Key Performance Indicators

Department of Environmental Conservation

Mission

Protect human health and the environment. AS 46.03.010, AS 44.46.020

Key Performance Indicators

FY2026 Management Plan as of 01/20/2026 (in thousands)
Department of Environmental Conservation Totals	Funding					Positions
	UGF Funds	DGF Funds	Other Funds	Federal Funds	Total Funds	Full Time	Part Time	Non Perm
	$26,473.4	$24,888.6	$25,511.7	$43,981.5	$120,855.2	559	0	10

1:	Protecting Human Health Programs include: Food Safety and Sanitation, Laboratory Services, Drinking Water, Solid Waste and Pesticide Management, Air Quality and Facility Construction. Contributions are also made by Administrative Services.	Funding					Positions
		UGF Funds	DGF Funds	Other Funds	Federal Funds	Total Funds	Full Time	Part Time	Non Perm
		$16,122.9	$8,023.9	$12,139.4	$26,175.4	$62,461.5	288	0	5

Target: All acceptable sample requests are completed on-time within project parameters.
Target: 85% of regulated systems comply with drinking water supply system operator certification requirements.
Target: All rural Alaska communities are served by safe and sustainable sanitation facilities.
Target: No days when air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

2:	Protecting the Environment Programs include: Contaminated Sites, Industry Preparedness and Pipeline Operations, Prevention and Emergency Response, Response Fund Administration, Air Quality, and Water Quality. Contributions are also made by Administrative Services.	Funding					Positions
		UGF Funds	DGF Funds	Other Funds	Federal Funds	Total Funds	Full Time	Part Time	Non Perm
		$10,350.6	$16,864.7	$13,372.3	$17,806.1	$58,393.6	271	0	6

Target: All water facility, wastewater discharge, and air quality permit-holders are current and in compliance with permit requirements.
Target: 50% of high risk and 20% of non-high risk contingency plan holders are inspected or evaluated for oil discharge prevention annually.

Performance Detail

Priority 1: Protecting Human Health

Target #1: All acceptable sample requests are completed on-time within project parameters.

Methodology: The on-time performance for work order reporting is pulled from the LIMS by month and collated for a yearly percent.

Analysis of results and challenges: The Environmental Health Laboratory (EHL) uses a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to manage and track all sample submissions, ensuring accurate processing, traceability, and timely delivery of analytical results. The system supports efficient coordination across multiple testing programs and provides technical data essential to assessing risks to public health, welfare, and the environment.

Turnaround time for laboratory analyses varies by project scope, customer need, and balancing workload. The EHL works closely with customers to set realistic timelines and prioritize urgent public health needs, maintaining flexibility in response to varying analytical demands.

In FY2025, the laboratory achieved an average on-time completion rate of 97.1 percent, with monthly performance ranging from 91.9 percent to 100 percent. Despite a growing workload, including management of more than 7,000 samples, nearly 29,000 tests, and 1,500 analytical reports, the EHL maintained strong turnaround performance. Success was supported by proactive customer communication, workload planning, and the effective use of LIMS to monitor progress and allocate resources efficiently.

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Target #2: 85% of regulated systems comply with drinking water supply system operator certification requirements.

Methodology: The number of water supply systems that employ an operator certified at the correct level is divided by the total number of water supply systems that are subject to this requirement.

Analysis of results and challenges: The division`s operator certification program ensures that drinking water systems are managed by qualified personnel, safeguarding public health. Operators are trained and tested based on the size and complexity of the systems they oversee.

While the program also covers wastewater systems, this measure focuses on drinking water, which has the most direct impact on public health. Small private systems, such as individual wells, are not included.

Through outreach, training, and exam availability, the percentage of systems with properly certified operators has remained above 80 percent for most of the past 15 years. The program has set a target of 85 percent compliance to ensure systems are safely operated and maintained. In FY2025, compliance improved slightly, reaching the highest rate since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges remain due to operator turnover, new systems coming online, and continuing education requirements. Ongoing initiatives and funding support from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) are helping systems meet certification standards.

The program anticipates further increases in compliance as outreach and technical assistance continue, supporting safe and effective management of Alaska`s drinking water systems.

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Target #3: All rural Alaska communities are served by safe and sustainable sanitation facilities.

Methodology: DEC staff tracks the number of served and unserved communities as well as those funded for construction. A community is considered served when 55 percent or more year-round occupied homes have running water via pipes, a closed haul system, or individual septic tanks and wells .

Safe and Sustainable Sanitation Facilities in Rural Alaska

Fiscal Year	Served Communities	Unserved Communities	In Process	YTD Total
FY 2025	164	14	16	0
FY 2024	163	17	15	0
FY 2023	162	21	12	195
FY 2022	162	26	7	195
FY 2021	161	27	7	195
FY 2020	161	28	6	195
FY 2019	161	29	5	195
FY 2018	161	28	5	194
FY 2017	159	30	5	194
FY 2016	159	32	3	194

Analysis of results and challenges: The Village Safe Water (VSW) program continues its work to achieve the goal of providing in-home running water and sewer service to year-round occupied homes in rural Alaska communities. This service has historically been provided by centralized piped, closed haul systems, or individual septic tanks/wells.

