USDOT BUILD GRANT APPLICATION 2019
PROJECT NOATAK TO DELONG MOUNTAIN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM HAUL ROAD PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL LINKAGES STUDY SPONSOR NATIVE VILLAGE OF NOATAK WWW.NOATAKPEL.ORG CONTENTS
SECTION 1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION...... 3
SECTION 2.0 PROJECT LOCATION...... 7
SECTION 3.0 GRANT FUNDS, SOURCES, AND USES OF PROJECT FUNDS ...... 8
SECTION 4.0 SELECTION CRITERIA...... 9 a. Primary Selection...... 9 b. Secondary Selection...... 14
SECTION 5.0 PROJECT READINESS...... 17 a. Technical Feasibility...... 17 b. Project Schedule...... 20 c. Required Approvals...... 20 d. Assessment of Project Risks and Mitigation Strategies...... 26
SECTION 6.0 PROJECT READINESS...... 27
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1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION (Fay, Schworer, Mouhcine, & Armagost, 2013). In 2018, the Ted Stevens International Airport was High fuel prices have a broad impact on Alaskan the 5th busiest hub for air cargo in the world (Alaska communities. When prices of gasoline and other Public, 2018) 75 large cargo jets landed daily and vehicle fuel go up, households immediately face the cemented Anchorage as a world-class cargo hub. If higher costs associated with the increase in the price Alaska were a country, it would rank 33rd largest out of gasoline. Furthermore, transportation industries of 239 countries in the world. Alaska’s division and pay more for fuel and in turn, increase the rate sheets distance from other U.S. states, its resource-based for passengers and freight (Fay, Schworer, Mouhcine, economy, the 6,640 miles of coastline, a vast area & Armagost, 2013). of over 663,300 square miles, extreme weather, Despite the dependency on fuel prices, air travel and rugged terrain make the transportation system remains the most efficient form of transportation in globally unique (ADOT&PF, 2008). The estimated and out of the state. Residents in Anchorage may feel population of Alaska in 2018 is over 730,000 people connected to the rest of the world as they have flight with about 240,000 (33%) living in rural Alaska and options available to them at reasonable prices. Alaska 67% living in urban Alaska (Research and Analysis, Airlines is the only major airliner providing travel 2019). It is costly to build roads in rural Alaska for from the Railbelt to rural hub communities. Residents the reasons given above. The current connected road in these hubs, such as Bethel, Dillingham, Kotzebue, system covers only parts of Southcentral and Interior Nome, and Barrow, are a massively removed from Alaska. Juneau, the state capital, is not accessible by that due to the steep cost of travel from a hub road. This results in a disconnected Alaska in terms of community into Anchorage or Fairbanks. Although surface transportation. smaller airliners fly out to the remaining communities, To help resolve this disparity, Alaska uses other these residents may find travel to the lower 48 an forms of surface transportation. The Alaska Railroad impossible prospect. runs from Seward north to Fairbanks along the In the interim, resources in rural communities ‘Railbelt’ which carries both passengers and cargo are not always plentiful as subsistence harvests are while the Alaska Marine Highway provides access to being affected by climate change which is causing a communities in Southern Alaska. variety in changes in harvest cycles, production, and Beyond the Railbelt, hundreds of small isolated distribution (Chapin et al. 2014; Griffith and McGuire communities with low population density reside on 2008). The most significant negative climate impacts the coast and along rivers, which may freeze in the stem from melting sea ice and associated ecological winter. Cargo is delivered seasonally via barge, but fluctuations in western Alaska (Hezel et al. 2012; otherwise, the communities depend on airplanes to Huntington et al. 2016). Shrinking seasonal sea ice carry people and most consumer goods. Shipping can cover and shifting weather patterns increase the risk of require up to four modalities, multiple handlings, and travel in small boats and reduce the time when walrus various warehousing functions before the product and other sea-ice dependent species are available arrives at the final destination. Alaska transportation for harvesting (Berman & Schmidt, 2018). Outside of industries used about one billion gallons of fuel in subsistence foods, rural communities such as Noatak 2010, of which 961 million gallons cost $2.5 billion depend on goods flown in from other places.
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In Noatak, a man gets on a four-wheeler and school, water/sewage treatment plant, and fuel travels on gravel roads to get dropped off at the tanks. The impact of even one changing variable, local unsheltered runway. There he waits for Bering such as increasing temperatures, on one mode Air to pick him up, in a small propeller plane, to fly of transportation, such as winter trails, is difficult 30 minutes to Kotzebue for $342. The plane can to analyze. Warmer temperatures cause a loss of carry only a few other people as mail and food for overland winter transportation, which is challenging Kivalina, a neighboring community, fills the rest to quantify in terms of human safety, construction, of the plane. In Kotzebue, he carries his things to and subsistence. Increased risk undoubtedly equates Alaska Airlines where two flights come in daily to to increased cost. Considering the multi-variable and Anchorage. A roundtrip ticket for this journey costs multi-modal transportation system such as Noatak, about $650. Once in Anchorage, the Noatak man gets it becomes apparent that the planning of any surface a taxi and shops at Walmart, Costco, eats out, and transportation project should be equally adept. stays overnight somewhere. At the store, he buys Sustainable living for this growing community will not things not readily available at home such as certain happen unless transportation infrastructure is built. consumer goods, fresh fruit, and vegetables. All his The Noatak Community Comprehensive Development goods are packed in Rubbermaid totes, coolers, or Plan 2006-2016 articulates Noatak’s residents’ goals heavy cardboard boxes packed up with zip ties and to develop and maintain public infrastructure and duct tape. Coming back, 150 pounds of luggage is free services for accommodating community growth. to ship. Otherwise, freight costs $1.00 per pound at These goals include: any airliner from Anchorage to Kotzebue plus another $1.10 from Anchorage back to Noatak. He hopefully • Building and maintaining new ground, air, and marine does not have to overnight in the Kotzebue hotel, transportation facilities and services that will create Nullagvik, because it costs about $280 a night if there local jobs, while enhancing safety, accessibility, and is space. Such trips happen for this Noatak man for affordable costs for the community; and shopping, medical appointments, or any other reason. • Ensuring the safe movement of fuel, goods, people, and Imagine the cost that an entire family might incur for services; and such a trip. • Investigating the benefits, costs, and economic impacts Noatak residents face various upcoming changes of developing surface transportation projects; and such as the rising costs of living coupled with lower • Evaluating transportation options that will make Noatak funding availability, impacts of climate change, sustainable. pressures on subsistence resources, and lack of jobs for young people. The Noatak River is actively eroding CENSUS DESIGNATION the bank that will soon impact the airport runway. No Archaeologists believe that people have inhabited the roads connect to the village, and a barge port site is Noatak area for over 11,000 years. Historically, two not possible due to shallow waters and the pristine separate nations lived along the Noatak River. The status of the watershed. Despite these challenges, Nuataaġmiut occupied the headwater regions from people in Noatak stay in the village cemented in Howard Pass to the upriver portion of the Noatak place by expensive infrastructures such as the K-12 Canyon. The Naapaqtuġmiut occupied the region
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from the downriver portion of the Noatak Canyon facilities, on-site power generation, and residential to just below where the Eli River joins the Noatak quarters for up to 96 workers. While the Study Area (Satterthwaite-Phillips, Krenz, Gray, & Dodd, 2016). does not include the port facilities, it does include a These groups would remain separate until spring sizable portion of the DMTS gravel haul road. when they would gather to hunt seals and beluga. The eastern boundary follows the western bank In 1908, the California Yearly Meeting Friends of the Noatak River, except near Noatak where the Church began a federally funded mission school in Study Area encompasses the Noatak River to its Noatak. Elders helped to select a more permanent eastern bank. site (present-day Noatak) near the center of the The northern boundary of the Study Area goes old Naapaqtuġmiut region which at the time was a from the terminus of the eastern boundary of the seasonal hunting and fishing camp. The first airplanes Study Area and continues northwesterly about 12 to land in Noatak arrived in the late 1920s. The miles in order to stay within state lands. The western federal government established a post office in 1940 boundary of the Study Area roughly parallels the (ADCCED, 2019). The constitution and by-laws of the DMTS Road and extends northwesterly of the road an Native Village of Noatak Indian Reorganization Act average of ten miles. The southern boundary of the (IRA) Council were ratified in 1939. Study Area (moving from east to west) follows the Since 1980, the community of Noatak has been northern border of the Cape Krusenstern National growing steadily, increasing by 2.4 percent (%) annually Monument (CKNM) until approximately halfway at from 273 residents in 1980 to 469 residents in 2003. which point the Study Area crosses west into the As of the 2010 US Census, there were 514 people living CKNM and extends northwest four miles past the in Noatak. The estimated population, in 2017, was 580. DMTS Road. The village consists primarily of Iñupiat Eskimos; 94.7% of the residents self-identified as Alaska Natives or PROJECT HISTORY American Indian (ADCCED, 2019). Officials expect the Extensive efforts have been made, by regional and population to double again in the next 20 years. local entities, to construct a road from Noatak to the A unique characteristic of Noatak is that it is DMTS Road date back decades. Key milestones and unincorporated as a city, so the tribal government dates include: remains the sole local government. • May 2005. ADOT&PF completed an economic STUDY AREA assessment of a road between Noatak and the DMTS The Study Area is over 750 mi². The Study Area’s Road. This assessment included the construction of a western boundary encompasses a part of the DMTS regional airport due to pending flight restrictions at the which supplies the necessary infrastructure to support Red Dog Mine. the Red Dog Mine, one of the world’s largest producing • January 8, 2018. Noatak PEL Project Start. A project to zinc mines. The DMTS includes a 52-mile, 30 ft wide, conduct elements of a PEL to reduce costs associated all-weather gravel industrial haul road from Red Dog with planning and NEPA processes for surface Mine to a port facility, shallow water dock, offshore transportation projects in Noatak. conveyor system, fuel distribution system, storage • 2018. Information Gathering and Agency Scoping for
