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Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is the state agency that regulates environmental quality across Alaska. It issues permits for air emissions, water discharges, and wetland fill, and oversees oil spill prevention, cleanup, and food safety inspections statewide.

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Week of May 4

Smoke from Boundary Fire Settles Over Tanana, Residents Report Health Impacts

Heavy smoke from the Boundary Fire settled over Tanana on May 4, forcing residents indoors and disrupting fishing and woodcutting as elders reported breathing difficulties.

Alaska Newsby Alaska News6mo ago2 min read
Tanana

Week of Apr 20

Alaska mines release toxic metals into rivers, state data shows

Alaska's mines released over 450,000 pounds of mercury in 2018, the most in the nation, contaminating rivers that villages depend on for drinking water and subsistence fishing.

Alaska Newsby Alaska News6mo ago3 min read

Week of Apr 13

Alaska Senate Shelves Homemade Food Safety Bill After Complex Debate

Alaska Senate shelved a bill banning homemade foods in vacuum-sealed jars after lawmakers found the botulism-safety rules too complex to define clearly.

Alaska Newsby Alaska Newsadded 7mo ago3 min read

About Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Photo by Denali National Park and Preserve, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0

dec.alaska.gov ↗Alaska

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, known as DEC, is the State of Alaska agency that regulates environmental quality across the state. It issues permits for air emissions, wastewater discharges and the filling of wetlands. It also oversees oil spill prevention and response, contaminated site cleanup and food safety inspections.

Much of its work runs through permits that open for public comment before they are issued or renewed. Recurring questions concern discharge permits for municipal sewage plants, seafood processors and cruise ships, air permits for North Slope oil fields and industrial sites, spill plans for fuel terminals and platforms, and PFAS contamination in drinking water. How long facilities operate under expired or violated permits, and how the department enforces them, also returns often.

DEC works alongside other state agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Fish and Game. Its decisions reach communities from Kodiak and Ketchikan to Fairbanks and the Mat-Su, wherever a plant discharges to water or a project fills wetlands.