Modern Conveniences Crashed by Old Fashioned Accident
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
VALDEZ - In a series of unrelated events, Valdez consumers have been plagued by a variety of outages from everything from regular electricity to cell phone usage, causing disruption and havoc for many businesses and minor inconveniences for others.
The longest lasting problem occurred last Wednesday when crews from Swalling Construction were driving pipe piles for a temporary bridge on the Dayville Road project drove a 24” round piling through the fiber optics cable near Solomon Creek that services the Valdez Marine Terminal. “The cable was cut about 9:30 a.m., said Jim Gifford, the Valdez Plant Superintendent for Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative.
According to Gifford, the pile cut off not only CVTC cable, but also that of Alaska Fiber Star, who provides cable connectivity undersea from Valdez to Whittier and beyond. Suddenly, cell phones, long distance telephone services and internet connections were crippled all around town while crews from CVTC scrambled to the scene to assess damages and try to restore services to customers.
“We made emergency repairs” said Gifford, who says the company had to splice a new cable between the two ends of the severed cables for CVTC and Alaska Fiber Star.
While services provided by CVTC were up and running again by 8:00 p.m., Alaska Fiber Star services were not back online until around midnight. “We rerouted their traffic,” said Gifford.
What still is not clear a week later is why the accident happened. According to DOT Project Manager Jim Payne, it is the responsibility of the contractor, in this case, Swalling Construction, to know the location of underground utilities prior to doing any kind of work underground, including driving pile. “They’re required to get a locate on the utilities prior too,” he said. “It’s the contractors responsibility.”
Swalling Construction did not return our call regarding the incident.
There was no dollar figure available on the monetary damages incurred by CVTC as of this printing.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
State Upholds Pipeline Value for Local Taxation
State Upholds Pipeline Value for Local Taxation
By Pat Lynn
For The Star
VALDEZ – Valdez and other taxing jurisdictions along the trans-Alaska pipeline scored a victory of sorts Thursday when the state pegged the assessed valuation of the pipeline at $3 billion.
Alyeska had sought a value of $1.5 billion based on the depreciated value of the system over its 30-year life span.
Unable to reach an agreement, both sides appealed to the state Assessment Review Board which ruled for the municipalities and boroughs and set the value at $3 billion. Last year, the assessed value was $3.7 billion.
"It's not bad news for us," remarked Valdez city attorney Bill Walker who negotiated on behalf of the city. Arriving at the true figure "is complicated methodology, certainly," he added.
It means the assessed value of the marine terminal and the pipeline to the city limit at Mile 19 is pegged at around $650 million.
For Valdez, it means that the Alyeska property within the city limits, including the marine terminal and the pipeline to Mile 19, will continue to pay the brunt of the local property tax bill. Currently, the Alyeska properties pay more than 75 percent of local property taxes while in-town residents and businesses pay less than 25 percent.
With a rate of 20 mills, the City of Valdez took in $12.5 million in property taxes from Alyeska property with locals making up the balance of the city's $16.8 million operating fund.
In 1985 when the state negotiated the TAPS settlement with Alyeska, the assessed value of the 810-mile pipeline and marine terminal was placed at $8 billion.
The TAPS agreement continues until 2011 when it expires and a new deal is negotiated.
Presumably, Valdez and other taxing jurisdictions along the pipeline will be included in the negotiations along with the state. When the original deal was negotiated, they were excluded from the talks.
Under terms of the TAPS agreement, Valdez can only impose a 20 mill tax on Alyeska property. And any difference between a lower mill rate would automatically go to the state. That is, if the city were to impose an 18-mill rate, the remaining two mills of taxes would revert to the state.
By Pat Lynn
For The Star
VALDEZ – Valdez and other taxing jurisdictions along the trans-Alaska pipeline scored a victory of sorts Thursday when the state pegged the assessed valuation of the pipeline at $3 billion.
Alyeska had sought a value of $1.5 billion based on the depreciated value of the system over its 30-year life span.
Unable to reach an agreement, both sides appealed to the state Assessment Review Board which ruled for the municipalities and boroughs and set the value at $3 billion. Last year, the assessed value was $3.7 billion.
"It's not bad news for us," remarked Valdez city attorney Bill Walker who negotiated on behalf of the city. Arriving at the true figure "is complicated methodology, certainly," he added.
It means the assessed value of the marine terminal and the pipeline to the city limit at Mile 19 is pegged at around $650 million.
For Valdez, it means that the Alyeska property within the city limits, including the marine terminal and the pipeline to Mile 19, will continue to pay the brunt of the local property tax bill. Currently, the Alyeska properties pay more than 75 percent of local property taxes while in-town residents and businesses pay less than 25 percent.
With a rate of 20 mills, the City of Valdez took in $12.5 million in property taxes from Alyeska property with locals making up the balance of the city's $16.8 million operating fund.
In 1985 when the state negotiated the TAPS settlement with Alyeska, the assessed value of the 810-mile pipeline and marine terminal was placed at $8 billion.
