04/17/2023 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

           HJR 11-ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN FAIRBANKS                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:30:42 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  BISHOP  announced  the  consideration  of  HOUSE  JOINT                                                               
RESOLUTION  NO.   11  Urging  the  United   States  Environmental                                                               
Protection Agency  to develop  a woodstove  certification program                                                               
that  addresses the  threat to  clean and  healthy winter  air in                                                               
Fairbanks;  and  urging  the state  Department  of  Environmental                                                               
Conservation to  develop an  economically and  legally defensible                                                               
state implementation  plan for the  Fairbanks North  Star Borough                                                               
nonattainment area.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
He invited the sponsor to introduce the resolution.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:31:12 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE   WILL   STAPP,    District   32,   Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau,  Alaska,  sponsor  of  HJR  11,  introduced                                                               
himself.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:31:29 PM                                                                                                                    
CLIFTON COGHILL,  Staff, Representative Will Stapp,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced himself.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP  presented HJR 11 speaking  to the following                                                               
sponsor statement:                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     In   May   2017,   the  United   States   Environmental                                                                    
     Protection  Agency  reclassified  the  Fairbanks  North                                                                    
     Star  Borough  nonattainment   area  from  moderate  to                                                                    
     serious  for   particulate  matter  2.5   (PM2.5).  The                                                                    
     Environmental   Protection  Agency   seems  intent   on                                                                    
     turning attentions toward  so-called greener sources of                                                                    
     heat, including electric heat pumps  that will not work                                                                    
     as solutions in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     HJR   11   urges   the  United   States   Environmental                                                                    
     Protection Agency to  develop a woodstove certification                                                                    
     program  that  the  state Department  of  Environmental                                                                    
     Conservation and residents of  the Fairbanks North Star                                                                    
     Borough   nonattainment   area    can   rely   on   and                                                                    
     acknowledges  the unique  challenges  Alaskans face  in                                                                    
     economically  and technically  feasible and  is legally                                                                    
     defensible.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:32:56 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP stated  that the resolution asks  the EPA to                                                               
take  another look  at the  woodstove  certification program  and                                                               
develop one similar to a previous program.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
He provided  history on  what the  community has  done so  far to                                                               
address the program.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
In 2006, the  PM 2.5 standard was changed from  65 micrograms per                                                               
cubic  meter to  35  micrograms  per cubic  meter.  That put  the                                                               
Fairbanks North  Star Borough outside the  air quality attainment                                                               
standards.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
In 2010, the North Star  Borough Assembly implemented a woodstove                                                               
buyback  and   change  out  program.  Existing   woodstoves  were                                                               
replaced with EPA compliant woodstoves.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
By 2016, the borough had spent  about $2.5 million to further the                                                               
objective to improve air quality.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
By  fiscal  year  2018  about   $8  million  had  been  spent  in                                                               
gasification and changing out woodstoves  with cleaner sources of                                                               
fuel.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Between 2010 and 2017, the  borough looked at EPA recommendations                                                               
that  ranged  from  banning coal  burning  and  outdoor  hydronic                                                               
heaters to kiln drying firewood.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
In 2019  the borough proved it  had improved air quality  by over                                                               
50 percent since starting the process.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
In  September  2020, the  EPA  issued  a determination  that  the                                                               
Fairbanks  PM  2.5  nonattainment  area  failed  to  fulfill  the                                                               
requirements  and  an  extension  was denied.  The  standard  had                                                               
effectively been reduced once again.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
In  2023, the  EPA moved  to  disapprove the  borough's fine  air                                                               
quality  particulate  state  implementation plan  and  threatened                                                               
revocation of federal highway dollars.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP summarized that HJR  11 asks the EPA to help                                                               
Fairbanks North Star Borough residents  attain better air quality                                                               
in an economically viable way.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:36:37 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked if there were questions.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:36:57 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  KAWASAKI   asked  why  DEC's  first   and  second  state                                                               
implementation plans failed EPA review.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP deferred the question to DEC.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR BISHOP asked Jason Olds to respond to the question.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:37:57 PM                                                                                                                    
JASON OLDS, Acting Director, Division  of Air Quality, Department                                                               
of Environmental  Conservation, Juneau, Alaska, replied  that the                                                               
EPA  primarily pointed  to more  stringent  control measures  for                                                               
point sources and power plants as well as home heating oil.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:38:26 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR CLAMAN  asked whether Fairbanks air  quality had improved                                                               
with the work that was done, and  if he had any insight as to why                                                               
that didn't satisfy the EPA.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. OLDS  agreed with the  sponsor that air quality  had improved                                                               
more than  50 percent since  the efforts started. He  opined that                                                               
it wasn't  satisfactory because air  quality still does  not meet                                                               
current EPA standards.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR CLAMAN asked  how much wood stoves contribute  to the air                                                               
quality problem.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR.  OLDS said  woodstoves account  for about  80 percent  of the                                                               
poor air quality.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR BISHOP clarified that the  woodstoves that are primarily                                                               
contributing to  the problem are  concentrated in the  North Pole                                                               
area.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:40:01 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  DUNBAR asked  if  the Department  of  Defense (DoD)  had                                                               
indicated  that  poor  air   quality  would  jeopardize  military                                                               
personnel remaining in Fairbanks.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STAPP said  he hopes that's not the  case and that                                                               
the matter can be resolved equitably.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:40:37 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  BISHOP  found no  further  questions  and announced  he                                                               
would hold HJR 11 in committee