Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
01/29/2025 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview(s) Department of Environmental Conservation | |
| 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 29, 2025
1:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Robyn Niayuq Burke, Co-Chair
Representative Maxine Dibert, Co-Chair
Representative Carolyn Hall
Representative Donna Mears
Representative Zack Fields
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Julie Coulombe
Representative Bill Elam
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): Department of Environmental Conservation Overview
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
EMMA POKON, Commissioner
Department of Environmental Conservation
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented an overview of the Department
of Environmental Conservation.
MEGAN KOHLER, Administrative Services Director
Department of Environmental Conservation
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented an overview of the Department
of Environmental Conservation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:02:48 PM
CO-CHAIR ROBYN NIAYUQ BURKE called the House Resources Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. Representatives Hall,
Mears, Fields, Saddler, Rauscher, Coulombe, Elam, Dibert, and
Burke were present at the call to order.
^OVERVIEW(S) Department of Environmental Conservation
OVERVIEW(S) Department of Environmental Conservation
1:03:38 PM
CO-CHAIR BURKE announced that the only order of business would
be an overview of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
1:04:03 PM
EMMA POKON, Commissioner, Department of Environmental
Conservation co-presented a PowerPoint overview of the
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) [hard copy
included in the committee packet]. She showed slides 2 and 3,
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
DEC's Mission
Conserving, improving, and protecting Alaska's natural
resources and environment to enhance the health,
safety, and economic and social well-being of
Alaskans.
DEC Goals
• Protect human health and the environment while
providing timely, science-based, legally defensible
permits/approvals
• Improve employee retention and develop our employees
• Leverage technology and workflow improvements to
create efficiencies, reduce our environmental
footprint, and increase the transparency and
visibility of DEC's efforts.
COMMISSIONER POKON moved to slide 4, titled "DEC's Leadership,"
and described the DEC leadership structure and the roles of the
members of the team. She proceeded to slide 5, titled "What We
Do," which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Air Quality
• Permit industrial air emissions
• Monitor & assess air quality
• Address small & mobile air pollution sources
•Conduct inspections & ensure compliance
Environmental Health
Ensure safe food & drinking water
• Oversee landfills & pesticide applicators
• Provide animal care & importation standards
• Conduct analytical testing
•Conduct inspections & ensure compliance
Water
Permit water discharges
• Oversee water quality standards, assessment &
restoration
• Provide technical assistance
• Finance sanitation improvements
•Conduct inspections & determine compliance
Spill Prevention & Response
•Respond to spills
•Require spill prevention & response plans
•Evaluate response drills
•Manage cleanup of contamination
•Conduct inspections & ensure compliance
1:08:48 PM
MEGAN KOHLER, Administrative Services Director, Department of
Environmental Conservation co-presented an overview of the DEC,
focusing on the Administrative Services Department. She
explained that she and her staff work on the budget; the day to
day operations; financial services; the Environmental Crimes
Unit; and support for the disaster coordination teams. She
moved to slide 6, titled "DEC FY 2026 Operating Budget:
Department Overview" which showed a budget summary chart broken
into fiscal years and a graph of allocations and expenditures.
She discussed specific costs as she explained DEC's budgetary
process.
1:10:13 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON moved to slide 7, titled "Division of
Environmental Health Organization," which showed an
organizational chart of that division. She described specific
tasks performed by the program and then moved to slide 8, titled
"Division of Environmental Health Highlights," which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Advancing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Testing - Developing in-state testing to reduce
reliance on external labs and meet EPA monitoring
requirements
• Lead Service Line Inventories - Supporting public
water systems in creating inventories to comply with
EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions
• Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR)
Project - Identifying Alaska's recyclable and
compostable materials and addressing waste diversion
challenges
• Homemade Foods - Repealing regulations to allow
homemade food sales without permits or inspections,
supported by HB 251
• Avian Influenza Response - The EH Office of the
State Veterinarian collaborates with agencies to
monitor outbreaks and provide guidance to concerned
parties
1:14:08 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Representative
Fields concerning impediments to housing projects on old lots
which were contaminated and needed cleanup. She explained that
a general practice for the agency when considering re-
development of a contaminated site would first be to determine
whether it is under state or federal purview. The division
could enter into a prospective purchase agreement with incoming
property owners to potentially mitigate the risk.