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the Noatak PEL. DMTS Road near the Red Dog Mine “Pit 6” is aligned • August-October 2018. Public Meetings in Noatak for the with this vision and would help ensure Noatak’s Noatak PEL. sustainability for future generations. • 2019. Noatak Transportation Inventory (NTI) and Phase One of PEL completion for the Noatak PEL. PURPOSE The Noatak Surface Transportation PEL is the result of PRIMARY PROJECT–NOATAK TO DMTS the teaming process formed on behalf of the Noatak HAUL ROAD consisting of Noatak staff and leadership, ADOT&PF, The primary construction project is to build a 28- to NANA Regional Corporation (NANA), the Northwest 40-mile gravel road that would bridge the gap between Arctic Borough (NAB), and Remote Solutions. Public Noatak and the DMTS Road. The Noatak to DMTS Haul involvement activities, conducted as part of this Road will serve many useful functions by providing: process, identify Project Options, concerns, and issues to address in the Study Area surrounding Noatak and • Access to a secondary emergency airport for the the DMTS. The PEL is designed to consider a wide mine would become available in extreme weather to array of surface transportation Project Options to transport workers to Red Dog Mine or in the case of life- supply the necessary information to systematically saving medical evacuation; and identify projects that best meet the needs of the • Direct transit access for the local workforce to the mine community of Noatak while minimizing impacts to so they could commute back home instead of staying in the human and natural environments. These Project a dormitory for two weeks; and Options are screened against a pre-determined • Access to bulk freight and fuel storage at the mine site criterion. Those projects not eliminated, considered and to Noatak; and Project Solutions, receive further analysis regarding • Cheaper fuel prices, which will impact the availability of potential environmental impacts, engineering basic and essential services; and feasibility, and costs culminating in a Proposed Action • Cheaper freight, construction supplies, and equipment; for high priority Project Solutions. and The PEL process thoroughly vets projects and • Subsistence access is limited to river and air travel, allows for an informed go/no-go decision for which incur high upkeep, fuel costs, and safety stakeholders and funders before they invest in field hazards. The road would facilitate access to traditional studies or preliminary design. Following evaluation subsistence and native allotments, ensuring that and screening, Proposed Actions, for each Project residents can obtain their food while preserving one of Solution, will be developed and moved forward the oldest cultures on the planet. through the NEPA process. Each Project Solution will have a go / no-go decision. If evaluation remain Through construction of the primary project, a go, the next step is to achieve an approved Class the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road, the community of of Action (COA). Through early engagement with Noatak intends to mitigate rising energy costs and agencies, early determination of the appropriate the prohibitively high cost of living. The construction level of NEPA documentation for each Project of an all-season road that connects Noatak to the Solution will streamline implementation of Project
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Solutions. The overall intent is to streamline • Rough order of magnitude financial estimates; and completion of the project-level NEPA review. The is • Geotechnical Studies; and especially the case with the primary project – the • Lidar, Surveying, and Imagery; and Noatak to DMTS Haul Road. • Environmental Fieldwork; and Under an MOU, dated September 20, 2012, • Class of Action determinations. between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Alaska Department of Transportation and NEED Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), ADOT&PF assumed The community of Noatak intends to mitigate rising some of FHWA’s environmental responsibilities for energy costs and a prohibitive cost of living by federal-aid projects in Alaska since September 2009 conducting long-range planning centered around (Alaska FHWA and ADOT&PF, 2012) as part of the sustainable practices. The need for the Noatak PEL 6004 Program. The 6004 Program applied to most is to identify surface transportation solutions that projects that qualify as a categorical exclusion (CE) address the existing conditions in Noatak such as under 23 CFR 771.117(c) and (d). DOT&PF’s Statewide the high cost of living, the need for community Environmental Office would determine whether a sustainability, and the need for infrastructure proposed Federal-aid project met the criteria for a CE upgrades. The community of Noatak seeks to benefit under the 6004 program (Alaska FHWA, 2013). For future generations by making decisions today that 6004 projects, ADOT&PF managed environmental focus on sustainable planning, development, and review, most consultation, and other related action practices. The PEL is a critical component to successful required under federal laws and executive orders transportation project implementation and to applicable to CE projects. Later, in early 2018, meeting the intentions of the community of Noatak. this program was expanded to include EAs and Specifically, the PEL will examine how: Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). The purpose of this PEL is to evaluate the feasibility • To ensure the safe movement of fuel, goods, people, of improving multi-modal transportation access in and services along the proposed Noatak to DMTS Haul Noatak through means of surface transportation Road; and projects. The process will generate: • To investigate and minimize the environmental impacts of the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road; and • A surface transportation problem statement; and • To investigate the benefits, costs, and economic • A comprehensive list of Project Options that meet the impacts of developing the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road; PEL purpose and need; and and • A list of Project Solutions that met the criteria baseline; • To evaluate all other surface transportation options that and will make Noatak sustainable. • Clear purpose and need for individual Project Solutions; and • Defined Project Solutions Study Areas; and 2. PROJECT LOCATION • Alternatives for Project Solutions; and Noatak is a small, remote, rural village located in • Preliminary environmental evaluations; and Northwest Alaska whose residents are primarily
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Iñupiat Eskimos. Noatak, on the west bank of the Passenger, cargo, and private aircraft pilots utilize 396-mile-long Noatak River, is a few miles west of the a 4,000 ft long by 60 ft wide lighted gravel runway 66-million-acre Noatak National Preserve. Noatak is that is one of 256 airports owned and operated by 42 miles by air north of Kotzebue and 70 miles north ADOT&PF, the most extensive aviation system in of the Arctic Circle. The community is located within North America. Multiple scheduled passenger flights the Kotzebue Recording District and encompasses depart for Kotzebue daily. A round-trip ticket from 11.6 square miles (mi²) of land and 0.7 mi² of water Noatak to Kotzebue costs about $250. Air cargo rates (Northwest Arctic Borough, 2019). from Kotzebue range from $0.90 per pound for loads The Noatak region breaks down into a coastal exceeding 5,000 pounds to $1.10 per pound for loads maritime zone and an inland continental zone with weighing less than 500 pounds. more extremes in temperature and precipitation. Temperatures average between a range of -15 to 5 Fahrenheit (°F) during winter and between 45 to 60 3. GRANT FUNDS, SOURCES, AND °F during summer. Recorded temperature extremes USES OF PROJECT FUNDS exist from -60°F to over 90 °F. Snowfall averages 48 a. Project costs inches, with 10-13 inches of total precipitation per year The funding request in this planning grant application (Fitzpatrick, et al., 2008). Ice on the Noatak River can is for $1 million. The BUILD grant funding will pay for be over 5 feet thick. 83.5% of the project. State funding of $200,000 has Noatak is not connected to any other village or been allocated to this project to start the PEL process. town by a road or highway system, making riverine These funds are not included in the cost estimate. and air travel the primary sources of transportation The Native Village of Noatak is requesting for business, recreation, and shipping. Locals use the $1,000,000 from the planning grant BUILD program river to go to and from fishing camps, subsistence to combine efforts with ADOT&PF to complete a PEL sites, and other communities. In the winter months, study and begin the NEPA process for the Noatak the residents travel the river by snow machines or to DMTS Haul Road. The rough order of magnitude dog teams. project construction cost is $50 million. Noatak The Noatak River splits into two channels about will coordinate with the Northwest Arctic Borough a mile upriver from the village. In the spring, the and ADOT&PF to secure remaining project funds. water level drops significantly in the channel by the Work to date includes planning work, preliminary village, making the river unnavigable for barge traffic environmental, preliminary engineering, and ROM (Langdon, 2013). Barge service on the river was cost estimates. suspended in 1992 due to inadequate channel depth of the Noatak River near the community. Therefore, b. For all funds to be used for eligible project Noatak depends entirely on air transport for all fuel, costs, the source and amount of those funds; cargo, durable goods, and construction materials. The $1,000,000 BUILD grant request represents 20% Small boats support recreation as well as subsistence of the $5 million total pre-construction project costs. hunting and fishing. There is no railroad, port, or The State of Alaska has obligated $200,000 to begin a functional barge landing. PEL study to kick-off pre-construction activities.
