Legislature(2011 - 2012)BARNES 124
01/28/2011 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview(s): Department of Environmental Conservation - Office of the Commissioner, Division of Environmental Health, Division of Air Quality | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 28, 2011
1:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Eric Feige, Co-Chair
Representative Paul Seaton, Co-Chair
Representative Peggy Wilson, Vice Chair
Representative Alan Dick
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Bob Herron
Representative Cathy Engstrom Munoz
Representative Berta Gardner
Representative Scott Kawasaki
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION - OFFICE
OF THE COMMISSIONER~ DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH~ DIVISION
OF AIR QUALITY
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LARRY HARTIG, Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint overview on the
Department of Environmental Conservation.
KRISTIN RYAN, Director
Division of Environmental Health
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint during the overview
by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
ALICE EDWARDS, Acting Director
Division of Air Quality
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint during the overview
by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:02:17 PM
CO-CHAIR ERIC FEIGE called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. Representatives Feige,
Seaton, Gardner, Herron, and Wilson were present at the call to
order. Representatives Munoz, Foster, Dick, and Kawasaki
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^OVERVIEW(S): DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION - OFFICE
OF THE COMMISSIONER, DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, DIVISION
OF AIR QUALITY
OVERVIEW(S): DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION - OFFICE
OF THE COMMISSIONER, DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, DIVISION
OF AIR QUALITY
1:02:35 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE announced that the only order of business would
be an overview by the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC).
1:03:10 PM
LARRY HARTIG, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), introduced the
PowerPoint "Department of Environmental Conservation House
Resources Overview." [Included in members' packets.] He stated
that (slide 2) the DEC mission was "to protect human health and
the environment. We make sure that the air you breathe, that
the water you drink, the food that you eat, and the environment
you live in, is healthy." He explained the nexus of the
programs to be human health and the environment. He pointed out
that, in addition to air, water, land, and food safeties, DEC
was responsible for hazardous waste containment and clean-up.
He noted that its programs derived from both state statute and
federal requirements.
1:06:25 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG, discussing slide 3 "Core Services,"
described the federal programs, including the Clean Water Act
and the Clean Air Act, and the federal funding in the DEC
budget. He spoke about the DEC role as a facilitator for Alaska
communities to comply with federal requirements. He reported on
the science and engineering based pollution standards developed
for air, water, and land.
1:08:31 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG pointed out that the development of
standards was complex and went through a public regulatory
process. He reported that these standards were monitored for
compliance and were updated. He stated that DEC also developed
the testing protocols. He commented on the systems for
compliance and enforcement of these standards.
1:10:32 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG conveyed that DEC had a staff of 500 people,
with a proposed budget of $80 million. He invited visitation to
the Environmental Health Lab in Anchorage, and explained that it
was used for food safety testing, paralytic shellfish poison
(PSP) testing, and veterinary testing. He reported that DEC
regulated pesticides.
1:12:41 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG moved on to slide 4, "Programs," listed the
divisions within DEC, and described the responsibilities of
each, beginning with the Division of Administrative Services.
1:15:20 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG spoke briefly about the Division of
Environmental Health and mentioned that its responsibilities had
increased to include personal use and recreational beaches.
1:16:58 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG elaborated on the Division of Air Quality
and its responsibility for green house gas emissions,
particulate matter standards, and North Slope air quality
issues.
1:20:16 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG described the three programs within the
Division of Spill Prevention and Response: the preparedness
plans, the Prevention Emergency Response program, and the
contaminated sites program. He gave a brief overview of the
emergency response funds for use during an oil spill.
1:22:43 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG spoke about the Division of Water, noting
the water quality standards and permitting, and the facility
programs. He pointed out the difficulties encountered as the
federal funding declined.
1:24:35 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked what percentage of personnel positions was
filled.
COMMISSIONER HARTIG, in response, said that DEC had 547 staff
positions, and that it was a struggle for recruitment and
retention of engineers. He offered to research the actual staff
vacancies.
CO-CHAIR FEIGE, directing attention to the PM 2.5 (particulate
material) program, asked if it was an attainable standard for
Fairbanks at a reasonable cost.
1:27:02 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG replied that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) had tightened the standard for particulates, and
that the wood smoke in Fairbanks and the Mendenhall Valley in
Juneau would create a difficulty for attainment. He explained
the health concerns and risks, and voiced that this was not just
a compliance issue, but also a human health issue. He pointed
out that there had not been state or federal standards at that
time. He opined that Fairbanks could attain compliance, but
this would require a switch to cleaner technology from dirty
burning boilers and wood stoves, and it would necessitate a good
supply of dry wood. He relayed that DEC was monitoring the
conditions in Fairbanks and was working toward solutions with
the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star
Borough.
