01/28/2013 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

        SB  29-CRUISE SHIP WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:30:06 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL announced SB 29 to be up for consideration.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:30:36 PM                                                                                                                    
LYNN  KENT,  Deputy  Commissioner,  Department  of  Environmental                                                               
Conservation  (DEC),  Anchorage,   Alaska,  said  the  department                                                               
supported SB  29. She  reported that the  large cruise  ships had                                                               
made tremendous  improvements to  their waste water  quality over                                                               
the years,  particularly since they had  installed advanced waste                                                               
water  treatment  systems. Of  the  28  ships that  visit  Alaska                                                               
regularly,  only  15-18  are  permitted  in  any  given  year  to                                                               
discharge in  Alaska and of  those, a subset does  not discharge.                                                               
So they are  talking about a small universe  of dischargers given                                                               
the variety of industries in  the state. Those that discharge are                                                               
meeting  all of  the  water  quality standards  at  the point  of                                                               
discharge except for the four  they talked about last time. Other                                                               
methods of  reducing those concentrations  were evaluated  by the                                                               
Science  Advisory Panel  and potential  improvements to  existing                                                               
systems were looked  at, but no new technologies  were found that                                                               
now or in the future would get  them all the way to meeting water                                                               
quality standards  at the  point of discharge.  So, SB  29 allows                                                               
the department  to treat  them as  other waste  water dischargers                                                               
and to continue to push for improvements over time.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS.  KENT explained  that right  now cruise  ship permits  expire                                                               
every three years,  but now for most permits and  under this bill                                                               
they will  expire every  five years.  She said  they do  have the                                                               
ability to push the cruise ships to  do better and to look at new                                                               
technologies as  they become available  and this bill  will allow                                                               
them to make that progress with them.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:32:26 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  FRENCH said  one public  comment  caught his  attention:                                                               
section  5 that  repeals four  statutes;  the last  one being  AS                                                               
46.03.464  that sets  up the  Advisory Panel.  Someone asked  why                                                               
they are sunseting it before their final report is issued.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:33:08 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. KENT explained  that when the panel  was set up it  was in an                                                               
advisory capacity to the commissioner  on improvements that could                                                               
be made  on waste water  treatment in  cruise ships; it  was this                                                               
panel  that   decided  to  produce   a  report.  The   report  is                                                               
preliminary,  but  they  did  a thorough  review  and  looked  at                                                               
promising technologies,  as well. There  is no need to  keep them                                                               
on tab  for another couple of  years when the department  has the                                                               
authority   under  AS   46.03.048   to  continue   to  push   for                                                               
improvements and  search for new  technologies with or  without a                                                               
science advisory  panel. She  said the  department did  the first                                                               
technology conference without one.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MICCICHE said  he, as a commercial  fisherman who demands                                                               
clean water in a pristine  marine environment, would vote to pass                                                               
SB 29  to the  next committee.  It was  better to  allow tertiary                                                               
treated waste water discharge into  mixing zones than rather than                                                               
to encourage  cruise ships  to discharge  into federal  waters or                                                               
into  municipal systems  that don't  require the  same degree  of                                                               
treatment. However,  he wanted to  encourage the  cruise industry                                                               
to  convert away  from  copper water  distribution  systems in  a                                                               
timely   manner  and   noted   that  after   hearing  from   some                                                               
constituents today  he would recommend  that SB 29 be  amended to                                                               
not  permit  waste  water discharges  within  the  boundaries  of                                                               
Alaska critical  habitat areas  in existence at  the time  of the                                                               
passage of this bill.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DYSON moved  to report SB 29, version  \A, from committee                                                               
with  individual recommendations  [and attached  fiscal note(s)].                                                               
There were no objections and it was so ordered.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:36:06 PM                                                                                                                    
At ease from 3:36 to 3:38 p.m.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:38:25 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR GIESSEL revised  the motion to include  the attached fiscal                                                               
note to SB 29.