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ADOT&PF has determined that a thorough PEL can 4. CONTRACTUAL save up to 20% on pre-construction costs. The PEL a. $180,000 technical writing; inventory management, process, supported by the Every Day Counts Initiative, agency coordination and engagement, community is efficient and cost-effective on project delivery. engagement; drone imagery, GIS database and mapping b. $250,000 geotechnical investigations c. For non-Federal funds to be used for eligible c. $200,000 environmental fieldwork (wetlands, cultural project costs, documentation of funding resources, and biological surveys) commitments should be referenced here and d. $200,000 LiDAR/Survey included as an appendix to the application; The State of Alaska has contributed $200,000, equivalent to a 20% match. ADOT&PF has also 4. SELECTION CRITERIA committed to a further 5% match on any future a. Primary Criteria Federal funds granted to this project. i. Safety
d. For Federal funds to be used for eligible AIRSPACE project costs, the amount, nature, and source No roads connect to the village of Noatak. Small of any required non- Federal match for those aircraft is the primary mode of transportation for funds; and people, goods, and fuel. Based on current FAA design No match is required for rural areas. standards set for the Cessna 208B and PA31 Piper Navajo, the Noatak Airport facilities are deficient. The e. A budget showing how each source of funds aircraft parking apron width is undersized at 500 ft will be spent by 150 ft. The airport’s actual operations and fleet mix DESCRIPTION COST TOTAL support increasing the runway protection zone (RPZ) 1. PRE-CONSTRUCTION WORK TO-DATE $200,000 0.4% dimensions to accommodate the aircraft using the 2. PRE-CONSTRUCTION WORK REMAINING $5,000,000 9% airport. The aircraft approach slope and runway safety 3. CONSTRUCTION COSTS $50,000,000 90.6% areas are also deficient. Also, there are several safety GRAND TOTAL: $55,200,000 100% concerns that need to be addressed:
Total Grant Request: $1,000,000 • There are objects obstructing airspace (e.g., public Total Project Cost (Including ADOT&PF 5% Match): road, non-directional beacon tower, buildings, antenna, $1,050,000 and several trees); and 1. TRAVEL • Fully loaded fuel planes fly low over the village, which a. $20,000 Travel to Noatak for four public meetings presents a threat to the health and quality of life for the 2. SUPPLIES residents; and a. $20,000 printing, software, materials • Landing and departing aircraft are exposed to a wildlife 3. PERSONNEL/ADMIN hazard due to the proximity of the sewage lagoon and a. $180,000 admin, project management, technical landfill, which is 1,200 feet away (less than the required writing, GIS 5,000 feet).
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Even if airport relocation is not included in this this project was to decrease the cost of energy with analysis, the reduced usage of Noatak’s unsafe the implementation of an overland fuel transport airport will increase safety. On average, there are system. The proposed route starts from a gravel over three small plane crashes in America each day, pit along the DMTS Road known as “Pit Six” (18 resulting in approximately four hundred deaths per miles from the DMTS Port) and follows a winter year. Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens accidental snowmachine trail that crosses the CKNM to Noatak. death in a small plane crash underscored the harsh This proposed route is approximately 24 miles long reality of transportation hazards in rural Alaska. The with roughly nine miles crossing the CKNM and an remote location of the road and scarcity of personal additional seven miles of lands managed by BLM. vehicles should minimize the risk of crashes, Significant effort was put into determining the ideal injuries, and fatalities among transportation route (Schaeffer, 2015). users. The road would make life-saving medical A Caterpillar Forwarder 564 (CAT) was equipped evacuations possible with one of the two airports with the fuel tank and pump assembly to transport being inaccessible. diesel fuel. The CAT is a six-wheeled forestry machine The temperature in Alaska has increased twice with a load capacity of 30,000 pounds and an as fast as the rest of the United States. Northwest operating weight of 36,000 pounds. The CAT will Alaska is forecasted to increase by 2°F to 4°F by move eight to ten miles-per-hour on large tires as 2050. This could be as high as 10°F to 12°F if global opposed to tracks. Cruz Construction was selected as emissions are left unchecked (Chapin, 2014). In the contractor for the project. Kotzebue, the mean temperature in 2018 was 6.7 Noatak obtained a Special Use Permit from the °F higher than the average annual temperature National Park Service granting one-time round-trip from 1981-2010 (Stuefer, et al., 2018). This regional winter access across NPS managed lands in CKNM variance is higher than anywhere documented in for reconnaissance purposes. The CAT would travel the state. The repercussions of this are relevant without a fuel payload on a prepared snow trail from to infrastructure development in Noatak. Due to Pit #6 eastward toward the NPS boundary and back. climate change, the number of days that ice covers This project was issued the following permits and the Noatak River and Hotham Inlet are shrinking. authorizations: Increasing temperatures raises the peril of traveling by ice, which can result in injuries, or loss of life, to • Western Arctic National Park Lands Special Use Permit, people and damaged equipment. The construction Number WEAR-BAC 1369 (National Park Service, 2016); of the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road would increase and modes of transportation thereby increase safety. • BLM temporary ROW (Bureau of Land Management, 2016); and FUEL HAULING • Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan- The Native Village of Noatak proposed to transport Reference: P-157-2.3 (Cruz Construction, Inc., 2016); 50,000 gallons of fuel annually over land between and the DMTS Road and Noatak by using heavy • Service Agreement–Cruz Construction; and equipment during the winter months. The goal of • Memorandum of Agreement–NVC and NWABSD; and
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• NANA Regional Permit (NANA Regional Corporation, melting permafrost, but other factors include fall 2016); and flooding, spring break up, natural river flow, and • NAB Title Nine Permit (Planning Department, NAB, resident use. 2016). Erosion is highly complex due to the braided nature of the Noatak channel. Local erosion may be high for The Fuel Haul Project was intended as a short-term extended periods and then is substantially reduced solution to a long-term problem. The CAT did try to when the flow is diverted elsewhere due to a critical cross from the DMTS to Noatak but was unable to channel shift occurring upstream. Various measures continue due to weather conditions. The CAT became have been taken to slow the erosion. stuck. This piece of equipment currently is parked During the 1970s, the US Department of Agriculture at the Red Dog Mine. The CAT had wheels and not a (USDOA) funded a 160 ft long x 10 ft high treated more suitable track vehicle (such as the Pitson Bulley, wood retaining wall near the original water treatment Steiger Tractor, or Tucker Tractor). There was only plant to prevent erosion of the gravel pad which $425,000 available for both the vehicle and fuel tank. supported it and the AVEC power plant. The river This was not enough to procure the proper equipment destroyed the retaining wall in 1974 (USACE, 2007). with a large enough fuel payload to justify a trip The riverbank in front of the school then eroded (3,000 gallons and 25,000 pounds). as much as 100 feet in 2 years. In 1981, a 1,500 ft The project team, including the NPS, BLM, NANA, Armorform Revetment System was constructed for DNR, and NAB, continued to work collaboratively $3.4 million adjacent to the center of the community. towards a long-term solution. Cost estimates, The erosion matting slowed the rate of erosion but prepared at a ROM level for the BIA Tribal the matting, now undermined by river scouring Transportation Program, for a more permanent yet forces, is beginning to fail. In 1995, another extensive minimal road (20.4 miles long and 12 feet wide) came river erosion protection program was planned and in at over $50 million (Hanson, 2016). permitted but remained unfunded. A permanent Noatak to DMTS Haul Road is needed There are plans to relocate the school and the to prevent further safety mishaps. AVEC fuel farm to a site north of the landfill near the recently constructed Kuutchauraq Subdivision. ii. State of Good Repair The existing concrete riverbank erosion protection is EROSION expected to fail by 2020 due to undermining of the The Noatak River has created isolated areas of toe. The location where the water well is located may erosion damage on the western banks near existing suddenly be lost to erosion after 2020 due to a breach infrastructure. The most aggressive erosion is near of a diverting island located immediately upstream. the middle of the current airport where more than Expected simultaneous loss of the concrete blanket 1,000 ft of land has eroded between the runway and system and potential breach of the diverting island the river leaving 300 ft left. The erosion is forcing is expected to begin rapid erosion of the existing the relocation of the cemetery, sewage lagoon, and townsite including the airstrip after 2020. The existing access road (Langdon, 2013) (Noatak River Erosion water treatment plant and townsite sewage lift Update-Site Visit, 2015). The main factor of this is stations should be safe until 2030 (ANTHC, 2003).
