Alaska might soon regulate its own hazardous waste if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency authorizes the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation鈥檚 new hazardous waste program. Alaska is one of only two U.S. states without an authorized program, the other being Iowa. That means the EPA regulates the generation, storage and disposal of the state鈥檚 hazardous waste.
Lori Aldrich, the manager of the state鈥檚 new hazardous waste program, said the team consists of six DEC employees, including her, who have been training to take on the responsibility for the past three years. If the program gets federal approval, she said the team will take the lead on permitting, inspections and clean-ups instead of the EPA.
鈥淗onestly, for Alaska, it doesn鈥檛 mean that much change, except that you鈥檙e going to have somebody at ADEC here to call,鈥� Aldrich said. The state Legislature adopted new hazardous waste regulations in 2023 that went into effect this summer. For the most part, the state鈥檚 rules now mirror the federal rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.