental review of its projects on the state Web site, and the coastal management office would contact numerous other agencies, among them the Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Now that the state office is closed, our office must spend 4 to 5 weeks sending letters and multiple forms to each agency," said Ricardo Worl, a housing authority vice president.

Kerttula said the Legislature should step up and revive the program this year, so that the matter doesn't have to go before voters. Botelho said he hopes that happens.

Don't expect a smooth ride, House Speaker Mike Chenault, a Republican from Nikiski, said. Some legislators will want to leave it to voters. Some may be concerned the governor will veto whatever they pass.

"There's a lot of different camps down here trying to figure out which direction is the best way to go," Chenault said.

Reach Lisa Demer at ldemer@adn.com or 257-4390.