A Fact Sheet and associated documents are available for review. For inquiries or to request copies of documents, contact:

DEC Contact:
Angela Hunt
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-269-7599
Angela.Hunt@alaska.gov 

Draft Permit Public Notice Period
Public Notice Start Date: August 25, 2017
Public Notice Expiration Date: October 11, 2017

Permit Number: AKG0053333

Applicant:

Proposed Project and Location:

Facility Activity: The Chena Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant that generates up to 27.5 megawatts of electricity, steam heat, and hot water for use by customers in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.

Discharge Location: The Chena Power Plant discharges non-contact cooling water to the Chena River through a single outfall located at 64.8480 north latitude and -147.7352 west longitude. The Chena River is listed on the 303(d) list of impaired water for excessive sediments in the water.

Description of Discharge: The plant withdraws approximately 20 million gallons of water per day from the Chena River for use as non-contact cooling water that cools the condensers and other equipment within the facility. The main pollutants of concern present in the discharge are temperature and pH.

Thermal Variance: DEC proposes to grant a thermal variance from Alaska’s temperature water quality standard as part of the permitting action.

Tentative Determination:
DEC has tentatively determined to reissue a discharge permit to the above listed applicant.

Public Meeting/Hearing:
The Department is holding a public meeting/hearing to review the permit and the proposed Clean Water Act Section 316(a) Thermal Variance proposed to be authorized by the permit at the date and time listed below. If the Department holds a public hearing, the Director will appoint a designee to preside at the hearing. The public may also submit written testimony in lieu of or in addition to providing oral testimony at the hearing.

Public Meeting:    5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Public Hearing:    6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Date: September 28, 2017

Location:             
Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center, Rampart Room
813 Noble Street
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701

Public Comments:
Written comments on the APDES draft permit must be submitted within 45 days of the issuance of this public notice. Please direct written comments and requests to the attention of Angela Hunt 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.

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:
October 11, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. ADT

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 and Fairbanks. Please contact the office of your choice to arrange for hard copies of the documents to be available for your review.

If you would like further information or to see any additional supporting technical documents, contact Angela Hunt.

The documents are also accessible from the DEC website at:
http://www.alaska.gov/dec/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.