1:31:11 PM
CO-CHAIR SEATON asked for an update to the air quality rules for
fugitive dust.
1:32:21 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG explained that fugitive dust and fugitive
emissions are road dust, coal dust, or similar, which has not
been confined, but simply released into the open air. He
reported that any large facility would have an air quality
permit which would include provisions for reasonable precautions
to control fugitive dust. He addressed the problem of smaller
facilities that don't require air permits, so only the
regulation for reasonable precautions would apply. He said that
DEC was investigating options for more defined standards and
enforcement.
1:35:06 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ, inquiring about the air quality in
Mendenhall Valley, asked for any health data related to these
incidences.
1:35:36 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG replied that there was data which DEC had
reviewed.
REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ asked which department would conduct a
review if there was a concentration of disease within a defined
area.
1:36:22 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG, in response, explained that the DEC
environmental lab worked with Department of Health and Social
Services should either department notice any disease. He noted
that Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was also
tracking diseases, and would contact DEC regarding any
environmental disease. He stated that there was good
communication between the agencies. He pointed to the
difficulty of tracking higher incidences of disease in areas of
low population, as there was not the statistical significance.
1:39:41 PM
COMMISSIONER HARTIG, in response to Representative Herron, spoke
of DEC division accomplishments over the prior year,
highlighting the oversight work on pipeline safety. He
reflected that his biggest disappointment was the lack of a long
term solution to make the response fund sustainable.
1:41:13 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
1:42:50 PM
KRISTIN RYAN, Director, Division of Environmental Health,
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), presented a
PowerPoint entitled "Environmental Health," [Included in
members' packets.] addressed slide 1, "Division Mission," and
stated that "our goal is to provide businesses with clear
standards so they can protect our environment and provide safe
food and drinking water to Alaskans." She moved on to slide 2,
"Organization Chart," which listed the different programs she
would discuss. She elaborated that job was to provide the
direction for changes to the nine regulatory chapters in the
division, to manage the budgets so that the resources were used
wisely, and to provide clear direction for staff and management
decisions. She directed attention to slide 4, "What do we do?"
and listed the core services of the program, which included:
assistance to federally regulated public water systems,
enforcement of standards for monitoring of contaminants, and
review of construction, installation and operation plans for the
construction and modification of public water systems.
1:45:14 PM
MS. RYAN moved on to slide 5, "Federally-Designated," noting
that federally designated water systems were defined as serving
25 or more people. She reported that federal drinking water
regulations often had complex rule changes, which the state
would adopt. She stated that there were more than 1500
federally designated water systems in Alaska, for both ground
water and surface water.
MS. RYAN, pointing to slide 6, "State-Regulated," shared that
the standards for the state regulated systems, which served 25
or fewer people, were not equivalent to the federal standards.
She shared that these systems served assisted living homes,
apartments, day care facilities, and office buildings. She
affirmed that there were not any standards for private homes or
duplexes.
1:49:16 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked which regulatory designation covered
restaurants.
MS. RYAN replied that about 200 restaurants were included in the
small state regulated systems.
1:50:03 PM
MS. RYAN, in response to Representative Herron, said that the
well on the Salcha Fairgrounds was currently inoperable, but
that money had been requested to drill a new well.
1:50:36 PM
MS. RYAN presented slide 7, "Successes and Challenges," and
shared that the Drinking Water Program had 57 employees to
supply technical assistance for compliance with the federal
water systems regulations. She confirmed that Alaska was the
only state allowed to certify third party engineers for
inspections. She announced that Alaska was also the only state
granted a waiver to the 48 hour hold times for bacteria samples,
in order to allow extra time to get water samples to a lab from
remote areas. In response to Co-Chair Feige, she explained that
the source water assessment program assisted local water systems
with programs for protection, which would, in turn, reduce the
extensive monitoring requirements.
1:53:26 PM
MS. RYAN, in response to Representative Herron, said that the
grant opportunities for drinking water protection were statewide
and were being well received.
1:54:21 PM
MS. RYAN pointed out that the plan offered knowledge for all the
potential risks to the source water.
