CSSB 361(CRA): "An Act relating to discharges from small commercial passenger vessels; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 361(CRA) 01 "An Act relating to discharges from small commercial passenger vessels; and providing 02 for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) the Department of Environmental Conservation was required under sec. 8, 08 ch. 1, FSSLA 2001, to submit a report to the governor recommending whether small 09 commercial passenger vessels should remain in the commercial passenger vessel 10 environmental compliance program; due to concerns regarding discharges while vessels are 11 stationary in port or at anchorage, the department recommended that small commercial 12 passenger vessels remain in the commercial passenger vessel environmental compliance 13 program; 14 (2) small commercial passenger vessels built after December 31, 2003, can be
01 designed, constructed, and equipped to fully comply with the water discharge standards in 02 AS 46.03.460 - 46.03.490; and 03 (3) older small commercial passenger vessels, built before January 1, 2004, 04 cannot comply with AS 46.03.462(c) and 46.03.463(b) and (c) due to limitations of maritime 05 construction, United States Coast Guard stability restrictions, and licensing requirements; 06 therefore a different regulatory scheme should be devised for this category of small 07 commercial passenger vessels. 08 (b) It is the intent of this Act to create a regulatory system that allows older small 09 commercial passenger vessels to continue to operate in Alaska waters, while taking steps to 10 minimize discharges and harm to the marine environment from vessel activities. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.462(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) An owner or operator required to register under AS 46.03.461 shall comply 13 with [EITHER] the standard terms and conditions of vessel discharges specified in (b) 14 of this section, [OR] the alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges specified 15 in (c) of this section, or the alternative terms and conditions included in the plan 16 approved by the department under (e) of this section. 17 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.462(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) An owner or operator required to register under AS 46.03.461 shall comply 19 with either the standard terms and conditions of vessel discharges specified in (b) of 20 this section or [,] the alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges specified in 21 (c) of this section [, OR THE ALTERNATIVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS 22 INCLUDED IN THE PLAN APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER (e) OF 23 THIS SECTION]. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.462(d) is amended to read: 25 (d) Alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges approved by the 26 department under (c) of this section may, if determined appropriate by the department, 27 include a waiver by the department of portions of the requirements of AS 46.03.463 28 and 46.03.465, for the time period that the department determines to be appropriate. 29 Alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges approved by the 30 department under (e) of this section may, if determined appropriate by the 31 department, include a waiver by the department of portions of the requirements
01 of AS 46.03.463 for the time period for which the plan submitted under (e) of this 02 section is approved. 03 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.462(d) is amended to read: 04 (d) Alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges approved by the 05 department under (c) of this section may, if determined appropriate by the department, 06 include a waiver by the department of portions of the requirements of AS 46.03.463 07 and 46.03.465, for the time period that the department determines to be appropriate. 08 [ALTERNATIVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF VESSEL DISCHARGES 09 APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER (e) OF THIS SECTION MAY, IF 10 DETERMINED APPROPRIATE BY THE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDE A WAIVER 11 BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PORTIONS OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF 12 AS 46.03.463 FOR THE TIME PERIOD FOR WHICH THE PLAN SUBMITTED 13 UNDER (e) OF THIS SECTION IS APPROVED.] 14 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.462 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 15 (e) The owner or operator of a small commercial passenger vessel may submit 16 a plan for alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges if the keel of the vessel 17 was laid before January 1, 2004. Except as provided in (f) of this section, the 18 department shall approve the plan for a three-year period if the department finds that 19 the alternative terms and conditions in the plan incorporate the best management 20 practices for protecting the environment to the maximum extent feasible. The 21 department shall adopt regulations to implement this subsection but may not require 22 an owner or operator to retrofit a vessel solely for the purpose of waste treatment if the 23 retrofitting requires additional stability testing or relicensing by the United States 24 Coast Guard. In this subsection, "best management practices" means schedules of 25 activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management 26 practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of the marine waters of the state. 27 (f) A plan submitted under (e) of this section after December 31, 2012, may 28 not be approved by the department for a period extending beyond December 31, 2015. 29 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.463(b) is amended to read: 30 (b) Except as provided in (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - (e) 31 [AS 46.03.462(c) - (d)], a person may not discharge sewage from a commercial
01 passenger vessel into the marine waters of the state that has suspended solids greater 02 than 150 milligrams per liter or a fecal coliform count greater than 200 colonies per 03 100 milliliters except that the department may by regulation adopt a protocol for 04 retesting for fecal coliform, if this discharge limit for fecal coliform is exceeded, under 05 which a discharger will be considered to be in compliance with the fecal coliform limit 06 if the geometric mean of fecal coliform count in the samples considered under the 07 protocol does not exceed 200 colonies per 100 milliliters. Upon submission by the 08 owner or operator of a small commercial passenger vessel of a plan for interim 09 protective measures under AS 46.03.462(c)(2) and (d), the department shall extend 10 the time for compliance of that vessel with this subsection. 