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The Noatak to DMTS Haul Road will open up inland water port will be necessary to get coal to market construction sites free from the risk of riverbank (Szumigala, 2007). erosion. The road will also connect Noatak with material sources along the DMTS Road that will RED DOG MINE SUPPORT support new construction. The village of Noatak is a dot on the map; no roads connect the village to the outside world. A road LIMITATIONS OF ISOLATATION would bridge the gap between Noatak and Red Dog Residents of Noatak and employees of the Red Dog Mine, the largest zinc mine in the world and one Mine are vulnerable in severe storm events that of the largest employers in the region. Air delays shut down the airport for days at a time. A road reduce reliable access to employment and incur high would offer alternative transportation access and operational costs. provide an emergency landing site at Red Dog Mine One of the potential benefits of the road and or Noatak Airport depending on which airport is airport project may be the reduction in the number of above minimums. aviation-related delays. The reduction in delays would result if the weather at an airport in Noatak—at 88 iii. Economic Competitiveness feet above sea level—permits planes or jets to land NATURAL RESOURCES when the weather at the mine, 1,000 feet above sea There is the potential that mining interests in level-prevents landings. the region could benefit from an expanded Teck Cominco has tracked weather delays on their transportation system in the Noatak. Future jet charters since 1992. The delay data indicate that mining operations in areas of zinc, lead, and 16.7 percent of the jet charters into Red Dog Airport barite mineralization in the western Brooks from 1992 to 2004 was delayed and that the average Range, outside of the Study Area, might also length of the delay was 1.7 days. benefit from development. If a significant mineral deposit was found near the Red Dog Mine such REDUCING COST OF GOODS as the Wrench Creek- Kelly River Mineral Area, Transporting fuel and goods through small aircraft is and mining operations commenced, the existence inefficient. Mobility of goods and people are stunted of a haul road to Noatak would allow the new along with economic growth. Noatak has one of the operation easier access to potential labor supplies highest cost of living in the country that will not go and sources. According to Steve Borell of Alaska down unless infrastructure improvements, such as Miners Association (Northern Economics, 2005), roads, are developed. Through accessing the DMTS there is tremendous potential for coal development Port Site, goods may be barged to the Port Site then at Deadfall Syncline and zinc development in the trucked into Noatak at a significant savings. Drenchwater Mineral area about 60 miles north Reduced cost of goods would increase the of Red Dog. Developing the mining potential at competitive viability of businesses and services, either of these areas will take vast amounts of allowing for economic development. A haul road infrastructure development, including a road from would decrease the costs of living, which would DMTS to the area. Linking the deposits to a deep- increase the buying power of Noatak residents. The
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road would also increase the reliability of movement the development of remaining projects in their of goods through barge shipment instead of a small development plan. This includes: and frequent supply of air freight, which often gets delayed, and allows for shipment of commercial and • Acquiring heavy equipment to support the construction personal vehicles, construction materials, and other of transportation projects and ongoing road large cargo. maintenance and safety; and The 28- to 40-mile road would also increase the • Constructing a new school to accommodate student economic productivity of land through subsistence growth; and use. Subsistence hunting is limited to river or air travel • Local elder care services so family members do not have for half the year, which carries significant upkeep, fuel to leave Noatak for care; and costs, and safety hazards. Traditional subsistence use • Constructing a multi-purpose building by converting is vital to supplement living costs and preserve one of the old school; and the oldest cultures on the planet. • New home construction and ownership; and • Building a new bulk fuel farm for improving efficiency iv. Environmental Sustainability and environmental safety; and Noatak is one of the most isolated communities • Relocating the airport due to erosion and upgrading the in America. In the present day, due to the lack of capacity for more efficient, larger planes. barging capabilities and the high cost of shipping a vehicle via air freight, the community of Noatak uses The road will empower the Noatak community to older, less fuel-efficient vehicles. Flying in gasoline have the freedom to practice their traditional way and goods through small aircraft is costly and of life in a broader area. It will also provide reliable energy inefficient. Both scenarios produce significant transportation of workers to Red Dog Mine. Less work greenhouse gas emissions. would be missed by airplane delays. The jobs created and the increase in income from The road would open up recreational a lower cost of living will provide opportunities opportunities to runners, bikers, and nature for residents to purchase new, more fuel-efficient enthusiasts, providing a health benefit. It will also vehicles. Trucking bulk freight through a haul road allow native allotment owners along the road to would decrease emissions. Hunting transportation access their property. in the summer months is currently limited to river The Noatak to DMTS Haul Road would facilitate or air; a road would reduce aquatic dependency and the expansion of access to essential services. This water pollution on the Noatak River which has the road would decrease the cost of living, goods, and designation of a Wild and Scenic River. equipment. Heating oil is also an essential service in the winter months where the temperature averages v. Quality of Life below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The fuel expenditure Out of the ten projects for Noatak’s Comprehensive of heating water and sewage plumbing to prevent Community Development Plan for 2006-2016, bursting during the winter months causes high the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road is at the top of operating costs for residents and the city. Reduced the list. When the road is built, it will facilitate heating cost expenditure, cost of living, and goods
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would expand access to essential, basic services such of critical transportation infrastructure, and the as plumbing. current project delivery system does not keep pace The table below highlights the cost differential with the developing needs of these communities. of basic goods between Anchorage, Kotzebue, and Greater flexibility is needed to address infrastructure Noatak. deficiencies more efficiently in a ‘faster’ and ‘cheaper’ The road will make life-saving medical evacuations manner through collaboration and better use of possible if one of the two airports is inaccessible. available resources. Red Dog Mineworkers who live in Noatak will have a Rural infrastructure specifically presents unique new opportunity to spend family and leisure time by challenges. Current pre-construction and construction commuting to and from work each day. This will also practices are falling short. Infrastructure development reduce costs on Red Dog Mine for room and board. takes too long to develop when communities, such as A new inland road would also provide a vast Noatak, are in critical need. There are more needs in opportunity to expand and relocate Noatak. Since Alaska than funding. Every dollar saved on a project is 1980, the Village of Noatak has been growing steadily, a dollar that can go to address another need. Time is increasing by 2.4 percent annually from 273 residents synonymous with money. in 1980 to 469 residents in 2003. The current project delivery process has been in place for a long time without any performance b. Secondary Criteria measures guiding results. Without considering i. Innovation design and construction, multiple projects took INNOVATIVE PROJECT DELIVERY over a decade to complete the NEPA process ADOT&PF is divided into three regions, each with including the Galena Campion Road Erosion its own unique challenges: Northern, Central, and Protection (ten years), Haines Highway (12 years), Southeast. Rural communities throughout Alaska and Ambler Airport (12 years). lack the transportation infrastructure necessary to There are countless other projects, with similar advance economic development, natural resource timeframes, that remain uncompleted including road development, and sustain safe reliable transportation projects in Minto, Manley, and now Noatak. Project systems. Current project delivery processes are not delivery teams are not being adaptive communities’ adaptive to the constantly changing transportation ever-evolving needs. By the time a project is ready to needs of rural Alaska. Regardless of location, be constructed it may not have the dynamics it had communities throughout Alaska are in dire need when first proposed.
ITEM ANCHORAGE KOTZEBUE (ESTIMATE) NOATAK (ESTIMATE) FOOD FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR PER WEEK $106.65 $193.04 $244.23 ELECTRICITY, 1000 KWH $107.49 $194.56 $246.15 HEATING OIL, 55 GAL $78.47 $142.03 $179.70 GASOLINE, UNLEADED AUTO, 55 GAL $92.40 $167.24 $211.60 LUMBER, 2” X 4” X 8’ $2.98 $5.39 $6.82 PROPANE, 100 LB REFILL $45.86 $83.01 $105.02
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In 2017, ADOT&PF was challenged to help the efforts for multidisciplinary teams to tackle project community of Kivalina, a neighbor to Noatak, challenges early on (FHWA Initiatives to Accelerate to solve a difficult problem. In today’s changing Project Delivery, 2019) mirrored the success in times, how does a community living on an island, Kivalina. The Kivalina Evacuation Road EA highlights faced by threats of flooding and erosion, construct the benefits of a PEL. The EA took 13 months safe and reliable transportation infrastructure? A to complete with less than 1% of the projected different approach was needed to be successful in construction cost (typical design costs for a project constructing an evacuation road with a bridge and ranges from 25% to 35% of the construction bid). causeway off the island. The approach needed to FHWA’s PEL process is needed not only for a faster take into consideration the remote location, cultural implementation but also to make completion of a differences, and short timeframe. ADOT&PF needed large-scale transportation project even possible. As active partners to take on this type of challenge. with Kivalina, Noatak is a complex community that ADOT&PF created a focused team of state, regional, needs and has a robust teamed approach unafraid of and local leaders. utilizing innovation. When the Kivalina Evacuation Road team began, it became clear that Kivalina, like so many ii. Partnership other rural communities in Alaska, was studied for The Noatak Surface Transportation PEL emphasizes decades. State and federal agencies, as well as collaboration between local, state, and federal local governments, had spent millions planning, transportation agencies as well as all other evaluating climatic conditions, and conducting stakeholders to develop a seamless decision- engineering and environmental studies. The making process that minimizes duplication of effort, community made it clear that they are tired of promotes environmental stewardship and reduces studies. They wanted to see real progress. The team delays in project delivery. Early rigorous stakeholder started thinking about project delivery models. and agency engagement is the trademark of a PEL. Kivalina’s challenges are not unique to Kivalina. Any A stakeholder is any individual or organization that model developed could be utilized on many other a project may affect either directly or indirectly. infrastructural challenges outside of transportation. Landowners of surface transportation projects The team also recognized that to move a large in the Study Area include Alaska Natives, native project such as this one forward the capital cost corporations (regional and village), the NAB, must be reduced. In today’s fiscally constrained the National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land climate, every dollar counts in constructing Management (BLM), and the State of Alaska. Other infrastructure and cost savings need to be a priority. Study Area stakeholders include Teck Alaska, For Kivalina, the team was able to capitalize ANTHC, and Alaska Village Electric Cooperative on the previous planning and environmental (AVEC). There are also diverse users in the Study work, resulting in a drastically reduced timeframe Area including subsistence harvesters, non-local for writing the Environmental Assessment (EA) visitors to the area (sport hunters and fishers, and with this came drastically reduced expense. rafters, and visitors to the Noatak National Preserve FHWA’s PEL process of enabling robust planning and CKNM.
