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Kodiak Island Borough officials push state review of PCB landfill limits amid rising disposal costs
Summary
Kodiak Island Borough officials told the assembly on April 3 they will seek a state regulatory review after staff said Alaska's 1 ppm PCB landfill limit is driving high disposal costs and differs from the 50 ppm standard used in most other states.
Borough staff and advisory board members told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly on April 3 that the current state limit for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at landfills — cited as 1 part per million (ppm) by borough staff — is creating significant disposal cost pressure and may require shipping contaminated materials out of state.
Borough manager Amy Williams said staff have asked the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for clarification of the tables it uses and that the borough is preparing a request for regulatory review to evaluate the economic impacts of the state's approach. "We've also found out that 48 out of 50 states in the United States use a 50 part per million level," Williams said during the meeting. She said the borough plans to take the question to the governor's Office of Management and Budget and seek a regulatory review of the ADC requirement.
The issue arose during a Solid Waste Advisory Board report and during the manager's report. The manager also described a regional solid-waste management plan proposal due April 8 and said staff are reviewing the landfill fee schedule and per-ton rates. The landfill is coordinating community cleanup events in May and staff continue to work on leachate treatment and an investigation into an underground storage tank (UST) leak at the Carluk site, with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and 3 Tier Alaska involved in next steps.
Assembly members expressed concern about costs for coastal communities and remote regions that would face high transportation expenses to ship PCB-impacted material out of state. "We're doing it on behalf of the borough, but we're going to be asking on behalf of Alaska because ... I think it's going to cost us $350,000," one assembly member said during the discussion, describing an example of cleanup costs out of state.
The Solid Waste Advisory Board reported support for establishing a recycling program and discussed a threshold contract that the advisory board supports moving to the assembly for consideration. Board members said they view recycling as a priority but did not endorse specific contract terms.
Staff said an RFP from the State of Alaska for bridge replacement projects included large berm designs being proposed to reroute rivers near Sergeant Creek and Russian River — items the manager said she will pursue with the state to understand the local impacts. Separately, staff reported an upcoming 30-day review period for the draft hydrology and hydraulics study of the Russian River and Sergeant Creek.
Next steps identified by staff include filing the regulatory review request regarding PCB thresholds, finalizing the regional solid waste plan proposal due April 8, updating landfill fee schedules as needed, and continuing coordination with state agencies on leachate treatment and the Carluk UST delineation.
