The Alaska Wild Salmon Protection Act - HB 134

Sponsors are REPRESENTATIVE(s) EDGMON, Ramras, Dahlstrom, Gara, Kerttula

For more details, visit http://www.akdemocrats.org/index.php?bill=HB134

BILL ID: HB 134
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 134 Alaska Wild Salmon Protection Act

01 "An Act relating to conservation and protection of wild salmon production in drainages
02 affecting the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve; and providing for an effective date."
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
05 to read:
06 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that
07 (1) in 1972, the Seventh Alaska State Legislature determined that a heightened
08 level of protection was needed for the Bristol Bay fisheries and acted by designating the
09 Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve in order to protect the longstanding and valuable commercial,
10 subsistence, and sport fishing in the area;
11 (2) the area described as the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve and the rivers,
12 streams, and lakes that produce the fish continue to need protection just as when the reserve
13 was created; and
14 (3) the considerations that justified the 1972 action also warrant extension of
01 similar conservation measures and protections to the river systems, ground water, aquifer
02 systems, and other hydrologic regimes, including any hydrologically interrelated or connected
03 surface and ground water, within the drainage systems that connect to the surface water of
04 Bristol Bay.
05 * Sec. 2. AS 16.10 is amended by adding a new section to read:
06 Sec. 16.10.015. Protection of salmon streams within certain drainages
07 affecting the Bristol Bay. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within the
08 watersheds of the Nushagak, Kvichak, Naknek, Egegik, and Ugashik Rivers, a person
09 may not
10 (1) withdraw, obstruct, divert, inject, pollute, or pump, either
11 temporarily or permanently, any subsurface or surface water in drainages supporting
12 salmon or any water hydrologically interrelated or connected to those drainages; or
13 (2) alter, destroy, displace, relocate, channel, dam, convert to dry land,
14 or otherwise adversely affect any portion of a river, stream, lake, bog, tributary, or any
15 other water body, including the beds of water bodies, in drainages supporting salmon.
16 (b) The prohibitions listed in (a) of this section do not apply to
17 (1) uses authorized, approved, and permitted before the effective date
18 of this Act;
19 (2) drinking water and domestic uses;
20 (3) ordinary existing and future municipal uses; or
21 (4) traditional, cultural, or residential uses.
22 (c) In addition to any other penalties, a person who violates (a) of this section,
23 upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not less than $10 a day or more than $5,000
24 a day, except that a corporation is punishable by a fine of not less than $100,000 a day
25 or more than $1,000,000 a day. Each day on which a violation described in (a) of this
26 section occurs constitutes a separate violation of that subsection.
27 * Sec. 3. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).