CSSB 91(RES): "An Act relating to the authority of the Department of Environmental Conservation to require certain monitoring, sampling, and reporting and to require permits for certain discharges of pollutants; relating to criminal penalties for violations of the permit program; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 91(RES) 01 "An Act relating to the authority of the Department of Environmental Conservation to 02 require certain monitoring, sampling, and reporting and to require permits for certain 03 discharges of pollutants; relating to criminal penalties for violations of the permit 04 program; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 46.03.020 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 46.03.020. Powers of the department. The department may 08 (1) enter into contracts and compliance agreements necessary or 09 convenient to carry out the functions, powers, and duties of the department; 10 (2) review and appraise programs and activities of state departments 11 and agencies in light of the policy set out in AS 46.03.010 for the purpose of 12 determining the extent to which the programs and activities are contributing to the 13 achievement of that policy and to make recommendations to the departments and 14 agencies, including environmental guidelines;
01 (3) consult with and cooperate with 02 (A) officials and representatives of any nonprofit corporation or 03 organization in the state; 04 (B) persons, organizations, and groups, public and private, 05 using, served by, interested in, or concerned with the environment of the state; 06 (4) appear and participate in proceedings before any state or federal 07 regulatory agency involving or affecting the purposes of the department; 08 (5) undertake studies, inquiries, surveys, or analyses it may consider 09 essential to the accomplishment of the purposes of the department; these activities 10 may be carried out by the personnel of the department or in cooperation with public or 11 private agencies, including educational, civic, and research organizations, colleges, 12 universities, institutes, and foundations; 13 (6) at reasonable times, enter and inspect with the consent of the owner 14 or occupier any property or premises to investigate either actual or suspected sources 15 of pollution or contamination or to ascertain compliance or noncompliance with a 16 regulation that may be adopted under AS 46.03.020 - 46.03.040; information relating 17 to secret processes or methods of manufacture discovered during investigation is 18 confidential; 19 (7) conduct investigations and hold hearings and compel the 20 attendance of witnesses and the production of accounts, books, and documents by the 21 issuance of a subpoena; 22 (8) advise and cooperate with municipal, regional, and other local 23 agencies and officials in the state, to carry out the purposes of this chapter; 24 (9) act as the official agency of the state in all matters affecting the 25 purposes of the department under federal laws now or hereafter enacted; 26 (10) adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this 27 chapter, including, by way of example and not limitation, regulations providing for 28 (A) control, prevention, and abatement of air, water, or land or 29 subsurface land pollution; 30 (B) safeguard standards for petroleum and natural gas pipeline 31 construction, operation, modification, or alteration;
01 (C) protection of public water supplies by establishing 02 minimum drinking water standards, and standards for the construction, 03 improvement, and maintenance of public water supply systems; 04 (D) collection and disposal of sewage and industrial waste; 05 (E) collection and disposal of garbage, refuse, and other 06 discarded solid materials from industrial, commercial, agricultural, and 07 community activities or operations; 08 (F) control of pesticides; 09 (G) other purposes as may be required for the implementation 10 of the policy declared in AS 46.03.010; 11 (H) handling, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of 12 hazardous wastes; 13 (11) inspect the premises of sellers and suppliers of paint, vessels, and 14 marine and boating supplies, and take other actions necessary to enforce 15 AS 46.03.715; 16 (12) notwithstanding any other provision of law, take all actions 17 necessary to receive authorization from the administrator of the United States 18 Environmental Protection Agency to administer and enforce a National Pollutant 19 Discharge Elimination System program in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 1342 (sec. 402, 20 Clean Water Act), 33 U.S.C. 1345 (sec. 405, Clean Water Act), 40 C.F.R. Part 123, 21 and 40 C.F.R. Part 403, as amended; 22 (13) require the owner or operator of a facility to undertake 23 monitoring, sampling, and reporting activities described in 33 U.S.C. 1318 (sec. 24 308, Clean Water Act). 25 * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.100(a) is amended to read: 26 (a) A person may not construct, modify, or operate a sewerage system or 27 treatment works or take any action [DISPOSE OF OR CONDUCT AN 28 OPERATION] that results in the disposal or discharge of solid or liquid waste 29 material or heated process or cooling water into the waters or onto the land of the state 30 without prior authorization from the department. [DEPARTMENT 31 AUTHORIZATION SHALL BE OBTAINED FOR DIRECT DISPOSAL AND FOR
