SPAR Frequently Asked Questions

Table of Contents

• Division of Spill Prevention and Response
• Contaminated Sites Program
• Prevention Preparedness and Response Program
• Response Fund Administration

Division of Spill Prevention and Response

What does the Division of Spill Prevention and Response do?

The Division of Spill Prevention and Response (SPAR) is responsible for protecting Alaska’s land, waters, and air from oil and hazardous substance spills by preventing, responding to and ensuring the cleanup of unauthorized discharges of oil and hazardous substances. The Division pursues this mission through three main objectives:

1. Prevention,
2. Preparedness and
3. Response.

The core elements of each objective are implemented through the Division's three Programs:

1. Contaminated Sites Program;
2. Prevention Preparedness and Response Program;
3. Response Fund Administration.

What does that acronym mean?

There are many abbreviations, specialized terms and acronyms the Division uses in documents regarding the prevention and cleanup of hazardous materials. Please refer to our Glossary/Acronyms webpage to see definitions for commonly used terms and acronyms.

What are the approvals, permits or authorizations required by the Division?

Please see the Prevention Preparedness and Response Manuals and Guidance Documents for a comprehensive listing of authorizations required by the Division.

What is required by law to prevent or cleanup releases of oil/petroleum or hazardous materials?

Please see our Statutes and Regulations webpages for a complete listing of the laws governing the Division.

Please see the Prevention Preparedness and Response Manuals and Guidance Documents for a comprehensive listing of authorizations required by the Division.

What guidance is available to help interpret the laws?

Please see the Guidance webpage for detailed information on spill prevention, spill preparedness and spill response.

Who can I contact for more information about the Division?

Contact information can be found on the SPAR Contacts webpage

Fact Sheets and Publications

• Contaminated Sites Program Fact Sheets
• Prevention Preparedness and Response Manuals and Guidance Documents
• Response Fund Administration fact sheet

Contaminated Sites Program

Visit the Contaminated Sites Frequently Asked Questions page.

Who can I contact for more information about the Contaminated Sites Program?

Visit the Contaminated Sites Contact page

Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program

Who can I contact for more information about the Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR) Program?

Contact the Unit Manager in your respective region or area of interest. PPR Contacts webpage

Links to FAQ pages:

• Aboveground Storage Tanks
• Financial Responsibility
• Contingency Plans
• Geographic Response Strategies
• Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

Response Fund Administration

What is Cost Recovery Program?

Under the authority given to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the department has developed and implemented a “Cost Recovery Program”. This program will be responsible to seek reimbursement for cost incurred in the cleanup or containment of oil or hazardous substance releases from those responsible for the spill or contamination.

What is the Alaska Statute governing the Cost Recovery Program?

Alaska Statute Section 46.08.070 authorizes the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation to promptly seek reimbursement for the costs incurred by the State in the cleanup or containment of oil or a hazardous substance that has been released in the environment.

Who is responsible for the cleanup of contaminated environments?

The Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible to ensure that cleanup of a release of oil or a hazardous substance is done in a way that protects human health and the environment or that appropriate steps are taken to contain a threatened release. Generally, the owner and/or operator of a vessel or facility from which a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance occurs or the owner of property contaminated by oil or any hazardous substance are responsible for cost incurred by the state for oversight, assessment, cleanup, containment and other related response activities.

What are the costs charged to the responsible party (RP)?

Both direct and indirect costs incurred by the state for response to a release or threatened release of oil or a hazardous substance, as well as costs incurred for cleanup or remediation of a contaminated site are charged to the responsible party.

Direct Costs may include the following:

DEC's staff salaries and benefits such as health care, and employer payroll taxes. These costs are billed using an annually calculated standard hourly rate, by job classification. Direct personnel costs attributable to a site may include but are not limited to, time spent by DEC staff to:

• Consult with the owner/or environmental consultants
• Visit the site (travel & per diem)
• Review data and reports describing the type and extent of contamination
• Review proposed cleanup actions
• Provide comments and/or direction on the preferred cleanup method or remedy
• Provide information about the site and opportunities for the general public to comment on the cleanup

Other direct cost includes but are not limited to :

• Travel and per diem
• Supplies
• Equipment
• Legal Services

Indirect Costs are those costs associated with operating the department and providing administrative and clerical support to department programs. Typical indirect costs may include:

• Office space, office equipment and supplies
• Supplies and equipment used in site investigations and other field activities
• Non-site specific activities of project staff, such as training and program administration
• Clerical and administrative support
• Management supervision
• Development of technical guidance and policies
• Centralized services, such as accounting, budgeting, human resources, and information systems.

How are the indirect rates established?

The DEC's indirect rate is negotiated with the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is also used to charge costs against Federal grants and cooperative agreements. Current year indirect rate is 33.05%.

How is the Cost Recovery Program hourly rate established?

The standard hourly rate for regular time is established by averaging the actual quarterly cost of positions by job class, then adding the indirect rate to the average hourly rate.

Specific steps for calculating the standard hourly rate are as follows: 1) the actual costs for salaries and benefits for one quarter of a fiscal year for each job class utilized by DEC are totaled, then divided by the number of positions in that job class, for a quarterly average; 2) the quarterly average is multiplied by 4 for a yearly average; 3) the yearly average is divided by 1763 *regular time hours in a year to get the average hourly rate; 4) indirect is added to the average hourly rate to get the standard hourly rate charged.

*Regular time hours in a year are calculated as follows: 365 (days in a year ) minus 104 ( weekends ) minus 11 ( holidays ) minus 15 ( average number of annual and sick days ) equal 235 work days x 7.5 ( daily work hours ) equal 1762.5 hours, rounded up to 1763.

What other State Departments are involved in enforcing the cost recovery?

The DEC's enforcement of the cost recovery is through the State's Department of Law.

Who can I contact for more information about the Response Fund Administration?

Michelle Lango, Administrative Operations Manager

• Response Fund Administration
• Division of Spill Prevention and Response
• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• 555 Cordova Street
• Anchorage, AK 99501
• Telephone: 907-269-7560
• Fax Number: 907-269-7648
• Email: michelle.lango@alaska.gov