11 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.463(b) is amended to read: 12 (b) Except as provided in (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - (d) 13 [AS 46.03.462(c) - (e)], a person may not discharge sewage from a commercial 14 passenger vessel into the marine waters of the state that has suspended solids greater 15 than 150 milligrams per liter or a fecal coliform count greater than 200 colonies per 16 100 milliliters except that the department may by regulation adopt a protocol for 17 retesting for fecal coliform, if this discharge limit for fecal coliform is exceeded, under 18 which a discharger will be considered to be in compliance with the fecal coliform limit 19 if the geometric mean of fecal coliform count in the samples considered under the 20 protocol does not exceed 200 colonies per 100 milliliters. Upon submission by the 21 owner or operator of a small commercial passenger vessel of a plan for interim 22 protective measures [UNDER AS 46.03.462(c)(2) AND (d)], the department shall 23 extend the time for compliance of that vessel with this subsection. 24 * Sec. 9. AS 46.03.463(c) is amended to read: 25 (c) Except as provided in (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - (e) 26 [AS 46.03.462(c) - (d)], a person may not discharge graywater or other wastewater 27 from a commercial passenger vessel into the marine waters of the state that has 28 suspended solids greater than 150 milligrams per liter or a fecal coliform count greater 29 than 200 colonies per 100 milliliters except that the department may by regulation 30 adopt a protocol for retesting for fecal coliform, if this discharge limit for fecal 31 coliform is exceeded, under which a discharger will be considered to be in compliance
01 with the fecal coliform limit if the geometric mean of fecal coliform count in the 02 samples considered under the protocol does not exceed 200 colonies per 100 03 milliliters. Upon submission by the owner or operator of a large commercial 04 passenger vessel of a plan for interim protective measures, the department shall extend 05 the time for compliance of that vessel with this subsection for a period of time that 06 ends not later than January 1, 2003. Upon submission by the owner or operator of a 07 small commercial passenger vessel of a plan for interim protective measures under 08 AS 46.03.462(c)(2) and (d), the department shall extend the time for compliance of 09 that vessel with this subsection. 10 * Sec. 10. AS 46.03.463(c) is amended to read: 11 (c) Except as provided in (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - (d) 12 [AS 46.03.462(c) - (e)], a person may not discharge graywater or other wastewater 13 from a commercial passenger vessel into the marine waters of the state that has 14 suspended solids greater than 150 milligrams per liter or a fecal coliform count greater 15 than 200 colonies per 100 milliliters except that the department may by regulation 16 adopt a protocol for retesting for fecal coliform, if this discharge limit for fecal 17 coliform is exceeded, under which a discharger will be considered to be in compliance 18 with the fecal coliform limit if the geometric mean of fecal coliform count in the 19 samples considered under the protocol does not exceed 200 colonies per 100 20 milliliters. Upon submission by the owner or operator of a large commercial 21 passenger vessel of a plan for interim protective measures, the department shall extend 22 the time for compliance of that vessel with this subsection for a period of time that 23 ends not later than January 1, 2003. Upon submission by the owner or operator of a 24 small commercial passenger vessel of a plan for interim protective measures [UNDER 25 AS 46.03.462(c)(2) AND (d)], the department shall extend the time for compliance of 26 that vessel with this subsection. 27 * Sec. 11. AS 46.03.463(e) is amended to read: 28 (e) Except as provided in (g) and (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - 29 (e) [AS 46.03.462(c) - (d)], a person may not discharge any treated sewage, graywater, 30 or other wastewater from a large commercial passenger vessel into the marine waters 31 of the state unless
01 (1) the vessel is underway and proceeding at a speed of not less than 02 six knots; 03 (2) the vessel is at least one nautical mile from the nearest shore, 04 except in areas designated by the department; 05 (3) the discharge complies with all applicable vessel effluent standards 06 established under the federal cruise ship legislation and any other applicable law; the 07 standards under the federal cruise ship legislation and other applicable law may be 08 adopted by regulation by the department; and 09 (4) the vessel is not in an area where the discharge of treated sewage, 10 graywater, or other wastewater is prohibited. 11 * Sec. 12. AS 46.03.463(e) is amended to read: 12 (e) Except as provided in (g) and (h) of this section or under AS 46.03.462(c) - 13 (d) [AS 46.03.462(c) - (e)], a person may not discharge any treated sewage, graywater, 14 or other wastewater from a large commercial passenger vessel into the marine waters 15 of the state unless 16 (1) the vessel is underway and proceeding at a speed of not less than 17 six knots; 18 (2) the vessel is at least one nautical mile from the nearest shore, 19 except in areas designated by the department; 20 (3) the discharge complies with all applicable vessel effluent standards 21 established under the federal cruise ship legislation and any other applicable law; the 22 standards under the federal cruise ship legislation and other applicable law may be 23 adopted by regulation by the department; and 24 (4) the vessel is not in an area where the discharge of treated sewage, 25 graywater, or other wastewater is prohibited. 26 * Sec. 13. AS 46.03.462(e) and 46.03.462(f) are repealed. 27 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 RETROACTIVE EFFECT FOR 2004 SEASON. (a) If the owner or operator of a 30 small passenger vessel whose keel was laid before December 31, 2003, submits a plan under 31 AS 46.03.462(e), enacted by sec. 6 of this Act, within 30 days after the effective date of this
01 section and the Department of Environmental Conservation accepts the plan, the plan is 02 considered to be approved retroactively to the first day the vessel operated in the marine 03 waters of the state in 2004. 04 (b) The plan of an owner or operator is considered to be submitted by the deadline in 05 (a) of this section if initial submission is by that date, notwithstanding that amendments to the 06 plan may be required after that date in order for the department to approve the plan. 07 (c) Notwithstanding (a) and (b) of this section, the retroactive effect of the 08 department's approval under this section applies only if the plan submitted under 09 AS 46.03.462(e) is approved by December 31, 2004. 10 * Sec. 15. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 RETROACTIVITY. Sections 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11 of this Act are retroactive to 13 January 1, 2004. 14 * Sec. 16. Sections 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, and 13 of this Act take effect January 1, 2016. 15 * Sec. 17. Except as provided in sec. 16 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 16 AS 01.10.070(c).