Unalaska, AK – Thursday morning Governor Sean Parnell made true on his promise to veto state spending from the operating and capital budgets the legislature approved this year.
He found a total of $336-million in reductions to the two spending plans - most of it from the capital budget. Included in the project vetoes was $2.36 million dollars for the design of the City of Unalaska's new waste water and leachate treatment plant.

The city needs to build a new treatment plant to meet with new permit requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency, explained city manager Chris Hladick. "They changed our permit, basically. The current facility was built for a previous permit. New restrictions have gone in to place, and we have to build onto our current plant or find a new place."

Hladick said the veto will change the project timeline. "We had hoped to use the funding to do a major portion of the design for the project. But when you lose funding like that it delays what you thought what you'd get done. So that will be the ultimate result of the governor vetoing the project."

He said the project will take 5 to 6 years to complete and could cost any where from $15 to $20 million. The city should know the requirements of the new water treatment plant and permits and be able to start planning the project by this fall.

The community did receive other funds in the capital budget, including $1.23 million through the Alaska Department of Transportation for building chemical storage tanks for at the Unalaska airport. The tanks will hold chemicals used to de-ice the runway.

The city will also get $5 million for installing the third generator at the new powerhouse. Despite the new income, the city may still need to bond for the rest of the funds to complete the project.

Hladick said that the powerhouse project, not including the installation of the third generator, costs $28 million. When the city council decided to bond for the project in 2008 they elected to only bond for $25 million with the hopes of getting funds from the state legislature. Now they have the additional money but also additional costs.

"When we added the third engine we added more costs. So either you use the $5 million that we got from the legislature to finish the project off and bond the third engine or we bond now, so that's what they're wrestling with right now," Hladick explained.

The third engine was completed and ready for installation earlier than expected. The new powerhouse should be online this fall.

Unalaska was not the only local community to have projects cut from the budget. The governor also vetoed $2.8 million for the Akutan Geothermal Project, $386,000 for the Sand Point Wastewater treatment plant, and $230,000 for the Adak renewable and diesel energy project.