Alaska DEC plans to cut one in five discretionary rules by year's end

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation plans to cut its discretionary rules by 20 percent, from about 13,000 to roughly 10,400, by the end of 2026, according to its regulatory reform plan.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Administrative Order 360 requires state agencies to cut discretionary requirements 15 percent by the end of this year and 25 percent by the end of 2027.

The plan would repeal energy efficiency and weatherization rules for real estate sales in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, a change DEC estimates would save about $1,000 per transaction. It would also drop a school recycling awards program dormant since at least 2001, along with construction grant rules and litter receptacle requirements. Site cleanup rules would lose about 1,350 requirements, and underground storage tank rules about 900. Approval time for spot-charter vessel financial responsibility changes would shrink from 30 days to 10 working days. DEC says it will not adopt blanket automatic permit approvals.

DEC first proposed repealing the state's laser protection standards on Aug. 5, seeking public comment. On Oct. 10, the agency filed a follow-up notice setting a Nov. 8 deadline. DEC says it has no laser program. The standards require eye-safety shields for workers who could be exposed to hazardous laser-beam reflections, and protective gloves or coverings against skin exposure. The record does not show whether the repeal has taken effect or whether replacement standards have been adopted.