State approves Haines barge landing that its forestry division says could also ship timber

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources on Monday approved a 25-year lease of state tidelands in Lutak Inlet at Haines for a Glacier Construction Inc. barge landing.

The final decision, signed by Natural Resource Manager Mason Auger, adopts the department's May preliminary decision and answers public comments. Glacier Construction, which the state says owns the uplands next to the site, would turn existing fill into a 30-by-50-foot barge landing and add two 24-inch steel pilings for mooring barges. The structures are expected to accommodate vessels up to 100 feet wide. The site sits between Chilkoot Lumber Company's tideland leases and the Haines ferry terminal.

In its application, the company said it wants to create a shipping facility that would spur new business in Haines, according to the preliminary decision. It asked for 55 years; the state granted 25 so it can reassess the land and its use more often. The lease covers 7.041 acres, more than the company requested, because the state found it owns all four tracts in the area's tideland survey, including three the company's plan had labeled as its own, and the company intends to use all four.

The preliminary decision describes the use as barging in goods, equipment and materials to the company's adjacent land. Glacier Construction has been operating the site to transfer rock to regional markets, according to the state Division of Forestry & Fire Protection.

The forestry division, which manages the Haines State Forest, raised no objection to the lease during the state's agency review. It said the improvements "will allow for expanded use of the facility from a hard rock transfer site to include safe responsible transfer of forest resources to regional, interstate, and international markets," increasing the chance of carrying out "existing and future timber contract agreements." In January, the state approved a land use permit for an NSEA Timber Inc. log transfer facility on the west side of the lease area. The permit's improvements would not overlap with the barge landing, the preliminary decision says, and Glacier Construction gave a letter saying it did not object.

The land division said the forestry division's suggested future uses were "speculative" and outside the scope of this decision, and that any future uses or expansions would get separate review.

Of four public comments, one supported the lease. The other three, including comments from the Chilkat Indian Village and Lynn Canal Conservation, opposed it or asked the state not to issue it as proposed. They raised cultural sites in the project area, the neighboring Haines Sawmill contaminated site and a lack of information about the landing's purpose. The department said the state history office gave no recommendations on the cultural sites and contaminated-site staff recommended no testing. A standard lease condition requires work to stop if cultural resources turn up.

At the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's recommendation, pile driving is to avoid April and May, when juvenile fish are sensitive to underwater noise.

Affected people who commented in writing during the comment period can appeal to the natural resources commissioner within 20 days. Without an appeal, the decision takes effect on the 31st day after it was issued.