SB 308: "An Act relating to certain passenger vessels operating in the marine waters of the state."
00SENATE BILL NO. 308 01 "An Act relating to certain passenger vessels operating in the marine waters of 02 the state." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 46.03 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 6A. Large Passenger Vessels. 06 Sec. 46.03.460. Registration requirements. (a) Except as provided in 07 AS 46.03.484, each calendar year in which the owner or operator of a large passenger 08 vessel intends to operate, or cause or allow to be operated, the vessel in the marine 09 waters of the state, the owner or operator of the vessel shall register with the 10 department. The registration shall be completed no later than 72 hours after any large 11 passenger vessel of the owner or operator calls upon a port in the state. The 12 registration must include the following information: 13 (1) the vessel owner's business name and, if different, the vessel 14 operator's business name for each large passenger vessel of the owner that is scheduled
01 to be in the marine waters of the state during the calendar year; 02 (2) the postal address, electronic mail address, telephone number, and 03 facsimile number for the principal place of each business identified under (1) of this 04 subsection; 05 (3) the name and address of an agent for service of process for each 06 business identified under (1) of this subsection; the owner and operator shall 07 continuously maintain a designated agent for service of process whenever a large 08 passenger vessel of the owner or operator is in the marine waters of the state, and the 09 agent must be an individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, or a foreign 10 corporation having a place of business in and authorized to do business in this state; 11 and 12 (4) the name or call sign of and Port of Registry for each of the 13 owner's or operator's vessels that is scheduled either to call upon a port in this state 14 or otherwise to be in the marine waters of the state during the calendar year occurring 15 after the date of registration. 16 (b) Registration under (a) of this section shall be signed under oath by the 17 owner or operator. 18 (c) Upon request of the department, the registrant shall submit registration 19 information required under this section electronically. 20 Sec. 46.03.465. Information-gathering requirements. (a) Owners and 21 operators of large passenger vessels shall, for the time during any calendar month in 22 which they operate, or cause or allow to be operated, a large passenger vessel in the 23 marine waters of the state, record or cause to be recorded all information necessary to 24 completely report as required by AS 46.03.475. 25 (b) At least once during each calendar month in which a large passenger vessel 26 is present in the marine waters of the state, the owner and operator of the vessel shall 27 measure visible emissions, excluding condensed water vapor, of the vessel while the 28 vessel is at berth or at anchor in a port of this state. Except as provided in (d) of this 29 section, the measuring technique and the duration of the measurement used to satisfy 30 the requirement of this subsection must have been approved by the department before 31 the measurement was taken.
01 (c) The department may adopt regulations directing owners and operators of 02 large passenger vessels to quantify and qualify the releases of waterborne pollutants 03 from their vessels into the marine waters of the state. 04 (d) If the owner or operator of a large passenger vessel has, when complying 05 with another state or federal law that requires substantially equivalent information 06 gathering, gathered the type of information required under this section, the owner or 07 operator shall be considered to be in compliance with this section. 08 Sec. 46.03.470. Record keeping requirements. An owner or operator subject 09 to AS 46.03.465 shall record the information required to be gathered under that section 10 and shall maintain the records for three years after the date the information was 11 gathered. 12 Sec. 46.03.475. Reporting requirements. (a) An owner or operator of a 13 large passenger vessel shall, within 10 days after the end of a calendar month in which 14 the owner or operator has operated, or caused or allowed to be operated, a large 15 passenger vessel in the marine waters of the state, submit to the department a report 16 concerning the offloading or release of pollutants from that vessel that occurred during 17 the previous calendar month. The report must 18 (1) include the information required for releases by (c) and (d) of this 19 section; 20 (2) include the information required for offloading by (e) - (g) of this 21 section; and 22 (3) be limited to releases and offloading that occurred while the vessel 23 was in the marine waters of the state. 24 (b) The information in the report required under this section may be provided 25 by referring to, or including copies of, other reports concerning pollutants that are 26 required by substantially equivalent state or federal reporting requirements. 27 (c) For each release of a pollutant, except for a release by an emission to 28 ambient air from a stack, the report required under this section must describe the 29 (1) location of the release, including latitude and longitude; 30 (2) date and time of the release; 31 (3) volume or weight, and type and source of the pollutant released;
