05/01/1996 06:15 PM Senate RES

                                                                               
           CSHB 342(RES) am WATER QUALITY STANDARDS                          
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  called the Senate Resources Committee meeting to             
 order at 6:15 p.m.  The committee lacked a quorum, however, the               
 Chairman stated testimony would be taken on CSHB 342(RES) am.                 
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE NORMAN ROKEBERG , prime sponsor of HB 342, explained          
 the legislation is intended to provide to the members of the public           
 and industry water quality standards when users of the water apply            
 for permits.  It provides that methods of measurements of water               
 quality are approved in writing by the Environmental Protection               
 Agency (EPA), or, for the purpose of flexibility, are substantially           
 equivalent and approved by the Department of Environmental                    
 Conservation (DEC).  It adopts the Imhoff Cone method for                     
 measurement of sediment, which is the EPA standard.  Most                     
 importantly, the bill mandates that DEC may not adopt a water                 
 quality standard that is more restrictive than applicable federal             
 law or regulation, and when a revision of an existing regulation is           
 needed, the department must act promptly at the request of a water            
 user permittee to modify state regulations.  DEC may not require              
 the discharge of water to be cleaner than a natural condition of              
 receiving water.                                                              
                                                                               
  JANICE ADAIR , Director, Division of Environmental Health,                   
 Department of Environmental Conservation, outlined the department's           
 three basic concerns with the legislation:                                    
                                                                               
 (1)  It appears that it would limit sediment to being only                    
 settleable solids and would preclude the department from setting a            
 standard and a measurement method for total suspended solids.  The            
 department has been conducting a study on total suspended solids,             
 with a report due out in July, and this legislation seems to                  
 prejudge the outcome of that study, so the department not does not            
 support that provision.                                                       
                                                                               
 (2)  It provides a process that would automatically move the                  
 revision of water quality standards regulations that can be very              
 contentious up to the top of the priority list by having a time               
 certain by which it must be done, and which will come at the                  
 expense of issuing permits.                                                   
                                                                               
 (3)  There are terms in the bill that don't seem to fit, and the              
 bill is not very artfully drafted.  The inclusion in the work draft           
 of "contaminated sea life consumption rates" causes the department            
 a great deal of concern.                                                      
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  asked Ms. Adair how soon she could provide the               
 committee with a mark-up of more artfully drafted language, as well           
 as information on how these standards are more stringent than                 
 federal standards.   MS. ADAIR  agreed to provide the requested               
 information the following day.                                                
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG  noted the whole sea life issue was brought          
 about by an amendment by Representative Brown, and he asked Ms.               
 Adair if she would be willing to just remove it entirely from the             
 bill.   MS. ADAIR  responded that she felt she didn't know enough             
 about the issue to answer that question, and that she would talk              
 with DEC staff about it.                                                      
                                                                               
  REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG , speaking to the sediment standards, said           
 he understands there has been an agreement by DEC that in the                 
 regulations the Imhoff Cone method is going to be the standard they           
 are going to use, but there seems to be some controversy about the            
 issue of total suspended solids.  He suggested this is the EPA                
 standard of sediment, and he doesn't think it is appropriate to               
 bring this whole idea, which is under study right now into play at            
 this time.  He added that if, in fact, DEC can come up with a                 
 standard for the TSS that's going to be workable and agreeable to             
 the people in the industries in the state, then it obviously should           
 be considered, but the point in fact is that so businesses and                
 activities can continue without being impeded by regulation, it is            
 necessary to put this into statute.                                           
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  observed that he believes the Imhoff Cone is the EPA         
 standard for measuring settleable solids, that is the volumetric              
 approach to measuring settleable solids, and  MS. ADAIR  agreed with          
 his observation.                                                              
                                                                               
 Number 260                                                                    
                                                                               
  BECKY GAY , Executive Director, Resource Development Council,                
 expressed appreciation to the sponsor, his staff, and Ms. Adair of            
 DEC for all of the work they have done on this legislation.  She              
 noted she has submitted a letter of support for the bill as it is             
 currently drafted.  She said the reason this legislation is                   
 effective is it is a prospective bill--it is mostly aimed at if the           
 future laws change.                                                           
                                                                               
 Speaking to the three concerns expressed by Ms. Adair, Ms. Gay said           
 DEC already uses the Imhoff Cone standard, they made that policy              
 call to use that as a standard to measure sediment.  She said it is           
 true that it measures settleable solids, but it gets you to the               
 place we want to get.  She believes the additional component to               
 making changes happen in the revision of water quality standards              
 process will be much more efficient, and she thinks the threat of             
 it coming at the expense of the permittees is really bogus because            
 the department cannot even do them in a timely fashion now.                   
                                                                               
 Number 375                                                                    
                                                                               
  BRUCE CAMPBELL , staff to Representative Pete Kelly, said the human          
 health criteria and the contaminated sea life is an issue that is             
 frequently misunderstood and twisted in the process.  The use of              
 the phrase "contaminated sea life" brings to point the human health           
 criteria in a way that can help DEC dramatically.  He said it has             
 nothing to do with the seafood issues also regulated in a different           
 fashion.  He said he agrees with Ms. Adair that the water quality             
 standards process is a complex area, but he asserted it is complex            
 because of the way her staff has treated the process.  He said they           
 have not achieved a way of making it simpler, but, in fact, making            
 it more complicated, and the average, ordinary citizens of the                
 state of Alaska are in jeopardy of violating those standards with             
 little opportunity to find a means to comply with them.                       
                                                                               
  CHAIRMAN LEMAN  stated CSHB 342(RES) am would be held over until the         
 following day and he would work on it as a subcommittee of one and            
 be open to any comments on it.