Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks comments on a proposed 125-foot long floating dock, a 100-foot long aluminum gangway and a 607-foot long timber boardwalk to be built below the mean high water mark on the north shore of China Poot Bay. The applicant, Gail Fisher of China Bay LLC, Santa Barbara, Calif., seeks a permit for the projects as part of a development of a commercial lodge and private home for the owners. Fisher proposes construction of the dock to start in October. However, the date for comments was extended from Oct. 3 to a new date of Nov. 2.

Comments can be made to U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District Regulatory Division, 44669 Sterling Highway, Suite B, Soldotna, AK 99669-7915 by Nov. 2. For more information, contact Katherine A. McCafferty at 907-753-2692 by fax at (907) 420-0813, or by email at Katherine.a.mccafferty2@usace.army.mil if further information is desired concerning this notice. Reference the application number, POA-2017-336.

The full text of the public notice, as well as associated maps and drawings, is available at http://www.poa.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/

The application also is below:

US Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District

Regulatory Division (1145)

CEPOA-RD

44669 Sterling Highway, Suite B

Soldotna, Alaska 99669-7915

PUBLIC NOTICE DATE: September 18, 2017

EXPIRATION DATE: October 3, 2017

REFERENCE NUMBER: POA-2017-336

WATERWAY: China Poot 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 Ms. Katherine A. McCafferty at (907) 753-2692 by fax at

(907) 420-0813, or by email at Katherine.a.mccafferty2@usace.army.mil if further information

is desired concerning this notice.

APPLICANT: Ms. Gail Fisher (China Bay, LLC), 952 Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara,

California 93103

AGENT: Mr. John Bishop (Bishop Engineering, LLC) Post Office Box 2501, Homer, Alaska

99603

LOCATION: The project site is located within Section 15, T. 7 S., R. 12 W., Seward Meridian;

USGS Quad Map Seldovia C-4; Latitude 59.5755º N., Longitude 151.3146º W.;

China Poot Bay; Kenai Peninsula Borough tax parcel 193-270-03; 4.4 miles southeast of

Homer, Alaska.

SPECIAL AREA DESIGNATION: The project is located within the Kachemak Bay National

Estuarine Research Reserve and the Kachemak Bay State Critical Habitat Area.

PURPOSE: The applicant’s stated purpose is to develop a mixed use site, with a commercial

lodging facility and a residential house for the owners, with boat access at all tide elevations.

Public Notice of Application for Permit

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant proposes to construct a 125 foot by 8 foot wide long

floating dock, a 100 foot long by 4 foot wide aluminum gangway, and a 607 foot long by

6 foot wide timber boardwalk below the mean high water mark (MHWM, 17.2 feet above the

mean lower low water elevation of 0 feet) of China Poot Bay, which is a navigable water of the

U.S. In addition, the applicant proposes to temporarily sidecast 360 cubic yards of native

substrate into 0.08-acres below the high tide line (HTL, 23.1 feet above the mean lower low

water elevation) of China Poot Bay.

The floating dock would be supported by six 16-inch diameter steel pilings. The dock would be

constructed of timber decking and interconnected plastic floats containing polystyrene fill.

The boardwalk would be supported by sixty-eight 12-inch diameter steel or recycled creosote

treated timber piles. The recycled timber piles were previously installed in the marine

environment in southcentral Alaska. The wood deck and cross bracing would consist of

micronized copper quaternary treated wood.

The piles would be installed by excavating the native substrate down to bedrock at low tide

using a track mounted excavator, installing rock anchors or drilling to embed the piling where

the substrate is shallow, placing the pilings, and then replacing the sidecast substrate back

around the piling. All excess substrate, approximately 6 cubic yards of material, would be

permanently disposed of in uplands.

The 16-inch piles would be embedded in the bedrock using a drill and a crane mounted on a

120 foot long by 30 foot wide spud barge. The applicant estimates that it would take 6 working

days, with two piles set over each 8 hour day, to install the 16-inch pilings.

Thirty-four of the 12-inch piles would require a rock anchor, which would consist of a

¾ inch diameter by 4 foot long, galvanized steel threaded rod, embedded in a 2 inch hole and

set with rapid set hydraulic cement grout. The rock anchors would be installed during low tide.

Rock anchor drilling is anticipated to take 34 days with about 2 hours of drilling per day, at low

tide.

The applicant proposes to begin work as soon as October 2017 and to complete work by the

end of August 2018.

All work would be performed in accordance with the enclosed plan (sheet 1), dated September

6, 2017, (sheet 2), dated September 12, 2017, and (sheet 3), dated September 13, 2017.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Work above the HTL, which does not require Department of

the Army authorization, includes the construction of a 4 bedroom residence and a 10 bedroom

lodge and a material and equipment staging area in the uplands at the north end of the local

bay. The residence is currently under construction and the lodge construction is proposed for

summer of 2018.

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.

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a. Avoidance: The boardwalk alignment was kept as close to the bluff as feasible and

would attach to the bluff where feasible to avoid installation of additional pilings.

b. Minimization: The boardwalk would be located above the mean high water (MHW)

where feasible. Temporary stockpiling of excavated materials would be placed above the

MHW where feasible. Excavations and backfilling would be performed sequentially to

minimize disturbed materials. Work along the boardwalk would commence from the dock and

work toward the beach, and equipment and stockpiling would be limited to a 6 foot wide zone.

c. Compensatory Mitigation: No compensatory mitigation was proposed as no

permanent discharges of dredged or fill material are proposed.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: A permit for the described work will not be issued until a

certification or waiver of certification, as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act

(Public Law 95-217), has been received from the Alaska Department of Environmental

Conservation.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The permit area has been determined to be the footprint of the

structures described above, as well as the footprint of the spud barge, the 6 foot wide

construction area along the path of the proposed boardwalk, and the material and equipment

staging area in the uplands at the north end of the local bay.

