2007-02-21                     House Journal                      Page 0287
HB 149                                                                                                                        
HOUSE BILL NO. 149 by the House Rules Committee by request of                                                                   
the Governor, entitled:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to the authority of the Department of                                                                     
     Environmental Conservation to require certain monitoring,                                                                  
     sampling, and reporting and to require permits for certain                                                                 
     discharges of pollutants; relating to criminal penalties for                                                               
     violations of the permit program; and providing for an effective                                                           
     date."                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the Resources and Judiciary                                                             
Committees.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
The following fiscal note(s) apply:                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1.  Zero, Dept. of Environmental Conservation                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The Governor's transmittal letter dated February 20, 2007, follows:                                                             
                                                                                                                                
"Dear Speaker Harris:                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of art. III, sec. 18, of the Alaska Constitution, I am                                                      
transmitting a bill relating to the authority of the Department of                                                              
Environmental Conservation (department) to require certain                                                                      
monitoring, sampling, and reporting and to require permits for certain                                                          
discharges of pollutants, and to criminal penalties for violations of the                                                       
permit program.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Under the federal Clean Water Act, discharges of pollutants to surface                                                          
waters require a permit either from the United States Environmental                                                             

2007-02-21                     House Journal                      Page 0288
Protection Agency (EPA), or from a state that has received approval                                                             
from the EPA to administer the permitting program.  Alaska has                                                                  
applied to the EPA for approval of a state permitting program, and the                                                          
EPA is currently reviewing Alaska's application.  Under federal law,                                                            
the EPA cannot approve a state program unless it is as stringent as the                                                         
EPA's program.  This bill would revise certain provisions of law                                                                
governing the department's permitting and enforcement authority, in                                                             
order to align the state's permit requirements with the EPA's.  The                                                             
changes are all designed to help facilitate final approval by the EPA of                                                        
Alaska's program.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Three of the proposed changes would involve current exclusions from                                                             
the requirement of getting a discharge permit.  The first exclusion is                                                          
for sewage.  Current state law provides that the discharge of sewage                                                            
into a "sewerage system" does not need a permit.  Federal law exempts                                                           
only discharges of sewage into "publicly owned treatment works."                                                                
The difference is that the federal exemption is for sewage going to a                                                           
place where it will receive treatment; while the state exemption is                                                             
broader and needs to be amended in order to reflect a treatment                                                                 
requirement.  The solution offered by this bill would be simply to                                                              
change the state exemption so that it matches the EPA's: only sewage                                                            
discharged to a publicly owned treatment works would be exempt                                                                  
from the permit requirement.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The second exclusion would be for discharges that are incidental to                                                             
certain drilling and trenching activities.  Current state law exempts                                                           
those discharges from the permit requirement if they don't result in a                                                          
discharge "directly into any surface water."  To align state law with the                                                       
federal permit program, that phrase would be changed by deleting the                                                            
word "directly" and changing "surface water" to "waters of the United                                                           
States," a term defined identically in state and federal regulations.                                                           
                                                                                                                                
The third and final exclusion is for the discharge of munitions on                                                              
active ranges.  The federal definition of "pollutant" at 40 C.F.R. 122.2                                                        
includes munitions, so a permit is required for their discharge to                                                              
waters of the United States.  Yet state law exempts the discharge of                                                            
munitions from the permit requirement.  This bill would limit the                                                               
state's munitions exemption to discharges that do not enter waters of                                                           
the United States, again to bring state law into line with federal law.                                                         
                                                                                                                                

2007-02-21                     House Journal                      Page 0289
The bill includes three other provisions.  One would give the                                                                   
department the authority to require site sampling and reporting of                                                              
results analogous to what the EPA exercises under sec. 308 of the                                                               
Clean Water Act.  Another clarifies that the department's permitting                                                            
authority extends to all "pollutants" listed under federal law.  The third                                                      
provision also follows federal law (33 U.S.C. 1319(c)) by allowing the                                                          
department to pursue criminal enforcement for negligent violations of                                                           
any aspect of the state permit program.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
This bill is an essential component of the state's effort to receive                                                            
primacy from the EPA in the permitting of discharges in our state.  I                                                           
support continuing forward with efforts to receive primacy, and I urge                                                          
your prompt and favorable action on this measure.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
                                Sincerely,                                                                                     
                                /s/                                                                                             
                               Sarah Palin                                                                                     
                                Governor"