1:54:50 PM
MS. RYAN moved on to discuss "Pesticide Control and DEC,
Statutory Authority" (slide 9) and she listed the statutes for
regulation, which included three aspects: control, spraying in
public places, and public pesticide programs.
CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked if there would be a serious effect if the
public pesticide program requirement was repealed.
MS. RYAN replied that AS 46.03.330 was an antiquated statute; as
the pesticide product had already been approved, to also require
a permit to spray created a double standard.
1:57:04 PM
MS. RYAN presented slide 10, "What do we do?", noted that the
pesticide program only had five employees, and mentioned that it
conducted the inspections and issued the permits for pesticide
application.
1:58:27 PM
MS. RYAN agreed that the bed bug information on the web site was
only offered as a courtesy.
1:59:08 PM
MS. RYAN directed attention to slide 11, "Successes and
Challenges," and explained the difficulty of issuing a permit
for the Alaska Railroad to spray a benign herbicide. She noted
that there were 5000 pesticide products registered in Alaska.
2:00:15 PM
MS. RYAN reviewed slide 13, "Solid Waste Management and DEC What
do we do?" She explained that this was about land fill
regulation permits and monitoring. She introduced slide 14,
"Basics," and noted that the Solid Waste Program had 14 staff
and monitored 301 landfills. She declared that all 23 of the
large landfills, 5 tons or more each day, and all 26 of the
industrial landfills were permitted and "running well." She
specified that only 22 percent of the approximately 250 village
landfills, less than 5 tons each day, were permitted. She
explained that on-line management plans were available for the
village landfills. Remarking on slide 16, "Challenges and
Successes," she lauded that only about 50 of the 600 inactive
drilling waste pits were still left to clean up.
2:04:21 PM
MS. RYAN, in response to Representative Herron, said that she
did not know how many videos had been submitted for the
"Unraveling of Trash" contest.
2:04:38 PM
MS. RYAN moved on to slide 18, "Food Safety and Sanitation
Statutory Authority and Regulations-Food." She noted that the
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, AS 17.20, ensured that food either
offered to the public, or sold, was safe. She shared that this
also included aquatic farms and seafood processing. She
clarified that the Division of Agriculture (Department of
Natural Resources) was in charge of raw products.
2:07:13 PM
MS. RYAN called attention to slide 19, "Sanitation," and stated
that AS 18.35 and AS 44.46.020 regulated body piercing, public
toilets, pools and spas, and laundromats.
2:07:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK asked about the history of AS 17.20.
MS. RYAN replied that there had been no substantial changes to
it since statehood, and that it was a challenge to determine its
boundaries. She assessed slide 20, "What do we do?" and voiced
that the program "established standards for the permitting,
inspecting, and enforcing of food processing." She reiterated
that this did not include whole foods. She conveyed that the 40
staff in 8 offices provided education and training on the safe
handling of food, and monitored more than 4500 restaurants,
markets, and food processors, 786 seafood processors, and 3716
public facilities.
2:10:12 PM
MS. RYAN discussed slide 21, "Basics." She reported that 26
percent of the permitted retail food establishments were
inspected in 2010. She offered her belief that the infrequency
of these food inspections, which included technical assistance,
was a cause for the higher rate of violation by the inspected
food establishments. She spoke about the success of the on line
food handler program, which had distributed 90,000 cards over
the previous four years. She pointed out that any food sold
beyond state lines was regulated by FDA.
2:12:35 PM
MS. RYAN shifted to slide 22, "Successes and Challenges," and
acknowledged there were regulations at public events where food
was offered or sold.
2:13:28 PM
MS. RYAN directed attention to slide 23, "What can be sold off
the farm with no DEC oversight?" She stated that products which
needed to be cooked before eating were not usually regulated.
She stated that smoked fish, cheese, and baggy leafy greens were
all foods that needed a permit.
2:14:12 PM
MS. RYAN, in response Co-Chair Seaton, said that milk should
have been listed with foods requiring a permit.
2:14:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked to clarify custom processed meat.
MS. RYAN explained that meat can be processed for use by the
animal owner without a permit.
2:15:27 PM
MS. RYAN, addressed slide 24 and slide 25, "Are people getting
sick?" which listed the food borne illness outbreaks in Alaska
since 2004.
MS. RYAN, in response to Representative Kawasaki, said that such
infrequent inspections, due to budget limitations, lead to a
continuance of the illness outbreaks. She selected slide 27,
"State Veterinarian," and said that the overall authority was to
keep animals from making humans sick. She turned to slide 28,
"What do we do?" and shared that there were just 5 staff,
including 2 veterinarians, who sampled and monitored animals for
diseases.