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ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION LAND AREAS AND MANAGERS Native Village of Noatak...... The Noatak IRA Council owns selected blocks of land in the Study Area. State of Alaska...... If the right-of-way (ROW) is through Alaska Native lands and the road is available for public use, lands beyond the ROW would be subject to land use and access restrictions imposed by the landowners. Thus, it may be likely that even if the state builds the road, the general public’s access would be limited to only the road and the lands outside the ROW that the state owns. Native Allotments...... Native-owned allotments, in the Study Area, lie north and west along the Noatak River. Any new surface transportation options could improve land-based access to several of these allotments. NANA Regional Corporation...... NANA owns large blocks of land in the Study Area. NANA also owns the Red Dog Mine land and subsurface rights to most material sites in the Study Area. National Park Service...... The NPS manages two areas in the Study Area—the Noatak National Preserve and CKNM. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)...... Maniilaq Association has authorization from the Noatak IRA council to compact with the BIA to operate tribal programs and transportation services. Maniilaq is authorized by BIA Indian Health Services for tribal health services in Noatak. AIDEA...... The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority owns the DMTS.
STAKEHOLDERS Teck Resources and Red Dog Mine...... Red Dog Mine is in the DeLong Mountains 45 miles north of the Noatak, 90 miles northeast of Kotzebue and 600 miles northwest of Anchorage. Teck Alaska operates the mine through an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, which owns the mine land. The DMTS, owned by the AIDEA, provides access from the mine to the rest of the world with a 53-mile road from the mine to a deep-water port. Federal, State, and Local Agencies...... These entities have jurisdiction and interest in the Study Area.
USERS IN THE STUDY AREA AVEC...... A nonprofit electric utility based in Anchorage that manages the electric facility. Noatak Utilities...... A subsidiary of the Native Village of Noatak that manages and services the water treatment, water distribution, landfill, and sewer systems. Sport Hunters...... Sport hunting in the Study Area has restricted access and revolves around caribou and moose. Recreational Boaters...... Residents boat along the Noatak River for recreational purposes. Tourists enjoy kayaking on the Noatak River (National Wild and Scenic River) Other Tourism...... Tourists visitor the CKNM and regional residents frequent Study Area. Alaska State Troopers...... The Alaska State Troopers Post in Kotzebue serves the residents of Noatak. The NAB’s Public Safety Department administers all activities regarding the promotion of public safety in the region, firefighting, search and rescue, administration of the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program, and all functions related to the improvement of regional public safety (Public Safety, 2019).
NWABSD...... The Northwest Arctic Borough School District is responsible for providing fuel to the K-12 school in Noatak and is a user of all surface transportation in the Study Area.
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LETTERS OF SUPPORT the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road is listed as a high As evidenced by numerous resolutions and letters priority in the IRR transportation inventory. All of support, the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road is a high reports are accessible at www.noatakpel.org. priority development for the community of Noatak, NAB, and NANA. ADOT&PF supported Noatak in BASIS OF DESIGN developing a 2018 BUILD grant application in order to The hills surrounding Noatak are composed chiefly of forward the progress of this project. dolomites, limestones, sandstones, conglomerates, Letters of support have been obtained from and shales of the Devonian age interspersed with www.noatakpel.org. younger granitic intrusives and older schist and gneiss rocks (Cooper & Swenson, 2016). Noatak is in a deep permafrost area of 300-400 5. PROJECT READINESS feet with a three-foot-thick active layer in undisturbed a. Technical Feasibility areas. Surveys in the Noatak National Preserve have The Native Village of Noatak will work closely with found that significant permafrost thaw slumps are ADOT&PF and Remote Solutions to competently, becoming more common as permafrost thaw continues efficiently, and comprehensively administer awarded to increase. With increasing temperatures comes the BUILD funds and to successfully carry out the degradation of ice-rich permafrost. The local impacts planning and environmental studies. The project team of permafrost changes are only expected to increase. has extensive experience administering federal and These impacts include thermokarsts, ponding of low- state grant funds as well as successfully constructing lying areas, lake drainage, and ground failures such complex capital projects on time and within budget. as active layer detachment slides, retrogressive thaw slumps, and gully erosion (Balsar, Gooseff, Jones, & ENGINEERING, DESIGN STUDIES, Bowden, 2009). AND ACTIVITIES Built roadways in the area consist of 2-3.5 feet of In 2004, ADOT&PF completed a preliminary brown, fine, gravelly sand fill with depths ranging to 5 engineering and economic study to evaluate the feet in some locations. The sand fill is relatively low in feasibility of constructing a road to connect Noatak moisture content when thawed and exhibits a loose to with the DMTS Road and constructing a new airport medium dense consistency. Silt content in the road fill in the vicinity of Noatak. The study evaluated three is generally low, varying from six to ten percent. Gravel main routes and three airport location options bars and islands in the Noatak River are the primary (ADOT&PF, 2004). In 2005, Northern Economics, borrow source for non-frost susceptible fill material. evaluated the routes and airport location options Material is generally sandy silt or sandy gravel. Gravel for the relative costs, benefits, and economic is generally rounded and less than 4 inches in diameter impacts of the project (Northern Economics, 2005). with some cobbles up to 12 inches in diameter. In 2006, a Preliminary Construction Cost Estimate was completed for the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road. STATEMENT OF WORK In the 2012 Native Village of Noatak Long Range MOBILIZATION Transportation Plan Update (WHPacific Inc., 2012), Potential construction methodology may vary
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across such elements as the timing of construction, would require temporary access to easements from contractor methods, locations of staging areas, landowners. The route has an estimated maximum camps, haul routes, and sequencing of activities. grade of 7.5%, crosses five channels, and traverses Contractor staging, haul route development, approximately one mile of forested, 16 miles of scrub- large equipment, and bulk supplies necessary for shrub, and 11 miles of emergent habitat. construction may be flown or barged to the region. Initial mobilization activities may require temporary NOATAK RIVER BARGE storage of equipment and fuel in the community of It is possible to barge equipment and material via Noatak or at the DMTS Port Site. The channel of the the Noatak River to a privately held staging area 21 Noatak River near the village has become too shallow miles south of Noatak and then haul it overland to the to accommodate barge traffic, and ice roads can only project site. This would require the development of be used in the winter. This results in a lack of year- a barge landing, staging area, and overland hauling round multi-modal access for shipping into and out in the winter. A report, in January 2002 by Tetra of Noatak. There is no barge traffic in Noatak, but Tech, for USACE, concluded that this was not an there is seasonal barging at the DMTS Port Site. No economically feasible option. roads currently exist connecting the DMTS to Noatak although studies exist for overland winter hauling and NOATAK RIVER ICE ROAD permanent road construction. Depending on winter conditions it is possible to develop a snow and ice road to Kotzebue. This route WINTER ROAD FROM DMTS PORT SITE TO would follow the Noatak River between Kotzebue NOATAK and Noatak approximately 75 miles. This route may It is possible to mobilize equipment from the DMTS include a combination of a river ice road and winter Port Site and Noatak via a winter snow road. Many overland travel. routes, both inside and outside the CKNM, have been considered in various plans. It is a preferred method FLY-IN of mobilization but acquiring approval to traverse Noatak airport has two runway approaches: 01 and 19. the CKNM makes this option difficult. Presence of The physical runway is 3,992 ft long and 60 ft wide. adequate snow depth is also required for winter route The current runway is slated for relocation, but the use. Considerations of this options will include overall construction date is not definite. route length from the port site, the overland distance between DMTS and Noatak, grades, channel crossings, MATERIAL SITE DEVELOPMENT vegetation impacts, community input, Right-of- Material sites, located throughout the Study Area, Way considerations, and time needed to obtain have been characterized from previous projects authorizations. including the Noatak Airport Relocation, Noatak Haul One option was determined to be viable for use Road, and the DMTS projects. The 1984 Red Dog Mine in an upcoming project that would traverse overland EIS characterized 14 material sites along the DMTS for 28.2 miles. This route avoids CKNM lands and corridor that might be used to support projects in the crosses NANA, private, and state lands. This route Study Area (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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(Region 10), 1984) (pgs II-19). Material sites MS-4, 28- and 40-miles depending route selected after MS-5, and MS-6, are in the Study Area boundary. completion of the NEPA process. The road would be All sites are accessible to the Study Area assuming constructed within a 300-ft ROW and consist of a 24- development of a snow road from Noatak to the DMTS ft wide gravel surface with edge markers for improved Road. Five material sites near Noatak have recently visibility during winter use. The embankment would been evaluated for the Noatak Airport Relocation be constructed with a minimum of 3 (horizontal) to 1 project (Stantec Consulting Services, 2019). Two (vertical) side slopes for safety, thermal stability, and of the five sites were found to be suitable for the to minimize snow drifting. The road would be surfaced Noatak Airport Relocation project while the others with crushed aggregate. Side slopes and all other were ruled out due to access, location, or quality. disturbed areas would be seeded with a regionally A 2006 geotechnical study conducted subsurface