Alaska News Daily Brief, Saturday, October 24

Alaska News, Saturday, October twenty-fourth. Much of this morning's news has been years in the waiting, some of it since twenty twenty-one, one fight for 8 years, and it sits beside a lawsuit filed only Thursday. A quiet Saturday, and well above normal for the date across Southcentral and Western Alaska.

0:20Justice Department sues to hold up Alaska Senate result if second Sullivan tips the race

A federal lawsuit over a name on the Senate ballot leads today, along with a step forward for the gas line and a road closure outside Kotzebue. The Justice Department has sued Alaska over the U.S. Senate race, and the case comes down to a name. There are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. One is Senator Dan Sullivan, listed as the Republican incumbent. The other is Daniel J. Sullivan of Petersburg, listed with no party. Mary Peltola, the Democrat, and Republican Gerald Heikes round out the four. The suit was filed Thursday in federal court in Anchorage. It doesn't try to stop the vote. It asks a judge to hold up certification, the official sign-off on the winner, while there's an investigation. But that would only happen under two conditions. The senator has to lose. And if the votes for Daniel J. Sullivan had gone to the senator in the ranked count, they would have to be enough to flip the result. The department argues some of the senator's supporters will pick the wrong Sullivan by mistake. It says certifying that kind of result would break a federal voter registration law. President Trump wrote Wednesday night that he was looking at powerful legal options to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot. He later said he directed the suit. But the suit itself does not seek to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot. The state already tried to keep Daniel J. Sullivan off the ballot back in June. State courts, including the Alaska Supreme Court, said it couldn't. He says he decided to run on his own. Republicans say he's a Democratic plant. People have been voting since early voting opened on October 19th. Derek Muller, an election-law professor at Notre Dame, told the Associated Press the law doesn't let the department block certification. He expects a judge will likely dismiss the case next month.

2:06State proposes full leases for Alaska LNG pipeline route, replacing conditional leases

On the Alaska LNG project, the state's natural resources commissioner proposed Friday to give the gas line full leases across state land. Those would replace the conditional leases issued in twenty twenty-one. They cover the 807-mile route from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski, plus a 63-mile line along the North Slope coast. This matters because without full leases, the project can't get state permission to start building. Even with them, the state still has to sign off on each phase. In twenty twenty-one, the state said its gasline corporation hadn't shown it had the technical or financial muscle. Now Commissioner John Crowther finds it's fit to carry the project. His decision judges the corporation as a coordinator of partners, rather than a company that welds its own pipe. On money, the decision points to nonbinding letters from 7 international energy companies for more than 60% of the planned gas. It also cites supply agreements with ExxonMobil, Hilcorp and ConocoPhillips. But the project told the U.S. Department of Energy on October 1st that it holds no long-term export or supply contracts. And no closed financing or final investment decision had been announced as of last week. Back in May, the head of Glenfarne, which owns 75% of the project, expected a final investment decision within 90 to 120 days. That hinged on two things: a state tax deal and regulators' approval of a gas sale to Enstar. As of last week, the Legislature hadn't passed a tax deal. Other pieces are unfinished too. The agreement with the state transportation department on using its highways is still a draft. And a planned landing for construction materials on the west side of Cook Inlet still has unresolved issues with fishery leaseholders and a landowner.

4:05Cape Blossom Road closes for second stage of project to cut Kotzebue freight costs

Out in Kotzebue, the road running south toward Cape Blossom is closed for the second stage of construction. The state's 511 road report says it's fully closed at an old gate on the road south of town. It gives no reopening date and no alternate route. The point of the road is freight. About 5,000 tons gets barged into Kotzebue every year, according to the state transportation department. Around 2,000 tons of that goes on to villages in the Northwest Arctic Borough. The roughly 11-mile gravel road across the Baldwin Peninsula is meant to reach a barge landing near Cape Blossom and bring those shipping costs down. The first stage wrapped up in twenty twenty-four. It took the road from Ted Stevens Way to the north bank of Sadie Creek. This second stage finishes the road to Cape Blossom, including a new bridge over Sadie Creek. Two contractors are doing the work. The state's transportation plan sets aside fifty-three point one million dollars for this stage. The plan lists about twenty-seven point seven million dollars of that under a congressional spending category. The department's original permit application said the whole job would take at least 5 years, with most of the work done in winter.

5:18Alaska Supreme Court upholds borough's denial of Anchor Point gravel pit permit

Quickly, around the rest of the state. Near Anchor Point, an 8-year fight over a gravel pit is over. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld the Kenai Peninsula Borough's decision to deny the permit. So the borough's no stands.

5:36Corps proposes raising and rebuilding Ketchikan's Bar Harbor breakwaters

In Ketchikan, the Army Corps of Engineers wants to raise and rebuild the aging breakwaters at Bar Harbor. Those breakwaters shelter moorage for 520 fishing boats. The Corps is taking public comments on its draft plan until around November 21st. Its notice says the 21st, but its news release says the 22nd.

5:57State moves to expand lease for Alyeschem's North Slope methanol and diesel plant

On the North Slope, the state moved Friday to adjust the lease for Alyeschem's plant, which makes methanol and diesel. The change adds 11.7 acres and drops 9.22, giving the plant a little more room overall.

6:12NOAA invites tribes to weigh in on Norton Sound red king crab limits

For Norton Sound red king crab, the federal fisheries agency, NOAA Fisheries, is inviting tribes to weigh in on next year's catch limits. This year's catch ceiling was cut by about a third from twenty twenty-five.

6:25December rockfish opening set for Southeast inside waters as outer coast stays closed

In Southeast, fishermen get a December opening for yelloweye and other bottom rockfish in inside waters. The outer coast stays closed for the rest of the year. Ketchikan: comments on the Bar Harbor breakwater plan close around November 21st, so aim for the 21st to be safe. If you have unused prescription drugs in the cabinet, today is a DEA take-back day, with drop-off sites around the state. And in Western Alaska, forecasters expect more storms to keep coming through next week. That's all for this edition of the Alaska News daily brief. The full stories are at Alaska News dot com. And that's the way it is, Saturday, October twenty-fourth, twenty twenty-six.