You can also submit a complaint online via Air Online Services. Let us know the date, time, ship name, your location, whether the sun is behind you, and any pertinent atmospheric information (i.e. hazy, windy, overcast, raining, etc.) The information that you provide may assist us in compliance and enforcement actions. Photographs taken from a camera or mobile device during the time of the complaint can also be useful. If you would like us to follow up with you, please provide your contact information.
Does DEC monitor air emissions from cruise ships?
The Program regularly monitors visible emissions (opacity) from cruise ships and ferries. DEC staff and a contractor conducts opacity readings on cruise ships and ferries in Alaskan ports. In addition, DEC staff respond to public complaints.
What method is used to monitor cruise ship air emissions?
EPA Reference Method 9 (Method 9) is used to monitor cruise ships and ferries. Visible emissions readers (opacity readers) are trained and certified using a standardized Method. The Method is used to determine the opacity of a plume. In essence, the Method determines the amount of light blocked by visible emissions. The opacity reader must stand at a distance that provides a clear view of the emissions with the sun oriented in the 140° sector to his/her back. It is critical that the sun is behind the reader in order to reduce light scattering that makes the plume appear darker.
Does visible emissions monitoring occur anywhere else in Alaska?
DEC and the USDA Forest Service have partnered to share information on air emissions for marine vessels operating in Holkham Bay, Tracy Arm and/or Endicott Arm; known as the Tracy Arms-Fords Terror and Chuck River wilderness areas. Forest Service Rangers are trained and certified in Method 9 and perform opacity readings in the wilderness areas.
What limits apply to cruise ship air emissions?
All marine vessels including cruise ships and ferries must comply with Alaska’s marine vessel visible emission standard under 18 AAC 50.070. Within three miles of the Alaska coastline, visible emissions, excluding condensed water vapor, may not reduce visibility through the exhaust effluent of a marine vessel by more than 20 percent except as follows:
While at berth or at anchor, visibility may be reduced by up to 100 percent for periods aggregating no more than
three minutes in any one hour; and
an additional three minutes during initial startup of a vessel; for purposes of this subparagraph, "initial startup" includes the period during which a vessel is testing equipment in preparation to casting off or weighing anchor;
during the hour immediately after weighing anchor or casting off, visibility may be reduced under one, but not both, of the following options:
visibility may be reduced by up to 40 percent for that entire hour; or
visibility may be reduced by up to 100 percent for periods aggregating no more than nine minutes during that hour;
during the hour immediately before the completion of all maneuvers to anchor or make fast to the shore, visibility may be reduced under one, but not both, of the following options:
visibility may be reduced by up to 40 percent for that entire hour; or
visibility may be reduced by up to 100 percent for periods aggregating no more than nine minutes during that hour; and
at any time not covered by (1) - (3) of this section, visibility may be reduced by up to 100 percent for periods aggregating no more than three minutes in any one hour.
Air Quality Monitoring
The Department of Environmental Conservation conducted ambient air monitoring in downtown Juneau for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates (PM 2.5) during 2000 and 2001. The pollutant levels were found to be below federal and state health based standards. For more information, see the Alaska Cruise Ship Initiative 2000 Season: Part 2 Final Report (PDF). The Air Monitoring Program conducted a study from April 19, 2019 to October 7, 2019 in the downtown Juneau area to assess air quality impacts from the cruise ship industry. The study was initiated to address increasing public complaints regarding cruise ship emissions over the previous two years and is called "Cruise Ship Impacts - Southeast Alaska Air Quality Monitoring Project". Based on the study findings, the Air Monitoring Program installed three new monitoring sites in the Juneau downtown area using low-cost sensor technology, specifically AQmesh sensor pods. ADEC selected AQMesh sensor pods because the pods have a large suite of available sensors. The pods used in the State of Alaska network are configured to measure particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM4 and PM10), NO, NO2, CO, and SO2. The pods also measure humidity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Measurements are taken in 15-minute intervals for all parameters and then transmitted via cellular network. Currently two sites are operational and are reporting real time data to the ADEC website. The third site will be reinstalled in the spring 2022. Further information can be found at the Division of Air Monitoring Data website. DEC also assisted with an 2008 Emissions Inventory for Skagway (PDF) that was completed in 2010.
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