The TAPS agreement continues until 2011 when it expires and a new deal is negotiated.
Presumably, Valdez and other taxing jurisdictions along the pipeline will be included in the negotiations along with the state. When the original deal was negotiated, they were excluded from the talks.
Under terms of the TAPS agreement, Valdez can only impose a 20 mill tax on Alyeska property. And any difference between a lower mill rate would automatically go to the state. That is, if the city were to impose an 18-mill rate, the remaining two mills of taxes would revert to the state.
AlaskaPoll Shows Broad Support for All-Alaska Gasline
AlaskaPoll Shows Broad Support for All-Alaska Gasline
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
ANCHORAGE- A recent survey of 507 Alaskans reveals widespread support for an all-Alaskan natural gas pipeline going to Valdez. “It was part of the AlaskaPoll,” said David Dittman of Dittman Research Corporation, “We’ve been doing it for 35 years.”
The AlaskaPoll is an annual survey conducted by Dittman Research Corporation on the attitudes and interests of Alaskans regarding a wide variety of topics affecting the State. This year, the poll included two questions regarding development of Alaska’s natural gas resources. One lengthy question asks: At the present time, there appear to be three different proposals to bring Alaska's North Slope natural gas to market.
A company named TransCanada, which says it already has all the Canadian permits needed to build a pipeline from the North Slope through Canada to the Mid-Western United States. A combined proposal by ConocoPhillips, BP and Exxon - - who have leased the rights to Alaska's North Slope gas - - they would also build a pipeline from the North Slope through Canada to the Mid-Western United States. And a proposal by the Alaska Gasline Port Authority to build a pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez, where the gas would be liquefied and transported to market by tankers. Just based on that information, which proposal do you think the state should select?"
Based on that question alone, 64% of respondents chose the Alaska route to Valdez. While 14% were unsure, only 15% of Alaskans supported the Gasline proposal put forth by the producers and only 5% supported the TransCanada plan. A mere 1% supported a different route all together.
A second question posed was: "The Alaska Gasline Port Authority proposal also includes a spur-line to supply North Slope natural gas to the Mat-Su, Anchorage and Kenai areas. How important is that to you?"
A whopping 73% said it was Quite/Very Important. 25% reported it was Not too/Not important at all. Only 2% were unsure.
While Dittman says the questions posed did not include all of the facts relating to the issues, he is very confident that the results are an accurate representation of Alaskan attitudes regarding the development of Alaska’s Natural Gas.
According to the company’s website, the AlaskaPoll is conducted “Utilizing the exclusive Alaskan methodology developed and perfected by Dittman Research, the AlaskaPoll’s findings are known to be precise, accurate and highly representative of the Alaskan viewpoint.”
Dittman says the results of the AlaskaPoll will be posted on the company’s website in the near future. Look for it at Dittmanresearch.com.
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
ANCHORAGE- A recent survey of 507 Alaskans reveals widespread support for an all-Alaskan natural gas pipeline going to Valdez. “It was part of the AlaskaPoll,” said David Dittman of Dittman Research Corporation, “We’ve been doing it for 35 years.”
The AlaskaPoll is an annual survey conducted by Dittman Research Corporation on the attitudes and interests of Alaskans regarding a wide variety of topics affecting the State. This year, the poll included two questions regarding development of Alaska’s natural gas resources. One lengthy question asks: At the present time, there appear to be three different proposals to bring Alaska's North Slope natural gas to market.
A company named TransCanada, which says it already has all the Canadian permits needed to build a pipeline from the North Slope through Canada to the Mid-Western United States. A combined proposal by ConocoPhillips, BP and Exxon - - who have leased the rights to Alaska's North Slope gas - - they would also build a pipeline from the North Slope through Canada to the Mid-Western United States. And a proposal by the Alaska Gasline Port Authority to build a pipeline from the North Slope to Valdez, where the gas would be liquefied and transported to market by tankers. Just based on that information, which proposal do you think the state should select?"
Based on that question alone, 64% of respondents chose the Alaska route to Valdez. While 14% were unsure, only 15% of Alaskans supported the Gasline proposal put forth by the producers and only 5% supported the TransCanada plan. A mere 1% supported a different route all together.
A second question posed was: "The Alaska Gasline Port Authority proposal also includes a spur-line to supply North Slope natural gas to the Mat-Su, Anchorage and Kenai areas. How important is that to you?"
A whopping 73% said it was Quite/Very Important. 25% reported it was Not too/Not important at all. Only 2% were unsure.
While Dittman says the questions posed did not include all of the facts relating to the issues, he is very confident that the results are an accurate representation of Alaskan attitudes regarding the development of Alaska’s Natural Gas.
According to the company’s website, the AlaskaPoll is conducted “Utilizing the exclusive Alaskan methodology developed and perfected by Dittman Research, the AlaskaPoll’s findings are known to be precise, accurate and highly representative of the Alaskan viewpoint.”
Dittman says the results of the AlaskaPoll will be posted on the company’s website in the near future. Look for it at Dittmanresearch.com.
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