State advisory committee asks for ‘pause’ on Kinross ore hauling plan while safety issues are sorted

The Transportation Advisory Committee examining the Kinross ore hauling plan voted 5-4 Thursday to ask the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to “pause” the ore haul until the state has implemented safety recommendations.

Safety recommendations, which have yet to be completed, are under review by the committee analyzing the potential impacts of the ore haul project.

Kinross is testing trucks on the route now and intends to begin hauling 50-ton loads this month from Tetlin to Fort Knox, the company has said.

In another motion, the committee voted 7-2 to ask the transportation department who gave Kinross the OK to start its ore haul work before the advisory committee work is completed.

A Kinross representative asked about the legal authority for asking that the state “pause” the ore haul for safety reasons.

Members of the committee directed him to 17 AAC 25.100, which gives the department the authority to restrict operations for safety reasons, which would include the pause sought by the committee.

The regulation says that the transportation commissioner may impose restrictions on any aspect of vehicle operation “in the interests of safety to the traveling public.”

I expect that Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson will say that no state official approved the start of the Kinross operation because no state official is in a position to approve or reject the Kinross operation.

I expect that he will also say that there is no need to “pause” the operation and wait for safety recommendations because either he has no authority to make that call or because the operation is safe.

Despite his claims to the contrary, there are many elements where discretion is allowed on the part of the state in setting rules and regulations on industrial trucking operations to protect the public. The state has authority that it has not used, claiming that it has no authority.

Anderson has approached this project by adopting a passive attitude that leaves Kinross in the driver’s seat.

The passivity is obvious in issues ranging from the Chena Hot Springs Road roundabout to the state’s failure to revise its regulations on the truck route through Fairbanks. I expect this is going to end up in court.

All of the maintenance and safety issues related to the Kinross ore haul program should have been analyzed in advance by the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, which should have prepared budget plans to pay for what is needed. The Dunleavy administration did not do that.

State officials—who know that the governor has said yes to Kinross—decided that there was no need to adjust operations or budgets or examine the company’s plan. The consequences of that failure are just beginning to be identified.

One small example: The need for brush clearing along the route to improve safety was obvious two years ago, but it wasn’t until three weeks ago that the state decided it needed additional brush clearing. This came about after the school bus safety discussions the department was dragged into.

Another small example: A year ago a state study mentioned that weighing of the ore haul trucks would be handled by the mine, allowing the trucks to bypass the majority of the state weigh scales, which would be a benefit to the mine project, the trucking company and Kinross, the consultant said. The consultant said the mine promoters had brought up the idea with the state a year earlier.

Now the state is saying every load will have six trips through a weigh station. This came about after the weight discussions the department reluctantly entered into.

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