SJR 12: Supporting action by the United States Congress to authorize and appropriate adequate funding for states that assume the dredge and fill permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act; and expressing the intention of the state to assume jurisdiction over the program when funding is available.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12 01 Supporting action by the United States Congress to authorize and appropriate adequate 02 funding for states that assume the dredge and fill permitting program under Section 404 03 of the Clean Water Act; and expressing the intention of the state to assume jurisdiction 04 over the program when funding is available. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS it is the intent of Congress that states have the option to assume 07 jurisdiction over the dredge and fill permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean Water 08 Act; and 09 WHEREAS the goals of the state in assuming primacy are to maintain wetland 10 protection, achieve consistency in program administration, and streamline the permit process; 11 and 12 WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United 13 States Army Corps of Engineers are required to work with each state to develop guidelines 14 and processes for assuming primacy of the permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean 15 Water Act; and
01 WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency created a federal 02 advisory subcommittee to address the lack of clarity surrounding the identification of 03 assumable and nonassumable water; and 04 WHEREAS the United States Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of 05 revising the guiding regulations for state assumption of Section 404 primacy with the goal of 06 increasing clarity and facilitating state assumption of primacy; and 07 WHEREAS, with the exception of a few states and tribes seeking or considering 08 seeking assumption of primacy, most states and tribes remain reluctant to assume primacy of 09 the permitting program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act primarily due to a lack of 10 funding to implement the program; and 11 WHEREAS, under a permitting program assumed by the state under Section 404 of 12 the Clean Water Act, the state will have control of permitting priorities, leading to potential 13 time and cost savings through a more coordinated permitting process without compromising 14 regulatory standards, requirements, or environmental protection; and 15 WHEREAS permits authorized under a permitting program assumed by the state 16 under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act will reflect the unique conditions of the state with 17 state-specific program guidance and include state implementation of mitigation requirements 18 with stable, risk-based, and predictable enforcement; and 19 WHEREAS the state manages limited fiscal resources that would make it challenging 20 to fully fund a permitting program assumed by the state under Section 404 of the Clean Water 21 Act, despite significant benefits of the state assuming primacy; and 22 WHEREAS other primacy programs receive federal funding for state implementation; 23 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports action by the United 24 States Congress to effectuate the intent of Congress that states assume primacy of dredge and 25 fill permitting programs under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act by authorizing and 26 appropriating adequate funding for states to have the option to assume primacy under Section 27 404 of the Clean Water Act; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports federal funding 29 for states to implement the dredge and fill permitting responsibilities under Section 404 of the 30 Clean Water Act. 31 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, President
01 of the United States; the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, Vice President of the United States and 02 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of 03 Representatives; the Honorable Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental 04 Protection Agency; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. 05 Senators, and the Honorable Mary Peltola, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 06 delegation in Congress.