The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation will release its draft of proposed changes to state spill response regulations on November 1^st. Tiffany Larson, Director of the Spill Prevention and Response (SPAR) division of ADEC provided the update to the CIRCAC Board of Directors at its meeting on September 10^th.

A scoping project was undertaken in 2019 and finished last year.  One round of public comments has already been analyzed by the department (you can read CIRCAC’s comments here) and many emphasized a position similar to CIRCAC’s: that any changes to current regulations should only strengthen those regulations. ADEC staff maintain that potential changes will improve transparency, add clarity, simplify language and improve application and review procedures among others.

CIRCAC staff look forward to reviewing the department’s proposed changes and providing comments on behalf the public we represent. The public comment period is expected to be open for 90 days beginning November 1^st, when the fill draft proposal is made public.