appropriate seed mix that minimizes the introduction investigations at a material site two miles south of noxious weeds. Roadway embankment height of Noatak on the Noatak River (ADOT&PF, 2006). would average between five and eight feet above Explorations for an upland material source did not the existing ground. Greater embankment thickness prove fruitful. Not all sites have been evaluated. would occur at natural grade depressions and over The material may also be barged in from outside water crossings. sources and stockpiled for use. Methods and means Culverts would be placed at appropriate locations used to develop project material sources would be along the roadway to accommodate cross drainage, determined by the selected construction contractor. with larger culverts placed along identified permanent The following overall assumptions are made: and intermittent water crossings. Larger culverts at water crossings would be required in nine locations • Access to and development of selected material sources and would be designed to accommodate icing may occur year-round; and conditions. Culverts may require outlet aprons • Extracted materials, not hauled and placed, may be with riprap of various thicknesses in locations with stockpiled within a material source or staging area for significant flow. Insulation board may be used under later use; and culvert crossings and the roadway embankment in • The site would be developed by removing overburden areas of degrading permafrost. and temporarily stockpiling for reclamation activities; The following assumptions are made: and • Materials from the site are expected to be used for • Arctic road construction in areas dominated by tundra constructing staging areas and roadway embankments; underlain with continuous permafrost would begin in and the winter after the ground freezes; and • Ripping, drilling, and blasting would likely be used • Road and drainage structure construction would to remove overburden as well as to produce select continue during summer months and may require material from subsurface deposits. temporary bridges and culverts to provide for seasonal drainage; and HAUL ROAD CONSTRUCTION • A leveling course of gravel may be required under The Noatak to DMTS Haul road will vary between geotextile depending on local ground conditions; and
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• Water crossings would include placement of • Preparation of Preliminary Cost Estimate for Preferred appropriately sized drainage structures, with additional and Secondary Alternatives...... October 2020 cross culverts installed along the roadway as needed to • Description of environmental effects that the equalize drainage; and Proposed Project will have...... November 2020 • Excavation would be avoided to minimize thermal • Completion of the SF299 Application (Application degradation of subgrade permafrost; and for Transportation and Utility Systems and • Installation of larger culverts needing bedding Facilities on Federal Lands)...... November 2020 materials for fish passage or for maintaining stream • Completion of the Noatak Surface flow would require diverting flow into a temporary Transportation PEL...... December 2020 channel while constructing the structure; and • Public and Agency Scoping...... January 2021 • The use of temporary bridges, temporary culverts, and • Class of Action Determinations...... March 2021 pumping may also be employed. • Environmental Document Completion...... October 2021 • Disturbed areas outside the roadway footprint would be stabilized; and c. Required Approvals • The roads would be watered for dust control; and The Noatak Transportation Inventory (NTI) includes • Both winter and summer construction activities are historical studies, baseline conditions, and existing anticipated; and conditions. The NTI is the backbone of the Noatak • Construction will require two or more work seasons. Surface Transportation PEL. The categories include planning, environmental, design, construction, post- COST ESTIMATE BASIS construction, and GIS. Each category has subtopics. Assuming that the road would have 10-foot lanes, 3:1 The NTI presents all known information about the slope, $18/Ton, and 3% cross slope for drainage, the Study Area at this time. Structurally, the NTI is estimated amount for borrow material is $24.6M for stored in OneDrive and has an excel spreadsheet the communities preferred route. The total amount of that serves as a user interface with which interested borrow required for such road is 1,014,612 Cubic Yards parties can easily search for information by category, or 1,369,736.2 Tons. topic, a word of a title, or by tag. Each NTI file has an inventory number which makes correlation b. Project Schedule between the NTI and the PEL simple. All documents The overall project is currently set as follows: with an inventory number are in the NTI. There are currently 544 files and close to two gigabytes • Project Start March...... 2020 of data related to this Study Area. The NTI will be • PEL Final Desktop Study and Inventory...... April 2020 maintained throughout the entirety of the NEPA • Development of GIS Database process. As scoping progresses, pertinent information on ArcGIS Online...... May 2020 will be added to the inventory. This PEL summarizes • Geotechnical Investigation...... Spring 2020 information in the NTI topic by topic and provides • Environmental Field Work...... Summer 2020 detailed information about the individual sources of • Lidar/Survey...... Summer 2020 information where necessary and helpful. • Description of Alternative Routes...... September 2020 Examination of the existing conditions and inherent
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challenges in the Study Area along with review of (ESA) who requires federal agencies to make sure existing planning documents for community priorities, that all activities they “authorize, fund, or carry out” goals, and values informs the process. The NTI also will not jeopardize the continued existence of any helps call out where gaps in knowledge exist. threatened or endangered species or designated The NTI planning section includes information critical habitat. The USFWS Information for Planning on community governance, socioeconomic data, and Consultation lists three threatened marine strategic planning, infrastructure (buildings, mammals as potentially in the Study Area including utilities, and tank farms), the transportation the polar bear, bowhead whale, and bearded seal. The system, environmental conditions (climate, spectacled eider and Steller’s eider are also potentially earthquake, erosion hazards, and flood hazards), in the Study Area. There are no critical habitats natural resources, planned projects that haven’t currently known in the Study Area (USFWS), 2019). been constructed, land status, economic analysis, resolutions and letters of support for projects, and FISH HABITAT funding applications or funding availability. The Noatak River is a listed anadromous fish stream Topics in the NTI environmental category include (Blossom & Johnson, 2017) as water body # 331- completed environmental documents, endangered 00-10290. Per 50 CFR 600.10, essential fish habitat species, fish habitat, mammal studies, migratory (EFH) means those waters and substrate necessary birds, plants, water resources, cultural resources, to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to hazardous materials, air quality, noise, visual impact, maturity. The Noatak River is EFH for five species of environmental justice, subsistence, and previous Pacific salmon (Chum salmon, Pink salmon, Sockeye project scoping within the PEL Study Area. salmon, King salmon, and Coho salmon). Other major non-EFH fish species include three species of i. Environmental Permits and Reviews Whitefish (broad, humpback, and pygmy), sheefish, INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEPA STATUS three species of Cisco (arctic, bering, and least), arctic OF THE PROJECT char (Dolly Varden), grayling, Northern pike, lake The Noatak to DMTS Haul Road has not received trout, and burbot (Alaska Habitat Management Guide a Class of Action determination at this time. The Reference Maps—Arctic Region Volume 2, 1986). following permits and determinations are anticipated The DMTS Port is on the Chukchi Sea shoreline to be required for the Noatak to DMTS Haul Road. which is EFH for all five species of Pacific salmon as Additional permits and determinations may be well as for saffron cod. Arctic cod are also present identified during research and communications with within that area of the Chukchi Sea (North Pacific regulating agencies. All relevant environmental Fishery Management Council, 2017). studies and other documents are available at www.noatakpel.org. ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME (ADF&G) ENDANGERED SPECIES A Title 16 Fish Habitat Permit, required by ADF&G, is Threatened and endangered species are managed necessary for any activity that disturbs fish habitat under the authority of the Endangered Species Act such as the construction of culverts. The permit
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assures that fish habitat will be maintained and Reed, & Fancy, 1991) encompassing Noatak and the protected. Red Dog Mine. Although abundance and distribution of bears in Alaska have changed little in historical LARGE TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS times, significant changes in the environment could Species of large terrestrial mammals that periodically permanently alter the productivity and survival of occur in the Study Area are caribou, moose, Dall bear populations. Briefly, this study was designed to sheep, brown/grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), and evaluate the effects of human harvests by comparing muskoxen. Some of these species are an integral bear density with known reported harvests. This part of the environment and have cultural and information supplied baseline data on bear density, socioeconomic importance despite not having a population structure, movements, and reproductive specially designated status. Caribou, moose, and parameters before large scale mine development at Dall sheep particularly have historically been and the Red Dog Mine. remain a vital subsistence food resource for Noatak (Satterthwaite-Phillips, Krenz, Gray, & Dodd, 2016). COMMON FURBEARERS The Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) is Common furbearers in the Study Area include lynx, the primary herd in northwestern Alaska and the grey wolf, wolverines, arctic fox, red fox, marten, and largest herd in Alaska. At its peak in 2003, the WACH mink. Less common furbearers include snowshoe numbered 490,000 animals. The herd currently has hares, muskrat, and river otters. These are important 259,000 caribou and is increasing in size (Western to hunters/trappers in the region for their pelts, used Arctic Herd, 2019). for traditional Alaska Native crafts. Roads and associated activities in the Study Area may alter caribou movement rates, especially MARINE MAMMALS during times of low insect presence, such as in late Marine mammal species that can occur in the coastal fall (Murphy & Curatolo, 1987). A joint study (Wilson, waters near DMTS include beluga whale, gray whale, Parrett, Joly, & Dau, 2016) of the WACH response to bowhead whale, bearded seal, ringed seal, spotted the DMTS observed individual caribou altering their seal, and polar bear. Today, during the sealing and movement behavior by taking longer to cross the fishing seasons, Noatak residents travel to Sisualik, a road and increasing their movement rates despite the small ‘village-like’ camp, for fishing, hunting, birding, relatively low traffic volume. Traditional and ecological and whaling. knowledge suggests that letting the lead caribou pass encourages a traditional migration, as other caribou MIGRATORY BIRDS follow the leaders. Any development in the Study Area Duck, geese, and cranes seasonally inhabit streams will need to ensure every effort is made not to disturb and shallow lakes, and ptarmigan reside year-round. their efforts to cross the road. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918 (16 USC In hopes of understanding the impact of mining 703-712) protects migratory birds. Taking, killing, and road development on Noatak grizzly bears, a or possessing migratory birds is unlawful under the distribution survey was completed within a 2,600 MBTA. The MBTA implements various treaties and mi² area over four years (Ballard, Ayres, Roney, conventions between the U.S., Canada, Japan, Mexico
