Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/03/2002 03:40 PM Senate RES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 356-GENERAL PERMIT FOR WATER/WASTE DISPOSAL
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON announced SB 356 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR GENE THERRIAULT, sponsor of SB 356, said the legislation
was introduced to assure that the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) could continue to issue the general permits as
it has done for a number of years. He explained:
Legislation was passed a couple of years ago that
allowed the DEC to work on a uniform fee structure for
general permits that were to be issued for ongoing or
basic types of permitted activities, HB 361. This bill
is to insure the DEC has the underlying statutory
authority to actually issue the permits that the
legislature approved the fee structure for then.
Examples of the types of permits are remote camps or
lodges, logging camps, fish hatcheries, sewer systems
for communities with fewer than 1,000 people, and some
oil well drilling operations. The value of the general
permits are that they allow DEC to avoid duplication by
creating one permit instead of multiple identical
permits for activities where the risk of impact to the
environment is either low or can be easily mitigated
with common treatment practices. General permits save
DEC and the regulated community time and money while
accomplishing the goal of environmental protection.
General permits go hand in hand with the permit fee
structure that was created. General permits also allow
DEC to allocate more resources to field site visits and
inspections, because they don't have to have personnel
tied up in the department sort of reinventing the wheel
over and over.
He said they worked with DEC to draft this language and that
committee packets contain a letter from DEC that contains two
concerns. The first concern is on page 1:
First, general permits, in our view, are appropriate
only when the risk and impact to the environment is
either low or can be readily and fully mitigated with
common treatment practices.
SENATOR THERRIAULT thought this concern was addressed in Section
3 on page 2, lines 23 - 25, of the bill, which reads:
A general permit may be issued only if the commissioner
determines that the activities that will be authorized
under the permit are similar in nature and will cause
only minimal adverse environmental effects when
performed separately and in the aggregate.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said Section 3 gives the commissioner wide
latitude to determine when the permit is appropriate. He noted
DEC's second concern reads:
The procedures for developing and issuing general
permits set out in statute, must describe how the
public can comment on a proposed general permit and
must provide for a reasonable dissemination of
information on which the facilities or activities are
operating under a general permit.
He believes Section 6 addresses that concern and read:
The commissioner shall immediately send copies of the
application or proposal to the commissioner of fish and
game, the commissioner of natural resources, the
commissioner of community and economic development and
the commissioner of health and social services.
Section 6 explains how the information is provided to other
departments that might have a concern.
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON asked Mr. Chapple, DEC, if his department's
concerns were addressed in the bill.
MR. TOM CHAPPLE, Director, Air and Water Quality, DEC, said he
supported SB 356 as written.
MR. BILL JEFFRESS, Manager, Environmental Services, Fairbanks
Coal Mining, and Vice President, Council of Alaska Producers,
said as the Vice President of the Producers' Council he was a
representative of the DEC sponsored work group that came up with
recommendations over the course of a year and a half. He
commented:
One of the things we found very important and crucial
to DEC's credibility as a regulating community is these
general permits and, as Senator Therriault said, this
is an efficient way of minimizing the amount of
resources DEC expends on writing individual permits
that cover basically the same issues. The general
permits cut down on the redundancy and what is really
important is to show a field presence. I think it's
good for the regulated community and the credibility of
DEC's program as far as their oversight and making sure
that the resources of Alaska are protected. I think
Senator Therriault did an excellent job of
characterizing all of the bill. What we wanted to
emphasize is that we not only supported HB 361, but SB
356 clarifies what exactly DEC's authority is. We
support the bill.
MS. CHARLOTTE MCCAY, Senior Administrator, Environmental and
Regulatory Affairs, Tec-Cominco Alaska, operators of the Red Dog
Mine, said:
Industry is reliant on DEC for numerous important
permits. DEC can be most effective by providing
standardized general permits for similar facilities
with similar environmental risks. This frees DEC's time
and resources to address more significant and
individualized permits. DEC is then more efficient in
fulfilling their duties and industry receives more
timely permits. At Red Dog, we had many permits. That
takes a lot of time and it's important to us that they
be available as best possible.
MR. TAD OWENS, Executive Director, Resource Development Council
(RDC), said the RDC has worked with the legislature and DEC over
the last several years on permit streamlining and this bill is
another step in that direction. He elaborated:
There are two reasons why RDC is strongly in support of
this legislation. The first is we feel general permits
are a real win-win. It not only allows DEC to operate
more efficiently and allocate their resources more
effectively across the broad array of services they
need to provide, but it gives industry a great deal
more predictability and certainty and simplicity in
dealing with essentially repetitive and diminimous
activities in terms of environmental impact.
And, secondly, as Senator Therriault mentioned, we
worked very closely with the legislature on HB 361 and
are very happy to report that industry and the agencies
have fared very well under that new fee structure and
this bill essentially assures that DEC will be able to
match up general permits with the fixed fees that HB
361 supported… We very much support the bill.
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON thanked everyone for their testimony and said
they would hold the bill for a quorum.
SB 356-GENERAL PERMIT FOR WATER/WASTE DISPOSAL
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON announced SB 356 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR WILKEN moved SB 356 from committee with individual
recommendations and zero fiscal note. There were no objections
and it was so ordered.
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