Resource-industry reps ponder state of the state
Officials concur mining, tour business are doing well, though future of oil is considered unclear
Mining and tourism are booming in Alaska this year while oil has a murky future despite today's high prices, industry officials said Tuesday at the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce Convention and Trade Show in Juneau.
Also, fisheries are finding a toehold in the globally competitive marketplace, experts said.
The convention attracted about 150 guests from across the state, Canada and Seattle and continues through Thursday.
Officials from mining, tourism and oil industries complained Tuesday afternoon of industry-specific taxation and limits on access to public lands.
The cruise ship industry is back in full throttle after two bad years, said Ron Peck, president and chief operating officer of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
But efforts to institute a $50 head tax, a gambling tax and related initiatives "ultimately impact and impede our ability to compete" with other cruise ship destinations, Peck said.
He said it is "good news" that a cruise ship taxation initiative is not on the ballot for this year. Nevertheless, an initiative petition for the 2006 election, calling for such taxes and pollution discharge permits for cruise ships, was submitted to the state Division of Elections on Tuesday.
Steve Borrell, director of the Alaska Miners Association said 2004 has been a banner year for mining companies in Alaska, with prices for precious and base minerals at their highest levels in recent years.
He said a state effort to rescind the ban on mixing zones in fish spawning and rearing areas is crucial for mining in the future. Mixing zones allow elevated discharges of pollutants to mix and dilute with uncontaminated water.
Borrell told chamber members they should ask about the current mixing zone allowed for the Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant in Juneau, and another wastewater plant elsewhere in Alaska, where he claimed that fish spawning occurs.
A spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation - the agency proposing to rescind the ban - said there is no spawning at the plant's discharge point in the Mendenhall River. Spawning is known to occur upriver.
Joe Childers, vice president of the United Fishermen of Alaska, said the state's salmon fishermen "may be reaching a turnaround" in the economic crisis brought on by international fish farming. Species such as king salmon are "now enjoying a fairly remarkable rebound in value," he said.
While he remains optimistic about the oil industry in Alaska, Kevin Meyers of ConocoPhillips told the crowd that it "appears to be in decline" because of dwindling reserves. In the future, the industry may be able to turn to the North Slope's vast supply of heavy oil with better technology, he said.
• Elizabeth Bluemink can be reached at elizabeth.bluemink@juneauempire.com.