Sponsor Statement for SB 299

Well Test Flares & Nonroad Engines

Senate Bill 299 clarifies Alaska’s air quality control program as it relates to the treatment of stationary and mobile sources of emissions in air quality control permitting. This legislation does not create an exemption from the Clean Air Act. It simply codifies in state statute the federally recognized distinction between mobile and stationary emission sources.

I sponsored this bill because as a member of the subcommittee that wrote the state’s implementation of the Clean Air Act in 1993, I was aware that some issues would have to be resolved later. One of the major issues not addressed in the state’s current air quality program was the treatment of stationary vs. mobile sources of emissions in air quality control permitting. I have monitored the Department of Environmental Conservation’s public meetings on this subject over the last four years. Although the DEC has made this issue difficult, it can be resolved simply - by adopting the federal standard.

As early as 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency formally recognized a distinction between mobile and stationery sources of emissions. Most stationary sources are determined to be significant sources of emissions; ALL mobile sources have been determined by federal statutes and regs as insignificant and therefore outside of Title V permitting (under the Clean Air Act).

The ADEC regulators do not distinguish between mobile and stationary sources of emissions when determining whether an air quality control permit is required. Although state regulations clearly require ADEC to take into consideration the mobility of emission sources when determining whether to regulate those emissions, ADEC, in practice continues to treat mobile and stationary sources alike.

The federal program recognizes that the same emission control technologies used for oil and gas refineries and power plants (stationary sources) are not suitable for mobile applications like lawn mowers, snow machines, bulldozers, transportation engines, and marine vessels. The cost, as well as the size and weight of emission control technologies such as exhaust scrubbers, and emission collection systems limit their use with mobile sources of emissions. All mobile equipment must be manufactured to meet the EPA established emissions standards. So, appropriate emission control technologies are built into the mobile equipment as opposed to requiring modification of the equipment at the time of initiating operations.

The problem with the situation as it is now is that it results in confusion in the application of state law when stationary and mobile sources of emissions are regulated under the same permitting program. For example, the holder of the operating permit for the production facility does not own or operate the mobile sources of emissions that have been included on the permit.