Sec. 46.03.462. - Terms and conditions of discharge permits.

(a) An owner or operator may not discharge any treated sewage, graywater, or other wastewater from a commercial passenger vessel into the marine waters of the state unless the owner or operator

(1) obtains a permit under AS 46.03.100 , which shall comply with the terms and conditions of vessel discharge requirements specified in (b) of this section; or

(2) has a plan approved by the department under (c) of this section.

(b) The minimum standard terms and conditions for all discharge permits authorized under this section require that the owner or operator

(1) may not discharge untreated sewage, treated sewage, graywater, or other wastewaters in a manner that violates any applicable effluent limits or standards under state or federal law, including Alaska Water Quality Standards governing pollution at the point of discharge, except as provided in (e) of this section;

(2) shall maintain records and provide the reports required under AS 46.03.465(a);

(3) shall collect and test samples as required under AS 46.03.465 (b) and (d) and provide the reports with respect to those samples required by AS 46.03.475 (c);

(4) shall report discharges in accordance with AS 46.03.475 (a);

(5) shall allow the department access to the vessel at the time samples are taken under AS 46.03.465 for purposes of taking the samples or for purposes of verifying the integrity of the sampling process; and

(6) shall submit records, notices, and reports to the department in accordance with AS 46.03.475 (b), (d), and (e).

(c) The owner or operator of a small commercial passenger vessel may submit a plan for alternative terms and conditions of vessel discharges if the keel of the vessel was laid before January 1, 2004. The alternative terms and conditions may include alternatives to the requirements under AS 46.03.465 (a) - (d). Except as provided in (d) of this section, the department shall approve the plan for a three-year period if the department finds that the alternative terms and conditions in the plan incorporate the best management practices for protecting the environment to the maximum extent feasible. The department shall adopt regulations to implement this subsection but may not require an owner or operator to retrofit a vessel solely for the purpose of waste treatment if the retrofitting requires additional stability testing or relicensing by the United States Coast Guard. In this subsection, "best management practices" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of the marine waters of the state.

(d) A plan submitted under (c) of this section after December 31, 2012, may not be approved by the department for a period extending beyond December 31, 2015.

(e) When issuing, reissuing, renewing, or modifying a permit required under (a)(1) of this section, the department may include effluent limits or standards less stringent than those required under (b)(1) of this section for not more than three years duration if the department finds that a permittee is using economically feasible methods of pollution prevention, control, and treatment the department considers to be the most technologically effective in controlling all wastes and other substances in the discharge but is unable to achieve compliance with Alaska Water Quality Standards at the point of discharge.

(f) In developing an effluent limit or standard under (e) of this section, the department shall

(1) require use of economically feasible methods of pollution prevention, control, and treatment the department finds to be the most technologically effective; and

(2) apply all other applicable provisions of state law and this section.

(g) When reissuing, renewing, or modifying a permit required under this section that was issued after July 10, 2009, the department may not include effluent limits or standards less stringent than the comparable effluent limitations in a previous permit issued under this section.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the department to

(1) restrict the areas in which discharges permitted under this section may occur; or

(2) impose additional terms and conditions on the manner in which discharges permitted under this section may be made in a specific area.