PUBLIC NOTICE DATE: May 24, 2012

EXPIRATION DATE: June 18, 2012

REFERENCE NUMBER: POA-1976-83-M5

WATERWAY: Iliuliuk Bay


Interested parties are hereby notified that a Department of the Army permit application has been received for work in waters of the United States as described below and shown on the enclosed project drawings.

Comments on the described work, with the reference number, should reach this office no later than the expiration date of this Public Notice to become part of the record and be considered in the decision. Please contact Jack Hewitt at telephone (907) 753-2708, toll free from within Alaska at (800) 478-2712, by fax at
(907) 753-5567, or by email at Jack.J.Hewitt@usace.army.mil if further information is desired concerning this notice.

APPLICANT: Coastal Transportation, Inc., 4025 13th Avenue West, Seattle, Washington 98119.

AGENT: Ecco Design, Inc., 203 North 36th Street, Suite 201, Seattle, Washington 98103.

LOCATION: The project site is located within Section 3, T. 73 S., R. 118 W., Seward Meridian, USGS Quad Map: Unalaska C-2, Latitude 53.8803º N., Longitude 166.5394º W., in Unalaska, Alaska.

SPECIAL AREA DESIGNATION: The project is located within the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area.

PURPOSE: The applicant’s stated purpose is to extend the dock to accommodate various sized vessels that can dock and offload product for distribution to customers.

PROPOSED WORK: Construct new 50’ by 57’, and 10’ by 181’ pile supported pier extensions to the north end of existing pier. Construct new 66’ by 82’ pile supported pier extension to the south end of existing pier. The proposed pier extensions would be used for docking large break-bulk cargo ships for consolidation and redistribution to customers. All work would be performed in accordance with the enclosed plans, 13 sheets, dated April 5, 2012.

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.

a. Avoidance: All work shall take place within the allowable in-water work timing window. Appropriate best management practices (BMMPs) shall be employed to prevent deleterious material from entering the aquatic environment during construction. A boom shall be deployed before commencement of construction to contain any floating debris that may result from the pile repair work. The boom shall remain in place during the pile repair work. If floating debris enters the water during the proposed work, the debris shall be removed immediately from the water, be stored on site, and be disposed of at an appropriate upland facility. If heaving (sinking) debris enters the water during the proposed work, the location of this debris shall be documented in a log that is kept on site for the duration of the project. When the proposed work is completed, all sunken debris that has entered the water during construction shall be retrieved and be disposed of in an appropriate upland facility. Appropriate BMPs shall be employed to minimize the amount of erosion at the shoreline caused by construction material storage and staging, and the proposed construction work. If toxic materials, such as a petroleum based product, enter the water, this material shall be reported and immediately contained using the appropriate equipment and material. Appropriate equipment and material for hazardous material clean up shall be kept at the site during construction. Any depressions in the substrate created by the removal of the piling shall be filled with clean native substrate that is of the same size and type of the existing substrate. All treated wood used for the project shall meet or exceed the standards established in “BMPs of the Use of Treated Wood in Aquatic Environments” developed by the Western Wood Preservers Institute.

b. Minimization: No creosote wood would be used in the project. All wood materials would meet or exceed the standards established in “BMPs for the Use of Treated Wood in Aquatic Environments”. The new decking material shall be untreated wood. The pier heights will be built as high above the high water line as possible to allow for light mitigation below the pier. No fill discharges will take place as part of this project. The project includes pier work only. No shoreline, bulkhead, dredging or fill would take place as part of the project.

c. Compensatory Mitigation: Compensatory mitigation is not practicable for this project. The commercial pier serves as a hub for commerce to the region. The overall size of the additions would be kept to a minimum but would still allow for vessels to dock and load/unload safely. The overall scope of the work is being completed as an improvement for economic development of the general region.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The latest published version of the Alaska Heritage Resources Survey (AHRS) has been consulted for the presence or absence of historic properties, including those listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. There are no listed or eligible properties in the vicinity of the worksite. However, the project area has been determined to be within the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears National Historic Landmark, a determination of effect will be made in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) with the National Park Service. Any comments the SHPO or NPS may have concerning presently unknown archeological or historic data that may be lost or destroyed by work under the requested permit will be considered in our final assessment of the described work.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The project site is within the known or historic range of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris), Steller’s eider (Polysticta stelleri), and the Steller sea-lion (Eumetopias jubatus). The project is also within the area designated as critical habitat for northern sea otter. We have determined the described activity will not affect the species listed above, or designated critical habitat, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 844).

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996, requires all Federal agencies to consult with the NMFS on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The project area is within the known range of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and weathervane scallops (Patinopecten caurinus). We are currently gathering information regarding these species and have yet to make a determination of effect. Should we find that the described activity may affect the species listed above, we will follow the appropriate course of action under Section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Any comments the National Marine Fisheries Service may have concerning essential fish habitat will be considered in our final assessment of the described work.

TRIBAL CONSULTATION: The Alaska District fully supports tribal self-governance and government-to-government relations between Federally recognized Tribes and the Federal government. Tribes with protected rights or resources that could be significantly affected by a proposed Federal action (e.g., a permit decision) have the right to consult with the Alaska District on a government-to-government basis. Views of each Tribe regarding protected rights and resources will be accorded due consideration in this process. This Public Notice serves as notification to the Tribes within the area potentially affected by the proposed work and invites their participation in the Federal decision-making process regarding the protected Tribal right or resource. Consultation may be initiated by the affected Tribe upon written request to the District Commander during the public comment period.

PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, reasons for holding a public hearing.

EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public interest. Evaluation of the probable impacts, which the proposed activity may have on the public interest, requires a careful weighing of all the factors that become relevant in each particular case. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. The outcome of the general balancing process would determine whether to authorize a proposal, and if so, the conditions under which it will be allowed to occur. The decision should reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. All factors, which may be relevant to the proposal, must be considered including the cumulative effects thereof. Among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. For activities involving 404 discharges, a permit will be denied if the discharge that would be authorized by such permit would not comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's 404(b)(l) guidelines. Subject to the preceding sentence and any other applicable guidelines or criteria (see Sections 320.2 and 320.3), a permit will be granted unless the District Commander determines that it would be contrary to the public interest.

The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

AUTHORITY: This permit will be issued or denied under the following authority:

(X) Perform work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States – Section 10 Rivers and Harbors Act 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).

Project drawings are enclosed with this Public Notice.




District Commander
U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers
Enclosures