1998-05-05                     Senate Journal                      Page 3750
SB 299                                                                       
Message dated and received May 4 was read, stating:                            
                                                                               
Dear President Miller:                                                         
                                                                               
Under the authority of art. II, sec. 15 of the Alaska Constitution, I          
have vetoed the following bill:                                                
                                                                               
SENATE BILL NO. 299 am H An Act relating to                                   
the treatment of well test flares, nonroad engines,                            
and aggregated fuel burning equipment associated                               
with nonroad engines under the states air quality                              
control program; defining stationary source for                                
purposes of the states air quality program.                                    
                                                                               
Every family in Alaska depends on clean air and clean water. Clean             
air and water are fundamental rights we cannot and will not                    
compromise. In the past, I opposed legislation which would have                
reduced our water quality standards. Today I veto Senate Bill 299              
because it would decrease our air quality, harming Alaskans' health            
and environment. Alaskans know we can have a strong economy                    
while protecting our air, water and habitat. They expect us to "do it          
right."                                                                        
                                                                               
Senate Bill 299 (SB 299) directly deregulates air pollution resulting          
from oil and gas drilling operations. It exempts the drill rigs                
operating in Alaska from the requirement to prevent and control                
pollution. It additionally deregulates associated facilities. This             
includes hazardous waste incinerators, power  plants,  mines,  asphalt         
                                                                               
                                                                               

1998-05-05                     Senate Journal                      Page 3751
SB 299                                                                       
batch plants, and the Valdez oil terminal. The result will lead to             
significantly higher emissions of harmful air pollutants including             
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and benzene. It would be irresponsible          
to allow this bill to become law and harm the health of our citizens           
and the quality of our environment.                                            
                                                                               
SB 299 would put Alaska out of compliance with the federal Clean               
Air Act and puts Alaska's control of our air quality control program           
at risk of federal takeover. Alaska currently manages air quality              
permits for approximately 500 facilities from Ketchikan to Kotzebue            
 everything from electric utilities to fish processors. A federal              
takeover of this program would drastically affect all those operations         
in the form of duplicative requirements, much higher fees and less             
responsive regulators. This would be an unacceptable and                       
unnecessary burden on Alaska citizens and industries.                          
                                                                               
In addition to the health and environmental impacts, the                       
consequences of this bill will hinder our pursuit of future oil and gas        
development. State and federal leases will be challenged based on air          
quality hazards. I am especially concerned that passage of this bill           
will harm our ability to convince the federal government to lease the          
National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.                                             
                                                                               
Finally, this bill is unnecessary. Working in partnership with my              
Administration, Alaska industries recently signed a conceptual                 
agreement with the Department of Environmental Conservation to                 
design an air quality management program that protects our air,                
provides the needed flexibility for industry to operate efficiently, and       
complies with federal laws. The Alaska Chapter of the International            
Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) along with Alaska's major           
oil field operators endorse the agreement. Implementation of this              
conceptual agreement will dramatically reduce the amount of sulfur-            
based air emissions from drilling operations and ensure that other             
potentially harmful emissions are appropriately controlled. This               
solution would not be possible if SB 299 were to become law.                   
                                                                               
						Sincerely,                                                               
						/s/                                                                      
						Tony Knowles                                                             
						Governor