Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Nome, Alaska
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Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Nome, Alaska December 2019 This page left blank intentionally. Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Nome, Alaska Prepared by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District December 2019 This page left blank intentionally. Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This General Investigations study is being conducted under authority granted by Section 204 of the Flood Control Act of 1948, which authorizes a study of the feasibility for development of navigation improvements in various harbors and rivers in Alaska. This study is also utilizing the authority of Section 2006 of WRDA, 2007, Remote and Subsistence Harbors, as modified by Section 2104 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA 2014) and further modified by Section 1105 of WRDA 2016. Section 2006 states that the Secretary may recommend a project without demonstrating that the improvements are justified solely by National Economic Development (NED) benefits, if the Secretary determines that the improvements meet specific criteria detailed in the authority. Additionally, Section 1202(c)(3) of WRDA 2016 “Additional Studies, Arctic Deep Draft Port Development Partnerships” allows for the consideration of transportation cost savings benefits to national security. The proposed port modifications intend to improve navigation efficiency to reduce the costs of commodities critical to the viability of communities in the region. This study has been cost-shared, with 50 % of the study funding provided by the non-Federal sponsor, which is the City of Nome, per the Federal Cost Share Agreement. The Port of Nome is a regional hub port located on the Seward Peninsula and adjacent to the Norton Sound, which is centrally located along the Western Alaska coast. Nome has no access to the Alaska road system and is approximately 545 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. Previous studies going back to at least 1997 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and others identify Nome as a major regional center of waterborne transportation and recommend improvements to the marine navigation system. The purpose of this study is to identify a feasible solution that provides safe, reliable, and efficient navigation and mooring for vessels serving the hub community of Nome, Alaska. The project is needed to alleviate existing vessel restrictions that are imposed by insufficient channel depths and harbor area. Ship transportation into the Port of Nome, also referred to as the Nome Harbor, is presently limited by existing depths in the Outer Basin of minus 22 feet (ft) mean lower low water (MLLW). This basin depth is inadequate to safely accommodate vessels of drafts greater than approximately 18 ft Vessel traffic in the Arctic, coupled with limited marine infrastructure and available draft in Nome and the region, results in operational inefficiencies, vessel damages and decreased safety, increased costs of goods and services, and threats to the long-term viability of surrounding communities. A robust and efficient transportation hub at Nome is foundational to the long-term viability of communities in the region. As the United States’ only deep water port in the Arctic, Nome provides a critical link between these communities, the rest of Alaska, and beyond. Remote Alaska communities face challenges that are complex and multifaceted. The viability of a community is based on its ability to survive and thrive. Factors impacting community viability include (but are not limited to): economics, costs to add or replace critical infrastructure, risk of i Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment relocation, food security and access to resources for subsistence, and outmigration. While it is difficult to quantify a direct link between a Nome navigation project and improvements to the viability of a community, Port of Nome improvements can strengthen the resiliency of the region. One aspect contributing to the viability of a community is the need to initially construct or replace aging or threatened critical infrastructure from the effects of climate change: thawing permafrost, rising sea levels, more frequent storms, and coastal erosion. Given a lack of infrastructure in some communities and inadequate systems in others, combined with challenges from climate change, the need for water and sewer improvements in the region is profound. The viability of some villages in the region, and the safety and quality of life for the residents of those villages, is so threatened by climate change that they are considering relocation. The total rough order of magnitude cost for immediate relocation of two villages (Shaktoolik and Shishmaref) and phased relocation of an additional three villages (Teller, Golovin, and Unalakleet) totals over 1 billion dollars. The Port of Nome as a hub port for the region is in a position to support construction projects in the region by being a point of entry for construction goods that could be more efficiently delivered in larger volumes to Nome than the villages that lack a deep draft port. This could improve cargo reliability to the outlying villages as the large construction projects. This draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment (IFREA) documents the analysis and coordination conducted to determine whether the Federal Government should participate in navigation improvements at Nome, Alaska that would ultimately provide benefits to the entire region identified as the Bering Strait Region lands, and determines the feasibility of Federal participation in potential improvements. This Supplemental EA is being released for public review. An IFREA document was previously released for public review in May 2019. Since that time, POA determined that changes in the project construction would cause effects to various endangered and protected marine mammal species. Specifically, the change in dock design from a concrete caisson to sheet pile dock causes higher noise impacts during construction than initially anticipated due to the pile-driving work now required. Proposed modification to the Port of Nome improves navigation, provides safe, reliable, and efficient waterborne transportation systems for movement of commerce, national security, and recreation at the Port of Nome. The Port of Nome currently includes two basins, an Inner and Outer Basin. The Inner Basin is not part of this study. The study considers a wide range of measures and alternative plans, and the environmental consequences of those alternatives. Except for dredging and navigation aids, none of the non-structural measures were carried forward because they did not meet the planning objectives and criteria given site conditions, or they were already being considered or being implemented by the non-Federal sponsor at this time. Structural measures that were carried forward were combined to develop an initial array of alternatives evaluated, which were then screened to identify a final array of alternatives. ii Port of Nome Modification Feasibility Study Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Assessment In addition to a “no action” plan (Alternative 1), 13 alternatives were initially evaluated. This initial array of alternatives was screened based on their ability to meet the project- specific objectives and performance criteria. Seven alternatives, including no action, were carried forward and evaluated with various dredge depths (Alternatives 1, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 8a, and 8b). Dredged material management was evaluated as a separable element that did not influence plan selection because the same placement/disposal option and dredge method applied to all the alternatives. All of the structural alternatives generally included modifications that create a Deep Water Basin of varying sizes and depths at the entrance to the existing Outer Basin, increase the entrance channel width to the Outer Basin, and add docks for berthing. Table ES-1. General description of modifications by alternative. Alte rnative Description of Modification(1) Number 1 No Action 2,340 ft long L-Shaped West Causeway extension to approximately -30 ft 3a, 3b, 3c MLLW and modification of the East Breakwater Similar to Alternative 3a-3c, except a portion of the East Breakwater is 4a converted to a combination causeway/breakwater aligned along F Street 3,937 ft (Alt. 8a) or 3,484 ft (Alt. 8b) West Causeway extension to approximately the -45 ft MLLW bathymetric contour (Alt 8a) or -40 ft MLLW 8a, 8b (Alt 8b), removal of the East Breakwater, and construction of a new East Causeway aligned with F-Street Note: (1) All the alternatives include additional docks, dredging to -28 ft MLLW in Outer Basin, dredging betw een -30 and -40 ft MLLW in the Deep Water Basin, and new utilities (fuel header, pipelines, w ater and electrical), except the No Action Alternative. Each alternative also include s a nearshore placement area for dredge material. The measures or features that differentiated between the alternatives ranged from minimal changes to the existing east breakwater (Alternatives 3a, 3b, and 3c), converting a portion or all the east breakwater to a causeway (Alternative 4a), and varying the number