BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation proposes to change regulations regarding financial responsibility for oil discharges.  The focus is to update the self-insurance and guaranty requirements for regulated oil facilities.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 18, Chapter7 5 Article 2 of the Alaska Administrative Code dealing with Financial Responsibility for Oil Discharges including the following:

1. amend 18 AAC 75.245 to clarify the self-insurance requirements and specify when renewal applications are due.

2. repeal 18 AAC 75.245(d) to eliminate the option to submit a quarterly affidavit using liquid assets and cash flow.

3. amend 18 AAC 75.260 to clarify the guaranty requirements.

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Dennis Hartwick, Department of Environmental Conservation, 610 University Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99709-3643, or by electronic mail at dec.cpr@alaska.gov. Comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System, by accessing this notice on the system and using the "comment" link. The comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. on October 29, 2015.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to DEC by sending in questions by electronic mail at dec.cpr@alaska.gov or by sending the questions to Dennis Hartwick, Department of Environmental Conservation, 610 University Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99709-3643. The written questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period; October 29, 2015. The Department of Environmental Conservation will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and response available at http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/ppr/regulation-project.htm.The Department of Environmental Conservation may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after the 10-day cut-off date and before the end of the comment period.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Natalie Wolfe at (907) 269-0291 or TDD Relay Service1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 no later than October 16, 2015 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes isavailable on the Alaska Online Public Notice System https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/default.aspx,by contacting Dennis Hartwick at the address or email above, or by calling 907-451-2171.

After the public comment period ends, the Departmentof Environmental Conservation will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulations may be different from that of the proposed regulations. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.Written comments received are public records and are subject to public inspection.

Statutory Authority:   AS 46.03.020; AS 46.04.055; and AS46.04.070, 

Statutes Being Implemented, Interpreted, or Made Specific: AS 46.04.020, AS46.04.040, AS 46.04.045, AS 46.04.055, and AS 46.04.070.

Fiscal Information: Theproposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.

DATE:September 23, 2015                                          

/s/

Larry Hartig, Commissioner