Gov. Murkowski signs the NPDES primacy bill

AOGA originally in opposition because of fee, efficiency issues; group taking neutral stand now, as DEC works with stakeholders

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News Staff Writer

On Aug. 27 Gov. Murkowski signed into law the legislation that will begin the transfer of primacy for Alaska wastewater discharge permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Transfer of primacy will enable Alaska to administer wastewater permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES. NPDES consists of a permitting program that regulates the discharge of waste into the waters of the United States, under the terms of the U.S. Clean Waters Act.

After completion of the transfer Alaska will become the 46th state to assume primacy of wastewater permitting.

“Alaskans want clean water and a vibrant, healthy economy,” Gov. Murkowski said. “Primacy is a common sense reform that will result in quicker permitting and better environmental outcomes. We will see more results and less process.”

Wastewater permits administered by Alaska will still need to comply with the terms of the Clean Water Act. But the state says that initiatives such as electronic online processing of permit applications will improve efficiency — there will be reduced duplication of effort, more focus on results and “vastly improved accountability to Alaska’s elected officials and the public.”

“No longer will the EPA make Alaska’s permitting decisions. Now Alaskans will decide what’s important; who gets inspected and when; and how to apply our water quality standards,” Gov. Murkowski said. “This is an exciting and challenging time for Alaska and we look forward to taking on this important responsibility.”

AOGA adopts a neutral position

“We will acquiesce in this action,” Judy Brady, executive director of AOGA, told Petroleum News.

Part of AOGA’s past opposition emanated from a concern about increased industry costs resulting from state fees for wastewater permits, if the state takes over primacy — EPA does not charge permitting fees, Brady said. In addition, AOGA is concerned about what it sees as a track record of inefficiency in state permitting procedures.

However, progress in discussions with the state regarding the quality and efficiency of state wastewater permitting caused AOGA to drop its opposition. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation established a workgroup of various stakeholders from the regulated community, to specify the community’s expectations for the permitting, Marilyn Crockett, AOGA’s deputy director, said.

DEC and the administration have done a very good job of implementing the workgroup recommendations, both in the legislation and in the application to the EPA for primacy transfer, Crockett said.