Following the close of a 30-day public notice and review period, DEC has prepared a proposed final APDES individual permit AK0053708 - Niblack Project, LLC – BlackWolf Copper and Gold LTD (Permit). Prior to making the final decision to issue the permit, DEC invites you to view the proposed final permit and associated documents. You can access the proposed final permit and associated documents at the DEC website (http://dec.alaska.gov/water/wastewater/) under the Notice of Review section.

Alaska DEC Contact:          
David S. Khan
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Division of Water - Wastewater Discharge Authorization Program
410 Willoughby Avenue
Juneau, AK 99811
(907) 465-6855
David.Khan@alaska.gov

Proposed Final Permit Review:
Start Date:     April 19, 2022
End Date:       April 26, 2022, 11:59 pm Alaska Standard Time

Permit No.: AK0053708

Applicant:  
Niblack Project, BlackWolf Copper and Gold LTD
1800-555 Burrand Street, P.O. Box 220
Vancouver, BC Canada V7X1M9

Proposed Permit Coverage:
The proposed permit is a reissuance of the initial wastewater discharge permit AK0053708 for the Niblack Project Wastewater Treatment Facility . The reissued permit will include a change from a land application discharge to an outfall with an authorized mixing zone into Niblack Anchorage after treatment via settling ponds for adit groundwater, and runoff from rockpiles.  During the term of the proposed permit, the following discharges will be authorized:

• Outfall 001A – Treated effluent from settling ponds

The permit to discharge includes the authorization of an acute mixing zone for ammonia and a chronic mixing zone for copper. All other pollutants meet water quality criteria within the mixing zones. The acute and chronic mixing zones for Outfall 001A are rectangular in shape on multiple port diffuser (latitude 55.065916°N, 132.14214°W) and extend from the seafloor to the unfrozen sea surface as described below.

• The acute mixing zone has a length of from east to west of 53 meters and a width east to west of 57 meters.
• The chronic mixing zone has a length from east to west of 165 meters and a width north to south of 110 meters.

Determination:
DEC proposes to issue the above listed permit.

Public Comments:
Comments from the general public were accepted during the Public Notice period from February 11, 2022 through March 14, 2022 and will not be accepted during this review period.

Deadline for Written Applicant Review Comments:
The deadline for proposed final permit review comments by the applicant is April 26, 2022, 11:59 pm Alaska Standard Time.

Administrative Record:
The APDES Proposed Final Permit, Fact Sheet and associated documents are available for public review at the DEC offices located in Anchorage, and Juneau. 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 the permit writer at the address shown on page 1.

The documents are also accessible from the DEC website (http://dec.alaska.gov/water/wastewater/) under the Notice of Review section.

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://list.state.ak.us/mailman/listinfo/DEC-APDES/

Disability Reasonable Accommodation Notice

The State of Alaska, DEC 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 Claire Fishwick at (907) 465-5871 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 within five-days, 10-days of publication of this notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.