Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification

Public Notice (PN) Date: July 7, 2026                     PN Reference Number: POA-2025-00495 v1.0
PN Expiration Date: August 6, 2026                       Waterway: Noatak River

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 the DEC website (preferred method) 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-2025-00495 v1.0 on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.

Applicant: ADOT&PF, Melissa Jensen, 2301 Peger Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709, (907) 388-1178; melissa.jensen@alaska.gov

Project Name: Noatak Airport Relocation

Dates of the proposed activity are planned to begin and end: 05/01/2026 to 10/31/2028

Location: The proposed activity is located within Sections 16-21, 28, 29, T. 25N, R. 19W, Kateel River Meridian, in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 67.555800, -163.04470.

Purpose: The applicant's stated purpose is to relocate the Noatak Airport, which is threatened by ongoing erosion from the Noatak River. The relocation is necessary to ensure safe and reliable air transportation for the village of Noatak, which is essential for receiving fuel and supplies.

Description of Proposed Work: The project involves constructing a new airport and associated infrastructure. Key components include a new runway, taxiway, apron, Snow Removal Equipment Building, and FAA Navigational Aids, all built to FAA Category B-II standards.

A new access road, approximately 2 miles long and 24 feet wide, would connect the airport to the village. The road would include required safety signage, appropriate slopes, and culverts to maintain natural drainage patterns.

A two-lane bridge would be built across Kuchoruk Creek, designed to withstand high water and aufeis conditions. Abutments would be located on both sides of the creek within the floodplain. Work below the ordinary high-water mark would include in-water activities such as riprap placement to stabilize the channel and creek banks.

The project also includes developing a local material source from a gravel bar on the Noatak River, constructing an access road to the site, extending above-ground utility lines to the new airport, and transporting materials and equipment by air and via a winter trail.

Overall, the applicant proposes to discharge approximately 698,073 cubic yards of excavated gravel from the Noatak River into 87.44 acres of waters of the United States, including wetlands, resulting in 164.94 acres of permanent wetland impacts.

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: During the preliminary and final planning and design process, DOT&PF evaluated various locations for a new airport that, combined with the access road and material site, helped to identify the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative (LEDPA). During the process, DOT&PF made substantial efforts to reduce and avoid impacts to important higher-value wetlands, including open waters, in the study area. These avoidance and minimization measures were incorporated in the preferred alternative (i.e., the design presented in this application). Alternatives considered but dismissed in favor of the airport location with the lowest impact design submitted are addressed in detail in the Final Environmental Assessment for the Noatak Airport Relocation. In addition, the EA reviewed equipment mobilization routes to Noatak.
2. Minimization: The attached Section 10/404 Permit Application Supplemental Information document describes the minimization activities proposed during construction and as part of the project (material sourced from the Noatak River).
3. Mitigation: DOT&PF has selected a new airport location, with local concurrence, that has been demonstrated to be practicable for the community of Noatak. DOT&PF has avoided wetland impacts by not developing terrestrial material sources. Material for the project would be taken from an existing gravel bar within the Noatak River channel. The proposed material site would provide sufficient material for the project while completely avoiding larger, poorer-quality terrestrial wetland material site impacts through extraction and haulage.

An ice road would be used to move construction equipment to the site. DOT&PF avoided WOUS impacts by not requiring the material source to support a gravel road to Noatak from the Red Dog Port Site. The use of the DMTS port and road avoided the construction of a permanent road to Noatak, most of it in wetlands. The ice road route was designed to avoid passage through conservation units while traversing acceptable slopes for the equipment. In addition, the ice road route minimized the number of winter stream crossings.

The preferred airport location is sited the closest to town of any alternative, is outside of the area subject to erosion from the Noatak River, meets safety requirements, and has been shown to be the LEDPA by only crossing one stream and avoiding the highest-value wetlands (lakes, ponds, and wetlands with surface water, floodplains) while obtaining material within the Noatak River gravel bar, which would reduce the permanent impacts of this project.

The reason for this project is public safety; there are no economic drivers. Due to the avoidance and minimization efforts DOT&PF has undertaken with community input during the planning and design of this project, minimal cumulative impacts, the in-river material site location and the functional lift associated with fisheries, the vast homogeneous wetland landscape within the watershed, NAB subsistence zoning, the permanent protection of wetlands and WOUS in conservation lands within and adjacent to the project, and by following the 404(b)(1) Guidelines sequence adhering to current Alaska regulatory guidance, no additional compensatory mitigation would be offered to offset the 87.44 acres (or less) of permanent losses to wetlands and waters.

Project Impacts Summary Table

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) that, with reasonable assurance, the activity and any resulting discharge 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 to participate in this public process, please get in touch with 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 before the expiration/closure date of this public notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

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