Alaska Online Public Notices #POA-2022-00165 v1.0

West Susitna Access Project: Section 401 certification and Section 404 permit review

This notice concerns permits and public review for the proposed West Susitna Access Project, not a procurement of goods or services. - Government agencies and applicant - Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is reviewing AIDEA’s request for Clean Water Act Section 401 water-quality certification. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Alaska District, Regulatory Division, Anchorage Office, is reviewing the associated Section 404 permit application. - The applicant is the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). The planned connection references the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF) West Susitna Access Road. - Project scope - Build an approximately 78.5-mile, two-lane gravel access road, about 24 feet wide, from near Alexander Creek to the Whiskey Bravo Airstrip in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. - Project components include up to 10 bridges, approximately 138 culverts, 17 potential material sites, nine water-extraction sites, a maintenance station, an airstrip, trail crossings, access roads, and temporary bridge work trestles. - One identified material site contains an estimated 390,000–415,000 cubic yards of gravel borrow. - Aquatic impacts and notable requirements - The application describes up to 700,000 cubic yards of aggregate fill and impacts affecting approximately 66 acres of waters; it estimates 3.18 acres of unavoidable impacts to jurisdictional aquatic resources and proposes no compensatory mitigation. - Project design and construction must address fish passage and drainage, erosion and sediment control, spill prevention, and fish and wildlife timing restrictions, as well as applicable federal and Alaska water-quality standards. - DEC review may result in certification, certification with conditions, denial, or waiver. The USACE jurisdictional determination is pending. - OEMs, vendors, and procurement status - No OEMs, commercial vendors, product purchases, part numbers, or quantities for purchased goods are identified. This is a permitting and public-review matter, not a solicitation. - Timing - Construction timing is not finalized and depends on funding, investment decisions, final design, and permit approvals. The available summaries describe an estimated construction duration of roughly 2–5 years.

Description

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is providing public notice of AIDEA’s request for Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification associated with a Department of the Army permit application. The proposed West Susitna Access Project would construct a 78.5-mile, two-lane gravel road from near Alexander Creek to the Whiskey Bravo Airstrip in the Skwentna River Valley, with bridges, culverts, material sites, water-extraction access roads, an airstrip, and a maintenance station. The application describes fill placement in aquatic resources and related temporary construction work; the applicant identifies 3.18 acres of unavoidable impacts to jurisdictional aquatic resources and proposes no compensatory mitigation. Comments or public-hearing requests were due by October 29, 2026.

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