(Anchorage) - Tuesday, March 25th the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) issued the first Large Commercial Passenger Vessel Wastewater Discharge General Permit that imposes limits on some trace metals so stringent that no ship can meet them, nor can any land-based wastewater facility in Alaska.
"Although we appreciate ADEC's decision to allow the cruise lines two years to come into compliance with the new standards for copper, zinc, lead and ammonia, the permit language causes us great concern," said John Binkley, President, Alaska Cruise Association. "We made a commitment to Alaska to go above and beyond compliance, and then spent more than $200 million to install some of the most advanced wastewater treatment systems in the world."
"Both the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ADEC agree that wastewater we discharge poses no harm to the environment. To quote from today's ADEC press release: 'The department has determined...
