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: August 7, 2025                   PN Reference Number: POA-2011-01077 v1.0
PN Expiration Date: September 8, 2025                                  Waterway: Hotham Inlet (wetlands)

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-2011-01077 v1.0 or on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.

Applicant: Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation (KIC), Thomas Baker, PO Box 1050, Kotzebue, AK 99752, (907) 442-3165; tbaker@kikiktagruk.com

Agent: MLP and Associates, Tiffany Phelan, 721 Depot Drive, Anchorage, AK 99501; (907) 885-0271 100; tiffany@mlpassociates.com.

Project Name: Iggy Hill Gravel Material Site and Ice Road

Dates of the proposed activity are planned to begin and end: 11/15/2025 to 04/30/2030

Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 36, T. 18, R. 17, Kateel River Meridian, in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska—Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 66.919720, -162.28693.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to extract gravel material for infrastructure projects in the Kotzebue area and to construct an overland 7.5-mile-long ice road from the Iggy Hill site to Devil’s Lake near Kotzebue. The proposed project includes the extraction of sand and gravel material from freshwater emergent wetlands with vegetation consisting of grasses and tundra.

Description of Proposed Work: The applicant proposes impacting 7.1 acres of wetlands to create an access road to the extraction areas; the seasonal ice road would connect to this access road. Another 11.3 acres of wetlands would be filled in order to stockpile overburden materials. A total of approximately 36.8 acres of wetlands are expected to be impacted by the proposed project. KIC proposes extracting approximately 614,500 cubic yards of gravel and 435,900 cubic yards of overburden from the Iggy Hill material site. A 980 Excavator and a loader will be used for excavating material and loading dump trucks.

The excavation area is located along the 190-to-200-foot hillside of Baldwin Peninsula along the shore of Hotham Inlet. The total excavation cut will be 32.2 acres with an additional overburden stockpile area of 13.8 acres for a total of 46 acres. The hill extraction area is flanked on the north and south sides by topography sloping away from the extraction site and down two swales that converge and then drop into the Hotham Inlet. Both swales have running water and open water in wetland areas at a site visit in June 2025. Aside from the very east side of the site, which comprises a steep bluff face dropping off to the Inlet, the entire area is mapped as an emergent wetland (National Wetland Inventory Mapping). The face of the hillside consists of gravelly material along the course of the hillside. Approximately 450 feet buffer will occur between the project area and the Hotham Inlet shoreline. There are no alternate upland locations to store fill or overburden, as all surrounding areas are mapped as emergent wetland per NWI. However, soil pits dug during a site visit in June 2025 indicated areas with lower water tables in higher topography locations. Extracting gravel in the winter and transporting via an ice road will minimize the transportation impacts and wetland impacts of the project.

The project location is in the Borough’s Subsistence Conservation District and Kobuk-Selawik Lakes Subsistence sub-district. Material extraction at the Iggy Hill site will occur between November 15 and April 30 of each season. All material extraction is to occur in the winter months. The mining season will be temporarily defined by 1) the completion of the seasonal ice road from Devil’s Lake to the Iggy Hill site and 2) the degradation of the ice road due to rising temperatures during April. All mining operations will cease during the summer months.

The heavy equipment's servicing, maintenance, and storage will be done at the heavy equipment facilities in the City of Kotzebue. All waste oil, coolants, and replacement parts will be disposed of through the City of Kotzebue’s disposal services if they cannot be recycled. A 250-gallon portable wheeled fueling tank will be transported and placed at the site to fuel heavy equipment. No construction will be done at the excavation site.

The excavation site will be sectioned off into four bench areas approximately 10 feet long. The perimeter will be staked to determine the top of cut. Organics will be removed and stockpiled separately. The overburden will be excavated down to the first bench working from the west to the east, creating a working floor that is sloped to drain towards Hotham Inlet. As it is excavated down, the side slopes will be shaped to a 7 horizontal to 1 vertical slope. Organics will be placed on the slopes, and the slopes will be seeded as necessary. The remaining benches will be worked in the same manner, east to west, until all material is excavated. At the end of each season, the side slopes and stockpile will be seeded. After the fourth and final bench is excavated, the silt overburden will be placed and shaped over the pit to reform the two drainage channels originally at the site. Organics will be placed on the shaped overburden pile, and dormant seed will be applied to the site.

Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation (KIC) proposes to construct an overland ice road from Devil's Lake to Iggy Hill. This overland route is approximately 7.5 miles long and will serve as a haul route for gravel extraction activities at Iggy Hill. The route passes through lands owned by KIC and NANA.

The ice road from Devil's Lake to Iggy Hill will be approximately 30 feet wide and 7.5 miles in length. The overland ice road route is based on GPS coordinates. KIC intends to vary the location of the ice road by 30 to 50 feet each year to avoid concentrating the impact of the ice road on one specific route.

KIC will construct the ice road using Snow Packing Equipment, Volvo Water Buffalo or similar, Road Grader, 4-yard loaders, and Volvo Articulated Dump trucks if ice chips need to be hauled. As a guide, KIC will use a presentation titled "History of DNR Management of Ice Road Construction-Impacts of Different Construction Methods" by Gary Schultz, ADNR Manager.

Ice road construction is completed in two stages: snow compaction and water hauling.

The ice road will be constructed by first packing snow with low-ground pressure equipment, which creates a depression in the snow and allows the wind to fill it back in. KIC will continue to pack and fill until the snow is dense and deep enough (6 inches) to start watering to create a solid ice road. KIC will also construct a temporary snow fence to capture blowing snow in areas requiring greater snow, such as creek crossings or exposed ridges.

Snow compaction in preparation for ice road construction will begin when at least three inches (3 inches) of snow is on the ground. Snow compaction will begin no earlier than October 15. Water hauling with Heavy Equipment will commence when the tundra temperature reaches -5 °C (23°F), 10 inches below the surface, and compacted snow or ice chips are six inches (6 inches) deep. The use of the ice road will end on April 30 or earlier if the ice road conditions no longer support traffic without damaging the tundra.

If additional snow is needed, it will be harvested from available snow disposal areas in Kotzebue.

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: Material extraction is to take place within wetlands and in accordance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit requirements. Complete avoidance of wetlands is not practicable to accomplish the purpose and needs of this project. No in-water work is expected to take place during the extraction of materials. The project requires excavation in freshwater emergent wetlands to extract suitable sands and gravels for the construction of regional projects. The applicant has ownership of the property and the subsurface rights.The subject property is in a remote location with access to the site by ice road only in the winter.

   Wetlands are located on the subject property, and avoiding all wetlands to meet the project’s purpose and needs is not practicable. Project alternatives, including no action, barging gravel from Nome, single-phase extraction at the proposed location, and the proposed location in two-phase extraction, were evaluated to identify the most practicable alternative after taking into consideration site logistics, Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) construction requirements, noise pollution, and the overall project purpose. Alternatives were considered, with the current proposed project being the most reasonable and practicable alternative. The alternatives considered included the following:

   Alternative 1: Development of Gravel Pit in Kotzebue: There are no known gravel sources in the City of Kotzebue that would meet Alaska DOT&PF requirements for gradation and quality of fill materials. The applicant does not own any large parcels of land within the roadway network of Kotzebue for development. Numerous wetlands and waterbodies are present in and around Kotzebue, as well as ice-rich permafrost. A site in Kotzebue would be easily accessible for workers and the delivery of products to the ADOT&PF construction site.

   Alternative 2: Continued Use of KIC’s Nimiuk Point Gravel Pit: KIC owns a 27-acre gravel pit on Nimiuk Point with approximately 104,000 cubic yards of material remaining, of which approximately 62,000 cubic yards is gravel within an 8.9-acre area. Gravel would be barged over water to project sites and is approximately 17 miles over water from Kotzebue. This site has limited gravel and will not supply sufficient gravel for the Cape Blossom Road project.

