HB 371: "An Act relating to certain passenger vessels transacting business in the state or operating in the marine waters of the state."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 371 01 "An Act relating to certain passenger vessels transacting business in the state or 02 operating in the marine waters of the state." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 46.03 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Article 6A. Large Passenger Vessels. 06 Sec. 46.03.460. Registration requirements. (a) Before the beginning of each 07 calendar year in which the owner or operator of a large passenger vessel intends to 08 transact business in this state, the owner or operator of the vessel shall register with 09 the department. The registration must include the following information: 10 (1) the vessel owner's business name and, if different, the vessel 11 operator's business name; 12 (2) the postal address, electronic mail address, telephone number, and 13 facsimile number for the principal place of each business identified under (1) of this 14 subsection;
01 (3) the name and address of an agent for service of process for each 02 business identified under (1) of this subsection; the owner and operator shall 03 continuously maintain a designated agent for service of process whenever transacting 04 business in this state, and the agent must be an individual resident of this state, a 05 domestic corporation, or a foreign corporation having a place of business in and 06 authorized to do business in this state; 07 (4) the name or call sign of and Port of Registry for each of the 08 owner's or operator's vessels that is scheduled to call upon a port in this state during 09 the calendar year occurring after the date of registration; and 10 (5) other information required by the department by regulation. 11 (b) Registration under (a) of this section must be signed under oath by the 12 owner or operator. 13 Sec. 46.03.465. Information-gathering requirements. (a) Owners and 14 operators of large passenger vessels shall, during any calendar month in which they 15 operate, or cause or suffer to be operated, a large passenger vessel in the marine waters 16 of the state, record or cause to be recorded all information necessary to completely 17 report as required by AS 46.03.475. 18 (b) At least once during each calendar month in which a large passenger vessel 19 is present in the marine waters of the state, and more often if required by the 20 department under regulations, the owner and operator of the vessel shall measure 21 visible emissions, excluding condensed water vapor, of the vessel while the vessel is 22 at berth or at anchor in a port of this state. If regulations have been adopted to 23 implement this subsection, the measuring technique used to satisfy the requirement of 24 this subsection must have been approved by the department before the measurement 25 was taken. 26 (c) The department shall adopt regulations directing owners and operators of 27 large passenger vessels to establish and operate appropriate devices, methods, systems, 28 and procedures necessary to quantify and qualify the releases of waterborne pollutants 29 from their vessels into the marine waters of the state. 30 (d) In order to reduce inefficiency and minimize unnecessary duplication, the 31 department shall implement the reporting requirements of this section in a manner
01 designed to coordinate the reporting requirements with other reporting requirements 02 that may be applicable to the same vessels. 03 Sec. 46.03.470. Record keeping requirements. An owner or operator subject 04 to AS 46.03.465 shall record the information gathered under that section and shall 05 maintain the records for three years after the date the information was gathered. 06 Sec. 46.03.475. Reporting requirements. (a) An owner or operator of a 07 large passenger vessel shall, within 10 days after the end of a calendar month in which 08 the owner or operator has operated, or caused or suffered to be operated, a large 09 passenger vessel in the marine waters of the state, submit to the department a report 10 itemizing the offloading or release of pollutants from that vessel that occurred during 11 the previous calendar month while the vessel was located in the marine waters of the 12 state. The report must 13 (1) include the information required by this section; and 14 (2) contain or include copies of the reports concerning pollutants that 15 are required by the department in the department's enforcement of other provisions of 16 this title. 17 (b) For each release of a pollutant, except by an emission to ambient air from 18 a stack, the report must describe the 19 (1) location of the release, including latitude and longitude; 20 (2) quantity, composition, and origin of the pollutant released; 21 (3) circumstances surrounding and cause of the release, including a 22 statement as to whether the release was intentional or accidental; 23 (4) environmental damage caused by the release, to the extent the 24 damage can be reasonably identified; and 25 (5) remedial efforts taken to prevent accidental recurrence of the 26 release. 27 (c) For hazardous waste, 28 (1) the report must include a copy of each manifest prepared in 29 accordance with 42 U.S.C. 6921 - 6939e (Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act); 30 and 31 (2) if hazardous waste is offloaded from the vessel without a manifest,
