The West Susitna Industrial Access Road
                           Permitting

For AIDEA to construct the West Susitna Industrial  Access Road, it will need to obtain a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to fill wetlands and other waters from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For the Corps to issue the 404 permit, it must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act by preparing an environmental impact statement, or EIS. This process typically takes 2 to 3 years and involves a couple opportunities for the public to engage. We should know much more about the EIS timeline after AIDEA submits its wetlands permit application to the Corps. 

 

In addition to obtaining a wetlands permit, AIDEA will need to obtain permits from the State. The State will likely engage in that process after the EIS is completed. Some State permits may come after the Corps makes a decision on whether to issue a wetlands permit.

 

The timeline for federal permitting is extremely fluid with no exact dates at this point. We expect the public to be able to participate between 2-3 times during the federal permitting process.

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404 Wetland Permitting

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On Tuesday, May 24, AIDEA announced in a press release that they have submitted their information for a 404 permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE.) This began the environmental review of the project. Later ,the application was deemed incomplete. AIDEA had an opportunity to reapply

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In September of 2022, AIDEA resubmitted, and the Army Corp. stated the application would be deemed complete pending more information. AIDEA was, yet again, unable to provide the required information, and the application was shelved.

 

In early 2023, the application was resubmitted and is awaiting approval. As they have shown us in their application to the Federal Government, AIDEA brazenly moves forward without providing adequate answers, expecting to push their mega-project through as quickly as possible.

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In Spring of 2024, despite AIDEA's website indicating the 404 permitting has been approved, the Army Corp of Engineers has told Susitna River Coalition that the application is inactive.