PUBLIC NOTICE
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Wastewater Discharge Authorization Program/§401 Certification
555 Cordova Street, Anchorage AK 99501-2617
Phone: 907-269-6285 | Email: DEC-401Cert@alaska.gov
Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification
Public Notice (PN) Date: October 21, 2024 PN Reference Number: POA-2010-00163 v1.0
PN Expiration Date: November 20, 2024 Waterway: Wrangell Narrows
Any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct an activity that might result in a discharge into waters of the United States, in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), must also apply for and obtain certification from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation that the discharge will comply with the CWA and the Alaska Water Quality Standards (18 AAC 70). The scope of certification is limited to the water quality-related impacts from the activity subject to the Federal license or permit (40 CFR 121.3, 18 AAC 15.180).
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[1] for the discharge of dredged and/or fill materials into waters of the United States (WOTUS), 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 via email to the DEC email address: DEC-401Cert@alaska.gov with the subject line referencing Public Notice Reference Number: POA-2010-00163 v1.0 or via DEC website https://dec.alaska.gov/commish/public-notices/ on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.
Applicant: Petersburg Borough, Stephen Giesbrecht, P.O. Box 329, Petersburg, AK 99833, (907) 772-5402; sgiesbrecht@petersburgak.gov
Agent: PND Engineers, Danielle Schultz, 3240 Eastlake Avenue East Seattle, WA 98102; (206) 624-1387 6811; dschultz@pndengineers.com.
Project Name: Scow Bay Boat Harbor – Haul Out Facility
Dates of the proposed activity is planned to begin and end: 09/01/2025 to 12/31/2027
Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-130.Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-135.Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-136.Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-137.Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-138.Section 04, T. 059S, R. 079E, Copper River Meridian, in Petersburg Borough, Alaska. 01-056-140. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 56.780363, -132.97307.
Purpose: The applicant’s stated purpose is to construct a new boat haul out ramp and extend the existing rock jetty at Scow Bay to develop the site into a functional boat haul out and work yard with a dedicated ramp with capacity for a 100-ton hydraulic trailer, a boarding float, a vessel washdown area, and associated utilities.
The proposed project consists of extending the existing breakwater and constructing a more substantial rubble mound breakwater, expanding and improving the existing uplands, constructing a boat haul out ramp with associated boarding float, and constructing a new boat washdown pad. Work also includes water, stormwater, wastewater, and electrical improvements.
Description of Proposed Work: The proposed project would discharge 80,850 cubic yards of material into 4.5 acres below high tide line (19.7 feet above the 0.0-foot contour) of Scow Bay in order to extend the existing jetty, expand and improve the existing gravel pad, construct a boat haul out ramp, and construct a new boat washdown pad. The applicant also proposes to remove one (1) 12-inch timber pile and install four (4) 12.75-inch steel pipe piles via vibratory and impact hammer below the mean high-water mark (15.2 feet above the 0.0-foot contour) in order to construct a 10-foot by 345-foot boarding float.
Material used to construct the jetty and extension of the existing pad would include armor rock, underlayer rock, shot rock borrow, and base course. When possible, materials would be placed when the site is dewatered (during low tidal conditions); however, initial fill operations would continue regardless of the level of the tide. The proposed expanded pad would include an 8-inch-thick layer of graded and compacted base course material on top of the initial discharged material. A 40-foot by 80-foot concrete washdown pad would be constructed at the top of the haul out ramp. A 960 square foot utility building would be constructed on site, adjacent to the washdown pad.
Following the jetty construction, the haul out ramp would be constructed. Timber sleepers would be placed directly on top of core rock materials to support precast concrete planks. Individual concrete planks would be tied together with connection plates to create an interconnected haul out ramp. Any gaps would be filled with clean sand.
Pile driving operations would commence after the haul out ramp construction and would occur from a floating barge and from a land-based crane positioned on the haul out ramp during low tide conditions. Pile installation would use a vibratory hammer when practicable, including removal of the one piling. Prior to pile driving, floats would be placed in water and connected.