1:16:01 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Representative
Hall concerning drinking water issues near the Anchorage airport
and explained she would provide additional information.
1:16:59 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question by Representative
Coulombe concerning updated polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
regulations by explaining that the new standards are more
restrictive. She discussed the timelines that have been put in
place and how the regulatory process will work.
1:18:16 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a series of questions from Co-
Chair Burke regarding the timing of implementing the new PFAS
standards in Alaska. She explained that the equipment is in
place and the division is working on calibrations and
modifications. Getting it up and running is "on the relative
near-term horizon." She said the rules are final but that there
will be two years for the state to decide whether it will take
primacy of the drinking water program or have the standards
monitored by the federal government. Following that, there is a
five-year period for facilities to come into compliance with the
program.
1:20:57 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON, in response to a question from
Representative Elam regarding the location of PFAS, explained
that the highest concentrations were around airports and fire
stations. She pointed out that the concentration of the
chemicals in a given area would depend on such factors as soil
permeability, geography, hydrology, and initial volumes. The
contaminated sites team first determines site delineation,
tests, and characteristics to understand the scope of the issue.
1:22:45 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON continued her presentation with slide 7, an
organizational chart titled "Division of Air Quality
Organization." She described specific tasks relative to the
division and then moved moved to slide 10, titled "Division of
Air Quality Highlights," which read as follows
• Fairbanks State Implementation Plan (SIP) signed by
EPA for approval
• Sanctions stop
• $150M transportation funding available
• $250M in power plant controls avoided
• Rural Monitoring Network
• 40 communities statewide
• Public information about air quality
• Ongoing Permitting, Compliance, and Public Support
for Clean Air
• State Primacy over Clean Air Act Permitting
• Compliance assistance focused
• Attentive to public complaints
• Southeast Conference awarded $38M for heat pumps
• Coordination with the Municipal League
• Enabled through Sustainable Energy Action Plan
1:26:20 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Representative
Rauscher regarding air quality monitoring stations. She
explained there are about forty monitoring stations located
throughout rural Alaska. She discussed the data from the Butte
monitoring station and said it is not a non-attainment area.
1:29:05 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON, in response to a question from Co-Chair
Dibert regarding the air quality in Fairbanks, pointed out that
Fairbanks is a non-attainment area, especially during the winter
months. Mitigations that should help the situation include
woodstove changeouts; putting tall stacks in place at coal fired
plants; and changing over to natural gas. Three monitoring
stations have been tracking the air quality. She pointed out
that downtown Fairbanks has been designated an attainment area,
and drying wood with wood kilns has been helping, but there
haven't been enough kilns to keep up with demand. There are
still air quality issues in the North Pole, Alaska, area.
1:34:12 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Representative
Fields regarding how the division is helping people transition
to gas. She described a federal grant that is administered in
conjunction with the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Using this
Environment Protection Agency (EPA) grant, a person who had an
older non-EPA certified wood stove would be eligible for the
changeout program to get either a cleaner burning wood stove or
gas stove. The federal grant DEC was applying for each year had
sufficient money to meet community needs.
1:36:13 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question by Representative
Rauscher regarding the monitors in Sutton, Alaska, by explaining
they were already deployed. The monitors are not regulatory
monitors but rather simply provide data, so DEC would not take a
closer look unless there were extreme results.
1:38:03 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Co-Chair Burke
regarding whether there are monitors at the North Slope by
explaining that air quality monitors are required for industry
permitting. There are separate monitors for the community and
the oil and gas facilities. There are some pragmatic hurdles in
terms of community monitor deployment because they do need to be
checked and maintained. She pointed out that if a community had
an interest in a monitor, she would like to have that
conversation.
