Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification

Public Notice (PN) Date: February 24, 2025           PN Reference Number: POA-2011-00769
PN Expiration Date: March 27, 2025                                             Waterway: Clover Passage

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 of 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 a public hearing concerning water quality, submit comments via (preferred method) DEC website https://dec.alaska.gov/commish/public-notices/ or email to the DEC email address: DEC-401Cert@alaska.gov with the subject line referencing Public Notice Reference Number: POA-2011-00769 or on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.

Applicant: R&M Engineering-Ketchikan, Inc., Trevor Sande, 7180 Revilla Road, Suite 300, Ketchikan, AK 99901, (907) 225-7917; trevorsande@rmketchikan.com

Project Name: Marble Seafoods Oyster Nursery Modifications

Dates of the proposed activity are planned to begin and end: 09/01/2024 to 11/15/2025

Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 5, T. 74S, R. 90E, Copper River Meridian, in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. ADL 108094. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 55.482778, -131.77583.

Purpose: The applicant’s stated purpose is to expand and relocate an existing oyster processing facility. The proposed work is required due to the relocation of an aquatic farming lease and the sale of an adjacent upland property.

Description of Proposed Work: The applicant proposes to expand oyster production to meet the growing demand for oysters and add a more modern processing facility with wet storage. The facility will use recycled seawater and equipment to grade the oysters by size before shipping. Relocating the facility on land will facilitate forklift loading and unloading, and being adjacent to seawater will facilitate wet storage. 

The applicant proposes to relocate a 46-foot by 125-foot concrete float, a 30-foot by 46-foot processing building, and a 20-foot by 75-foot floating nursery consisting of 144 seed tubs measuring 24-inches by 24-inches from an existing aquatic farming lease to a new aquatic farming lease 300-feet south of the current location. Five (5) 12-inch diameter steel anchor piles holding the existing floating nursery system would be removed using an ICE Model 22-30 vibratory hammer and temporally placed on a steel material barge for reinstallation at the new lease location.

Construction would also include the addition of seven (7) 12-inch diameter steel support piles, a 13-foot by 104-foot concrete breakwater, a 20-foot by 20-foot concrete float, an 8-foot by 70-foot aluminum gangway, four (4) six thousand (6000) pound concrete anchors, four (4) 90-foot shots of chain at each anchor to breakwater, a 68- foot by 80-foot multi-purpose building, a 40-foot wide by 75-foot long by 8-foot tall concrete retaining seawall, and the discharge of 3,350 cubic yards of shot rock, 175 cubic yards of gravel surfacing and 70 cubic yards of concrete below the high tide line (HTL) to support utilities, buried tanks, and a parking area at the new farming lease location. Once complete, the site would accommodate the following six (6) vessels: two (2) 16-foot to 18-foot open skiffs for farm workers to commute to and from Hump Island, a 46-foot Delta Tour Boat, a 24-foot aluminum landing craft for transporting oysters to and from the site, and two (2) 35-foot aluminum landing crafts for crew transport and farm-related work activities.

The project would be constructed using a crane barge pushed by a small tug from Ward Cove located seven miles from the project site. Any materials not already located on site would be loaded on a second steel barge and transported to the site at the same time or staged offsite, trucked to the site as required, and installed in place when they arrive. The twelve (12) 12-inch diameter steel piles would be driven at the new aquatic farming lease using an MKT-9B3 impact hammer. Driving time for each pile would be between three to five minutes once the pile is in position to drive. The piles are anticipated to hit refusal between ten to fifteen feet. Total installation time is expected to take two to three days with four to five piles installed daily. Based on previous pile driving on the adjacent parcel, the use of cutting or drilling methods to install the piles is not anticipated. Vibratory methods will not be used for installation. All work in the intertidal area would be performed while the site is dewatered.

Additional Information: The applicant was approved for an Aquatic Farm Permit (DFG-2011-106-AF-S) from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in March 2019.

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.

1. Avoidance: There are no practical alternatives for avoidance due to the location and nature of the project. The oyster processing facility has been in place for over 10 years and this modification is to both expand capacity as well as move the facility slightly to the south to allow for better access to the uplands for loading and unloading product from the dock to a new processing facility. A portion of the facility needs to be floating due to the live oysters and a portion of the facility needs to be on land due to the heavy loading and concrete tanks that hold recirculated seawater for wet storage of oysters.
2. Minimization: The dock geometry chosen was designed to be the minimum size to accommodate the vessels that the applicant anticipates will be common use for the oyster farm. The breakwater have been added to this permit as the site has experienced severe storm damage from northerly winds in the past couple of seasons which has resulted in loss of oyster seed and damage to the concrete floats. The size of the processing buildings is matched to the wet storage equipment as well as the processing equipment.
3. Mitigation: The applicant intends to purchase credits from Southeast Alaska Land Trust if compensatory mitigation is required for the project.

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. To inquire about or 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 Mike Kruzinski at 907-334-0884, Mike.Kruzinski@alaska.gov or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 at least 3 days prior to the expiration/closure date of this public notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.