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

DEC Contact:
Jackie Ebert
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
410 Willoughby Ave., Ste. 303
Juneau, AK 99801

Phone: (907) 465-5336
Fax: (907) 465-5177
E-mail: Jackie.Ebert@alaska.gov

Draft Permit Public Notice Period:
Public Notice Start Date: May 16, 2018
Public Notice Expiration Date: July 2, 2018

Permit No.: AKG523000

Permit Name: Offshore Seafood Processors Wastewater Discharge General Permit

Proposed Permit Coverage:

Permit Coverage: DEC proposes to re-issue APDES general permit (permit) AKG523000 to Offshore Seafood Processing operator(s) or owner(s) of vessels that discharge seafood process waste and wastewater to waters of the U.S. The permit authorizes discharges to all waters of the U.S. (marine, estuarine, and fresh) under the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska except for those listed in the permit as Excluded Areas.

Description of Discharges: The pollutants of concern associated with seafood processing and ground fish waste discharges include: residues, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and non-petroleum oil and grease (polar). These pollutants come from the waste solids (shell, bones, skin, scales, flesh, and organs), blood, body fluids, slime, stickwater, and oils and fats from cooking and rendering operations. Ammonia or chlorine may also be present intermittently. Other regulated parameters include color, turbidity, pH, and temperature.

The permit also authorizes the discharge of cooling water, boiler water, vessel’s sanitary effluent and graywater discharges, freshwater pressure relief water, refrigeration condensate, refrigerated seawater, cooking water, scrubber water, catch transfer water, drinking water backwash, and live tank water from seafood processing vessels. Pollutants in these discharge streams may include TSS, BOD, fecal coliform bacteria, non-petroleum oil and grease (polar), pH, and temperature.

Mixing Zone: For each port/discharge pipe where a mixing zone is requested and can be approved, a standard mixing zone sized as a circle with a 100-foot radius centered at the discharge terminus extending vertically up to the surface and down to the seafloor will be authorized for those permittees meeting the conditions of the permit.

Zone of Deposit (ZOD): For a Stationary vessel’s discharge of seafood processing waste to waters less than -120 feet in depth, DEC is proposing location-specific ZODs to allow deposits of seafood residues. The ZOD will encompass a maximum total aggregate area(s) of continuous coverage of seafood waste deposits (residues) authorized per discharge location of one acre (43,560 sq. ft.). ZODs will be authorized in marine and estuarine waters per 18 AAC 70.210 (June 26, 2003), which allows the water quality criteria of 18 AAC 70.020(b) and the antidegradation requirements of 18 AAC 70.015 to be exceeded. After the submittal of a complete Notice of Intent, ZODs will be issued to permitees meeting the conditions of the permit.

Tentative Determination:
DEC has tentatively determined to re-issue a discharge permit for the activity described above.

Public Comments:
Written comments or requests for a public hearing on the APDES draft general permit must be submitted within 45 days of the issuance of this public notice. Please direct written comments to the attention of Jackie E. Ebert 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 which are directed at specific, cited permit requirements are appreciated. Mailed comments 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’s final decision.

DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS OR REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING   
July 2, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. [AKST]

Administrative Record:
The APDES draft permit, fact sheet, 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 to see any additional supporting technical documents, contact Jackie E Ebert.

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

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.