RDC: S1240004

With the expectation that that one is going to more directly measure the pollutant of concern, but also they'll be a little bit more robust for, you know, heavy equipment and big trucks that get, you know, knocked around out in the field or doing the work that they do. I would say it is an ongoing conversation. I think I was gratified when we had the administrator in Fairbanks in the winter and he met with a number of the garages there that he heard directly about some of those cold weather specific issues that hadn't yet been raised by folks in other areas where the deaf issue had been a topic of conversation.

His reaction to hearing about those was, "Oh, this is news," and put them in a room with the experts in Michigan to, again, try to sort out what technically is actually happening with this equipment that's causing these issues and how can we solve it. So hopefully more to come on that front, but again, And I'm seeing very concrete actions from our leadership in D.C. to be willing to pick up a question when it's raised and examine if there's something that needs to be adjusted, and then taking concrete steps to make those adjustments in response. There's going to be sideboards on what we can accomplish under our existing statutory authority, but lots of good stuff happening. That's just fantastic, thanks. Yeah, and appreciate your attention to that issue and appreciate our friends at the Trucking Association who have led a lot of that charge.

And, you know, in a place like Alaska where efficiency is tough to come by, it's tough to get regulations that make it that much harder to do your job. And of course, you know, can risk lives in some, in some cases. So appreciate your attention to the issue. Yeah, it's another one where there had been enforcement that had happened and so really brought it to a head. So hearing from the congressional offices early on was good to sort of flag the issue and make sure that we knew that that was out there.

And appreciate all the time from folks that have helped educate me on that topic. Bartley, thank you. Black Gold Truckers, getting in the room with them and hearing from them about their experience. It's much gratitude to the folks that have taken the time for that. All right, I think I'm closing the question period out with one more, making sure I can hit some more of my industries.

The cruise industry, for instance.

Which is a massive part of our economy here in Alaska. But under the Vessel Discharge, Incidental Discharge Act, EPA set national discharge standards and the Coast Guard is now putting enforcement rules in place. So how do you see the EPA and the Coast Guard and the state all working together so cruise lines face one clear, predictable set of rules in Alaska waters? Yeah, that's been a conversation certainly for the state for a little bit, knowing that there are residents out there that have concern and wanting to make sure that there are appropriate oversight mechanisms in place. This is another place where, you know, I think about, you know, the state's got a great team that has been taking up the question about ensuring good practices with the cruise industry and the cruise industry taking time to educate us as well.

I was really pleased to see in one of our tours that actually the cruise lines have tertiary treatment systems on their vessels, which is actually, I think, beyond even what many of our communities have, certainly. So some good pollution control systems on those vessels. I appreciate that having sort of multiple regulators can generate some confusion and a need for deliberate and thoughtful coordination. You know, we see that on the 404 front with EPA and the Corps of Engineers.

Engineers needing to coordinate as well. So I think, you know, there will need to be some level of coordination. I am not certain exactly where the Coast Guard is with their piece of this, but it will be another one of those dynamics where when things start coming into practice, into implementation, that we're going to want to make sure that those feedback loops are open, that where the cruise lines are seeing something that isn't quite working or where the state is something that isn't quite working. Because we've got both EPA and the Coast Guard involved in this system ensuring that that feedback includes both agencies will be important. But yeah, I appreciate that water quality is important to Alaskans and appreciate that there's been a lot of work done by the industry and by the state to ensure that that interest is met.

Well, just as I suspected it would be, this has been an awesome conversation. Conversation today. Thank you so much. Please help me thank Emma Pocan for her involvement in this this morning, but also everything you do in society in general. Thank you so much for a chance to be here.

It is always a wonderful feeling to be able to come home for a little bit, and I will be seeing a number of you at RDC next week. Yes, keep inviting Emma to things so she can come home, okay? Everyone got that? Well, thanks again, Connor, Jen, Lauren, Scott, and team for partnering with us today. This is is, like Scott said, a great tradition to be able to do this every year as part of our convention.

For those of you that are here that are RDC members and just visiting, please feel free to stick around. We've got great exhibitors here, we've got talks starting upstairs. We'd love to have you as our guests all day long. And again, thank you. Bye-bye.