The proposed work is expected to commence between 2025 and 2027 with work expected to last for 10 to 12 months. No in water work is planned to be performed between April 1st and June 15th of any given year.
Mobilization: Mobilization To the project site will depend on the contractor selected to perform the work. The selected contractor will most likely mobilize major materials and equipment associated with construction to the project site from Seattle or Anchorage. Project vessels will comply with all pertinent regulations, including protocols for marine mammal impact avoidance.
Demolition: A small amount of existing site debris and a single timber pile are present within the project area; the contractor must demolish and remove these prior to the start of new construction. They will extract the existing timber pile, located adjacent to the rock jetty, with a vibratory hammer. The contractor will also remove the small amount of concrete and steel cable debris existing within the intertidal area of the project boundary prior to filling operations. All demolition debris will be recycled or disposed of as necessary in accordance with applicable regulations.
Rubble Mound Breakwater & Fill: Earthen materials used to construct the rubble mound breakwater consist of four primary components (listed in order of decreasing average particle size): armor rock, underlayer rock, shot rock borrow, and base course. All fill materials will be free of contaminants and contain a minimal amount of fine particulate to prevent turbidity, and sedimentation impacts to the extent feasible. Fill materials will be obtained from a local source to the extent possible; actual materials source will be dependent on the contractor selected to perform construction.
The core of the breakwater will be constructed with Class A and Class B shot rock borrow and will be placed directly on the existing ground surface. When possible, materials will be placed in the dry during low tidal conditions. However, initial fill operations will continue regardless of the level of tide. The shot rock borrow will be delivered to the project site by trucks which will end-dump the material into on-site stockpiles for spreading. A track-mounted excavator, bulldozer, or motor grader will spread core rock in lifts of specified thickness. A vibratory drum roller compactor will compact each lift of material above MLLW; all compaction operations will be performed when the tide is below the elevation of the work.
As each lift of shot rock borrow is placed, underlayer and armor rock will be concurrently placed to protect the embankment from erosion during construction. As with the shot rock borrow, trucks will deliver underlayer and armor rock to the project site and end-dump the materials into on-site stockpiles. A track-mounted excavator will handle, manipulate, and place underlayer and armor rock on the embankment side slopes. Similar methods will be used to place a thin layer of base course atop the breakwater crest. The base course will provide a smooth and level surface for vehicles and trailers to traverse.
Haul out Ramp: The contractor will commence haul out ramp construction following completion of fill operations associated with the rubble mound breakwater. They will place timber sleepers directly on top of the core rock materials to support precast concrete planks; the individual concrete planks will be tied together with connection plates to create an interconnected concrete plank haul out ramp. The contractor will fill any gaps between planks with clean sand.
Pile Driving and Float Installation: Pile driving operations will commence following fill completion and concrete haul out ramp installation. The contractor will most likely conduct pile driving from a floating barge but may also perform it from a land-based crane positioned on the concrete haul out ramp during low tide conditions, depending on their means and methods. They will install piles using a vibratory hammer to the extent practicable; however, it is expected that the contractor will need to conduct impact pile driving for some piles, as they must be driven through the core rock fill placed as part of rubble mound breakwater installation. Geotechnical investigation also indicates a dense layer of glacial till which may produce hard driving conditions necessitating impact pile driving to allow the piles to reach the prescribed tip elevation.
Prior to the commencement of piledriving operations, the contractor will offload boarding floats from a barge, place them in the water, and connect them. The contractor will utilize the boarding float as a template and drive piles in-location through the hoops of the boarding float. No additional temporary piles are anticipated to be required. The contractor will field-adjust piles as necessary to fit the pile hoops and to prevent binding of the float at all tidal stages. Piledriving efforts on this project are minimal considering the quantity and size of the piles and is anticipated to be completed in 6 days.
