Any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct an activity that might result in a discharge into navigable waters, in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 (PL95-217), also must apply for and obtain certification from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation that the discharge will comply with the CWA, the Alaska Water Quality Standards, and other applicable State laws.

Notice is hereby given that a request for a CWA §401 Water Quality Certification of a Department of the Army Permit application, Corps of Engineers’ PN Reference Number indicated above has been received for the discharge of dredged and/or fill materials into waters of the United States (WOUS), including wetlands, as described below, and shown on the project figures/drawings. The public notice and related project figures/drawings are accessible from the DEC website at https://dec.alaska.gov/water/wastewater/.

To comment on the project or request for a public hearing with respect to water quality, submit comments electronically via the DEC public notice site at https://water.alaskadec.commentinput.com?id=FsVNP7fb5 on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.

Applicant: Hughes Traditional Council, Wilmur Beetus, PO Box 45029 Hughes, AK 99745; (907) 889-2206;
w-bee-tus@hotmail.com.

Agent: EBSC Engineering LLC, Edward Hakala, 11301 Olive Lane Anchorage, AK 99502; (907) 222-1085; eddie.hakala@ebsc.us.

Project Name: Sunny Lane Road Construction - Hughes

Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 33, T. 8N, R. 22E; Kateel River Meridian; in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude):  66.05370, -154.23080. With potential discharge location(s) as follows: Road construction -154.2308, 66.0537.

Purpose: The proposed project would provide all-season access to the community cemetery, future housing sites above the 100-year floodplain, subsistence-use areas, and wood gathering area. Current access to the cemetery is from the steep riverbank and not accessible to elderly or infirm.

Project Description: The project consists of the construction of a 2.4-mile (13,300 linear feet), two-lane,18-foot-wide road (known as Sunny Lane) that would branch off the existing Landfill Access Road, follow the east shoulder of a hill along an existing winter trail, cross an unnamed creek, and end near the Hughes Cemetery primarily following the alignment of an existing winter trail. The applicant proposes to discharge up to 45,000 cubic yards of borrow and coarse aggregate (40,000 and 5,000 respectively) fill material into a total of 11.1 acres of waters of the United States, including wetlands, in order to construct the road. The road embankment would be constructed with 2H:1V side slopes, creating a toe-to-toe width of an average of 30-feet for a total surface area of the toe-to-toe

area is approximately 481,754 square feet. Select borrow material would be sourced from the existing material source known as "Hillside Rock" and surface coarse aggregate would be extracted from the Koyukuk River under FH22-III-0210. The unnamed creek would be crossed by a 40-foot-wide pre-engineered bridge. Wetland hydrology would be maintained by the installation of eighteen, 18-inch culverts along the road alignment. The road would be constructed between June and December 2023.

Additional Information: Fish Habitat Permit FH22-II-0210 was Issued September 30, 2022.

Applicant Proposed Mitigation: The applicant proposes the following mitigation measures to avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to waters of the United States from activities involving discharges of dredged or fill material.

a. Avoidance: Most of the land in the area is wetland, so upland alternatives are not available. Wetland impacts were avoided to the extent practicable during the design process by aligning the proposed road with drier, presumably upland communities enroute to the terminus of the road. The road was routed through forested areas (mesic birch-aspen) where soil conditions are more favorable. Wet areas with tussocks were avoided where possible. Three alternative alignments were considered and the alignment with the fewest acres of wetland impacts (Alternative 2) was selected. The reduction in wetland impacts between the three alternatives has not been quantified due to the absence of National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) coverage or a wetland delineation, but the Alternative 2 alignment maximizes contours and vegetation signatures associated with uplands. The proposed alignment avoids permanently inundated wetlands east of the alignment by jogging to the west and downstream of the permanently inundated wetland/unnamed stream confluence.

b. Minimization: Wetland impacts were minimized during the design by reducing the width of the road surface from 24-feet in the 2014 design to 18-feet in the current design. The change in surface width reduced wetland impacts from 17.5-acres in the 2014 application to 11.1-acres in the current proposal. The road would minimize new impacts by primarily following the alignment of an existing winter trail. The road base would consist of a geotechnical fabric placed directly over the vegetative mat and overlain by select fill, minimizing the impacts to soil and vegetation because overburden disposal would not be required. Existing vegetation will be cut to the ground level and disposed of in off-site uplands. The existing vegetative mat would be preserved to the maximum extent practicable, thereby protecting underlying soils that likely contain permafrost. Additional minimization efforts include:

1. Exposed soil would be stabilized as soon as possible, but always within seven days after final grade is reached. Soils that may not be at final grade but are expected to be exposed for over 45 days would also be stabilized.
2. Erodible stockpiles would be stabilized with sediment trapping measures to prevent soil loss.
3. Permanent vegetative cover would be established on disturbed areas not otherwise stabilized.
4. Adequate subsurface drainage would be provided where water seeps from a slope face.
5. A storm water pollution prevention plan would be developed and implemented to help minimize sedimentation to adjacent wetlands.
6. The construction project limits would be delineated prior to construction and no work would occur outside the project limits.
7. The project would procure the majority of borrow material required from an existing material source.
8. Sixteen culverts would be installed along the road alignment to minimize impacts to hydrology.

c. Compensatory Mitigation: The applicant does not propose compensatory mitigation for the following reasons:

1. Compensatory mitigation is inappropriate and impractical considering the remoteness, minimal scale of historic impacts, and lack of mitigation opportunities.
2. Adequate avoidance and minimization have been incorporated into the design to significantly reduce unavoidable adverse effects.
3. The impacted wetlands are abundant in the watershed and do not support any rare, threatened, or endangered species.

After reviewing the application, the Department may certify there is reasonable assurance the activity, and any discharge that might result, will comply with the CWA, the Alaska Water Quality Standards, and other applicable State laws. The Department also may deny or waive certification.

The permit application and associated documents are available for review. For inquires or to request copies of the documents, contact dec-401cert@alaska.gov, or call 907-269-6285.

Disability Reasonable Accommodation Notice

The State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. If you are a person with a disability who may need special accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact ADA Coordinator Megan Kohler at 907-269-4198 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 prior to the expiration date of this public notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.