Brief description: The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) proposes to update the Integrated Report, including the 305(b) Report and the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters, based on new water quality data received over the last five years.

Summary of proposed changes: DEC is seeking comments on the Draft 2026 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, which comprises the Section 305(b) Report and the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters. DEC is proposing the addition of one Category 5 assessment unit and the removal of six Category 4b assessment units from the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters. The Section 305(b) Report is proposed to be updated to place 191 assessment units in Category 2.

Written comments: You may comment on the proposed report by submitting written comments to Jenny Petitt at 43335 Kalifornsky Beach Rd, Suite 11, Soldotna, Alaska 99669. Additionally, DEC will accept comments by electronic mail to jenny.petitt@alaska.gov. Comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System, by accessing this notice on the system and using the comment link.

Written comment deadline: The written comments must be received not later than 11:59 PM on April 6, 2026.

Public meeting: A public meeting will be held virtually at 4:00 PM on March 18, 2026. Instructions for attending the public meeting remotely can be found at https://dec.alaska.gov/water/water-quality/integrated-report/.

Questions: You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed report to Jenny Petitt by e-mail at jenny.petitt@alaska.gov. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. DEC will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and at https://dec.alaska.gov/water/water-quality/integrated-report.

Public nature of comments and questions: Public comments and questions, once submitted, are public records and subject to disclosure under the Alaska Public Records Act. See AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295. Do NOT include in your comments or questions any information that you do not want made public.

Accommodations: If you are a person with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact ADA Coordinator Kristin Mabry, kristin.mabry@alaska.gov, 1-907-334-0884; Alaska Relay Service/TTY/TDD 1-800-770-8973; or 711 at least 3 days prior to the expiration/closure date of this public notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

Obtaining copies of the proposed report: A copy of the proposed report is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Jenny Petitt at jenny.petitt@alaska.gov or
907-262-3404.

Fiscal information: The proposed report is not expected to require an increased appropriation.

How to receive further notices: Individuals can sign up to receive automated notifications of all State of Alaska notices, including public notice for regulation changes, by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notices System: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx.