Whale permit for Juneau's fifth cruise dock issued with no public comment

Juneau has been fighting about Aak'w Landing since 2020. When federal regulators opened public comment on whether building it could disturb humpback whales and Steller sea lions, nobody wrote in.

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued the permit Tuesday, clearing Turnagain Marine Construction to drive pilings in Gastineau Channel for what will be the city's fifth cruise ship dock. It allows up to 527 instances of Level B harassment of Steller sea lions — federal language for animals moving off or changing behavior because of noise, not being hurt. Pile driving is loud underwater.

Regulators cut the request nearly in half. Turnagain asked to cover 1,023 disturbances; NMFS found a calculation error and corrected it to 527. Eight involve the endangered western population.

Aak'w Landing is a roughly $150 million development by Huna Totem Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation, on subport land Norwegian Cruise Line gifted it in 2022. It has split Juneau for six years, through a permit appeal, a state hearing, and competing ballot initiatives on cruise limits, over whether a fifth dock eases downtown congestion or invites bigger ships and dirtier air. Huna Totem recently scaled the project back sharply, citing tariffs and construction costs.

A second Turnagain proposal, for a cruise terminal on Douglas Island, is open for comment through July 29.