2:18:46 PM
MS. RYAN turned to slide 29, "Successes and Challenges," pointed
to the need for a revision to the animal health regulations, and
opined that it was going to be controversial. She stated that
the maintenance of Alaska's disease-free status was very
important.
2:19:50 PM
MS. RYAN introduced "What's going on with Cheese?" (slide 30)
and shared that a state statute required that dairy products
comply with the U.S. Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. She assessed
that Alaska was no stricter than other states.
2:20:46 PM
MS. RYAN moved forward to slide 32, "Environmental Health
Laboratory What do we do?" and offered a quick overview of the
lab and its environmental samples testing process. She said
that the lab ran almost 70,000 tests in 2010, primarily on food.
2:22:02 PM
MS. RYAN, in response to a question from Co-Chair Seaton, said
that the additional Ketchikan based position for aquatic farm
site permits had been filled. She talked about the new marine
vessel tracking program, which eliminated the need to accompany
the vessel to monitor the sample collections.
The committee took a brief at-ease.
2:24:25 PM
ALICE EDWARDS, Acting Director, Division of Air Quality,
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), presented a
PowerPoint, "Division of Air Quality Overview, " [Included in
members' packets.] read from slide 2, "Mission," and stated that
the mission of the division was "to conserve, improve, and
protect Alaska's natural resources and environment and control
air pollution, in order to enhance the health, safety, and
welfare of the people of the state." She moved on to slide 3,
"Core Services," and explained that the division issued air
quality permits to facilities, provided compliance assistance
and enforcement, provided assistance to communities to protect
air quality, and conducted air quality assessments and
monitoring.
2:25:41 PM
MS. EDWARDS presented slide 4, "Programs," and listed the three
primary air quality programs: air permits, air non-point and
mobile sources, and air monitoring and quality assurance. She
provided slide 5, "Air Quality Division Structure," which
portrayed the structure of the division.
MS. EDWARDS referred to slide 6, "Air Permits Program," and
listed the three focuses: authorize construction of new and
modified facilities, establish compliance monitoring, and
conduct compliance assurance inspections on permit deviations.
She confirmed that the Air Permits Program ensured that air
emissions from industrial operations did not create unhealthy
air.
2:28:28 PM
MS. EDWARDS summarized slide 7 and slide 8, "Air Non-Point &
Mobile Source Program," and explained that the program "partners
with communities to look at options and find solutions to local
and regional air quality concerns." She relayed that the focus
was primarily on mobile and area sources of pollution, and that
it conducted education and outreach on air quality issues. She
pointed out that the program ensured that community-based
pollution control programs were incorporated with the Alaska air
quality plan.
2:30:44 PM
MS. EDWARDS, addressing slide 9 and slide 10, "Air Monitoring
and Quality Assurance Program," said that these assess
compliance with the national ambient air quality standards, and
provide quality assurance audits for the state air monitoring
network.
2:31:26 PM
MS. EDWARDS, in response to Co-Chair Feige, said that the
monitoring was concentrated in the primary population centers.
She added that the program also assisted communities with
special monitoring studies, such as wildfire smoke and dust.
She declared that the program issued the air quality advisories.
2:33:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK asked if there was any consideration for the
Arctic haze emanating from Asia.
MS. EDWARDS replied that there was monitoring and announced that
the division had just finished its Regional Haze State
Implementation Plan. She agreed that there was a haze impact
from both Asia and Northern Europe.
2:34:31 PM
MS. EDWARDS, speaking about slide 11, "Administrative Support
Program," pointed out that the program provided assistance with
budgets, grants, and billings. She spoke about the "Ongoing
Permit Streamlining and Process Improvement Initiatives and
Challenges" listed on slide 13 and slide 14. She shared that
the goal was to improve the consistency and timeliness of the
permitting, while maintaining high quality, legally defensible
permits. She said that the division sought to improve the
predictability by standardizing processes and permit
requirements, and had established a quality management system.
She explained that operating permits had standard conditions to
improve efficiency.
2:37:06 PM
MS. EDWARDS explained the next challenge, depicted on slide 16
and slide 17, "Fairbanks PR 2.5." She announced that the
Fairbanks/North Pole area was exceeding the 24 hour standard for
fine particulate matter, and that an air quality attainment plan
was due in December, 2012. She allowed that the plan and the
control options were controversial in Fairbanks, as the fine
particulate matter was all coming from combustion sources,
including home heating from wood and coal. She agreed that this
was a complex problem. She opined that it was realistically
attainable to achieve the standard, but that it would be a
complicated process, with difficult choices.
