(JUNEAU) - The Alaska State Senate unanimously approved House Bill 59 by a vote of 18 to zero on Monday. HB 59 sets basic standards and requirements for the cleaning and repair of former drug lab sites, and is sponsored by Representative Jim Holm (R-Fairbanks) and Senator Gretchen Guess (D-Anchorage). Last year, a similar bill by former-Representative Guess passed the House but stalled in the Senate. Over the past four years, more than 90 methamphetamine labs have been discovered in Alaskan apartments, hotels, cabins, mobile homes, and boats.

"This bill protects unsuspecting residents and their children from chemicals that an illegal lab can leave behind," Holm said. "Right now anyone is susceptible to the poisons left behind by an illegal lab because the state has no requirements for lab cleanup."

"If we didn't set requirements for the cleanup of illegal labs found by law enforcement, Alaskan families would be senselessly exposed to dangerous chemicals," Guess said. "I'm pleased we've taken the right step."

HB 59 requires the property owner to clean up hazardous materials when law enforcement agencies discover an illegal drug lab. Before the property can be used again, the owner must provide test results that show contamination levels below Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) limits. The DEC or a law enforcement agency will provide the property owner with the guidelines for cleaning the site and a list of laboratories that can test the site. Holm and Guess worked together in their respective legislative bodies to ensure passage of the new regulations.

"Senator Guess and I agree that the law needs to establish a set of requirements for cleaning up these illegal labs," Holm said.

"Only once these requirements are law can property owners rest assured they have taken the proper measures before they or another family live in a place that was once an illegal lab," Guess said.

HB 59 will return to the House for concurrence.

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