Alaska takes over hazardous waste rules, with enforcement in question

Alaska has taken over hazardous waste regulation from the federal government — becoming, by the EPA's count, the 49th state to run its own program and the first to win initial authorization in more than 25 years.

Businesses that generate, haul, store or dispose of hazardous waste in Alaska will now deal mostly with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which takes on permitting, inspections and enforcement. The EPA keeps federal oversight and its own enforcement authority, and continues to issue permits in Indian country and Denali National Park, where DEC's authority stops.

The state and industry welcomed the handoff, four years in the making. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said running the program "here at home" means more responsive service; the Alaska Miners Association applauded "regulation by Alaskans that understand the environment here at home."

The open question is enforcement. DEC is picking up hazardous-waste oversight across a state where much of the land is off the road system, and questions surfaced during the review about whether the department can inspect and enforce in remote communities — many of them Tribal communities that sit near the routes hazardous waste travels. The state's announcement quoted supporters and no critics.

Alaska's own hazardous waste rules took effect in June 2025.