2:40:52 PM
MS. EDWARDS said that the Division was coordinating the planning
efforts between the state, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She noted that the
Division was actively responding to complaints about smoke, and
working on public education to mitigate the pollution. She
stated that there was also a study to characterize vehicle
emissions at cold temperatures.
2:42:42 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked if the regulations had any allowance for
natural sources of particulates, such as wildfires.
MS. EDWARDS replied that EPA did distinguish between natural and
manmade sources.
2:43:32 PM
MS. EDWARDS spoke about dust in rural Alaska, noting that many
homes were right on the unpaved roadways. She stated that the
dust was a potential health issue.
2:45:15 PM
MS. EDWARDS shared that complaints about dust came from all
across Alaska. She directed attention to slide 20, "Airborne
Dust in Alaska," which plotted the communities which registered
complaints and monitored for dust. She indicated that fugitive
dust came from many sources, including material handling and
sandblasting. She reported that there were scheduled workshops
to address fugitive dust regulations and solutions.
2:47:53 PM
MS. EDWARDS, in response to an earlier question from
Representative P. Wilson, shared that DEC was working with
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for solutions
to dust impacts from rural roads. She reported on a pilot
program in eight communities which applied chemical dust
suppressant on the road surface.
2:49:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked when this pilot program would be
completed.
MS. EDWARDS offered her belief that more information would be
available by early 2012.
2:50:18 PM
MS. EDWARDS spoke about "Revised National Ambient Air Quality
Standards" (slide 22). She said that these were reviewed every
five years and that a few new standards had been adopted. She
opined that EPA could revise the carbon monoxide and particulate
matter standards during the upcoming year.
2:52:18 PM
MS. EDWARDS reviewed the chart on slide 23, which reflected the
change in particulate matter standards since 1997.
2:53:12 PM
MS. EDWARDS directed attention to slide 24 and slide 25, "New
EPA Air Quality Rules," and discussed the challenges when EPA
issued new and revised rules. She reported on the green house
gas permitting rules, and shared that Alaska had adopted the
federal requirements.
2:54:46 PM
MS. EDWARDS confirmed that EPA had issued an advanced notice
regarding potential regulation of lead in aviation gasoline
because of health problems, and that Alaska had submitted early
comments for its concerns. She observed that these early
comments allowed EPA to gather additional information and better
consider the concerns. She opined that new EPA air quality
standards needed to be released along with guidance for
implementation.
2:56:24 PM
MS. EDWARDS directed attention to slide 26, "North Slope Air
Quality Assessment." She stated that DEC wanted a pro-active
approach to air quality issues on the North Slope, in order to
better address local concerns for air pollution as well as
determine where additional data could be useful. She listed the
short term goals to include: assess and summarize the existing
emission and meteorological data, determine the need for
additional relevant data for permits and impact assessment,
develop a technical approach for modeling regional impacts, and
determine a long term strategy for monitoring and assessing
impacts.
2:58:11 PM
CO-CHAIR FEIGE asked about the impact of EPA requirements on
state resource development.
MS. EDWARDS, in response, opined that the regulations posed
challenges which were not insurmountable. She voiced that DEC
was working to incorporate the EPA requirements with the state
requirements. She noted that air quality permits were complex.
2:59:31 PM
MS. EDWARDS, in response to Representative P. Wilson, said that
EPA was working on air quality permits for the outer continental
shelf (OCS) activities. She observed that much of the permit
work was based on on-shore monitoring data and modeling.
3:00:17 PM
MS. EDWARDS, in response to Representative Foster, said that
currently there were no aviation gasoline proposals. She
explained the multi-step process to include an engagement
finding for determining if the leaded fuel was causing an
endangerment. She pointed out that, for concerns with aviation
fuel, EPA had to work with the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). She agreed that this was a huge issue for Alaska, as
currently there was not a replacement fuel. She predicted that
EPA would not propose a regulation without a replacement option.
3:02:46 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 3:02 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DEC - Comm. Office Overview.pdf |
HRES 1/28/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
| DEC - Div. of Environmt. Health Overview.pdf |
HRES 1/28/2011 1:00:00 PM |
|
| DEC Div. of Air Quality Overview.pdf |
HRES 1/28/2011 1:00:00 PM |