Bill > SJR20

This Joint Resolution expresses the Alaska State Legislature's strong support for ongoing and future efforts by federal, state, and local entities to prevent, clean up, and remove marine debris—such as plastics and discarded fishing gear—from Alaska's vast and rugged shorelines, which suffer heavily from ocean currents washing in trash from elsewhere. Given that Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined, the measure formally urges two key federal bodies—the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, the federal scientific agency focused on the ocean and atmosphere) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, the federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment)—to provide more financial resources and to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles that currently prevent rural and tribal communities from easily accessing those grants. Additionally, the resolution asks Alaska's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., to aggressively advocate for increased federal funding dedicated to cleanup, prevention, education, and "backhaul" (the difficult and expensive logistical process of transporting collected garbage out of remote coastal areas to proper recycling or disposal sites), while encouraging the state government to closely partner with local tribes, municipalities, and private organizations to tackle this environmental and economic threat to local fisheries and ways of life.