Federal Buyout With a Family Connection

ANCHORAGE — William H. Bittner is an Anchorage lawyer who doubles as a Washington lobbyist. His client list reads like a Who’s Who of Alaska’s most important economic interests.

At various times, Bittner has represented the fishing industry, Alaska Native corporations, Alaska Aerospace Development Corp. and the state’s largest telecommunications company, according to lobbyist reports and his law firm biography.

Bittner is also the brother-in-law of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, a longtime ally of those same groups. So what the senator has done for the good of Alaska sometimes also has been good for his brother-in-law’s business.

A recent case in point is Stevens’ aid to Hyundai Merchant Marine, a South Korean shipping company represented by Bittner.

In 1995, Hyundai borrowed several million dollars from an Alaska development agency to help cover costs Hyundai had incurred in building a coal-loading facility on the docks in Seward. Alaska has one active mine that produces about 1.5 million tons of coal a year.

But last year, Hyundai found it could buy coal more cheaply in Indonesia. The price of Alaskan coal, when coupled with what it cost Hyundai to pay off the loans on the shipping facility, was no longer competitive, Hyundai said. The company threatened to stop buying Alaskan coal.

So Stevens inserted $9.6 million into the federal transportation budget to pay off Hyundai’s loans and buy out its interest in the facility. It was like taking over a family’s mortgage payments to help lower its cost of living.

As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Stevens was able to add the money during a House-Senate conference committee meeting without debate.

He also specified that the new owner of the loading dock would be the Alaska Railroad, which hauls the coal from the mine in Healy to the port in Seward.

The chairman of the railroad’s board, Johne Binkley, voted to reject the hastily arranged deal, saying better terms could have been negotiated with Hyundai if there had been more time.

Stevens said he acted to protect Alaskan interests. If coal sales to South Korea had ended, he said, the railroad -- which carries thousands of tourists to Seward in the summer -- would have stopped running trains to the small port during the winter.

Moreover, he said, loss of the coal sales could have raised coal prices inside Alaska. And, the senator said, he wanted to be sure the loading facility was available if needed in the future.

Hyundai did not respond to requests for comment.

Relieved of the loan payments, Hyundai agreed to keep buying Alaskan coal, but less of it and only for two years. The deal secured -- temporarily -- about two dozen jobs.