News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

Bill Clarifies Alaska Air Quality Program

For Immediate Release: April 3, 1998 Contact: Senator Loren Leman, at (907) 465-2095.

Juneau -- The Senate Friday passed legislation that amends Alaska's air quality statutes to clarify that nonroad engines are mobile sources and are not to be regulated as though they are stationary facilities. Senate Bill 299 passed by a vote of 13 to 2.

SB 299 adds the federal EPA and state-adopted regulatory definition of nonroad engines to Alaska statute. It creates no exemptions. Although state regulations clearly require the Department of Environmental Conservation to consider the mobility of emission sources when regulating emissions, the department treats mobile and stationary sources alike.

Senator Loren Leman (R-Anchorage), sponsor of SB 299 said "This practice of treating mobile and stationary sources alike results in additional, unnecessary regulations that end up costing the state administrative time and money. Nonroad engines are already regulated at the factory. They shouldn't have to be regulated twice," Leman said.

Nonroad engines would include such machines as a lawn mower, a snow blower, or a bulldozer, explained Leman. "Even the Environmental Protection Agency recognizes that the technologies used for stationary sources - like a power plant - cannot be applied to a lawnmower. You can't put a tall stack or a scrubber unit on a lawnmower."

"I served on the Resources subcommittee that wrote the Alaska air quality statutes in 1993. We agreed to give DEC and industry time to work out the mobile source/nonroad engine issue. It's been nearly five years. We need to adopt a clear standard that everyone understands. The EPA standard has worked in 30 other states," Leman said.

In no other state is there a question about Congress' and the EPA's intent with nonroad engines and mobile sources - they are regulated at the factory.

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