Noatak Airport relocation triggers water quality review as river erodes toward runway

Accelerated erosion from the Noatak River is threatening the existing airport runway, and the project to move that airport to safer ground reached a key regulatory milestone when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued public notice for permit application POA-2025-00495, triggering a required water quality certification review by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The Corps notice also opened a public comment period tied to that review.

Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, the Corps cannot issue its Section 404 fill permit until DEC certifies the project meets Alaska water quality standards or waives that review. The step follows completion of a Final Environmental Assessment in 2024 and is a required permitting milestone before the Corps can act on the application.

The airport is Noatak's sole reliable link for freight, fuel, medical evacuation, and subsistence travel. William Stamm, speaking at a May 2026 community resilience forum, described what is at stake beyond the runway. "It's threatening both the airport, the fuel storage, the power plant, the water supply for that community," Stamm said. Al Beck, a Northern Region project staffer with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, called it "a hot one for the region" at a September 2025 briefing.

The proposed new airport would be built approximately 1.5 miles west of the community with a 4,000-foot runway, taxiway, apron, a 2.2-mile access road, and a bridge over Kuchoruk Creek. The project requires acquiring about 323 acres for the new site plus roughly 160 acres of temporary construction interests, and is expected to cause about 72 acres of permanent wetland impacts from gravel extraction and fill in nearby waterways. Construction is scheduled across three seasons, from 2026 through 2028.

The Native Village of Noatak passed a resolution supporting the project on Feb. 8, 2022. The existing facility will close when the new airport opens, with 9.60 acres reverting to NANA Regional Corporation.