Upland Improvements and Utilities: The contractor will finish the new expanded uplands area with an 8” thick layer of graded and compacted base course material. They will grade the uplands area to facilitate stormwater drainage towards catch basins installed in various locations throughout the site. This drainage system will collect stormwater within the expanded uplands area via various storm drain catch basins and filtered through an oil/water separator prior to being discharged via outfall.
A 40’ x 80’ concrete washdown pad will be constructed at the top of the boat ramp. The washdown pad will be equipped with drainage for both boat wash water and storm water. The drainage system will collect wash water used for boat cleaning in a catch basin and send it to a storm filter system containing a grit chamber for filtration of the effluent. Wash water will be discharged into the Petersburg municipal sewer. A 960-square-foot utility building will be installed on-site, adjacent to the boat washdown pad, which will house domestic water equipment and the storm filter system for the boat washdown pad.
The contractor will install a domestic water service, connected to multiple hydrants located throughout the haul out facility, to provide water to the uplands area. They will also install three electroliers to provide area lighting to the facility.
Demobilization: Refuse and excess materials from the project will be reclaimed, recycled or disposed of as necessary in accordance with applicable regulations. The contractor will demobilize project equipment according to their needs and means.
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.
- Avoidance: The PB has prepared an Alternatives Analysis, attached at the end of this document, which verifies that there are no other practicable alternatives for the proposed project that are less environmentally damaging. PND analyzed a range of design alternatives, and the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative has been selected as the proposed action.
- Minimization: Much of the land in Petersburg has been mapped as wetlands in the National Wetlands Inventory, including all of the unaltered coastline and nearly all of the undeveloped areas in the uplands. In order to minimize impacts to wetlands, the site selected is one that has already been developed. This area will be expanded to minimize the extent of impacts to wetlands rather than selecting an undeveloped site. In addition, the extent of the intertidal fill was minimized to the degree possible while still meeting the project purpose and need. The fill will consist of sloped, rocky habitat which will provide habitat for juvenile fish; it has been configured such that it will not encroach on the adjacent unnamed anadromous fish stream. PND designed the spatial configuration of the intertidal fill footprint to avoid the need for dredging of the seafloor. Avoiding dredging activities minimizes impacts to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).
- Mitigation: The sequence of construction will also mitigate potential effects associated with the project. Construction of the breakwater will occur prior to pile driving to minimize noise effects associated with piledriving operations. The new land mass of the breakwater will help attenuate sound and limit the areas where noise impacts may be experienced.
- Fill and armor rock materials placed in WOTUS will be clean and free of contaminants with relatively few fines to reduce impacts from turbidity and/or sedimentation.
- Fuels, lubricants, and other hazardous substances used during construction will not be stored below the high tide line/ordinary high-water mark.
- All trash will be immediately placed in trash bins and bins will be properly secured with locked or secured lids that cannot blow open and disperse trash into the environment.
- Review of best available data on migratory bird nesting will be conducted prior to construction to prevent impacts to protected bird species during construction operations.
- Contractors will comply with water quality standards as required by law and implement corrective measures if water quality standards are exceeded.
- The following BMPs will be utilized to prevent stormwater run-off during construction:
- Projects impacting more than one acre will have a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) on file with the State.
- A Stabilized Construction Entrance (a temporary stone-stabilized pad located at points of vehicular ingress and egress on a construction site) will mitigate sedimentation and stormwater pollution.
- Installation of silt fences consisting of a geotextile fabric stretched across and attached to supporting posts, providing a temporary barrier to sediment and reducing the runoff velocities of sheet flow from non-vegetated surfaces.
- Use of weed-free straw wattles to intercept sheet flow and detain small amounts of sediment from disturbed areas.
After reviewing the application, the Department will evaluate whether the activity will comply with applicable water quality requirements (any limitation, standard, or other requirement under sections 301, 302, 306, and 307 of the CWA, any Federal and state laws or regulations implementing those sections, and any other water quality-related requirement of state law). The Department may certify (or certify with conditions) with reasonable assurance the activity and any discharge that might result will comply with water quality requirements. 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.