A joint House and Senate committee on Thursday quizzed Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Response Director Kristin Ryan on a new set of regulations that they say could be overly burdensome to companies and people throughout the state.
The department is proposing lowering the allowable amount of certain chemicals that can remain after a spill. The new regulations would cover more than 130 chemicals.
The agency received more than a dozen public comments from individuals and businesses affected by the regulations. Some suggested the proposed changes would drastically increase cleanup costs and be overly burdensome.
The legislative committee can’t force the department to make changes to the new policy. But Ryan says they are continuing to review public comment, and would consider opening it up for further feedback.
