Assembly won’t weigh in on HB 77

PALMER — Observers of the back-and-forth debate over a piece of state legislation having to do with water rights have tried before, but maybe this time the Mat-Su Borough is through with its attempts to craft a response.

“I think at this point the assembly’s desire is to let everybody deal with the Legislature directly,” Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss said in his regular podcast.

The piece of legislation in question, House Bill 77, rewrites a raft of regulations regarding the state Department of Natural Resource’s functions. The one that has caused friction in Mat-Su has to do with in-stream flow reservations.

Reservations are used to guarantee a certain level of water remains in a given water body. Stream restoration projects in the borough have used them in the past. The change would preclude private entities from applying for reservations, but the state says those private entities would only have to find some kind of governmental partner to apply to work with and could still make those applications.

The state sees the change as a means to protect water bodies from private interests that might use them to act outside the public interest or to halt development.

Resolutions that would have stated the borough’s opinion on the matter arrived at the assembly twice.

Then, the borough’s Fish and Wildlife Commission sent a letter to the governor opposing the legislation and DeVilbiss sent a letter contradicting the commission. Assemblyman Jim Sykes then moved to send a letter rescinding DeVilbiss’ letter, but on Tuesday he shelved that idea.