00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 283                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to the nomination and designation of state water as outstanding                                        
02 national resource water; and providing for an effective date."                                                          
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 46 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                     
05            Sec. AS 46.03.085. Outstanding national resource water. (a) Water of the                                   
06       state may not be designated as outstanding national resource water as specified in 40                             
07       C.F.R. Part 131.12 except by an act of the legislature.                                                           
08            (b)  The department shall accept nominations of water for designation as                                     
09       outstanding national resource water.                                                                              
10            (c)  Any resident of the state may provide a nomination.                                                     
11            (d)  The department may adopt regulations that establish the process for                                     
12       submittal of the nomination and additional information. The department will provide                               
13       public notice of all nominations and will establish a mechanism to allow any resident                             
14       of the state to provide additional information.                                                                   

01            (e)  Within 10 days after the convening of each legislature, the commissioner                                
02       shall transmit to the legislature for consideration a list of nominations and related                             
03       material that were received by September 1 of the previous year.                                                  
04    * Sec. 2. AS 46.03.900 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:                                               
05                 (38)  "outstanding national resource water" means water bodies that                                     
06       have been determined by the legislature to be important, unique, or sensitive                                     
07       ecologically.                                                                                                     
08    * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
09 read:                                                                                                                   
10       TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Environmental Conservation                                             
11 may adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. The regulations take effect under                                
12 AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of this Act.                                 
13    * Sec. 4. Section 3 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).