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Senate deletes effort to take over NPDES
Anne Sutton Associated Press Writer
The Senate version of the state operating budget eliminates funding that would allow Alaska to take over federal control of wastewater discharge permitting in the state.
The money is intended to pay for state employees to administer the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System program, which is currently run by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The funding was included in Gov. Sarah Palin’s budget as well as the House version but a Senate Finance subcommittee headed by Sen. Kim Elton, D-Juneau, voted 2-1 earlier in April to eliminate the entire $1.5 million from the program.
“It just makes sense, given the fact that some people are talking about deficit spending next year, that these programs that are run by the federal government and mandated by the federal government ought to be paid for by the federal government,” Elton said.
Alaska is one of five states where the EPA, rather than the state, still administers the program. State efforts have been under way for several years to take the lead in granting the federal permits. Required under the federal Clean Water Act, the permits cover everything from mine tailings disposal, log transfers in timber operations, construction run-off, municipal wastewater discharges and seafood processing.
The other states where the EPA administers the program are Massachusetts, Idaho, New Hampshire and New Mexico. The federal agency also does the work for the District of Columbia.
Subcommittee member Gary Wilken, R-Fairbanks, voted against what he called a U-turn in the state’s efforts to gain control.
“To revert back to federal control is not acceptable and it flies in the face of Alaskans to say that the feds can do it better,” said Wilken who predicted a backlash from industry groups.
2005 work group recommended state control A work group of permittees, including oil and gas, mining, logging and seafood interests, issued a report recommending state control in 2005 and, later that year, the Legislature passed a bill to begin implementing the program at the request of then Gov. Frank Murkowski.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is still working to make sure it has the proper statutory authority to take over the program.
But already it has staff doing on-the-job training with federal permitters. The department estimates 43 people are needed to run the program of which 13 are new positions.
Lynn Kent, director of the state Division of Water, said that once the EPA signs off on the program and a three-year phase-in begins, some of the cost — up to $300,000 a year — will be born by industry in the form of permitting fees.
Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, said the benefits of state control are many, the most important being “local people who understand local situations writing your permit and implementing it.”
“You don’t have somebody who doesn’t have a clue about the real circumstances on the ground,” Borell said.
Kate Troll, executive director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance, a statewide coalition of conservation groups, said the EPA does a good job but local control is generally in the state’s best interest as long as the program is adequately staffed.
“There’s no point in taking all of the responsibilities if you can’t deliver on the ground monitoring and compliance,” Troll said.
If approved by the Senate, the operating budget would go to a House and Senate conference committee later in the session for differences between the two versions to be worked out.
It remains to be seen how the new Senate bipartisan majority (comprised of nine Democrats and six Republicans) will work through the issue over which lawmakers were split along party lines two years ago.
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