03/06/2002 03:37 PM Senate RES

             HB 263-REGULATION OF HOT SPRINGS WATER                                                                         
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON announced HB 263 to be up for consideration.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FATE,  sponsor of HB  263, said that  DEC supported                                                              
this bill, which  makes sure that a flow-through  hot springs body                                                              
of  water  complies  with  the  state  standards  for  pollutants,                                                              
chemicals, or pathogens.  As long as those standards  are met, the                                                              
introduction of a  chemical such as chlorine,  which would detract                                                              
from the  natural mineral content  or the aesthetic  experience or                                                              
the perceived  medicinal experience of  the hot spring,  would not                                                              
be altered.  He noted that hot  springs contribute to  the economy                                                              
of rural Alaska where they are located.  The testing of the waters                                                              
will occur as frequently as DEC deems necessary.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  TAYLOR  asked  why  DEC couldn't  just  do  this  through                                                              
regulation.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FATE  replied  that  they literally  felt  it  was                                                              
incumbent upon them  to treat these bodies of water  as pools. The                                                              
problem  they had  was considering  the hot  springs where  people                                                              
went to  bathe as pools. That  connotes a swimming  pool. Changing                                                              
"pool"  to  "body of  water"  got  away  from that  swimming  pool                                                              
connotation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WILKEN asked  him  to expand  on  "further water  quality                                                              
regulation"  on  line  6.  He  asked   if  "further"  referred  to                                                              
chlorination.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FATE said it  does under AS  44.46. -  chlorine or                                                              
any  other  chemical that  DEC  deems  appropriate to  make  those                                                              
pathogen levels safe for humans to enter.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LINCOLN asked if DEC supports this bill.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FATE said it does.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MARY  SIROKY,   legislative  liaison,  DEC,   said  that  the                                                              
department worked with Representative  Fate and resolved all their                                                              
concerns.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  ELTON  asked  if  DEC  would  still  maintain  the  fecal                                                              
coliform checks in these bodies of water.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS. SIROKY said it would.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR TAYLOR  said they  wouldn't get  to further water  quality                                                              
regulation  until   a  triggering  event  occurs,   which  is  the                                                              
discovery of  more than 100 colonies  or less per  100 millimeters                                                              
of water in the pool.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. SIROKY  said that was  correct with  the caveat at  the second                                                              
part of  the sentence,  which is, "free  from dangerous  levels of                                                              
disease  causing pathogens  or chemicals."  What they are  talking                                                              
about  with "further  water quality  regulation"  are things  like                                                              
total dissolved solids.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR TAYLOR  moved to  pass CSHB  263(RES) from committee  with                                                              
individual recommendations.  There were  no objections and  it was                                                              
so ordered.