EPA Proposes Reissuance of Alyeska Seafoods -Unalaska Bay NPDES Permit, Unalaska Alaska, Comment Period 9/21/01 - 10/23/01
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 10
Park Place Building, 13th Floor
1200 Sixth Avenue, OW-130
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 553-0523
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RE-ISSUANCE OF A
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT
TO DISCHARGE TO WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES,
NOTICE OF STATE CERTIFICATION OF THE PERMIT,
and
NOTICE OF STATE REVIEW OF CONSISTENCY OF THE PERMITTED PROJECT
WITH THE ALASKA COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Public Notice Issuance Date: September 21, 2001
Public Notice Expiration Date: October 23, 2001
EPA Technical Contact: Burney Hill, Aquatic Environmental Scientist, 206-553-1761 or e-mail at hill.burney@epa.gov.
1. Applicants
AK-000027-2 Alyeska Seafoods, Inc. Unalaska seafood processing facility
AK-002865-7 Unisea, Inc. Unalaska seafood processing facility
AK-003730-3 Trident Seafoods, Inc. Akutan seafood processing facility
The above seafood companies operate shore-based seafood processing facilities in the Fox Island group of the eastern Aleutian Islands. These facilities produce fresh and frozen whole, headed-and-gutted filleted fish, whole and sectioned crab, fish mince, and fish meal, discharging processing wastewater, air scrubber water, cooling water, and other non-contact effluents to nearshore receiving waters in greater Unalaska Bay and Akutan Harbor. All three processors screen all or the major part of their wastewater to recover solids for reduction to meal and transport a portion of their effluents for discharges at-sea in receiving waters more than one mile from shore and deeper than -120 ft. Pollutants of concern include seafood processing residues (floatable, suspended and settleable), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), pH, temperature, turbidity, and color. Wasteload allocations developed through analyses of total maximum daily load have been developed for discharges of BOD5 in both south Unalaska Bay and Akutan Harbor.
2. Tentative NPDES Permitting Determination
The Region 10 Office of EPA has determined to re-issue a wastewater discharge permit to each of the above-listed applicants. NPDES permits impose limits on the pollutants and require best management practices as well as monitoring of the wastewater effluents and potential impacts to the receiving water. Fact sheets are available for each of the above proposed NPDES permits.
3. State Certification
This Notice will also serve as a Public Notice of the intent of the State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation to consider certifying that the subject discharges will comply with the applicable provisions of Sections 208(e), 301, 302, 303, 306 and 307 of the Clean Water Act. The NPDES permits will not be issued until the certification requirements of Section 401 have been met.
4. State Consistency Determination
This Notice will also serve as Public Notice of the intent of the State of Alaska, Office of Management and Budget, Division of Governmental Coordination, to review these actions for consistency as provided in Section 307(c)(3) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended [16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)].
The consistency certification is a statement of assurance that these federally permitted activities, which will affect the coastal zone, will be conducted in a manner consistent with the enforceable policies and standards of the Alaska Coastal Management Program.
5. Public Comments
Persons wishing to comment on the tentative determinations contained in the proposed permits or wishing to request that a public hearing be held, may do so in writing, within 30 days of the date of this public notice. A request for a public hearing shall state the nature of the issues to be raised as well as the requester's name, address and telephone number. Comments must be received within this 30-day period to be considered in the formulation of final determinations regarding the application. All comments should include the name, address and telephone number of the commenter and a concise statement of the exact basis of any comment and the relevant facts upon which it is based. All written comments and requests should be submitted to EPA at the above address to the attention of Burney Hill, Aquatic Environmental Scientist or e-mail at hill.burney@epa.gov.
Persons wishing to comment on State Certification should submit written comments within this 30-day period to the State of Alaska, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), Wastewater Discharge Program, 410 Willoughby Avenue Suite 303, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1795, attention Katy McKerney.
The Division of Governmental Coordination requests your comments on the proposed projects’ consistency with the Alaska Coastal Management Program. For more information on the consistency review process and the comment deadline, or to submit comments, please contact the Division of Governmental Coordination, 550 West 7th Avenue Suite 1660, Anchorage, Alaska, 99501, attention Maureen McCrea, Project Analyst. The Division of Governmental Coordination complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who may need auxiliary aids, services, or special modifications to participate in this review may contact the number above.
6. Administrative Record
The proposed NPDES permit and other related documents are on file and may be inspected at the above address any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies and other information may be requested by writing to the EPA at the above address to the attention of the Water Permits Section, or by calling (206) 553-0523. The draft permit and fact sheet are also available from the EPA Alaska Operations Office, Room 537, Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, #19, Anchorage, Alaska 99513, and EPA Alaska Operations Office, 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 100, Juneau, Alaska 99811-1800. Copies of the permit and fact sheet also are found below.
To ensure effective communication, additional services can be made available to persons with disabilities by contacting one of the above representatives. For those with impaired hearing or speech, please contact EPA's telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) at (206) 553-1598.
To view the fact sheet and draft permit, you will need an Adobe (tm) Acrobat (tm) PDF reader, which is available for free by clinking the following icon. 
