HJR 11 Summary

• Urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a woodstove certification program that addresses fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution threatening Fairbanks North Star Borough air quality.

• Urges the state Department of Environmental Conservation to develop and defend an economically and legally defensible state implementation plan for the Fairbanks North Star Borough nonattainment area that acknowledges unique Alaskan challenges.

• Notes that the Fairbanks North Star Borough was designated a PM2.5 nonattainment area in November 2009 and reclassified from moderate to serious in May 2017, with winter concentrations routinely exceeding federal health standards.

• Criticizes the EPA's national wood heater certification program as deeply flawed, as EPA-certified appliances installed in Fairbanks failed to decrease PM2.5 emissions compared to previously installed solid fuel burning appliances.

• Directs copies of the resolution to President Biden, Vice President Harris, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, and Alaska's congressional delegation.