01 DISPOSAL, OTHER THAN OF DOMESTIC SEWAGE, INTO PUBLICLY 02 OWNED OR OPERATED SEWERAGE SYSTEMS.] 03 * Sec. 3. AS 46.03.100(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) Prior authorization may be provided by the department, in its discretion, 05 [IS PROVIDED] through one or a combination of the following: 06 (1) an individual permit issued for a specific facility or disposal 07 activity; 08 (2) a general permit issued on a statewide, regional, or other 09 geographical basis for a category of disposal activities that the commissioner, using 10 information available when the permit is developed, determines are similar in nature 11 and will comply with applicable environmental quality standards established under 12 this title; 13 (3) regulations adopted by the department authorizing a category of 14 disposal without requiring a permit and establishing specific siting or operational 15 requirements, discharge limits, or best management practices for the disposal 16 category; 17 (4) designation and approval of a plan as described under (c) of this 18 section; 19 (5) an integrated waste management and disposal authorization as 20 described in (d) of this section. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 46.03.100(e) is amended to read: 22 (e) This section does not apply to 23 (1) a person discharging only domestic sewage into a publicly owned 24 treatment works [SEWERAGE SYSTEM]; 25 (2) disposals subject to regulation under AS 31.05.030(e)(2); 26 (3) injection projects permitted under AS 31.05.030(h); 27 (4) discharges of solid or liquid waste material or water discharges 28 from the following activities if the discharge is incidental to the activity and the 29 activity does not produce a discharge from a point source, as that term is defined in 30 regulations adopted under this chapter, [DIRECTLY] into any waters [SURFACE 31 WATER] of the United States [STATE]:
01 (A) mineral drilling, trenching, ditching, and similar activities; 02 (B) landscaping; 03 (C) water well drilling and geophysical drilling; or 04 (D) drilling, ditching, trenching, and similar activities 05 associated with facility construction and maintenance or with road or other 06 transportation facility construction and maintenance; however, the exemption 07 provided by this subparagraph does not relieve a person from obtaining a prior 08 authorization under this section if the drilling, ditching, trenching, or similar 09 activity will involve the removal of the groundwater, stormwater, or 10 wastewater runoff that has accumulated and is present at an excavation site for 11 facility, road, or other transportation construction or maintenance and a prior 12 authorization is otherwise required by this section; 13 (5) bilge pumping, unless the bilge product pumped may be expected 14 to yield an oily sludge, emulsion, or sheen on the surface of any water of the state; 15 (6) cooling water discharges from a boat or vessel into any surface 16 water of the state; or 17 (7) the firing or other use of munitions in training activities conducted 18 on active ranges, including active ranges operated by the United States Department of 19 Defense or a United States military agency, unless it results in a discharge into 20 waters of the United States. 21 * Sec. 5. AS 46.03.100(h) is amended to read: 22 (h) The program developed to issue permits by the department to authorize 23 discharge of pollutants into surface waters and submitted to the United States 24 Environmental Protection Agency for approval under 33 U.S.C. 1342 (sec. 402, Clean 25 Water Act) shall include the monitoring and reporting requirements included in the 26 permits, limited to those requirements authorized [MANDATED] by law, including 27 33 U.S.C. 1318 (sec. 308, Clean Water Act), and any legal settlements, and those 28 necessary to ascertain compliance with the effluent limitations contained in the permit 29 and with state water quality standards. 30 * Sec. 6. AS 46.03.100 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (m) For purposes of the permit program authorized by the United States
01 Environmental Protection Agency under 33 U.S.C. 1342 (sec. 402, Clean Water Act), 02 "waste material" includes pollutants as defined in 33 U.S.C. 1362(6) (sec. 502(6), 03 Clean Water Act). 04 * Sec. 7. AS 46.03.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (f) The standards for determining waste material in AS 46.03.100(m) apply to 06 this section. 07 * Sec. 8. AS 46.03.790 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (i) Notwithstanding (a) and (d) of this section, a person is guilty of a class A 09 misdemeanor if the person negligently 10 (1) violates a regulation adopted by the department under 11 AS 46.03.020(12); 12 (2) violates a permit issued under the program authorized by 13 AS 46.03.020(12); 14 (3) fails to provide information or provides false information required 15 by a regulation adopted under AS 46.03.020(12); 16 (4) makes a false statement, representation, or certification in an 17 application, notice, record, report, permit, or other document filed, maintained, or used 18 for purposes of compliance with a permit issued under or a regulation adopted under 19 AS 46.03.020(12); or 20 (5) renders inaccurate a monitoring device or method required to be 21 maintained by a permit issued under or a regulation adopted under AS 46.03.020(12). 22 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).