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JUNEAU — An
administration amendment to a bill that would lessen restrictions on
cruise ship wastewater discharge recently drew a hot two-hour debate
in a House committee.
Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Larry Hartig
explained the amendments his office came up with in response to an
original bill offered by Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, a former House
Speaker.
Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, was among those protesting any
relaxation of the discharge standards voters implemented through an
initiative in 2006. “We’re doing our best to make sure cruise
ships comply with a high standard of clean water, plain and simple,”
he said.
But the bill’s sponsor said some relief is necessary if Alaskans
want the ships to stay in ports where tourists funnel cash into
local economies. The issue swirls around increasingly
stringent discharge standards that ships are expected to meet in
2010. However, the industry maintains that the technology is not
commercially available yet to do so.
The technology to filter the discharge water to the higher standards
exists, Harris said, but not in a form that can be applied in large
scale to ships. He said he believes ships should have to meet the
2010 standards, but not until the technology is available.
Others, including Kawasaki, said the technology exists and
attributed the industry’s stall to what could be high costs.
The original bill deleted five words — “at the point of discharge” —
from the statute governing discharge from cruise ships. Discharge
would be measured not where it left the ship, but in a mixing zone
where water would dilute effluents.
The DEC amendment keeps “at the point of discharge” in the law, but
gives DEC authority to issue a permit when a ship can’t meet the
standards. The amendment also creates a DEC science advisory panel,
which would operate for five years to help the state and cruise
lines meet the higher discharge standards.
A floor vote could prove contentious as lawmakers take sides not
along party lines as much as on whether they should protect Alaska
clean water, or one of the state’s economic engines. Some
Republicans from coastal communities are opposed to the bill.
Voters approved an initiative in 2006 mandating the cleaner
discharge standards. The same initiative implemented a $50 per
passenger head tax on cruise lines and created the Ocean Ranger
program, requiring cruise lines to place monitors aboard ships to
ensure compliance with discharge rules.
USA Today reported this week that Carnival Corp., which has 15 ships
in Alaska through Holland America, Princess and Carnival Cruise
Lines, will be reducing capacity, in part due to the 2006 initiative
and $50 head tax. |
