04/30/1994 11:40 AM Senate RES

 SENATOR MILLER announced  HB 446  (ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION                 
 AGREEMENTS) to be up for consideration.                                       
                                                                               
 MEAD TREADWELL, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Environmental              
 Conservation, said this bill was proposed by the Governor to put in           
 the agency's charter that it is specifically able and has the                 
 authority to enter into agreements with communities to                        
 comprehensively address environmental problems.                               
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt the CS to HB 446.  SENATOR PEARCE                
 objected for discussion purposes.                                             
                                                                               
 ANNETTE KRIETZER, Staff to Senator Loren Leman, said the amendments           
 that are proposed are in keeping with the direction of SB 215, SB
, and HB 238.                                                               
                                                                               
 SENATOR PEARCE commented that saying every time the Department                
 works with a community on its conservation needs they have to go              
 through this extra hoop, is adding a bureaucracy to a process that            
 is already cumbersome.                                                        
                                                                               
 MR. TREADWELL agreed and said he had never seen this amendment.               
 The Commissioner asked to have the bill go through without                    
 amendments, if possible.  The language is a change to the charter             
 to put very high in the introductory language that the Department             
 should work with communities.                                                 
                                                                               
 SENATOR MILLER said he viewed the language as an amendment, not a             
 committee substitute.                                                         
                                                                               
 SENATOR ADAMS asked how the Alaskan communities were going to met             
 the unfunded needs that are required by federal regulations.                  
                                                                               
 MR. TREADWELL said they face that problem every day.  He said they            
 try to work with communities, not in an adversarial role.   They              
 have recently told the federal government, on another source of               
 unfunded mandates, that we are willing to lose the $2 million in              
 federal funding you are willing to give us, because the first time            
 we implement these regulations, it's going to cost our communities            
 far more than $2 million.                                                     
                                                                               
 SENATOR FRANK asked about problems with the private sector.  Why              
 limit this to just communities.                                               
                                                                               
 MR. TREADWELL explained that there is sometimes a problem in making           
 an agreement between an agency and a private entity that is not               
 specifically through a contract or through an open bidding process.           
                                                                               
 SENATOR ADAMS asked if they would consider "private local                     
 corporations."                                                                
                                                                               
 MR. TREADWELL suggested adding to the original bill saying, "where            
 appropriate portions of the community agreement related to                    
 emergency response will be entered into jointly with the State                
 Emergency Response Commission."  This would take that part of an              
 agreement that would deal with local response issues and take it to           
 the CERC which involves other agencies.                                       
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to withdraw the motion to adopt the CS to HB
.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.                         
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt Mr. Treadwell's conceptual amendment.            
 There were no objections and it was adopted.                                  
                                                                               
 SENATOR FRANK moved on line 7 after "corporation" to insert "other            
 local corporations."  There were no objections and it was so                  
 ordered.                                                                      
                                                                               
 SENATOR ADAMS moved SCSHB 446(RES) from committee with individual             
 recommendations.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.             
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt the letter of intent.  MR. TREADWELL             
 commented that it would be a setback to adopt the letter of intent,           
 because they have many agreements in place already.                           
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN suggested deleting the words, "implementing HB 446              
 and before."  MR. TREADWELL said implementing some of the contracts           
 would begin in the next year, but it wasn't imminent.                         
                                                                               
 SENATOR LEMAN moved to withdraw his motion to adopt the letter of             
 intent saying he would offer an amended version on the floor.