Becoming Environmentally Compliant.

• Author: SWAGEL, WILL
• Position: Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Web site

The Department of Environmental Conservation offers a comprehensive Web site and public service offices to help you ensure your business is compliant with environmental regulations.

Let's say a retiree from the oil field construction business is looking-after 30 years of service-to settle down into the quiet life of an on-site RV campground owner.

All he's doing at the Prudhoe Bay South RV Campaground is letting vehicles park for a few days. So there's no need for him to worry about having to obtain any kind of environmental permits, right?

Wrong.

Will the retiree be putting in showers? Will he be serving people drinking water? Is he going to have a little food stand? What is he going to do with his refuse? Will Prudhoe Bay South impact more than 5 acres of land?

"Yes" answers to any of these questions-or a slew of other questions covering a wide variety of activities-signal the need for research into a business' responsibilities and liabilities, in order to avoid costly fines or remediation expenses.

The good news for business is that the State of Alaska maintains comprehensive and user-friendly ways of finding out what your business' responsibilities are. The state, rather than the federal government, is the lead agent for practically all small and medium-sized businesses. State law must be at least as tough as federal law, although it can be tougher.

At the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation interactive Web site, a series of questions will easily start you on the road to analyzing your situation.

DEC also operates a Compliance Assistance Office toll-free number: 1-800-510-2332. The first step is to call.

Statewide Public Service Offices

In addition to its other DEC offices, the department also has statewide public service offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Wasilla and Soldotna.

"The purpose (of the public service offices) is to provide people with one person who can take them through the general (environmental) issues," says Mary Siroky, who works out of DEC's office in Juneau. "If you're going to do any (business activity), you really should be contacting the agency because there are so many aspects of the business that may require authorization."

The Interactive Questionnaire

To do a little looking around by yourself, enter through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Web site at www.state.ak.us/dec.

The introductory information warns that filling in the questionnaire is not meant to substitute for...