HB 297: "An Act reassigning responsibility for the oil and hazardous substance response corps and for the emergency response depots to the Department of Environmental Conservation."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 297 01 "An Act reassigning responsibility for the oil and hazardous substance response 02 corps and for the emergency response depots to the Department of Environmental 03 Conservation." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 26.23.195(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) The Alaska division of emergency services may contract with persons to 07 provide personnel [, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE 08 CORPS,] to assist [THEM] with a nongovernmental response to a release or threatened 09 release of oil or a hazardous substance. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 46.08.040(a) is amended to read: 11 (a) In addition to money in the fund that is transferred to the commissioner of 12 community and regional affairs to make grants under AS 29.60.510 and to pay for 13 impact assessments under AS 29.60.560, the commissioner of environmental 14 conservation may use money from the fund to
01 (1) investigate and evaluate the release or threatened release of oil or 02 a hazardous substance, and contain, clean up, and take other necessary action, such as 03 monitoring and assessing, to address a release or threatened release of oil or a 04 hazardous substance that poses an imminent and substantial threat to the public health 05 or welfare, or to the environment; 06 (2) pay all costs incurred to 07 (A) establish and maintain the oil and hazardous substance 08 response office; 09 (B) review oil discharge prevention and contingency plans 10 submitted under AS 46.04.030; 11 (C) conduct training, response exercises, inspections, and tests, 12 in order to verify equipment inventories and ability to prevent and respond to 13 oil and hazardous substance release emergencies, and to undertake other 14 activities intended to verify or establish the preparedness of the state, a 15 municipality, or a party required by AS 46.04.030 to have an approved 16 contingency plan to act in accordance with that plan; and 17 (D) verify or establish proof of financial responsibility required 18 by AS 46.04.040; 19 (3) pay the expenses incurred by the department [ALASKA 20 DIVISION OF EMERGENCY SERVICES] for the oil and hazardous substance 21 response corps and the oil and hazardous substance response depots [WHEN 22 PRESENTED WITH APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION BY THE DIVISION]; 23 (4) provide matching funds for participation in federal oil discharge 24 cleanup activities and under 42 U.S.C. 9601 - 9657 (Comprehensive Environmental 25 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980); 26 (5) recover the costs to the state, a municipality, or a village of a 27 containment and cleanup resulting from the release or the threatened release of oil or 28 a hazardous substance; 29 (6) prepare, review, and revise 30 (A) the state's master oil and hazardous substance discharge 31 prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.200; and
01 (B) a regional master oil and hazardous substance discharge 02 prevention and contingency plan required by AS 46.04.210; and 03 (7) restore the environment by addressing the effects of an oil or 04 hazardous substance release. 05 * Sec. 3. AS 46.08.110 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 46.08.110. RESPONSE CORPS. (a) The department [DIVISION OF 07 EMERGENCY SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS' 08 AFFAIRS,] shall establish an oil and hazardous substance response corps. 09 (b) The corps consists of volunteers who register with the department 10 [DIVISION] and agree to be trained by the department [DIVISION] in techniques for 11 containment and cleanup and to be available on short notice to assist in containment 12 and cleanup consistent with the responsibilities assigned to the corps under an 13 applicable incident command system. 14 (c) Members of the corps are entitled to per diem and expenses as determined 15 by the department [DIVISION] for training and for days spent in service to the state 16 in containment and cleanup actions. 17 * Sec. 4. AS 46.08.120 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 46.08.120. RESPONSE DEPOTS. The department [DIVISION] shall 19 maintain emergency response depots in areas of the state determined in the plans 20 prepared under AS 46.04.200 - 46.04.210 to be potential sites of releases or threatened 21 releases of oil or hazardous substances. The depots shall be equipped and staffed in 22 a manner that ensures prompt response when containment and cleanup actions are 23 necessary. 24 * Sec. 5. AS 46.08.150 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 46.08.150. CONTRACTS. The office [OR THE DIVISION, 26 AS APPLICABLE,] may enter into agreements with agencies of the state and federal 27 government, political subdivisions, the University of Alaska, or private persons or 28 entities to 29 (1) provide the personnel, equipment, or other services or supplies 30 necessary to establish and maintain regional oil and hazardous substances depots and 31 as necessary for response readiness;
01 (2) train members of response corps; and 02 (3) conduct research into oil and hazardous substances spill technology; 03 the office shall include in the research topics for which it conducts or contracts for 04 research, the research topics recommended to it by the Hazardous Substance Spill 05 Technology Review Council under AS 46.13.120. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 46.08.190(3) is repealed.