Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill that aimed to minimize the use of harmful refrigerant chemicals that exacerbate climate change and also reduce the risk of spills of a different chemical that can pollute drinking water.
The legislation would have banned most firefighting departments from using a type of firefighting foam that has contaminated drinking water in dozens of places across Alaska and many more in the Lower 48.
The bill, originally introduced by Anchorage Rep. Stanley Wright would have allowed newly constructed buildings in Alaska to move away from using environmentally harmful chemicals known as hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are commonly used in air conditioning and refrigeration. The chemicals are known to contribute to greenhouse gas emissions significantly more than modern alternatives.
Numerous states have banned the use of HFCs in new construction. Wright’s bill wouldn’t have gone that far — it would have only allowed for Alaska building codes to accommodate HFC alternatives.
Wright’s original bill was amended in the final days of the legislative session to include a separate provision championed by Juneau Sen. Jesse Kiehl to ban firefighting foams that contain polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, which can be highly toxic if they enter drinking water.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals,” meaning they don’t break down quickly. They are closely associated with cancer, maternal health problems and other serious health risks. Studies have indicated PFAS are present in waterways in Anchorage, Fairbanks and other areas of the state.
“In place after place after place in Alaska, we have a problem,” Kiehl told lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing earlier this year, adding that it was “absolutely essential” to end the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams in most cases and offer an option to recall and dispose of such substances that were provided to rural villages.
That recall effort of airport firefighting foam carts could cost as much as $2.5 million, according to a legislative analysis. That’s below the cost of a potential clean-up if a single PFAS spill or contamination were to occur, according to Kiehl.
PFAS use is still required by the Federal Aviation Administration in airports where jets land, including Wrangell, but there is an existing plan in place to transition away from their use.
The bill, including both provisions championed by Wright and Kiehl, received broad support from the Legislature, with unanimous support in the Senate and support from 38 of the 40 House members. Kiehl’s measure had the support of firefighters and from Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs, who told lawmakers that Fairbanks has already spent over $5 million to provide clean drinking water in parts of the city where water was polluted by PFAS from a firefighting training center.
In a letter signed Aug. 27, Dunleavy said he vetoed the bill because it “does not provide alternatives” to the use of PFAS for firefighting. If the current PFAS-containing chemicals are “removed from a community, residents will have no capabilities to fight a large-scale fire,” Dunleavy wrote.
“When balancing the environment and life and safety of Alaskans, this bill falls short by removing a lifesaving tool from the toolbox,” Dunleavy wrote.
Kiehl said in an interview on Aug. 29 that non-toxic firefighting alternatives to PFAS already exist outside of Alaska. However, purchasing them and distributing them to rural villages across the state would require a state appropriation — and Dunleavy has not indicated he is open to that possibility.
Kiehl said Dunleavy declined his request to meet with him before the veto was finalized, after Kiehl had met with Dunleavy’s legislative director.
The vast majority of so-called code red carts — PFAS-containing firefighting tools distributed by the state to 130 rural villages — no longer work, according to information provided by state officials. Additionally, the take-back mechanism for the carts in the bill is voluntary, meaning villages could keep them if they wanted to.
“Literally none of the governor’s concern about reduced public safety in rural Alaska is valid,” Kiehl said.
This is not the first time Dunleavy has vetoed a bill with broad support from lawmakers and stakeholders. The governor last month vetoed a bill intended to deregulate electric bike use that was similar to legislation that has already passed in 39 other states. Like Wright’s bill, that bill had near-unanimous support from the Legislature.
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