01 the report must describe the 02 (A) quantity, composition, and origin of the waste; 03 (B) location of offloading; 04 (C) destination of offloaded waste; and 05 (D) reasons why the waste was offloaded without a manifest. 06 (d) For solid waste and industrial waste, the report must describe the 07 (1) weight and composition of waste offloaded from the vessel; 08 (2) location of waste offloading; 09 (3) destination of offloaded waste; and 10 (4) solid waste processing facility or treatment works located on the 11 vessel, the quantity of waste processed by the facility or works during that calendar 12 month, and an explanation of whether the processed waste was stored, released, or 13 offloaded while the vessel was in the marine waters of the state. 14 (e) For emissions to ambient air from a stack, the report must include the 15 measurements of visible emissions collected under AS 46.03.465(b) and, if a stack on 16 the vessel is equipped with continuous emission monitors, the recordings printed by 17 the monitors for the period the vessel was in the marine waters of the state. 18 (f) For sewage, the report must describe treatment works located on the vessel, 19 the quantity of waste processed by the works during that calendar month, and an 20 explanation of whether the treated waste was stored, released, or offloaded while the 21 vessel was in the marine waters of the state. 22 (g) For graywater and other wastewater other than sewage, the report must 23 describe the location of offloading. 24 (h) For medical waste, the report must generally describe any onboard 25 treatment and the manner or method of ultimate disposal. 26 (i) The department may by regulation require an owner or operator to submit 27 supplemental or additional reports concerning the releases or offloading of pollutants 28 by large passenger vessels. 29 (j) A record or report submitted under this section shall be signed under 30 penalty of unsworn falsification by the owner, operator, or a responsible official of the 31 reporting vessel and must include the following statement: "Based on information and
01 belief formed after reasonable inquiry, I certify that the statements and information in 02 and attached to this document are true, accurate, and complete." 03 Sec. 46.03.480. Penalties. (a) An owner or operator who fails to comply with 04 AS 46.03.460 may not bring a claim or counterclaim in a court of this state for a cause 05 of action that arose during the time that the owner or operator was out of compliance 06 with AS 46.03.460. 07 (b) An owner or operator who fails to comply with AS 46.03.460 or 46.03.475 08 is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $50 a day for each day of noncompliance 09 as determined by the commissioner subject to right of appeal to the superior court. 10 (c) In addition to other applicable penalties, a person who falsifies a 11 registration or report required by AS 46.03.460 or 46.03.475 is liable for damages 12 under AS 46.03.760. 13 Sec. 46.03.485. Regulations. The department may adopt regulations that are 14 necessary for the implementation of AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490. 15 Sec. 46.03.490. Definitions. In AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490, 16 (1) "agent for service of process" means an agent upon whom process, 17 notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon the owner or 18 operator may be served; 19 (2) "air contaminant" means a substance within the meaning given to 20 "air contaminant" in either AS 46.03.900 or AS 46.14.990; 21 (3) "ambient air" has the meaning given in AS 46.14.990; 22 (4) "ballast water" means water and suspended matter taken on board 23 a vessel to control or maintain trim, draught, stability, or stresses of the vessel, 24 regardless of how the water and suspended matter are carried; 25 (5) "emission" means a release of one or more pollutants into the 26 atmosphere; 27 (6) "graywater" means galley, bath, and shower water; 28 (7) "hazardous waste" has the meaning given in AS 46.03.900 and 29 includes wastes that meet that definition and have been collected from staterooms, 30 crew quarters, and other passenger or crew accommodations; 31 (8) "large passenger vessel" means a vessel engaged in the carrying of
01 passengers for hire, excluding 02 (A) vessels having accommodations for 40 or fewer passengers; 03 (B) vessels without berths or overnight accommodations for 04 passengers; and 05 (C) noncommercial vessels, warships, vessels operated by 06 nonprofit entities as determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service, 07 and vessels operated by the state, the United States, or a foreign government; 08 (9) "marine waters of the state" has the meaning given to "waters" in 09 AS 46.03.900 except that it includes only marine waters; 10 (10) "medical waste" includes each of the types of solid waste listed 11 in 42 U.S.C. 6992a (Demonstration Medical Waste Tracking Program, sec. 11002 of 12 the Solid Waste Disposal Act); 13 (11) "offloading" means the removal of pollutants from a large 14 passenger vessel onto or into a controlled storage, processing, or disposal facility or 15 treatment works; 16 (12) "oil" has the meaning given in AS 46.04.900; 17 (13) "pollutant" means air contaminant, ballast water, biological 18 materials, chemical wastes, graywater, hazardous waste, industrial waste, incinerator 19 residue, medical waste, munitions, oil, radioactive materials, sewage, sewage sludge, 20 solid waste, wrecked or discarded equipment, or any other substance that may alter or 21 tend to alter the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of the marine 22 waters of the state or the air above or submerged land below the marine waters of the 23 state; 24 (14) "release" means spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, 25 emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, placing, or disposing 26 of pollutants into the environment, including the abandonment or discarding of bags, 27 containers, and other receptacles containing a pollutant, and without regard to whether 28 the pollutants left the vessel through a discrete conveyance or a nonpoint source; 29 (15) "responsible official" means 30 (A) for a corporation, a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice- 31 president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person
01 who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, or a duly 02 authorized representative of that person if the delegation of authority to the representative is 03 approved in advance by the department; 04 (B) for a partnership, sole proprietorship, or limited liability 05 company, a general partner, the proprietor, or the manager or managing 06 member, respectively; 07 (16) "sewage," in addition to the meaning given in AS 46.03.900, 08 includes material that has been collected or treated through a marine sanitation device 09 as that term is used in 33 U.S.C. 1322 (sec. 312, Water Pollution Control Act); 10 (17) "stack" means a chimney or conduit through which air or air 11 contaminants are emitted into the atmosphere; 12 (18) "vessel" means any form or manner of watercraft, other than a 13 seaplane on the water, whether or not capable of self-propulsion.