How much fish do Alaskans eat? Enough to require new water pollution rules, EPA says

Water washes complete food successful a subsistence nett connected Kanakanak Beach successful Bristol Bay. (Brian Venua/KDLG)

Alaskans eat a batch of fish. So many, successful fact, that nan national authorities announced Thursday that nan authorities needs to update its h2o value standards. 

The Environmental Protection Agency is giving nan authorities Department of Environmental Conservation six to 12 months to come up pinch caller aliases revised standards for much than 100 pollutants successful authorities waters. That’s based connected information showing that Alaskans eat 30 to 60 times much food than nan state’s h2o value rules presently assume.

“Alaska needs to revise its limits connected toxic pollutants successful nan state’s waters to guarantee that food eating and usage of its h2o bodies for different uses support patient group and communities,” said Caleb Shaffer, nan acting head of nan EPA’s h2o section for nan Pacific Northwest, reference from a prepared statement. “New standards will trim nan magnitude of contamination that industries and wastewater curen plants will beryllium allowed to discharge from their pipes into section waters.”

The state’s h2o value rules, past updated successful 2003, presume Alaskans eat astir 7 ounces of food per month. That’s based connected a nationalist mean calculated successful 1992. 

But nan EPA cites studies from a assortment of sources, including nan Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak, nan Seldovia Village Tribe and nan state of Alaska itself, that opportunity Alaskans eat astatine batch more: 7 to 14 ounces per day. 

Maggie Rabb leads nan Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, which, alongside nan Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, petitioned nan EPA to unit nan authorities to update its standards successful 2015.

“If you’re eating a batch much seafood, your seafood needs to person little contamination successful it,” she said successful a telephone interview. “You request to beryllium much thoughtful astir what you’re allowing into nan h2o present successful Alaska, because we’re eating a batch much of nan seafood that’s coming retired of that water.”

Rabb said nan authorities has agelong known that its h2o value standards underestimate really overmuch food Alaskans eat, and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson Kelly Rawalt said nan EPA’s findings were not a surprise.

“There’s thing successful nan EPA’s merchandise coming that we didn’t know,” she said by phone. “We’ve been moving connected updating that criteria for respective years now to bespeak existent subject and subject policies pertaining to nan protection of quality wellness and authorities h2o value standards, truthful we’re perfectly moving pinch nan EPA connected this topic.”

Rawalt said nan authorities is “committed” to gathering nan EPA’s six- to 12-month timeline. She said nan authorities sought feedback connected caller rules successful 2023 and plans to taxable a caller scheme to nan EPA soon. The caller standards would past spell retired for nationalist remark earlier they’re implemented.

“We’ve sewage tons of very tin taxable matter experts successful our section that person been moving for galore years connected this taxable and attraction a batch astir it,” Rawalt said. “We’re hoping to travel up pinch a scheme that balances each those that are impacted and is nan champion solution for Alaskans.”

But if nan authorities fails to reside nan issue, nan EPA said it’s prepared to measurement successful and rumor its ain rules.