01 (4) processing or treatment used on the pollutant before the release; 02 (5) circumstances surrounding and cause of the release, including a 03 statement as to whether the release was intentional or accidental; 04 (6) environmental damage caused by the release, to the extent the 05 damage can be reasonably identified; and 06 (7) remedial efforts taken to prevent accidental recurrence of the 07 release. 08 (d) For emissions to ambient air from a stack, the report required under this 09 section must include the measurements of visible emissions collected under 10 AS 46.03.465(b) and, if a stack on the vessel is equipped with continuous emission 11 monitors, the recordings printed by the monitors for the time during that month that 12 the vessel was in the marine waters of the state. 13 (e) For pollutants that were offloaded, the report required under this section 14 must describe the 15 (1) location of offloading; 16 (2) date of offloading; 17 (3) volume or weight, and type and source of the offloaded material; 18 (4) ultimate destination of the offloaded material; and 19 (5) processing or treatment received by the offloaded material before 20 or during the offloading. 21 (f) If hazardous waste was offloaded from the vessel and the hazardous waste 22 was manifested in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 6921 - 6939a (Subtitle C of the Solid 23 Waste Disposal Act), the report required under this section may, instead of the 24 information described in (e) of this section, include a copy of the manifest. If 25 hazardous waste was offloaded from the vessel without a manifest, the report required 26 under this section must, in addition to the information described in (e) of this section, 27 describe the reasons why the waste was offloaded without a manifest. 28 (g) For graywater, sewage, and other wastewater, the report required under this 29 section must state whether the graywater, sewage, and other wastewater were mixed 30 with one another or with other pollutants before or during offloading. If mixing of 31 pollutants occurred before or during offloading, the report must identify the specific
01 pollutants involved in the mixing, if feasible. If identification of the specific pollutants 02 is not feasible, the report must identify the waste streams in the mixture. 03 (h) To the extent allowed under federal law, the department may by regulation 04 require an owner or operator to submit supplemental or additional information 05 concerning the releases or offloading of pollutants. 06 (i) A record or report submitted under this section shall be signed under 07 penalty of unsworn falsification by the owner, operator, or a responsible official of the 08 reporting vessel and must include the following statement: "Based on information and 09 belief formed after reasonable inquiry, I certify that the statements and information in 10 and attached to this document are true, accurate, and complete." 11 (j) Upon request of the department, the report required under this section shall 12 be submitted electronically. 13 (k) This section does not relieve the owner or operator of a large passenger 14 vessel from other applicable reporting requirements of state or federal law. 15 Sec. 46.03.480. Penalties. (a) An owner or operator who fails to comply with 16 AS 46.03.460 may not bring a claim or counterclaim in a court of this state for a cause 17 of action that arose during the time that the owner or operator was out of compliance 18 with AS 46.03.460. 19 (b) An owner or operator who fails to comply with AS 46.03.460 or a 20 reporting requirement of AS 46.03.475 is subject to an administrative penalty of not 21 more than $50 a day for each day of noncompliance with each requirement as 22 determined by the commissioner subject to right of appeal to the superior court. 23 Sec. 46.03.484. Exemption for vessels in innocent passage. AS 46.03.460 - 24 46.03.490 do not apply to a large passenger vessel that operates in the marine waters 25 of the state solely in innocent passage. For the purpose of this section, a vessel is 26 engaged in innocent passage if its operation in state waters would constitute innocent 27 passage under the 28 (1) Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 29 April 29, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 1606; or 30 (2) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, 31 December 10, 1982, United Nations Publication No. E.83.V.5., 21 I.L.M. 1261 (1982).
