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: July 8, 2025                           PN Reference Number: POA-2024-00028 v1.0
PN Expiration Date: August 7, 2025                                                              Waterway: Mud Bay

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 with respect to 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-2024-00028 v1.0 or on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.

Applicant: Gateway Aviation II, LLC, Russell Thomas, 1600 Tongass Ave, Ketchikan, AK 99901, (907) 617-3619; russellt@aseresorts.com

Agent: Jacobs Engineering, Kristina Neptun, 3800 Centrepoint Drive Suite 920, Anchorage, AK 99503; (907) 762-1081; kristina.neptun@jacobs.com.

Project Name: Mud Bay Storage Facility and Hangar

Dates of the proposed activity are planned to begin and end: 07/01/2025 to 07/01/2026

Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 29, T. 74S, R. 90E CRM, Seward Meridian, in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska.  Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 55.419200, -131.76480.

Purpose: The applicant’s stated purpose is to provide a storage and maintenance facility for its use, and for initial use by other closely held businesses tied to the applicant. The facility must be located adjacent to the water to remove vessels from the water. The facility would likely store aircraft, large passenger vessels, heavy construction equipment, fleet vehicles, and small watercraft. The development footprint was designed to accommodate inside storage, as well as outside storage, and provide space to remove large vessels from the water by truck and trailer (up to 80 feet in length) and move them around the property and/or into the building.

Description of Proposed Work: Place 22,925 cubic yards of shot rock, 2,670 cubic yards of D-1 crushed base, 2,100 cubic yards of armor rock, and 3,150 square yards (0.65-acre) of filter fabric into 4.49 acres of wetlands to construct a hovercraft facility. A rock pad measuring approximately 660 feet long by 270 feet wide would be used as the foundation for the hovercraft facility. A 50-foot-wide by 114-foot-long haul-out ramp would be placed below the mean high water (MHW) mark (14.6 feet). A total of approximately 1,424 linear feet of perennial stream would be diverted. The rock would be sourced from Log Jam’s rock pit at mile 6.5 on the North Tongass Highway. A maintenance building would be on the eastern side of the property and measure 100 feet by 200 feet. Two (2) streams (approximately 542 and 567 linear feet) would be diverted to the west and flow into the stream on the western property boundary (approximately 872 linear feet). One (1) stream (approximately 315 linear feet) would be diverted to the east and flow into the stream on the eastern property boundary (approximately 927 linear feet). A rock wall would be placed between this existing stream channel and the eastern property boundary stream. The rock wall would be 87 lineal feet along the northeast edge of the proposed rock pad and measure five (5) feet tall, with three (3) feet below the extreme high tide elevation.

The diverted channels parallel to the North Tongass Highway would be filled with shot rock and reinforced with seven (7) 6- to 8-inch cedar logs for spawning enhancement structures. The logs would include a V-notch weir to ensure fish passage during low flows. The remaining length of the diversion channels would be filled with on-site materials. To ensure the constructed streambeds would be able to withstand high flows, the applicant proposes to install five (5) 45-degree angle shot rock flow diverters to guide the flow from six (6) culverts under the North Tongass Highway into the channels. The streambeds of the westernmost and easternmost streams would not be affected, except for the increase of flow from the other streams.

Project Surface area: 4.12 acres wetland plus 0.117 acres upland

• 0.35 acres below Mean high water
• 0.08 acres ramp area seaward of the mean high-water line
• 1.82 acres tidal wetland (between mean high water and high tide line)

1.87 acres non-tidal wetland above high tide line (includes re-routing 446 sf stream #5, 796 sf stream #4, 984 sf stream #3, 614 sf Stream #2 = 2840 sf = 0.06 acres)

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: The site selection process considered the storage needs for equipment and looked at 10 different properties for zoning, accessibility, availability, water access, utility access, and possible expansion. The selected property was the viable one to meet these needs. At least one site with substantial fill, pilings, and additional tideland impacts was rejected in favor of this site.
2. Minimization: When filling drainage streams, the new route will be created first and lined with shot rock to create the flow channel and sloped banks. This will include stilling and calming areas. Once the new channels are in place, the previous drainage streams will be filled to the new elevation of the rock pad, thus rerouted into the new channels.
3. Mitigation: Compensation for impacts to wetlands will be mitigated by purchasing compensatory mitigation credits from an approved mitigation bank.

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 Kristin Mabry, kristin.mabry@alaska.gov, 1-907-334-0884; 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.

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