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and the former Soviet Union for the protection of that occur on BLM lands, that either has a known or migratory birds. USF&WS Information for Planning predicted downward decline or depend on threatened and Consultation lists potential migratory bird species habitat, and for which the BLM has significant which includes American golden-plover, bar-tailed management capability to affect their conservation godwit, black turnstone, buff-breasted sandpiper, status (Nawrocki, Fulkerson, & Carlson, 2013). These dunlin, red knot, red-throated loon, semipalmated plants include Oxytropis arctica, Gentianopsis sandpiper, whimbrel, and yellow-billed loon. richardsonii, Rumex krausei. A BLM Watch status is In 2005, a report summarized results from an not considered sensitive, and sensitive species policy aerial breeding yellow-billed loon survey. Yellow- does not apply. Species may be added to the Sensitive billed loons are a species of concern, with a global list if current information concerning threats and population estimated at 16,650–21,000 (Bollinger, species biology or statewide trends calls for listing. Platte, Stehn, & Marks, 2007) (Earnst, 2004). The These plants include Erigeron porsildii, Ranunculus breeding range in Alaska is restricted to the Arctic ponojensis, and Arenaria longipedunculata. Only 34 Coastal Plain of Alaska and western Alaska in the occurrences exist of such plants in the Study Area, and vicinity of the Seward Peninsula. The survey estimates further research into their precise location is needed. 17 yellow-billed loons, 298 Pacific loons, and 11 red- throated loons in and around the CKNM (Bollinger, WETLANDS Platte, Stehn, & Marks, 2007). Lands near Noatak consist of a mixture of wetland types, surface waters, and a few developed gravel PLANTS pads. A 2007 study for the Noatak Airport Relocation The Study Area is dominated by tundra, which is project, covering 3,378 acres, of a material site estimated to have over 1,700 plant species. As seven miles northwest of Noatak and one mile the permafrost prevents drainage, it is primarily a east of the Noatak National Preserve included wetland plant habitat that includes lakes and riverine habitat classification and mapping, and a functional systems. There are essential berry-producing shrubs assessment. It indicates that components of the Study throughout the area used by locals for subsistence Area are a transitional landscape between boreal including blueberries, cranberries, salmonberries, and tundra biomes, with vegetation consisting of and blackberries. Stunted black spruce are present in sedge tussock-shrub, low shrub, mixed broadleaf, many areas but are not large enough to be considered and ericaceous shrub communities. Patches of dwarf trees. Birch are found in protected valleys, and there shrub, tall scrub, and woodland needleleaf forest can are poplar trees along the river. be found on upland slopes (ABR, 2007). It is likely There are no known non-native invasive plant that the entire Study Area will mirror the findings from species in the Study Area (Alaska Exotic Plants this wetlands report. Information Clearinghouse, 2019). The Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) are all Rare plants have been observed in the Study Area hydrologically connected through surface water that have the federally designated status of BLM connections to the Chukchi Sea or the Noatak River. Sensitive or Watch status (Rare Plant Data Portal, Given the abundance of wetlands in the Study Area, an 2019). Sensitive status indicates a native species estimated 75% being WOTUS based on the findings of
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the 2007 report, the USACE will have authority under Four hundred miles (400 miles to Portage Creek) of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and a Section 404 the Noatak River is regulated under Section 10 of the permit will be required for any work in the Study Area. Rivers and Harbors Act which requires authorization The National Wetlands Inventory, which offers from the Secretary of the Army (acting through online GIS mapping for surface waters and wetlands, the Corps of Engineers) for the construction of any does not have data for the Study Area. It does structure in or over any navigable water of the U.S. show that areas of the CKNM, in the Wulik-Kivalina As of 1980, 330 miles of the Noatak River is a watershed, are freshwater forested/shrub wetland National Wild and Scenic River from its sources in or freshwater emergent wetland. While data does Gates of the Arctic National Park to the Kelly River (30 exist for the Lower Noatak River Watershed, it is miles upriver from the mouth) in the Noatak National downstream of the Study Area. River (National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 2016).
UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CULTURAL RESOURCES (USACE) Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation A Section 404(b) Individual Permit will be required by Act (NHPA) requires that federal agencies review the USACE to place fill within wetlands. The majority cultural resources on historic properties. The NPS is of the proposed road will be through wetlands. also mandated to identify all cultural resources on park lands. SURFACE WATERS Archaeologist Edwin S. Hall, Jr., spent 13 months There are no impaired waterbodies in the Study Area in Noatak in the 1960s. His data suggested that the as listed by the Alaska Department of Environmental “heaviest utilization of the valley came in Arctic Conservation (ADEC)- Division of Water (Impaired Small Tool Tradition and Later Prehistoric/Historic Waterbody Listing, 2019). times,” and there were periods, most dramatically The Noatak lies within a shallow basin surrounded between A.D. 400-1200, when the Noatak water-shed by the Mulgrave Hills to the northwest and the was either vacant or at most occupied by adjacent Baird mountains to the east. The Noatak River peoples (Hall Jr., 1973). Much of the evidence was in occupies this broad alluvial valley. The headwaters the upper Noatak. In the lower Noatak only two out of the Noatak River are on the north flank of Mount of 18 sites were thought possibly to have a prehistoric Igikpak in the Brooks Range. The river separates the component (Hall Jr., Archeological Investigations in DeLong and Baird Mountains that are also part of the Northwestern Alaska: Summer 1974, 1975). Brooks Range. The entire watershed of the Noatak In 2006, archaeological investigations were River lies within two protected areas. It departs completed for the Noatak Airport Relocation Project the Gates of the Arctic National Park and enters the and included the proposed airport site, airport access Noatak National Preserve never going south of the road, Kuchoruk Creek bridge, Noatak River, inland Arctic Circle. The national preserve encompasses material sources, and material and mobilization 6.5 million acres of land and includes the largest haul routes. No pre-contact or historic resources undisturbed watershed in North America. were identified (Mobley, Noatak Airport Relocation The Noatak watershed is about 425 miles long. Archaeological Survey, Noatak, Alaska, 2007). As a
NOATAKPEL.ORG • 24 NOATAK TO DMTS HAUL ROAD
result of this survey, ADOT&PF, on behalf of FAA, and A Section 401 Water Quality Certification Permit, SHPO determined that no historic properties would be issued by ADEC, is related to the USACE Section 404 affected by the Airport Relocation Project. permit. It assures there will be no violations of the Within a four-mile radius of Noatak, previous Clean Water Act as a result of discharges to waters research has resulted in a number of sites recorded of the U.S. For this project; it refers to the placing of in the Alaska Heritage Resource Survey (AHRS) fill in wetlands. Section 401 Certification ensures that inventory system maintained by the Alaska Office of materials used as fill will not be contaminated and History and Archaeology (AOHA). that placement of fill will be limited to the roadway. In 2015, a preliminary archeological investigation for the winter fuel haul route surveyed the entire haul UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG) route, via helicopter, as it is within the CKNMHL. A It is possible that a Section 9 Bridge Permit will desktop study revealed four archaeology sites within be required by the USCG. The USCG has authority 300 to 500 yards of the proposed fuel haul route under the Rivers and Harbors Act to issue permits (Tremayne, 2015). All known sites and two newly for construction of bridges over waters of the U.S.A discovered sites from the survey were a significant Section 9 permit will be required for construction of a distance from the proposed winter fuel haul route. bridge if there is a significant water crossing. The one exception being a historical/modern sled. The Native Village of Noatak has also declared, as of NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH (NAB) January 2016, that there are no cultural interests along A Title 9 Land Use Permit is required for activities the proposed winter haul fuel route (Adams Sr., 2016). within the NAB. The Alaska Regional Office of the NPS is developing and testing a GIS model for cultural resources that FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) are intended to predict locations and vulnerability of An Airspace Obstruction Evaluation is required by these cultural resources (Devenport & Hays, 2015). the FAA for all new construction work near airports. Information collected for that case study could be This evaluation looks at the potential for structures to useful for determining the impact in the Study Area. impact the airspace needed for safe aircraft operations.
