An initiative extending a ban on local efforts to curb air pollution from wood smoke was losing in Fairbanks on Tuesday, the latest phase in a long-running fight about how to respond to pollution levels that exceed health standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The initiative, promoted by North Pole Rep. Tammie Wilson and others, would continue an outright ban on local efforts to curb air pollution. The measure said the "borough shall not, in any way, regulate, prohibit, curtail, nor issue fines or fees associated with the sale, distribution or operation of heating appliances of any type of combustible fuel."
With more than 1,600 questioned and absentee ballots yet to be counted, the measure was failing by 165 votes. Final results won't be known until Tuesday.
An ordinance with that language is already on the books, but two years have passed since it was last enacted and sponsors wanted to guard against the prospect of having the borough assembly revise the measure. Under state law, an initiative cannot be modified for two years after its approval by voters.
Four years ago, Wilson led a campaign opposing local or state regulation to deal with wood smoke pollution. Wilson said it was "government at its worst" to regulate the way people heat their homes.
"I believe it is a fundamental right of every person, and family, to heat their home, responsibly, with any natural resource available," Wilson stated in a 2010 news release.
Later, she said the state already had the authority to deal with the problem, so it would be redundant to have local regulations. The state has been slow to adopt regulations in response to the air problems in Fairbanks, however.
When the state proposed some limited regulation of wood smoke pollution a year ago, Wilson spoke against the proposals. The comment period on the proposed regulations ended nearly six months ago, but the Department of Environmental Conservation has yet to release an update.
A second initiative on the ballot Tuesday reconfirmed a limit on tax revenues for the borough, a measure first approved in 1987 that has been regularly renewed. As with the measure preventing local regulation of wood smoke pollution, the tax cap backers seek to have it confirmed every two years so it cannot be modified by the assembly.
The tax cap was approved by a 2-to-1 margin.