HB 46: "An Act requiring the Department of Environmental Conservation to collect and make available to the public certain information relating to water pollution; prohibiting certain mixing zones in freshwater spawning waters; and requiring a public comment period for certain sewage system or treatment works modifications."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 46 01 "An Act requiring the Department of Environmental Conservation to collect and make 02 available to the public certain information relating to water pollution; prohibiting 03 certain mixing zones in freshwater spawning waters; and requiring a public comment 04 period for certain sewage system or treatment works modifications." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 46.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 07 Sec. 46.03.026. Information to be collected and made available by the 08 department. (a) The department shall require an annual report from a person for 09 whom the department grants a permit or other authorization for a mixing zone under 10 AS 46.03.100 - 46.03.120. 11 (b) The report required under (a) of this section must be in a form prescribed 12 by the department and contain 13 (1) the amount, nature, and description of the pollutant, contaminant, 14 or waste, except that quantification of information about water temperature, acidity, or
01 alkalinity or dissolved oxygen levels in water is not required; 02 (2) the location, type, and duration of the permitted activity; and 03 (3) other information the department may require. 04 (c) The department shall annually compile information collected under this 05 section and make the information reported under (b) of this section available to the 06 public on the department's Internet website. 07 (d) The report required by (a) of this section is not required when the 08 department grants a permit or other authorization for a mixing zone under 09 AS 46.03.100 - 46.03.120 that relates only to 10 (1) streambed disturbance; 11 (2) water turbidity; or 12 (3) a private sewage system. 13 (e) In this section, "mixing zone" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.065. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 15 Sec. 46.03.065. Prohibition of mixing zones in spawning waters. (a) Except 16 as provided in (b) and (c) of this section, the department may not authorize a mixing 17 zone for lakes, streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh water in an area where 18 (1) anadromous fish spawn; or 19 (2) resident fish redds are located for 20 (A) Arctic char; 21 (B) Arctic grayling; 22 (C) brook trout; 23 (D) burbot; 24 (E) cutthroat trout; 25 (F) Dolly Varden; 26 (G) lake trout; 27 (H) landlocked coho, king, and sockeye salmon; 28 (I) northern pike; 29 (J) rainbow trout; 30 (K) sheefish; or 31 (L) whitefish.
01 (b) The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply to the renewal of a 02 mixing zone authorization of a public or private domestic wastewater facility or 03 system during the useful life of the wastewater facility or system for an area where 04 spawning was not ongoing at the time of the initial authorization and the mixing zone 05 became a spawning area after the date of the initial authorization. 06 (c) The prohibition in (a) of this section does not apply to a turbidity mixing 07 zone for a suction dredge placer mine or a mechanical placer mine that the department 08 finds, with the concurrence of the division of the Department of Fish and Game that 09 has responsibility for fish habitat, will not adversely affect the present or future 10 spawning, incubation, or rearing of fish included under (a) of this section. 11 (d) In this section, 12 (1) "area" means the physical location where spawning occurs; 13 (2) "lakes, streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh water" includes lakes, 14 streams, rivers, or other flowing fresh water that have been altered by remediation or 15 construction activities; the term does not include an artificially constructed facility for 16 water, wastewater, holding, or channeling, unless the artificial facility is constructed 17 for the purpose of facilitating fish spawning; 18 (3) "mixing zone" means an area in a water body surrounding or 19 downstream of a discharge where the effluent plume is diluted by the 20 receiving water, within which water quality standards specified by the 21 department under AS 46.03.050 - 46.03.120 may be exceeded. 22 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (d) Notwithstanding (c) of this section, if a permittee or plan holder seeks to 24 modify a permit or other authorization for a sewage system or treatment works that 25 will result in an increase in discharge volume of more than 50 percent from the 26 volume originally authorized under AS 46.03.100, the department shall publish notice 27 of the application or draft permit modification for comment in at least two publications 28 of a newspaper of general circulation within the general area in which the modified 29 disposal of waste material is proposed to be made. The notice shall also be posted on 30 the Alaska Online Public Notice System maintained under AS 44.62.175 and on the 31 department's Internet website, and may also be published in other appropriate
01 information media. The notice must include a statement that a person who wants to 02 present views to the department with regard to the application or draft permit 03 modification may do so in writing to the department within 30 days after the first 04 publication of the notice. The written response entitles the writer to a copy of the 05 application or draft permit modification. 06 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 APPLICABILITY. (a) The report required under AS 46.03.026, added by sec. 1 of 09 this Act, is required only of a person applying for the Department of Environmental 10 Conservation's authorization of a mixing zone or a renewal or modification of a permit or 11 other authorization for a mixing zone under AS 46.03.100 - 46.03.120 on or after the effective 12 date of this Act. 13 (b) The prohibition in AS 46.03.065, added by sec. 2 of this Act, does not apply to 14 departmental authorization for an existing mixing zone for a public or private wastewater 15 facility or system that, during the useful life of the wastewater facility or system, 16 (1) has a mixing zone that is in an area where spawning was not ongoing on 17 the date of the initial operation of the facility or system and that became a spawning area after 18 the date of the initial operation of the facility or system; and 19 (2) was not authorized or permitted on the effective date of this Act and, as 20 certified in writing by the department, was not the subject of departmental action under 21 AS 46.03.100 before the effective date of this Act.