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

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

**Posted:** October 09, 2026
**Respond By:** October 30, 2026
**Identifier:** POA-2022-00165 v1.0

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.

[View original listing](https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/notices/View.aspx?id=225478)