1:40:40 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON continued her presentation with slide 11,
titled "Spill Prevention and Response Organization," which
showed an organizational chart of that division. She described
specific tasks relative to the program and then moved to slide
12, titled "Spill Prevention and Response Highlights," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Response to spills and releases
• Response, technical assistance, and oversight
• Implementation of Oil Discharge Prevention and
Contingency planning regulations
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) response
• In coordination with other divisions
• Open application period for the Firefighting
Substances Disposal Reimbursement Program per SB 67
• Launch of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA) Contaminated Lands Unit
• $7M multi-year cooperative agreement
• Identification and verification of sites
1:45:20 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question by Representative
Fields concerning an oil spill that occurred in the Bering Sea,
explaining that there are locations and situations DEC does not
have regulatory authority over. To address some of these
issues, DEC partners with the U.S. Coast Guard.
1:46:22 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON addressed a question posed by Representative
Coulombe concerning the PFAS program, explaining the program had
just become available, so there has been targeted outreach but
no responses at that time.
1:47:43 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON moved to slide 13, titled "Division of Water
Organization," which showed an organizational chart of that
division. She discussed staff responsibilities of the program
and then moved to slide 14, titled "Division of Water
Highlights," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Community Infrastructure Funding and Project Support
• State Revolving Fund (SRF) $60.9M in new grant
funds in SFY25
• Capital Improvement Program Awarded $80M in SFY25
• Village Safe Water (VSW) $585M in active project
funding
• Regulations Updates
• Intake Credits
• Salinity
• Natural Condition
• Wastewater Discharge
• Water Quality
• 2024 Integrated Report
• Over $1M awarded to local communities to address
nonpoint source pollution over the next two years
through the Alaska Clean Water Act
• Waters of the United States (WOTUS)
COMMISSIONER POKON described permit compliance inspections
conducted throughout the state such as with the cruise ship
industry. Other types of inspections include septic,
wastewater, road run-off, and special projects. She explained
the updated definitions of Waters of the United States (WOTUS).
She discussed the impacts of WOTUS on both homeowners and
commercial property owners.
1:53:05 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Representative
Mears regarding the EPA guidelines by explaining there were
jurisdictional determinations to be made but there was no
overarching guidance at that time.
1:55:13 PM
MS. KOHLER responded to a question from Representative Fields
regarding the $585 million grant by explaining that it was
uncertain how President Trump's executive orders would impact
the funding.
1:57:11 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON defined the term "primacy" in response to a
question from Representative Coulombe. She explained that
federal environmental statutes would typically be administered
by the EPA or the Corp of Engineers unless the state steps
forward with a request to administer the statute. Through an
application process, the state would show that its
administration of the statutes would be at least as stringent as
the federal government's standards. She pointed to several
primacy programs the state implements through DEC such as the s
Safe Drinking Water Act, the solid waste program, and the Clean
Air Act. The state has statutory responsibility for the 404
dredge and fill permitting program, but it has not been funded.
If the legislature does not fund a primacy program,
implementation falls to the federal government.
2:00:10 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON responded to a question from Co-Chair Burke
regarding changes in the definition of "village" based on
population, explaining that the definition had been expanded so
DEC could provide technical assistance. She pointed out that
DEC had partner agencies, and some of the funding comes from
sources other than DEC.
2:02:27 PM
COMMISSIONER POKON, in response to a question from
Representative Saddler concerning the President's announcement
to rescind funding for green new deal programs, explained that
the department was in the process of assessing the possible
effect of those actions.
2:04:29 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Resources Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:04 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HRES FY2026 DEC Department Overview 1.29.25 1.pdf |
HRES 1/29/2025 1:00:00 PM |
Overview: Department of Environmental Conservation |