House Bill 77 is an extraordinarily bad piece of legislation

Editor’s note: Former assemblyman Warren Keogh made this statement to the Mat-Su Borough Assembly during a joint meeting of the assembly and the borough’s Fish and Wildlife Commission Jan. 7, and sent a copy as a letter to the editor to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

To the editor:

I come before you as a 35-year-long Mat-Su Borough resident, as a property owner in the Matanuska River watershed, as a lifelong non-partisan citizen, as a retired FWS water rights coordinator and as one interested in the long-term health of our fisheries and our freshwater resources, also known as fish habitat.

House Bill 77 is an extraordinarily bad piece of legislation proposed by Gov. Sean Parnell, passed by the House, that will soon be before the Senate, where there will be an attempt to quickly pass it. HB 77 is a partisan effort, under the guise of streamlining DNR regulations, to concentrate undue power over land and water use permitting in the hands of the DNR commissioner at the expense of public process.

One especially egregious aspect of HB 77 takes away a person’s right to acquire water rights (called an instream flow reservation) that insures there is always the minimum amount of water in streams necessary to protect fish migration and salmon spawning habitat.

I commend the commission for having the wisdom and foresight to let Governor Parnell know that this ill-conceived bill undermines efforts to protect salmon stocks and rebuild our failing salmon fisheries here in the Mat-Su Borough. You did so in your Dec. 16 letter and I thank you for it.

Unfortunately, Mayor DeVilbiss followed that letter with an inappropriate letter to the governor a week later, obviously in response to the commission’s letter. On this issue, the commission has it exactly right and the mayor has it exactly wrong. Mr. Mayor, not only have you come down squarely on the wrong side of the issue, but you are once again making unauthorized borough policy statements by describing HB 77 as something “we“ find “laudable“ and “worthwhile and necessary.” Has the assembly found HB77 “laudable, worthwhile and necessary” or directed you to communicate that to the governor? It has not. Making such comments is beyond your job description and out of line.

The role of the mayor is defined in borough code and is essentially limited to four things — ceremonial functions, board and commission nominations, vetoes of assembly legislation as he or she judges necessary and presiding over assembly meetings. That’s it, nothing more. When Mr. DeVilbiss makes policy statements on behalf of the borough and the assembly, as he has done in the past and as he continues to do, he oversteps his authority. Policymaking power in this borough rests solely with you assembly members. I suggest you reign in the mayor and endorse the commission comments.

Finally, commissioners, you have done and continue to do an admirable job of pushing the Board of Fish and encouraging state legislators to correct the mismanagement of Cook Inlet fisheries and by helping to protect and enhance salmon habitat in the Susitna and Matanuska River watersheds. I commend you and thank you.

Warren Keogh

Chickaloon