A Fact Sheet and associated
documents are available for review. For inquiries or to request copies of
documents, contact:
DEC Contact:
Melinda Smodey
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Water
Wastewater Discharge Authorization Program
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 269-7564
Fax: (907) 334-2415
Melinda.Smodey@alaska.gov
Draft Permit Public Notice Period
Public Notice Start Date: July 28, 2014
Public Notice Expiration Date: August 28, 2014
Permit Number: AK0053384
Applicant:
Full Cycle LLC
Ward Cove Wastewater Treatment
Plant
7559 N. Tongass Highway
Ketchikan, AK 99901
Permittee Mailing Address: PO Box
772 Ward Cove, AK 99928
Proposed Project and
Location:
The Ward Cove Wastewater Treatment Plant (Ward Cove WWTP) is
an extended aeration/activated sludge domestic wastewater treatment plant. The
facility has a maximum design flow of 25,000 gallons per day. An approximate
average of 4,500 gallons per day of domestic waste is generated onsite and
treated in the WWTP. The facility also contains a sludge processing facility
that processes sludge from the WWTP and domestic sludge from septic tanks in
the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Sludge is dewatered in the processing facility,
and the filtrate is sent back through the WWTP from a holding tank at the rate
of about 10,000 gallons per discharge event.
The domestic wastewater discharges via an internal outfall,
which is monitored prior to discharging into a wooden stave pipeline. The
wooden stave pipeline carries over 2 million gallons per day of freshwater from
Lake Connell and discharges into Ward Cove. The purpose of discharging the
freshwater is to prevent deterioration of the wooden stave discharge pipe. The
discharge is also monitored at the end of pipe, prior to final discharge into
Ward Cove.
Ward Cove is situated near the northwestern boundary of
Tongass Narrows at the border of the City of Ketchikan, Alaska. The outfall does not have a diffuser and is
located at 55 degrees, 24 minutes and 26 seconds north latitude; 131 degrees,
43 minutes and 45 seconds west longitude.
Ward Cove is classified as a Category 4a impaired water body for
residues and dissolved oxygen. A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has been
approved for Ward Cove and specifically mentions the discharge from the Ward
Cove WWTP as not expected to affect levels of dissolved oxygen and is not
considered relevant to the residues TMDL.
The discharge contains pollutants such as biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD5), total suspended solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, total residual
chlorine, fecal coliform bacteria, and copper.
No mixing zone is
authorized, permit limits are required to be met at the internal outfall prior
to discharge into the wooden stave pipeline as well as at the end of pipe prior
to final discharge into Ward Cove.
Tentative Determination:
DEC has tentatively determined to reissue a discharge permit
to the above listed applicant.
Public Comments:
Written comments or requests for a public hearing on the
APDES draft permit must be submitted within 30 days of the issuance of this
public notice. Please direct written comments and requests to the attention of Melinda
Smodey at the address or email identified above. All comments should include
the name, address, and telephone number of the commenter and a concise
statement of comment on the permit condition(s) and the relevant facts upon
which the comment is based. Comments of either support or concern that are
directed at specific, cited permit requirements are appreciated. Mailed comments
and requests must be postmarked on or before the expiration date of the
public notice.
DEC will consider all comments when making the final
decision, and will respond to received comments in a Response to Comments document
issued when DEC issues a final permit. The Response to Comments will be made
available to the public.
Any interested person may submit a written request for a
public hearing if no hearing has already been scheduled. A request for a public
hearing shall state the nature of the issues to be raised, as well as the
requester's name, address and telephone number. DEC will hold a public hearing
whenever DEC finds, on the basis of requests, a significant degree of public
interest in a draft permit. DEC may also hold a public hearing if a hearing
might clarify one or more issues involved in a permit decision or for other
good reason in DEC’s discretion.
DEC will transmit the final permit, fact sheet (amended as
appropriate), and Response to Comments to anyone who provided comments during
the public review period or requested to be notified of DEC final decision.
DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS OR REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING:
August 28th at 5:00 p.m. AST
Administrative Record:
The APDES draft permit, fact sheet, permit application, and
associated documents are available for public review at the DEC offices located
in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Soldotna, and Wasilla. Please contact the
office of your choice to arrange for hard copies of the documents to be
available for your review.
555 Cordova Street 610
University Avenue 410
Willoughby Ave #303
Anchorage, AK
99501 Fairbanks, AK 99709 Juneau, AK 99811
907-269-6285 907-451-2100 907-465-5300
43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road 1700
E Bogard Road #B
Soldotna, AK
99615 Suite
#103
907-262-5210 Wasilla, AK 99654
907-376-1850
If you would like further information or to see any
additional supporting technical documents, contact Melinda Smodey. The
documents are also accessible from the DEC website at:
http://www.dec.state.ak.us/water/wwdp/index.htm
To receive email notifications about the APDES Program,
including when permits are available to review, follow the link below to join
the APDES email list.
http://dec.alaska.gov/water/npdes/npdes_email_list.htm
Disability Reasonable
Accommodation Notice
The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental
Conservation complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990. If you are a person with a disability who may need a special
accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact
Deborah Pock at (907) 269-0291 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial
711 within 30 days of publication of this notice to ensure that any necessary
accommodations can be provided.