Notice of Application for State Water Quality Certification - Eaglecrest Ski Area Gondola

Notice of Application for State Water Quality CertificationPublic Notice (PN) Date: March 13, 2024 PN Reference Number: POA-2022-00364 v1.0 PN Expiration Date: April 7, 2024 Waterway: Fish Creek 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 from 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 for a public hearing with respect to water quality, submit comments electronically via the DEC public notice site at https://water.alaskadec.commentinput.com?id=fStsYETPF on or before the public notice expiration date listed above.Applicant: Eaglecrest Ski Area, Dave Scanlan, 155 Heritage Way, Juneau, AK 99801, (907) 790-2000 4297; Dave.Scanlan@skieaglecrest.com Agent: City & Borough of Juneau, Alan Steffert, 155 Heritage Way Juneau, AK 99801; (907) 586-0800 4190; alan.steffert@juneau.gov.Project Name: Eaglecrest Ski Area Gondola and Summer Activities DevelopmentDates of the proposed activity is planned to begin and end: 04/08/2024 to 11/30/2026 Location: The proposed activity is located within Section 31, T. 41S, R. 67E, Copper River Meridian, in Juneau, Alaska. 3D1021000010. Project Site (Latitude, Longitude): 58.275450, -134.51456.Purpose: The gondola/summit house project is the keystone component of Eaglecrest Ski Area's summer visitation plan. Increasing the summer visitation numbers is critical to Eaglecrest remaining financially viable. Summer recreation opportunities require hardened trails to create a durable surface to minimize ground disturbance from high-volume visitation to key vistas within the project area. The new hardened mountain bike trails will allow Eaglecrest to expand youth summer camps to promote healthy outdoor lifestyles.Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2024, with the gondola expected to be in operation by the 2026 summer season.Description of Proposed Work: The applicant proposes to discharge 30,381 cubic yards of fill material into 8.8 acres of wetlands in order to construct infrastructure and facilities upgrades to support the Eaglecrest Gondola & Summer Activity Development Project. The proposed infrastructure and facilities in wetlands would include: a gondola base building area pad and path, gondola towers, bike trails, a gondola mid station, a tubing hill, a picnic shelter, access and support roads, expansion of parking areas, and quarries for fill material. A wetland impact table is enclosed and includes the breakdown for each upgrade. Additionally, there would be approximately 395 linear feet of stream impacts to upper sections of Fish Creek and other unnamed streams for culvert stream crossings.The gondola will run 1.3 miles with 1,600-ft in elevation gain from the base terminal by the main lodge to the top terminal on the ridge crest. Work will include development of on-site material borrow sources (~30,000+ CY shot rock); 2.7 miles of new road construction; 2.9 miles of trail/path construction; installation of 24 steel gondola towers with concrete bases; construction of bottom and top gondola terminals and a mid-station, with enclosures; summit house (4,000 sq ft); picnic shelter; vault toilet; tubing hill.Roads and trails will be constructed of shot rock using end-dump construction methods. Construction access to inaccessible tower locations in alpine areas will be by snow roads in winter or helicopter.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. Avoidance: The applicant states that, “due to the expansive and widespread occurrence of wetlands surrounding the base and the lower half of the ski area, impacts to these wetlands cannot be avoided during the construction of the gondola and associated infrastructure. However, they state, “they have made all efforts to avoid high-value peat land and to site the trails into upland corridors when at all possible”. Additionally, where feasible, the applicant would construct bridges that would span Fish Creek to avoid stream impacts. Minimization: The applicant states to minimize gondola wetland impacts, “the area immediately under the gondola rope is a safety ‘no-ski’ or ‘no-go’ zone that will be roped off to prevent access and ultimately will prevent any further development on the wetlands beyond the no-go zone to the west of the terminal area”. Likewise, to minimize trail impacts the applicant states some trails are designed to serve a multipurpose role, serving initially to facilitate gondola construction access, and ultimately providing for gondola maintenance and emergency evacuation access as secondary functions to recreational riding. To minimize road impacts to wetlands that applicant states, “impacts are minimized by sticking to a previously pioneered route, and by taking as direct a path as possible through wetlands”. To minimize wetland impacts associated with the quarries, the applicant stated they would stockpile or dispose of excess overburden in only upland locations. Overall, the applicant states the development upgrades would concentrate usage and impacts to these developed areas, which would then reduce recreational impacts to unhardened areas of the resort where wetlands are common. Mitigation: The applicant states, “that Eaglecrest concentrates usage in a relatively small area of upper Fish Creek Valley, and given that the wetlands are widespread throughout the valley, Douglas Island, and southeast Alaska in general, they feel that their development’s impact on wetlands is small in the overall scheme of things, and that compensatory mitigation is not appropriate for this proposed development”. However, the applicant states, “that instead of compensatory mitigation, they propose to restrict access to and remediate old social trails through wetlands. Remediation will be an ongoing effort centered around the heavily impacted muskegs in the mid-station area and Cropley Lake. The mid-mountain quarry would require slope grading at the completion of extraction. Oversized quarry rock will be placed against the toe of the quarry face and excess stripped overburden will be placed on top, blending the slope into the surrounding wetland on the west side of the quarry”. 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) with reasonable assurance the activity and any discharge that might result will comply with water quality requirements. The Department also may deny or waive certification.The permit application and associated documents are available for review. For inquires or to request copies of the documents, contact dec-401cert@alaska.gov, or call 907-269-6285. Disability Reasonable Accommodation NoticeThe 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 in order to participate in this public process, please contact ADA Coordinator Megan Kohler at 907-269-4198 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 prior to the expiration date of this public notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.[1] Reference submission number: HQ1-WEMG-5NJM5; Received: 3/4/2024 9:17:22 AM