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Notice of Proposed Issuance of an Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) Individual Permit to Discharge to Waters of the United States, Westward Seafoods Inc., AK0049786

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

DEC Contact:  Anne Weaver, 555 Cordova St., Anchorage, AK 99501; (907) 269-7483;   anne.weaver@alaska.gov

Draft Permit Public Notice Period: 
Public Notice Start Date: 12/10/2021
Public Notice Expiration Date: 1/12/2022

Permit Number:  AK0049786

Applicant:
Westward Seafoods, Inc.
Captains Bay Facility
1 Mile Captains Bay Road
Dutch Harbor, AK 99692

Proposed Project and Location:
Facility Activity: Westward Seafoods, Inc. owns, operates, and maintains the facility, which conducts seafood processing and seafood meal reduction. The facility is located in the City of Unalaska, Alaska on Captains Bay.

Discharge Location: 

 Outfall  Location  Description
 001A   53° 51′ 39″ N, 
166° 33′ 34″ W 		  W Seafood processing and meal plant wastewaters
 002A   53° 51′ 52″ N, 
166° 33′ 16″ W		 Powerhouse, refrigeration, and meal plant non-contact water


Description of Discharge:
Processing wastes (i.e., heads, offal, unusable tissue parts) are flumed to dewatering conveyors where they are transported to the meal plant for reduction to fish meal, a marketable secondary product. Water used in bailing, butchering, processing, and fluming is collected before final discharge and passed through a 0.5-millimeter (mm) screen to recover residual tissue pieces. Screened wastewater is discharged without further treatment through Outfall 001A. The outfall terminates 1,200 feet from the facility in a multi-port diffuser north of the rocky reef Bailey’s Ledge, at a depth of -61 ft mean lower low water (MLLW) above substrate at -83 ft MLLW but in close proximity to depths extending to -200 ft MLLW. Stickwater (fish tissue liquids removed in the dehydration process) from the fish meal plant is also discharged from this outfall.

Screened solids and unusable seafood parts are sent to the meal reduction plant. Fish meal processing produces a stream of noncontact saltwater used in evaporation machinery and to scrub dryer vapors from the meal dryers. This wastewater is discharged from Outfall 002A, along with cooling water from electricity generation and refrigeration compressors. Outfall 002A terminates at -3 ft MLLW, under the facility dock.

Mixing Zone: There is a 200-foot x 253-foot mixing zone around the Outfall 001A diffuser for temperature, color, turbidity, residues, dissolved oxygen, sediment, and total ammonia. There is also an authorized 2.0-acre zone of deposit for residues on the seafloor. There is a 100-foot radius mixing zone for temperature around Outfall 002A.

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. Any person desiring to comment on the permit may submit comments electronically via the DEC public notice site (preferred) at https://water.alaskadec.commentinput.com/?id=fM7x2. 

Alternatively, you may direct written comments and requests to the attention of the DEC contact/permit writer at the email address or postal address identified above.

All comments should include the name, address, telephone number, and email address 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’s final decision.

DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS OR REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING:
1/12/2022 at 11:59 p.m. AKST

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 Street610 University AvenuePO Box 1800
Anchorage, AK 99501Fairbanks, AK 99709Juneau, AK 99811-1800
907-269-6285 907-451-2100Location: 410 Willoughby Street
Juneau, AK
907-465-5300


43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road1700 E Bogard Road #B, Suite #103
Soldotna, AK 99615Wasilla, AK 99654
907-262-5210 907-376-1850


If you would like further information or to see any additional supporting technical documents, contact Anne Weaver. 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, subscribe to the APDES email list at http://list.state.ak.us/mailman/listinfo/DEC-APDES/. 

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 reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact Brian Blessington at 907-269-7660 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided in a timely manner.
 

Attachments, History, Details

Attachments

None

Revision History

Created 12/9/2021 3:01:12 PM by vkshirah

Details

Department: Environmental Conservation
Category: Public Notices
Sub-Category:
Location(s): Statewide
Project/Regulation #: AK0049786
 
Publish Date: 12/10/2021
Archive Date: 1/13/2022
 
Events/Deadlines:
  • Comments Due
    1/12/2022 11:59pm