A confidential agreement over Eklutna River water and power signed originally by former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz is a contract the leftist majority of the Anchorage Assembly wants to make public. On Tuesday night, the Assembly majority overrode two vetoes by Mayor Dave Bronson and gave Assembly Chairman Chris Constant subpoena powers to make the document public.
The document contains the terms between the Eklutna hydroelectric project owners — Chugach Electric Association and Matanuska Electric Association — and the city’s water utility. The Assembly has already reviewed the document but is bound by confidentiality.
Bronson says that the document going public would draw a lawsuit, because it was a binding confidential agreement when signed by the former mayor, but the Assembly majority seems unconcerned about the city’s liability.
Environmentalists have been fighting to take down the dam on the Eklutna River, which provides drinking water to Anchorage and power to tens of thousands of homes. The Assembly has voted in favor of removing the dam and later voted to put the Eklutna decision on “pause.” The majority appears determined to put the water and power for Anchorage at risk. The owners of the project don’t want the documents released, and would have to consent to it. If the city releases the document without their permission, they could sue.
