Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification
Public Notice (PN) Date: March 3, 2026 PN Reference Number: POA-2010-00286 v1.0
PN Expiration Date: March 23, 2026 Waterway: Cold 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-2010-00286 v1.0 or on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.
Applicant: Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Benjamin Storey, PO Box 112506, Juneau, AK 99811, (907) 465-4509; benjamin.storey@alaska.gov
Agent: Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Tyler Riberio, PO Box 112506 Juneau, AK 99811; (907) 465-4504; tyler.riberio@alaska.gov.
Project Name: King Cove - Cold Bay Road
Dates of the proposed activity are planned to begin and end: 04/01/2026 to 12/31/2027
Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 17, T. 057S, R. 087W, Seward Meridian, in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 55.249480, -162.50551.
Purpose: The purpose and need for this application is to provide the residents and businesses of the community of King Cove with safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to the State of Alaska’s all-weather airport at Cold Bay.
Description of Proposed Work: The proposed project is to construct a single-lane, unpaved road connecting the community of King Cove to the all-weather airport at Cold Bay. The proposed project will discharge fill and mechanically clear wetlands and other Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) to construct the roadway and some stream crossings, as well as develop material sites.
The proposed project is to construct a 19-mile-long, single-lane, unpaved road owned by King Cove Corporation, connecting the community of King Cove to the road system and to the all-weather airport at Cold Bay. The proposed project will discharge fill and mechanically clear wetlands and other waters to construct the roadway. The project would require 63 culverted stream crossings (some containing anadromous salmon), one bridge, and the development of 2 dedicated material sites. Approximately 8.9 acres of freshwater wetlands would be filled with 60,000 cubic yards of gravel material for the road embankment. Sources of gravel for road construction would be obtained from material sites located in uplands at 2 dedicated material sites and from several other locations along the road corridor.
Additional Information: Permits from local and state agencies would include Alaska Department of Fish and Game Fish Habitat Permit, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), and a Section 401 water quality application would be prepared for the project.
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: Complete avoidance of waters of the United States by the road was viewed by the applicant as not possible due to the abundance and distribution of wetlands along the existing King Cove Corporation (KCC) owned road corridor. The project will avoid releases of sediment and erosion through the application of BMP's throughout construction.
- Minimization: The project has been designed to minimize the discharge of fill into wetlands and other aquatic resources by the following means. The road corridor would connect to existing roadways and trails. The proposed road would be located to follow upland ridges wherever possible to minimize siting within wetlands. The design would incorporate 4:1 side slopes, where practicable, for slope stability, traffic safety, and to minimize impacts to wetlands and other waters. Material sites are planned to be in the uplands. Existing drainage patterns would be maintained to the greatest extent practicable. Properly sized and designed culverts would be installed to maintain the natural flow patterns of surface waters to adjacent wetlands and waters. Where fish are present, stream crossings would be designed to enable the passage of fish, including anadromous salmon. The stream bed and banks would be backfilled and restored to approximate pre-existing conditions, as much as practicable.
To the extent practicable, staging areas and other work areas would be located in uplands at least 50 feet away from wetlands and other waters. Project limits in waters of the U.S. would be clearly identified in the field before vegetation clearing and construction. Equipment would remain inside the identified project limits and would not be stored, maintained, or repaired in waters of the U.S. Best management practices during construction would be followed to protect water quality, wetlands, and waterways from excessive siltation and sedimentation. The proposed project has been sited to avoid wetland areas, lowlands, and other areas that could be impacted by sedimentation. BMP's will be employed during construction to minimize the severity of stormwater discharges.
- Mitigation: The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Works has developed the proposed project in coordination with state, borough and city government entities that represent the private landowners in the community of King Cove. Many of those landowners are also shareholders of the King Cove Corporation (KCC) which previously owned land in the vicinity of Kinzarof Lagoon known colloquially as the “bookends”. In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Interior entered into a land exchange agreement to convey approximately 490 acres of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to the KCC for a single lane gravel road (the subject of this application) in exchange for approximately 1,739 acres of lands in the vicinity of Kinzarof Lagoon (“the bookends”). The applicant is proposing that the 1,739 acre “bookends” be considered as compensatory mitigation for the unavoidable loss of 8.9 acres of wetlands associated with the project. The KCC also relinquished its selection rights under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to 5,430 acres of land within the Izembek Refuge, and these lands are also proposed in the applicant’s proposed compensatory mitigation.
- The proposed project was developed in coordination with the King Cove Corporation in conjunction with the USFWS-KCC land exchange. This exchange transferred an unequal amount of land to the federal government to obtain a ROW for the proposed project. The DOT asserts that the unequal exchange of lands to the federal government compensates for project-related impacts to the environment.
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 that 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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