I'm representing the citizen's group in this litigation that seeks to hold the state agency accountable for failing to abide by Alaska statutes that require compliance with borough land use plans "to the maximum extent consistent with state interests."
BY ANDREW WELLNER
Frontiersman - Published on Saturday, October 22, 2011 9:33 PM AKDT
MAT-SU — An activist group in the Susitna Valley has filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that its plan for what to do with state land in the area is not in keeping with local plans.
“Basically, what we’re suing over is the fact that they did not comply with state statutes to take a hard look at the comprehensive plans,” said Becky Long with Alaska Survival. “They mandated that the state listen to regional land use plans. We did the regional land use plan and they didn’t listen to us.”
Long says that regional plans in the Talkeetna, Chase and Susitna Community Council areas are more or less in agreement that they want to maintain a certain rural, sometimes roadless, lifestyle.
She says the state’s plan conflicts with that when it starts talking about “land disposals” — selling state land to private developers. Long said the Susitna Matanuska Area Plan that came out of the state’s Department of Natural Resources designates a large chunk of state lands in the area be sold for use as residential settlements and, in some cases, agricultural settlements.
She said there are state constitutional rights implications where those uses might interfere with locals’ access to fish, wildlife and water bodies.
“There is a considerable amount of private land from the previous disposals,” Long said. Talkeetna, Chase and Susitna plans all call for maintaining the status quo. “The plans have recommended that there not be any more land disposals.”
She said the Mat-Su Borough and the community councils spent years on these plans.
“To have DNR just cursively dismiss them is just not right,” she said.
She said she finds the idea of agriculture in Chase to be particularly bizarre, what with the lack of transportation.
“People would just go in there and make a mess. There’s considerable wetlands in the agricultural area,” she said.
Long said that she and others protested those designations with the department but the designations stood. The next step is superior court and the lawsuit filed Oct. 7.
The lawsuit alleges that DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan abused his discretion when he didn’t ensure the plan was consistent with local plans “to the maximum extent determined consistent with state interests.”
The lawsuit is in its most initial stages. No hearings have been set. It has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Vanessa White. The state has not filed a response.
Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A dam poor idea - Anchorage Press: News
A dam poor idea - Anchorage Press: News: Cheap green electricity! For a hundred years! No risk, no
hassle. Yes, my friend, you are a winner. Everyone's a
winner, especially Anchorage.
hassle. Yes, my friend, you are a winner. Everyone's a
winner, especially Anchorage.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
ALASKANS FIGHT TO PROTECT SALMON STREAMS FROM TOXIC SPRAYING
(Talkeetna, AK) -- Alaskan residents have been forced to file an appeal in state Superior Court after the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) reversed long-standing precedent by deciding to allow toxic herbicide spraying along Alaska Railroad rights-of-ways that threatens surface water and salmon-bearing waterbodies.
ADEC granted the Alaska Railroad Corporation a two-year permit in April 2010 to spray toxic herbicides (Aquamaster, active ingredient glyphosate) along portions of a 90 mile stretch of the railroad right-of-way from Indian to the Seward, including the Seward railroad yard. The railroad sprayed herbicides along Turnagin Arm and on the Kenai Peninsula during the summer of 2010. This spraying represented the first time in 26 years that herbicides toxic to fish, human health and the environment have been sprayed to control vegetation since a 1984 federal court injunction against such spraying.
Since the federal court injunction, Alaskan residents, borough, municipal and native governments, and non-governmental organizations have consistently opposed the issuance of any state pesticide permits to the railroad due to the toxic impacts on people, fish, wildlife, and the environment.
“The State of Alaska continually boasts about its so-called “rigorous permitting system,” said Becky Long of Alaska Survival. “Yet this is a historic rollback that will open the floodgates to toxic spraying at a time when mechanical weed removal is a proven treatment that creates more jobs.”
The ADEC permit allows toxic herbicide spraying on and around surface waters, including those known to be important for salmon migration and spawning.
“Scientific studies demonstrate that fish, wildlife and people are harmed by exposures to extremely low doses of this herbicide,” said Pamela K. Miller of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics. “Yet ADEC has ignored reasonable alternatives – such as wet infrared or mechanical removal – to address the problem.”
The ADEC permit does not require the Alaska Railroad to post written notice warning the public that toxic broadcast spraying has or will occur.
“The public has a right-to-know, especially in the Chugach National Forest and other public lands, about toxic spraying around our salmon streams,” said Bob Shavelson of Cook Inletkeeper. “Why does the Alaska Railroad have a right to pollute our public lands and salmon resources without telling Alaskans where and when they will spray?”
ADEC also denied Inletkeeper and its members “standing” on this issue, asserting Alaskan members of Inletkeeper who use and enjoy the waters and public lands in the vicinity of the toxic spraying do not have a right to question the agency’s decision.
The Alaskan groups are represented in their appeal to protect salmon habitat and water quality by attorney Paul Bratton of Talkeetna.
ADEC granted the Alaska Railroad Corporation a two-year permit in April 2010 to spray toxic herbicides (Aquamaster, active ingredient glyphosate) along portions of a 90 mile stretch of the railroad right-of-way from Indian to the Seward, including the Seward railroad yard. The railroad sprayed herbicides along Turnagin Arm and on the Kenai Peninsula during the summer of 2010. This spraying represented the first time in 26 years that herbicides toxic to fish, human health and the environment have been sprayed to control vegetation since a 1984 federal court injunction against such spraying.
Since the federal court injunction, Alaskan residents, borough, municipal and native governments, and non-governmental organizations have consistently opposed the issuance of any state pesticide permits to the railroad due to the toxic impacts on people, fish, wildlife, and the environment.
“The State of Alaska continually boasts about its so-called “rigorous permitting system,” said Becky Long of Alaska Survival. “Yet this is a historic rollback that will open the floodgates to toxic spraying at a time when mechanical weed removal is a proven treatment that creates more jobs.”
The ADEC permit allows toxic herbicide spraying on and around surface waters, including those known to be important for salmon migration and spawning.
“Scientific studies demonstrate that fish, wildlife and people are harmed by exposures to extremely low doses of this herbicide,” said Pamela K. Miller of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics. “Yet ADEC has ignored reasonable alternatives – such as wet infrared or mechanical removal – to address the problem.”
The ADEC permit does not require the Alaska Railroad to post written notice warning the public that toxic broadcast spraying has or will occur.
“The public has a right-to-know, especially in the Chugach National Forest and other public lands, about toxic spraying around our salmon streams,” said Bob Shavelson of Cook Inletkeeper. “Why does the Alaska Railroad have a right to pollute our public lands and salmon resources without telling Alaskans where and when they will spray?”
ADEC also denied Inletkeeper and its members “standing” on this issue, asserting Alaskan members of Inletkeeper who use and enjoy the waters and public lands in the vicinity of the toxic spraying do not have a right to question the agency’s decision.
The Alaskan groups are represented in their appeal to protect salmon habitat and water quality by attorney Paul Bratton of Talkeetna.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Krugman on the Mortgage Morass- Will Courts Hold Banks Accountable?
Friday's New York Times online carried Paul Krugman's analysis of the developing housing mortgage crisis. As the Nobel-prize-winning economist explains, it is becomes clear that no arm of government-- not the regulators, the courts, or the White House-- are fully ready to confront the fact that many mortgages aren't worth the paper they are written upon.
As Krugman explains,
Now an awful truth is becoming apparent: In many cases, the
documentation doesn’t exist. In the frenzy of the bubble, much home
lending was undertaken by fly-by-night companies trying to generate as
much volume as possible. These loans were sold off to mortgage “trusts,”
which, in turn, sliced and diced them into mortgage-backed securities.
The trusts were legally required to obtain and hold the mortgage notes
that specified the borrowers’ obligations. But it’s now apparent that
such niceties were frequently neglected. And this means that many of the
foreclosures now taking place are, in fact, illegal.
As Krugman explains,
Now an awful truth is becoming apparent: In many cases, the
documentation doesn’t exist. In the frenzy of the bubble, much home
lending was undertaken by fly-by-night companies trying to generate as
much volume as possible. These loans were sold off to mortgage “trusts,”
which, in turn, sliced and diced them into mortgage-backed securities.
The trusts were legally required to obtain and hold the mortgage notes
that specified the borrowers’ obligations. But it’s now apparent that
such niceties were frequently neglected. And this means that many of the
foreclosures now taking place are, in fact, illegal.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Consumer Law Conference Held at Fort Richardson on September 9
We had the honor of participating in a consumer law conference at Fort Richardson's National Guard Armory on September 9. Judge advocates, paralegals and civilian attorneys with all military services based in Alaska came together in a one day CLE session for courses focusing on protecting service-members and their families from unfair business practices and helping them to navigate the legal system.
I was asked to lead the session on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Alaska's Unfair Trade Practices Act. I provided a short primer on these key consumer protection laws, drawing heavily on materials I had been exposed to at nationally-known FDCPA attorney Pete Barry's three-day intensive FDCPA Bootcamp in Minneapolis in June. ( Pete tells me I am the first Alaska attorney to graduate from the bootcamp.) But the best part of the session was the back and forth with the participants who deal with clients every day who are exposed to abusive debt collectors and other shady operators. It helped remind me that, while we are ostensibly dealing with financial matters, often the real issue is human dignity and restoring self respect for clients who have been unfairly abused.
In these difficult times military families are facing incredible pressures. Some of the pressures are inevitable results of their mission, but unwarranted abuse from debt collectors and being taken advantage of by unscrupulous operators are things we can do something about. Thanks to Jim Wherry, Fort Wainwright Law Center's Chief of Legal Assistance, for pulling together this event.
I was asked to lead the session on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Alaska's Unfair Trade Practices Act. I provided a short primer on these key consumer protection laws, drawing heavily on materials I had been exposed to at nationally-known FDCPA attorney Pete Barry's three-day intensive FDCPA Bootcamp in Minneapolis in June. ( Pete tells me I am the first Alaska attorney to graduate from the bootcamp.) But the best part of the session was the back and forth with the participants who deal with clients every day who are exposed to abusive debt collectors and other shady operators. It helped remind me that, while we are ostensibly dealing with financial matters, often the real issue is human dignity and restoring self respect for clients who have been unfairly abused.
In these difficult times military families are facing incredible pressures. Some of the pressures are inevitable results of their mission, but unwarranted abuse from debt collectors and being taken advantage of by unscrupulous operators are things we can do something about. Thanks to Jim Wherry, Fort Wainwright Law Center's Chief of Legal Assistance, for pulling together this event.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Foreclosures Riddled with Faked Documents
Today's New York Times carries a comprehensive story about the growing crisis as more and more courts across the country are recognizing that they have been asked to foreclose on homes based on faked and non-existent documentation.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Passing of Cliff Hudson, Talkeetna Bush Pilot
The Anchorage Daily News story today about the life and times of Talkeetna bush pilot Cliff Hudson covers only part of what made Cliff Hudson irreplaceable.
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century enmeshed in the web of our cell phone devices and digital links to the virtual world, the passing of a man like Cliff Hudson is a reminder that at some point our lives are both enriched and dependent upon those quiet, self-possessed people who find their niche and live their lives just doing what they find needs to be done without hoopla or fanfare.
A mere 15 years ago, in the days when CB radios were the sole shaky link between the homestead and the outside, Judy's mom had a heart attack in Virginia. We received word within hours of the hospitalization through a phone call from a family member in Virginia to a Talkeetna friend who then contacted Hudson Air Service. Despite the fact that it was the busy Denali climbing season when every flyable moment is booked solid ferrying climbers on and off the mountain, an orange-painted Cessna piloted by Jay Hudson was soon circling above the cabin. We fired up the CB and received timely word of the family crisis. While today (assuming the cell towers are functioning) a digital message might be transmitted in seconds; in the real world it was always comforting to know that Cliff and Jay Hudson were out there flying cover for those of us who lives take us to the backwoods of Alaska.
Whether it was making a weekly mail run to Gold Creek or lending a helping hand to the down and out, Cliff Hudson always just did what needed to be done. He will be sorely missed.
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century enmeshed in the web of our cell phone devices and digital links to the virtual world, the passing of a man like Cliff Hudson is a reminder that at some point our lives are both enriched and dependent upon those quiet, self-possessed people who find their niche and live their lives just doing what they find needs to be done without hoopla or fanfare.
A mere 15 years ago, in the days when CB radios were the sole shaky link between the homestead and the outside, Judy's mom had a heart attack in Virginia. We received word within hours of the hospitalization through a phone call from a family member in Virginia to a Talkeetna friend who then contacted Hudson Air Service. Despite the fact that it was the busy Denali climbing season when every flyable moment is booked solid ferrying climbers on and off the mountain, an orange-painted Cessna piloted by Jay Hudson was soon circling above the cabin. We fired up the CB and received timely word of the family crisis. While today (assuming the cell towers are functioning) a digital message might be transmitted in seconds; in the real world it was always comforting to know that Cliff and Jay Hudson were out there flying cover for those of us who lives take us to the backwoods of Alaska.
Whether it was making a weekly mail run to Gold Creek or lending a helping hand to the down and out, Cliff Hudson always just did what needed to be done. He will be sorely missed.
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