Over 99 percent of Alaska’s water is of exceptional water quality, a fact known by anyone who has visited or lived in Alaska. These waters support the habitat necessary to sustain Alaska’s world class salmon runs, native fish species, wildlife, commercial, recreational and subsistence fisheries, and recreation and tourism across the state. Clean water is Alaska’s greatest resource. Protecting this precious resource from outside interests that would use them as a sewer is important to all Alaskans.
Alaska has a process in place to allow the pollution of our waters, but not to protect them. In this one-sided relationship, any industry can apply for a permit to dump waste into our rivers and estuaries and the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will process the application and issue a permit. Yet, if a community wants to protect a river based on its exceptional value and importance to the citizens, DEC has refused to act, despite having both the authority and the tools to do so.
The tool to protect exceptional waters is a designation called Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW or Tier 3). DEC adopted the ONRW designation tool in 1997, but then failed to adopt any application or decision-making process. Instead, they have continued to delayed action through a series of bait-and-switch tactics.
DEC has been playing this game since 2009 when they held public meeting to discuss possible processes and hired a contractor to look at how other states designated ONRWs (bait). Public comments were then ignored (switch). Suddenly in 2010, without any public process, DEC issued Interim Methods as a guidance document. Under these methods, there are two processes for designating ONRWs: through the Legislature, or by submitting a nomination to DEC for consideration during the review process, held every three years (bait). Despite this, DEC has refused to review the nominations they have received (switch).
In 2013, they again played their game, forming a workgroup to study the process, and propose a plan (bait), but the recommendations were ignored (switch). In 2016, DEC convinced the Governor to introduce two bills in the Legislature (one in each chamber) to address ONRW designations. The bills would have dumped the responsibility on the Legislature to designate ONRWs (bait). Protecting exceptional waters would become a political football with no guarantee of a final decision, unlike the purely administrative process DEC uses to allow the pollution of our waters (switch). After massive public outcry, the Governor pulled the bills.
Surprising no one, DEC is back to holding a series of public workshops to discuss ONRW designations. This is not technically a formal public comment period, but there are opportunities for public input. There is a telephonic workshop March 23. Anyone can participate. More information (including registration) is available online at the DEC’s Antidegradation website. There is also a place to submit direct comments.
Citizens of Alaska must have the ability to protect the waters that are vital to their communities, culture or economy, just like corporations, often from out of the state or even the country, which have a process to pollute them. As the state’s water quality expert, DEC has the authority and scientific expertise, that along with a transparent public process, can provide this equality.
DEC has delayed adopting an ONRW process for far too long. This failure hurts Alaskans who depend on clean water and healthy fisheries. The ONRW process should provide for public review and include a reasonable timeline for processing a nomination and making a final decision. There is no reason for further delay and study. We should not have to wait another 20 years to be able to exercise our rights.
Guy Archibald is the Mining and Clean Water Coordinator for the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.
