A Fact Sheet and associated documents are available for review. For inquiries or to request copies of documents, contact:
DEC Contact:
Allan Nakanishi
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-269-4028
Allan.Nakanishi@alaska.gov
Draft Permit Public Notice Period
Public Notice Start Date: March 7, 2017
Public Notice Expiration Date: April 6, 2017
Permit Number:
AK0050571
Applicant:
Coeur Alaska, Inc.
Kensington Gold Project
45 miles north of Juneau, Alaska
3031 Clinton Drive, Suite 202, Juneau, AK 99801
Proposed Project and Location:
Facility Activity: Kensington is an underground gold mine that has been in production since 2010. The facility processes an average of 1,250 tons of ore per day. Kensington produced over 125,000 ounces of gold in 2015. The facility consists of an underground mine, a surface gold mill, a tailings treatment facility, a man camp, road access and power distribution, and a water management system for water treatment and discharge.
Discharge Location and Description: The draft APDES permit proposes to authorize the discharge of wastewater from two outfalls. Outfall 001 consists of water that drains from the underground mine and is discharged to Sherman Creek after treatment. Outfall 002 consists of water from the tailings treatment facility that is treated and discharged to East Fork Slate Creek.
Mixing Zone: No mixing zone is proposed for authorization.
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 Allan Nakanishi 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: April 6, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time
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 and Juneau. 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
If you would like further information or to see any additional supporting technical documents, contact Allan Nakanishi.
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 Natalie Wolfe 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.