01 Sec. 46.03.485. Regulations. The department may adopt regulations that are 02 necessary for the implementation of AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490. 03 Sec. 46.03.490. Definitions. In AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490, 04 (1) "agent for service of process" means an agent upon whom process, 05 notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the owner or 06 operator may be served; 07 (2) "air contaminant" means a substance within the meaning given to 08 "air contaminant" in either AS 46.03.900 or AS 46.14.990; 09 (3) "ambient air" has the meaning given in AS 46.14.990; 10 (4) "ballast water" means water and suspended matter taken on board 11 a vessel to control or maintain trim, draught, stability, or stresses of the vessel, 12 regardless of how the water and suspended matter are carried; 13 (5) "emission" means a release of one or more pollutants into the 14 atmosphere; 15 (6) "graywater" means galley, bath, and shower water; 16 (7) "hazardous substance" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.826; 17 (8) "hazardous waste" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.900 and 18 includes wastes that meet that definition and have been collected from staterooms, 19 crew quarters, and other passenger or crew accommodations; 20 (9) "large passenger vessel" means a vessel of 300 gross registered tons 21 or greater that is engaged in the carrying of passengers for hire, excluding 22 (A) vessels without berths or overnight accommodations for 23 passengers; and 24 (B) noncommercial vessels, warships, and vessels operated by 25 the state, the United States, or a foreign government; 26 (10) "marine waters of the state" has the meaning given to "waters" in 27 AS 46.03.900 except that it includes only marine waters; 28 (11) "medical waste" includes each of the types of solid waste listed 29 in 42 U.S.C. 6992a (Demonstration Medical Waste Tracking Program, sec. 11002 of 30 the Solid Waste Disposal Act); 31 (12) "offloading" means the removal of pollutants from a large
01 passenger vessel onto or into a controlled storage, processing, or disposal facility or 02 treatment works; 03 (13) "oil" has the meaning given in AS 46.04.900; 04 (14) "pollutant" means air contaminant, biological materials, chemical 05 wastes, graywater, hazardous substances, hazardous waste, industrial waste, incinerator 06 residue, medical waste, munitions, oil, radioactive materials, sewage, sewage sludge, 07 solid waste, toxic waste, and wrecked or discarded equipment, except that "pollutant" 08 does not include ballast water, a consumer product in consumer use, or, with respect 09 to offloading, a product that remains capable of being put to the beneficial use for 10 which the product was intended; 11 (15) "release" means spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, 12 emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, placing, or disposing 13 of pollutants into the environment, including the abandonment or discarding of bags, 14 containers, and other receptacles containing a pollutant, and without regard to whether 15 the pollutants left the vessel through a discrete conveyance or a nonpoint source; 16 (16) "responsible official" means 17 (A) for a corporation, a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice- 18 president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person 19 who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly 20 authorized representative of that person if the delegation of authority to the representative is 21 approved in advance by the department; 22 (B) for a partnership, sole proprietorship, or limited liability 23 company, a general partner, the proprietor, or the manager or managing 24 member, respectively; 25 (17) "sewage" has the meaning given in 33 U.S.C. 1322 (sec. 312, 26 Water Pollution Control Act); 27 (18) "stack" means a chimney or conduit through which air or air 28 contaminants are emitted into the atmosphere; 29 (19) "vessel" means any form or manner of watercraft, other than a 30 seaplane on the water, whether or not capable of self-propulsion. 31 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.760(e) is amended to read:
01 (e) A person who falsifies a registration or report required by AS 46.03.460 02 or 46.03.475 or who violates or causes or permits to be violated a provision of 03 AS 46.03.250 - 46.03.314, 46.03.460 - 46.03.490, AS 46.14, or a regulation, a lawful 04 order of the department, or a permit, approval, or acceptance, or term or condition of 05 a permit, approval, or acceptance issued under AS 46.03.250 - 46.03.314 , 46.03.460 - 06 46.03.490, or AS 46.14 is liable, in a civil action, to the state for a sum to be assessed 07 by the court of not less than $500 nor more than $100,000 for the initial violation, nor 08 more than $10,000 for each day after that on which the violation continues, and that 09 shall reflect, when applicable, 10 (1) reasonable compensation in the nature of liquidated damages for 11 any adverse environmental effects caused by the violation, that shall be determined by 12 the court according to the toxicity, degradability and dispersal characteristics of the 13 substance discharged, the sensitivity of the receiving environment, and the degree to 14 which the discharge degrades existing environmental quality; for a violation relating 15 to AS 46.14, the court, in making its determination under this paragraph, shall also 16 consider the degree to which the discharge causes harm to persons or property; this 17 paragraph may not be construed to limit the right of parties other than the state to 18 recover for personal injuries or damage to their property; 19 (2) reasonable costs incurred by the state in detection, investigation, and 20 attempted correction of the violation; 21 (3) the economic savings realized by the person in not complying with 22 the requirement for which a violation is charged; and 23 (4) the need for an enhanced civil penalty to deter future 24 noncompliance.