In July 2003, Governor Frank Murkowski signed into law House Bill (HB) 59, "An Act relating to the evaluation and cleanup of sites where certain controlled substances may have been manufactured or stored.” The impetus for the bill was the increase in clandestine methamphetamine drug manufacturing laboratories in Alaska. The bill was designed to provide a mechanism for property owners impacted by the manufacture of illegal drugs to have their property declared ‘fit for use’ after being cleaned. The requirements established through HB 59, subsequently amended in 2006 through HB 149, were promulgated into Alaska Statutes (AS 46.03.500 through AS 46.03.599).
As required by HB 59, the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) has adopted regulations for the evaluation and
cleanup of illegal drug manufacturing sites. Download
a copy of the regulations here (PDF 36K).
These regulations include provisions which:
- Establish health
standards;
- Identify methods for analysis of environmental samples collected
from affected sites;
- Specify protocols for handling the samples before analysis
to ensure that they are not compromised; and,
- Describe site cleanup
guidelines to be used by affected property owners or
their contractors;
The new law additionally requires the Department
to:
-
Establish and maintain a
list
of analytical labs in the state that are to be used to
evaluate samples taken by the property owner or their contractors
- Maintain a list of the properties that
the Alaska Department of Public Safety has determined
to be illegal drug manufacturing sites.