Draft permit would keep Juneau discharging 2.76 million gallons a day

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation posted a draft permit Wednesday that would keep Juneau's Juneau-Douglas Wastewater Treatment Facility discharging an average 2.76 million gallons a day of treated wastewater into Gastineau Channel. The draft permit and fact sheet are posted on DEC's wastewater discharge authorization website. A 30-day public comment period is underway, following an applicant review period that ran Aug. 14 through Aug. 28.

The draft proposes a mixing zone near the outfall where water quality criteria may not be met, covering total ammonia as nitrogen, copper, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform bacteria, enterococci bacteria, temperature and whole effluent toxicity. Alaska's marine standards cap fecal coliform at a 20 FC/100 mL geometric mean over 30 days, with no more than 10% of samples above 40 FC/100 mL.

Mixing zones create localized areas where criteria go unmet, a concern in waters used for shellfish harvesting and recreation. Prior Alaska News coverage found the plant out of compliance with federal clean-water rules for three years, at ratepayers' cost. DEC's 2020 notice had proposed a 6.0 million-gallon-a-day maximum. Amber Bennett is the DEC contact for comments on the draft permit.