Since 2016, five previously unserved communities have received water and sewer service. Currently, 16 additional communities have funded projects in various stages of design and construction. Three communities are under construction with completion expected in 2025—2026, while the remaining 13 are in early planning stages with estimated completion between 2027 and 2033. Progress has been challenging due to rising construction costs, complex site conditions, and the need to maintain and upgrade existing systems.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides a major boost to these efforts, allocating $3.5 billion nationally to the Indian Health Service over five years to address sanitation deficiencies. Of that total, $2.1 billion is designated for rural Alaska.

The Village Safe Water Program is responsible for delivering projects to about one-third of the affected communities. In partnership with the EPA, Denali Commission, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and VSW this funding has already supported ten projects delivering first-time service and is also funding upgrades to replace aging flush tank haul systems in five communities. However, updated cost estimates show that available funding will be strained due to inflation and rising material and transportation costs. The division will continue working with federal partners to prioritize projects and make the most of available resources, including an additional $67 million in Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants.

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Target #4: No days when air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Methodology: Data is calculated using sampling information from samplers in the Municipality of Anchorage, City and Borough of Juneau, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

Analysis of results and challenges: Data for CY 2025 will be available in the early months of 2026.

The division has monitored air quality in the state"s most populated communities for over 25 years to ensure compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.) Pollutants in the air are measured against the NAAQS to find whether an area is in compliance with those standards. The primary pollutant of concern in recent years is particulate matter in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is subject to regulation within the FNSB Nonattainment Area and is primarily the result of wood burning stoves. The chart above shows the number of days the air quality was deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, the elderly, and people with lung or heart diseases. In CY2024, the Fairbanks North Star Borough experienced 24 days of unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups, with 17 days due to man-made sources and seven from wildfires.

The State is collaborating with local boroughs and the EPA to address pollution and develop practical strategies to reduce fine particulate matter, while working to ensure affordable and reliable energy. More information can be found on the department"s website at http://www.dec.alaska.gov/air/.
Related links:

Air Quality

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Priority 2: Protecting the Environment

Target #1: All water facility, wastewater discharge, and air quality permit-holders are current and in compliance with permit requirements.

Methodology: Data includes operator certifications, water discharge permits, and air quality permits.

Analysis of results and challenges: The Department of Environmental Conservation issues a variety of permits to help ensure operators are doing their part to help protect the environment and citizens from pollution. Each program ensures permit-holders are current and in compliance with the requirements of those permits through monitoring, inspections, and reviews of permit renewal applications.

For the water supply system operator certification program, which ensures operators have the qualifications necessary to meet the responsibility of safeguarding public health, a compliance rate of 82.6% was achieved in FY2025.

The water discharge program issues permits for domestic wastewater, seafood processing, fish hatcheries, mines, oil and gas facilities, and log-transfer facilities. The compliance rate in FY2025 was 93%.

The air quality permit program requires major and some minor stationary sources" compliance be tracked. Under federal compliance reporting, status reverts to "unknown" if compliance is not evaluated in the past two years for major sources or five years for minor sources. These sources are assumed to be in compliance for the purposes of this measure as the majority of the sources are minor sources. In FY2025, 96.9% were compliant.

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Target #2: 50% of high risk and 20% of non-high risk contingency plan holders are inspected or evaluated for oil discharge prevention annually.

Methodology: Each fiscal year the division evaluates Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plans (ODPCPs) during exercises and drills and the division conducts facility inspections to meet this target. This graph shows the percentages of ODPCPs that had exercises or inspections for two categories of Plans, High Risk (exploration, production, and transport of crude oil) and Non-high Risk (all other ODPCPs) during FY2019-FY2025.

Analysis of results and challenges: Regulated facilities and vessel operators in Alaska are required to have an approved Oil Discharge Prevention and Contingency Plan (ODPCP) from the Division of Spill Prevention and Response in place before they are allowed to operate. These ODPCP`s outline the various steps and procedures in place to prevent oil discharges and the actions that would be taken in the event of a discharge for prompt and effective containment and cleanup of the spill. The division regularly inspects and participates in response exercises with these plan holders` facilities to ensure the procedures in place are sufficient to prevent or respond to an oil spill. Preventing oil spills is the best means of protecting the environment and public health. In the event of a discharge, prompt and effective detection and response significantly reduces the adverse impacts on the environment and public health.

Exercises to test these plans involve careful preparation and include up to 20 division staff along with several to hundreds of participants from other organizations. While planning and conducting exercises takes several months, these efforts are essential for building real-world preparedness and ensuring Alaskans are protected.

The division acknowledges all facilities or vessels required to have an ODPCP represent a level of inherent risk to the environment and public health in Alaska. For this performance measure, ODPCPs are categorized as high risk and non-high risk. Facilities and vessels designated as high risk in the State include those that are engaged in exploration, production, and transport of crude oil. All other ODPCPs are categorized as non-high risk.

During FY2025, there were 132 ODPCPs operational in Alaska. Of these, 40 plans were classified as high risk and 92 were classified as non-high risk. For high risk ODPCPs, 43 percent of the total plans were inspected or had an exercise within the reporting period. For ODPCPs classified as non-high risk, 32 percent of the total plans were inspected or had an exercise during the reporting period.

The division conducted 46 inspections and 16 exercises for a total of 62 prevention measures with ODPCP holders during the reporting period; of these 46 individual ODPCPs are represented in this reporting metric. Nine ODPCPs had more than one inspection and/or exercise at their facilities during the reporting period. Five ODPCPs had a combination of inspections and at least one exercise.

Target Last Modified: 11/15/2025

Last refreshed: 01/20/2026 05:00 pm