   Alternative 3: Nimiuk Point Subvision Lot 2B - William Azar: The purchase of this property is highly prohibitive.  Before any start-up costs are incurred, this option is highly cost-prohibitive to this project in comparison to KIC’s Iggy Hill site. Gravel from Azar’s undisturbed property would be processed onsite and barged over water to project sites, which is approximately 17 miles over water from Kotzebue.

    

   Alternative 4: Noatak River Gravel Mine: The project is an extension of the Noatak River Gravel Pit Project previously permitted under POA-2008-618, Noatak River. The allotment is located approximately 20 miles north of Kotzebue, on the northeastern bank of the Noatak River, and all equipment and gravel transport via barge.

   Alternative 5: Sadie Creek Upland Beach Berm: The site is located north of the mouth of Sadie Creek on an undeveloped 158.90-acre property approximately six miles east of Kotzebue, of which approximately 7.68 acres of land are available for sand and gravel extraction. Approximately 40,000 cubic yards of material is available at the site. There is insufficient material at the site to meet all the project needs.

   Alternative 6: Sadie Creek Sand and Gravel Extraction: The project is approximately six miles east of Kotzebue. The newly permitted development requires the excavation of 109.72 acres of sands and gravels to a depth of approximately 1 foot. It is estimated that 177,600 cubic yards of material are present at the site. The project will create the sands and gravels that meet ADOT&PF requirements, but there is not enough material for the entire project.

   Alternative 7: Iggy Hill Gravel Mine Site Onsite: This onsite alternative includes sectioning off the site into three cells, each approximately 450 feet wide by 300 feet long, and a depth of roughly 60 feet. This alternative incorporates 3:1 side slopes and is not recommended per a site geotechnical analysis prepared in June 2025.

   Alternative 8: Proposed Iggy Hill Gravel Mine Site Onsite 2: This onsite alternative includes a revision to alternative 1 to include 7:1 side slopes with additional reclamation plans. The extracted material would be hauled to the City of Kotzebue via a 7.5-mile ice road to the project site. KIC proposes to extract approximately 614,500 cubic yards of gravel from the Iggy Hill material site. The excavation site will be sectioned off into four bench areas, approximately 10 feet each. See Sheets 5 and 6. Material extraction at the Iggy Hill site will occur between November 15 and April 30 of each season.

   Analysis of Alternatives: The proposed action (Alternative 8) is the preferred alternative for meeting the purpose and need for the project, which is to provide additional sands and gravels in support of the Cape Blossom Road and Port project. Alternative 8 is the most practical solution because it is close to the City of Kotzebue, using over-ice road trucking, and the project site, and will not require overwater transport. This alternative does not impact adjacent residential and/or commercial properties. Gravel will be mined in the winter, minimizing permafrost thaw issues and wetland impacts.

2. Minimization: The proposed site's selection is based on utilizing the applicant’s property, with an extraction site of 32.2 acres within a total project area of 46 acres. To further minimize impacts to the waters of the U.S., the project is designed to reduce wetland impacts to the greatest extent practicable. Complete avoidance of wetlands is not practicable to accomplish the purpose and needs of this project. To minimize the impact of this project on the environment, the following measures are proposed:

   •     The proposed project will follow any necessary USFWS and NOAA Fisheries recommendations to avoid disturbing migratory birds or Threatened or Endangered species.

   •     Project activities will attempt to avoid any water bodies. There are no known Historic Properties.

   •     The limits of extraction will be clearly identified in the field prior to extraction to ensure the permitted project footprint is not exceeded during development.

   •     Extraction will occur in four benches, one at a time, until all usable material is exhausted.

   •     Movement of construction equipment would be restricted to within the identified project boundaries to minimize disturbance to native vegetation.

   •     BMPs will be installed and implemented to minimize the introduction of additional suspended sediment into the wetlands.

   •     All refuse, garbage, or debris created during activities will be removed and disposed of at an approved facility.

3. Mitigation: Proposed mitigation includes a preservation easement of comparable wetlands.

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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