04/08/1993 03:40 PM Senate RES

  SENATOR  MILLER called  the Resources  Committee  meeting to                 
  order at 3:40 p.m. and announced  SB 103 AIR QUALITY CONTROL                 
  PROGRAM                                                                      
  to be up for consideration.                                                  
                                                                               
  RUSSELL HEATH, Director, Alaska Environmental Lobby, opposed                 
  SB 103, because he said it is  not the bill that was crafted                 
  by the working  committee last year which  they participated                 
  in and supported.                                                            
                                                                               
  He opposed SB 103,  because it fails to protect  the quality                 
  of Alaska's air,  restricts the public's right  to influence                 
  public policy, and restricts the rights of local governments                 
  to control the quality  of the air in their  own communities                 
  and  neighborhoods.   Also,  the  fee  structure  in SB  103                 
  subverts  the key  intent of the  Clean Air Act  which is to                 
  reduce emissions.  Logically, the size  of the fee should be                 
  tied to the amount emitted, but in SB 103 it  is tied to the                 
  per-hour cost to DEC to process the permit application which                 
  encourages letter-perfect applications, not less pollution.                  
                                                                               
  MR. HEATH stated that  he was not allowed to  participate at                 
  the Senate Resources subcommittee level  and said there were                 
  provisions in this  legislation that make it  impossible for                 
  state  or  local  governments  to  require  standards   more                 
  stringent than those required by the federal Clean Air Act.                  
                                                                               
  Number 243                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR  LEMAN said he  was one of the  three members of the                 
  subcommittee and didn't see their work  as being in favor of                 
  any industry.   He thought SB 103  was a very fair  bill and                 
  that a representative from his  organization would have been                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  invited if they had asked to attend.  SENATOR MILLER agreed.                 
                                                                               
  Number 243                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR  LEMAN moved to adopt the CS  to SB 103 for purposes                 
  of  discussion.   There  were no  objections  and it  was so                 
  ordered.                                                                     
                                                                               
  Number 244                                                                   
                                                                               
  AIMEE BOULANGER, Community Coordinator for Pollution  Issues                 
  for the Alaska Center for the  Environment, said this is not                 
  the bill they had originally supported.  They cannot support                 
  SB 103.  She said she  did attend the subcommittee's meeting                 
  while they  were working on SB 103, but  she did not feel it                 
  was appropriate to interrupt their meeting  to comment.  The                 
  public has been  cut out of  the process of influencing  the                 
  course of progress in their own neighborhoods and cut out of                 
  the process of deciding what is an acceptable risk for their                 
  own families.                                                                
                                                                               
  SB 103 does not create an  incentive or rewards for business                 
  to  prevent  pollution,  she  continued.    Section  010  is                 
  absolutely  unacceptable  for  the  basic  health  needs  of                 
  Alaskans.                                                                    
                                                                               
  Number 340                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR MILLER  commented that  if she  would have  asked to                 
  come to the table, she would have been welcome.                              
                                                                               
  ERIC MYERS, Anchorage, said he served on the DEC Air Quality                 
  Advisory  Work  Group  as a  representative  of  the general                 
  public.  He  said the timber  industry did  not act in  good                 
  faith to come to reach a consensus.  Subsection  (c) 2 which                 
  requires  that a  proposed standard  is  technologically and                 
  economically feasible, he commented, restricts what  is good                 
  for  the  public health  and well  being  and should  not be                 
  dictated by whether  it is economically feasible  - although                 
  it would probably be a rare instance.                                        
                                                                               
  SENATOR  FRANK  commented that  if  you  are going  to  shut                 
  businesses down, the legislature should be  in a position to                 
  make  that policy determination  rather than just abrogating                 
  that   authority  and   responsibility  to   the  regulating                 
  authority.  MR. MYERS said clean air should not be raised to                 
  an absolute standard of being economically feasible.                         
                                                                               
  Number 433                                                                   
                                                                               
  RESA JERREL, National  Federation of Independent Businesses,                 
  said normally she is not involved in this type of issue, but                 
  in 1991 she  put it out as a ballot question to her members.                 
  The question being, should DEC  regulations be restricted to                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  federal standards?   Sixty  one percent  came back and  said                 
  yes, they should be restricted to just the federal standard.                 
  She said the Governor's Task  Force on Regulatory Reform  in                 
  March recommended  all departments be  restricted to federal                 
  standards.  She supported Sections 010 and 015 particularly.                 
                                                                               
  Number 454                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR FRANK  asked  what the  remaining percentages  were.                 
  MS. JERREL replied  that 61% said yes,  33% no, and  6% were                 
  undecided.                                                                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR FRANK moved to pass CS to SB 103 from committee with                 
  individual recommendations and asked for unanimous  consent.                 
  There were no objections and it was so ordered.