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2003 Cruise Ship Ballot Initiative (CSBI)
Join
AkPIRG in leveling the playing field
The cruise industry should
play by the same rules as other industries
Call
us at 278-3661 or e-mail: akpirg@akpirg.org
PURPOSE:
To plug the leaks in the Alaska cruise ship law passed in special session
2001, which was hijacked by industry to eliminate meaningful protections
for Alaskans and Alaska's waters.
SPECIFICS:
1.
The cruise industry doesn't pay its fair share
The cruise industry pays no taxes to the State on income produced while
on State waters. Fishermen pay fish taxes; the oil industry pays royalties
for taking our crude. Many Alaskan towns pay thousands of dollars every
year to support the industry, yet the industry has stopped every community
but Juneau from levying a head tax to pay for infrastructure support by
threatening to leave towns where a modest head tax would be imposed. All
gaming interests in Alaska pay 33% of gambling profits to the State to
support charities. The cruise ships pay nothing on their gambling profits.
The CSBI would levy a statewide head tax ($46) on each passenger that
would be shared among impacted communities ($5/passenger to ports of call,
25% of total revenue to non-port of call communities), reinstate an apportioned
income tax on their Alaska marine operations (eliminated by the Legislature
after approval by the Alaska Supreme Court in the late 1990's), and institute
a gambling tax on the ships at the same rate levied against other gaming
operations.
2.
The cruise industry can't be trusted to not pollute
The cruise ship pollution law passed in 2001 fails to regulate most pollutants
and critical wastestreams from cruise ships, even though every major cruise
ship line has been convicted on multiple felony charges for dumping and
lying after the fact to our government.
Discharges from most ships in the fleet continue to exceed State Water
Quality Standards (WQS) for bacteria, metals, plastics, and hydrocarbons.
Most ships have chosen to dump their waste 12 miles off shore (or so they
claim) rather than install better treatment systems. They are the only
major dischargers into Alaska waters to operate without a permit. We don't
know when they're dumping, what they're dumping, or where they're dumping.
There is essentially no monitoring, no enforcement, and no recourse for
the State if the ships violate our pollution standards.
The CSBI would require them to obtain discharge permits from DEC and meet
State WQS for all pollutants for all wastestreams like every other industry
in the State, and the public could sue them to enforce the standards.
The CSBI would levy a $4 tax/passenger to pay for placing an independent
certified marine engineer on every ship while in Alaska waters to observe
ship waste treatment practices, system maintenance procedures, and verify
logbook entries.
3.
The cruise industry is unfair to local merchants
Local store owners and tour excursion operators not part of the "chosen
few" are not
advertised on the ships prior to docking. The ships charge local operators
up to 45% of the cost of their "preferred" tours without telling
the passengers to whom the trips were sold.
The CSBI would require ship personnel to tell the passengers which stores
and shops paid to be mentioned on board by ship representatives.
IT'S
TIME FOR THE CRUISE SHIPS TO PLAY FAIR.
HELP
AKPIRG GET THE SIGNATURES TO LET
ALASKA DECIDE ABOUT
CRUISE SHIPS IN OUR WATERS!!!
Call 278-3661 or e-mail us at: akpirg@akpirg.org
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