ADEC proposes final discharge permit for Kodiak landfill leachate plant

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued a proposed final discharge permit Monday allowing the Kodiak Island Borough to release up to 288,000 gallons per day of treated landfill leachate into a wetland system draining to Monashka Bay, advancing a landfill expansion planned for an additional 40 years of use. The permit, numbered AK0053481, opens a public review window before it takes effect.

The action follows a preliminary-draft APDES public notice DEC posted in 2025, moving the permit to proposed final status. Treated discharge would travel roughly a half mile through a natural freshwater wetland before reaching Monashka Bay.

Because no mixing zone is authorized, all effluent limits must be met at the end of the discharge pipe. The permit sets daily maximum limits of 2.4 micrograms per liter for mercury and 3.2 micrograms per liter for copper, a monthly average ammonia limit of 4.9 mg/L, and limits on roughly a dozen other pollutants. A single whole effluent toxicity result exceeding 1.0 chronic toxic units triggers accelerated testing within two weeks.

The proposed final permit, fact sheet, and associated documents are available for public review at ADEC offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Soldotna, and Wasilla, and on the DEC website. Melinda Smodey at ADEC is the contact for the permit action and supporting documents.