Don’t ravage the Mat-Su to be ‘open for business’

Just how wide will the Mat-Su Borough and the state open the door for business? Adopting a phrase recently coined by this newspaper, I believe we should also be “open for people.”

Already in the borough, we have seen the negative impacts to property owners of an overly business-friendly repeal of the cell tower ordinance. We may soon see the results of the gutting of the subdivision ordinance, and now the multi-family housing ordinance is on the chopping block.

We have seen the borough pass a resolution in favor of coal mining in the Valley but refuse to ask the state to do a thorough assessment of the health impacts of surface coal mining. As for the state, it has several times renewed mining permits for the proposed Wishbone Hill mine in violation of its own statutes. Its defense for the improper renewals is basically that renewals have always been done this way and the state can’t be required to do them right now.

In a frantic attempt to open coal reserves to mining before the public learns — in the words of its executive director, that coal is as “dangerous as asbestos” — the Alaska Mental Health Trust leased 10,000 acres of land in Chickaloon to Riversdale Alaska. Riversdale is a close relative of a large Australian mining outfit and intends to develop a surface coal mine. The state stood by while the company performed coal prospecting activity using helicopters that flew at 300 feet for three weeks, with the thump, thump of the rotors destroying the enjoyment of the residents. The state seemed unconcerned about allegations that the helicopters were encroaching on airspace over private property.

Now in Chickaloon near the leased land, the state has gone to court against a local property owner to try to establish that a narrow, gravel community road is actually on the route of a trail established by the federal government. If the state prevails, the right of way across his property would allegedly be up to 100 feet wide and he figures he would lose nearly three acres of land.

Why is the state suddenly so interesting in this road? Is it for the benefit of a multinational corporation that wants to haul coal over the road or for the community that for years has been satisfied with it as it is? Or is this case simply setting a precedent for the widening of other trails for other resource extraction?

Although its motives seem unclear, what is clear is that the state is taking the case seriously. At a recent court hearing in Palmer, a state lawyer and witnesses flown in from Juneau, as well as Scott Ogan, were sitting at counsel table with the state lawyer. Ogan, a former legislator from the Valley and a strong proponent of coal-bed methane development, is now a natural resource manager in the DNR Division of Mining, Land and Water. His very presence was a cause for concern for some observers.

Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright recently shared his concerns regarding the 100 or so double-hauler 45- to 60-ton coal trucks that will come from the proposed Wishbone Hill Mine through Wasilla and add to safety concerns on our already crowded roadways. Such a large number of heavy trucks would degrade our roads; public money, not the coal company’s money, will be used to repair them.

In addition to Wishbone Hill, there are two other coal mines proposed for the Valley. Imagine how many heavy trucks would be rolling through town if all three mines were developed. Why would our community be any different from other coal towns that already experience a high number of accidents involving coal trucks on public roads?

In our rush to be “open for business,” we should not forget the rights — property and otherwise — of ordinary people. We should not give the state a pass for failing to follow the statutes. We cannot afford to sit by and accuse, as Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Steve Colligan did, the people who came home from work one day and were surprised to find a 100-foot cell tower next door of simply being not-in-my-backyard types. Someone else’s backyard is our concern if for no other reason than that next time it may be our backyard.

In reality, the whole borough is our backyard, a place we cherish for its unspoiled natural beauty, not for its potential to be ravaged in a single-minded attempt to be open for inappropriate businesses. Our government officials need to remember their true mission, which is to protect all residents. In addition to encouraging appropriate businesses, let’s also be “open for people.”

Judy Donegan lives in Palmer.