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. AHRS site SEL-00012 is in the

immediate vicinity of the permit area. AHRS site SEL-00013 is located within less than

1,000 feet of the permit area. A determination of eligibility has not yet been made for either

site. Consultation of the AHRS constitutes the extent of cultural resource investigations by the

Corps of Engineers (Corps) at this time, and we are otherwise unaware of the presence of

such resources.

We will initiate the appropriate consultation procedures under Appendix C of 33 CFR 325 and

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with the Alaska SHPO. This application

is being coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Any comments

SHPO 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 area is within the known or historic range of the

Western DPS Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) (Endangered), Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

(Delphinapterus leucas) (Endangered), Western North Pacific Humpback Whale (Megaptera

novaeangliae) (Endangered), the Mexico DPS Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

(Threatened) and the short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).

We have determined the described activity would have no effect on the short-tailed albatross,

under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 844). Therefore, no consultation with the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required. However, any comments they may have concerning

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endangered or threatened wildlife or plants or their critical habitat will be considered in our final

assessment of the described work.

We have determined the described activity may affect the threatened or endangered Western

DPS of the Steller sea lion, the Cook Inlet beluga whale, and the Western North Pacific and

the Mexico DPS of the humpback whale, and the Cook Inlet beluga whale designated critical

habitat. We will initiate the appropriate consultation procedures under section 7 of the

Endangered Species Act with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Any comments

they may have concerning endangered or threatened wildlife or plants or their critical habitat

will be considered in our final assessment of the described work.

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 the pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha),

chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), chinook salmon

(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and the coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

We have determined the described activity would not adversely affect EFH in the project area.

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

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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 authorities:

(X) Perform work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States – Section 10 Rivers and

Harbors Act 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).

(X) Discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States – Section 404 Clean

Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). Therefore, our public interest review will consider the guidelines

set forth under Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act (40 CFR 230).

Project drawings and a Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification are enclosed

with this Public Notice.

District Commander

U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers

Enclosures

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BILL WALKER, GOVERNOR

STATE OF ALASKA

DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

DIVISION OF WATER

401 Certification Program

Non-Point Source Water Pollution Control Program

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

WQM/401 CERTIFICATION

555 CORDOVA STREET

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501-2617

PHONE: (907) 269-7564/FAX: (907) 334-2415

NOTICE OF APPLICATION

FOR

STATE WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION

Any applicant for a federal license or permit to conduct an activity that might result in a

discharge into navigable waters, in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act of

1977 (PL95-217), also must apply for and obtain certification from the Alaska Department of

Environmental Conservation that the discharge will comply with the Clean Water Act, the

Alaska Water Quality Standards, and other applicable State laws. By agreement between the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Environmental Conservation, application

for a Department of the Army permit to discharge dredged or fill material into navigable waters

under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act also may serve as application for State Water

Quality Certification.

Notice is hereby given that the application for a Department of the Army Permit described in

the Corps of Engineers’ Public Notice No. POA-2017-336, China Poot Bay, serves as

application for State Water Quality Certification from the Department of Environmental

Conservation.

After reviewing the application, the Department may certify there is reasonable assurance the

activity, and any discharge that might result, will comply with the Clean Water Act, the Alaska

Water Quality Standards, and other applicable State laws. The Department also may deny or

waive certification.

Any person desiring to comment on the project, with respect to Water Quality Certification,

may submit written comments to the address above by the expiration date of the Corps of

Engineer’s Public Notice.

PROJECT SITE MAP

China Bay, LLC – Dock and Boardwalk

POA-2017-336

Lat: 59º34’32”N Long: 151º18’53”W

Seldovia C-4 SE Quadrangle

500 Feet

Proposed Boardwalk

and Dock (Project) China Poot Bay

Property owned by applicant

Peterson Bay

Planned Private

Residence

Planned Commercial

Lodge and Restaurant

sheet 1, dated September 6, 2017

PLAN

N Feet 0 50 100 Drawn: Checked: Date: Project: File Name: Sheet: Revisions:of Sheet Title:

PO BOX 2501 HOMER, ALASKA 99603-2501

(907) 299-7609

JBISHOP@BISHOP-ENGINEERING.COM S1.1 SITE PLAN

BISHOP ENGINEERING, LLC

APPLICANT: CHINA BAY, LLC

PROJECT: DOCK AND BOARDWALK (POA-2017-336)

PROJECT LOCATION: T7S R12W SEC 15 SM, ALASKA, KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH

WATERBODY: KACHEMAK BAY

DATE PREPARED; 9/12/2017

PLAN VIEW DOCK AND BOARDWALK

BOARDWALK PIER – TYPE 2 (TOTAL 29)

BOARDWALK PIER – TYPE 1 (TOTAL 10) DOCK SECTIONFeet 12 6 0 Feet 12 6 0 Feet 12 6 0 Drawn: Checked: Date: Project: File Name: Sheet: Revisions:of Sheet Title:

PO BOX 2501 HOMER, ALASKA 99603-2501

(907) 299-7609

JBISHOP@BISHOP-ENGINEERING.COM S1.2 TYPICAL SECTIONS

BISHOP ENGINEERING, LLCAPPLICANT: CHINA BAY, LLC PROJECT: DOCK AND BOARDWALK (POA-2017-336) PROJECT LOCATION: T7S R12W SEC 15 SM, ALASKA, KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH WATERBODY: KACHEMAK BAY DATE PREPARED; 9/13/2017 PLAN VIEW DOCK AND BOARDWALK

Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
Corps seeks comments on China Poot dock
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