2001-03-12                     Senate Journal                      Page 0616
SB 134                                                                                            
SENATE BILL NO. 134 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE                                                   
BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled:                                                               
                                                                                                    
          "An Act establishing the Alaska Commercial                                                
          Passenger Vessel Coastal Protection Program for                                           
          certain vessels with overnight accommodations for                                         
          50 or more passengers, including a permit and fees                                        
          for such vessels operating in waters of this state,                                       
          oversight of the program by the Department of                                             
          Environmental Conservation, civil and criminal                                            
          liability for violations of the program, and                                              
          recognition of superior environmental performance                                         
          by vessels subject to the program; creating a                                             
          commercial passenger vessel coastal protection fund;                                      
          and providing for an effective date."                                                     
                                                                                                    
was read the first time and referred to the Transportation and Finance                              
Committees.                                                                                         
                                                                                                    
The following fiscal information was published today:                                               
 Fiscal Note No. 1, Department of Environmental Conservation                                        
 Fiscal Note No. 2, Department of Law                                                               
 Fiscal Note No. 3, Department of Transportation and Public                                         
  Facilities                                                                                        
                                                                                                    
Governor's transmittal letter dated March 9:                                                        
                                                                                                    
Dear President Halford:                                                                             
                                                                                                    
This bill I transmit today creates a comprehensive program to protect                               
Alaska's pristine coastal environment from pollution emanating from                                 
passenger ships that ply our waters.                                                                

2001-03-12                     Senate Journal                      Page 0617
In the last ten years, the number of visitors traveling in Alaska on                                
cruise ships increased from less than 200,000 to more than 640,000                                  
and the forecast is for continued growth. Before the late 1990's most                               
cruise ships carried fewer than 1,500 people. Newer ships carry up to                               
3,500 passengers and crew and that number will soon reach more than                                 
4,500 on ships now under construction. The number of cruise ship                                    
passengers and crew on Southeast Alaska waters at any one time can                                  
equal the population of the region's largest city. Like any city, this                              
concentration of people will generate solid and liquid waste and air                                
emissions. Alaska has comprehensive laws in place for monitoring and                                
controlling the discharges from our land-based cities. We have reached                              
the point where similar programs must be put in place for the floating                              
cities on our waters.                                                                               
                                                                                                    
This bill creates a comprehensive permitting program for cruise ships                               
covering wastewater, solid waste, and air emissions. This innovative                                
program is carefully designed to protect our coastal environment while                              
making it as easy as possible for the cruise industry to do business in                             
Alaska. Each ship would carry a single permit per season covering                                   
water, land, and air. Cruise ship operators would automatically obtain                              
a permit through a simple notification procedure with the Department                                
of Environmental Conservation (DEC). With the notification,                                         
operators state their intent to enter Alaska waters, agree to abide by the                          
standard terms of the permit, and state where the owners or their                                   
agents may be found if anything goes wrong.                                                         
                                                                                                    
The exact conditions of the permit would be developed through a                                     
public regulation-making process involving the industry and building                                
upon the extensive work of the Alaska Cruise Ship Initiative, a group                               
composed of federal, state, local, and industry representatives. The                                
regulations would generally require reports related to the release of                               
pollutants, sampling waste discharges, limitations on the times,                                    
locations and composition of waste discharges, and development of                                   
plans for the safe management of wastes. The bill specifically provides                             
that reporting, sampling, and limitations, where practicable, be                                    
consistent with existing federal law and tailored to different classes of                           
vessels to reduce any unnecessary burden on the permitees.                                          
                                                                                                    
The program minimizes paperwork and includes field verification of                                  
the effectiveness of industry's performance through direct discharge                                

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monitoring. The industry is civilly and criminally liable for any                                   
violations, with consequences consistent with those faced by other                                  
facilities operating in the state.                                                                  
                                                                                                    
Similar to other industries using the state's infrastructure, services, and                         
natural resources, cruise ships must bear the cost of the coastal                                   
protection program that safeguards the pristine and picturesque                                     
environment upon which their business is based. The bill establishes a                              
fee system based on the amount of business conducted in Alaska                                      
waters, and is limited to recoupment of the costs of carrying out the                               
program.                                                                                            
                                                                                                    
Finally, the bill acknowledges the importance of the voluntary efforts                              
of the cruise industry in going beyond compliance with the letter of the                            
law, through a program to recognize and reward superior                                             
environmental performance.                                                                          
                                                                                                    
This innovative program fairly, efficiently, and comprehensively                                    
addresses the environmental challenges of increasing cruise ship                                    
activity in Alaska. I urge your prompt consideration and passage of                                 
this bill.                                                                                          
                                                                                                    
                                  Sincerely,                                                       
                                 /s/                                                                
                                 Tony Knowles                                                       
                                   Governor