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE RIGHT-OF-WAY (SHPO) Land ownership in the Study Area is diverse and A Section 106 Consultation with SHPO is required by includes federal, state, local & private entities. The the National Historic Preservation Act for federally CKNMHL is established to preserve archeological funded projects. An SHPO review of the project will resources and the CKNM is the archeological district identify, evaluate, and assess the project’s effects on confined within the CKNHL. The CKNM boundary significant cultural resources. extends out from the western part of the Study Area. The DMTS, owned by the Alaska Industrial OTHER PERMITS Development and Export Authority, is used to support ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL development in northwest Alaska. Its boundary starts CONSERVATION (ADEC) in the north of the Study Area and extends east to
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west. NANA owns much of the lands surrounding paraphrased and presented in meeting notes provided Noatak and the Native Village of Noatak owns lands in the Environmental Assessment. in and around the community. Native allotments exist throughout the entire Study Area. Any work in iii. Federal Transportation Requirements Affecting the Study Area will need to be consistent with land State and Local Planning. use and transportation plans. The most recent land d. Assessment of Project Risks and Mitigation ownership map was created by ADOT&PF in March Strategies 2018 for the Noatak Airport Relocation. RISK MITIGATION MEASURES: Noatak is currently seeking a right-of-way for SCOPE, SCHEDULE, AND BUDGET the proposed road on lands managed by BLM while The project team has developed a high-risk response avoiding placement of any part of the right-of-way strategy. This risk assessment reviewed all possible on lands managed by the NPS. The community has risks to the budget, schedule, and scope. These risks been working with the federal delegation to direct were then classified according to the likelihood of the Department of the Interior to adjust the boundary impact and severity of impact. of CKNM inter-departmentally so that the BLM can All projects with a high likelihood and high manage all of the federal lands within and to the east severity of impact were flagged and the risk- of the existing subsistence trail and proposed road. response strategies were created utilizing an array This would ensure that the road is not positioned on of approaches including mitigation, avoidance, NPS managed land and that the road does not bisect transference, or acceptance. Examples of project NPS managed land. risks include: ii. State and Local Approvals • Going over-budget due to unforeseen expenses and The Noatak to DMTS Haul Road was added to additional time spent on tasks; and the Alaska Statewide Transportation Investment • Local comments and feedback are not properly Program in 2016 under Amendment #1. Public and communicated to ADOT&PF; and agency comments have been collected by project • Disagreement regarding the route alignment; and stakeholders, and dialogue is ongoing. Comments • Access to and development of the material site; and gathered serve to shape the evaluation of project • Delays acquiring proper easements and, ROWs (BLM, considerations and identify appropriate measures to NPS, ADF&G); and avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse effects of the • Securing hazardous and solid waste materials disposal final proposed project. Noatak residents continue to (Noatak landfill cannot accommodate). share local traditional knowledge of the area and its natural and cultural resources that have contributed to The high-risk response strategy for these identified descriptions of the potentially affected environment. risks involves various mitigation measures such as: Similarly, agency coordination and consultation will continue to inform the overall project design. Most • Train local coordinator; maintain regularly scheduled comments obtained to date were received through communication between the local coordinator and public and agency meeting discussions and have been ADOT&PF; and
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• Maintain communication between ADOT&PF, contractor, (1986). Alaska Habitat Management Guide Reference and community organizations via meetings, emails, Maps—Arctic Region Volume 2. Juneau: AK Department of Fish and Game. etc.; and • Maintain a working group comprised of agency, local Alaska Public. (2018, April 13). Retrieved from https://www. alaskapublic.org/2018/04/13/ted-stevens-international- government, regional organizations, and community airport-ranked-fifth-busiest-hub-for-air-cargo/). members; and ANTHC. (2003). Water, Sewer, & Solid Waste Facilities • Utilization of innovative procurement and incentive- Master Plan - Update. Noatak, Alaska. Native Village of based contracting; and Noatak. • Maintain regular coordination and communication with ADOT&PF. (2008). Geotechnical Report. Noatak Airport permitting agencies. The teaming approach provides Relocation. an “all hands on deck” scenario that significantly Balsar, A., Gooseff, M., Jones, J., & Bowden, W. (2009). reduces risk by having multiple perspectives on project Thermokarst distribution and relationship to landscape challenges. characteristics in the Feniak Lake region, Noatak National Preserve, Alaska. National Park Service Report. Berman, M., & Schmidt, J. (2018). Economic Effects of 6. BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS Climate Change in Alaska. University of Alaska Anchorage, The total estimated ROM project construction cost Institute of Social and Economic Research. Weather, Climate, is $50,000,000. Other project benefits, centered on and Society, a publication of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). Retrieved from https://pubs.iseralaska.org/ keeping Noatak intact culturally as a community, are media/e4db2600-4a8c-4c62-957d-bd9a2c30a6df/2018_11- not as easily monetized or calculated, yet they are still EconomicEffectsClimateChangeAK.pdf essential for this project. Those qualitative benefits Bollinger, K., Platte, R., Stehn, R., & Marks, D. (2007). are detailed separately. Western Alaska Yellow-billed Loon Survey. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Chapin, F. S. (2014). Climate Change Impacts in the United BIBLIOGRAPHY States: The Third National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global ABR, I.-E. R. (2007). Wetlands Determination and Habitat Change Research Program. doi:10.7930/J00Z7150 Assessment for Proposed Material Site, Noatak, Alaska. Cooper, D., & Swenson, M. (2016). 2016 Bulk Fuel Letter ADOT&PF. Report - Noatak. Prepared by: HDL Engineering. Prepared ADCCED. (2019, January 31). DCRA Information Portal. for: Alaska Energy Authority. Retrieved April 2019, from Noatak, Alaska: https:// Devenport, D., & Hays, F. (2015). Cultural Resources dcced.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index. Inventory and Vulnerability Assessment at the Bering html?appid=c03b36a00b464ba6804cb1b7c5e89c32# Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska and Cape ADOT&PF. (2006, June 5). Preliminary Results from Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska [Case study Geotechnical Investigation at existing Noatak Airport. Full on a project of the NPS Alaska Regional Office and Draft Report. 113. Western Arctic National Parklands]. National Park Service. Retrieved from https://www.cakex.org/case- Alaska Exotic Plants Information Clearinghouse. (2019). studies/cultural-resources-inventory-and-vulnerability- (U. o. Anchorage, Producer) Retrieved May 19, 2019, from assessment-bering-land-bridge-national-preserve- Alaska Center for Conservation Science: https://accs.uaa. alaska-and-cape-krusenstern-national-monument-alaska alaska.edu/invasive-species/non-native-plants/
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Fay, G., Schworer, T., Mouhcine, G., & Armagost, J. of Northwestern Alaska Potentially Accessible via (2013). Analysis of Alaska Transportation Sector to Extensions of the DMTS. Alaska Department of Natural Assess Energy Use and Impacts of Price Shocks and Resources. Retrieved from https://www.teck.com/ Climate Change Legislation. Anchorage: Institute of news/news-releases/2017/teck-increases-red-dog- Social and Economic Research. Retrieved from https:// production-guidance-and-updates-exploration-results-in- pubs.iseralaska.org/media/c622c98d-bc35-486c-bc0d- the-red-dog-district- cbcdf3943181/2013_04-AnalysisAKTransportationSectorsA Western Arctic Herd. (2019). Retrieved May 16, 2019, ssessEnergy_m5Uq3MC.pdf from CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Fitzpatrick, J., Alley, R., Brigham-Grette, J., Miller, G., (CARMA) Network: https://carma.caff.is/herds/538-carma/ Polyak, L., & Serreze, M. (2008). Past Climate Variability herds/626-western-arctic and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitude. Wilson, R., Parrett, L., Joly, K., & Dau, J. (2016). Effects of Nawrocki, T., Fulkerson, J., & Carlson, M. (2013). Alaska Roads on Individual Caribou Movements during Migration. Rare Plant Field Guide. Alaska Natural Heritage Program. The Wilderness Society, AK Department of Fish and Game, Unversity of Alaska Anchorage. and National Park Service. North Pacific Fishery Management Council. (2017). Essential Fish Habitat - 5 Year Review - Summary Report. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Region. Northwest Arctic Borough. (2019). Retrieved April 2019, from Noatak: https://www.nwabor.org/village/noatak/ Rare Plant Data Portal. (2019). (U. o. Anchorage, Producer) Retrieved May 19, 2019, from Alaska Center for Conservation Science. Remote Solutions, LLC. (2016). Noatak Comprehensive Community Development Plan [2016-2026]. Northwest Arctic Borough. Research and Analysis. (2019). Retrieved April 2019, from Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development: http://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/pop/ Satterthwaite-Phillips, D., Krenz, C., Gray, G., & Dodd, L. (2016). Iñuuniałiqput iļiļugu nunannuanun (Documenting Our Way of Life through Maps): Northwest Arctic Borough Subsistence Mapping Project, Volume 1. Kotzebue: Northwest Arctic Borough. Stantec Consulting Services. (2019). Noatak Airport Relocation Draft Environmental Assessment. Stuefer, M., Hartl, L., Grimes, J., Wendler, G., Moore, B., & Gordon, T. (2018). Annual Report for 2018 prepared for the American Association of State Climatologists. University of Alaska, Geophysical Institute. Fairbanks: Alaska Climate Change Center. Szumigala, D. (2007). Mineral and Coal Resources
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