USACE seeks public comment on Apoon study

The USACE Alaska District has prepared a draft disposition study and environmental assessment on the Apoon Mouth of the Yukon River historical project.

The study’s focus is on whether federal interest exists to retain the project for its authorized purpose of commercial navigation and, if not, to determine whether the project should be deauthorized.

The purpose of the Apoon Mouth of the Yukon River project was to facilitate economic activity and the transport of goods into the Interior.

Dredging through shoals and easing sharp bends in Apoon Pass enabled steamboats carrying supplies shipped from St. Michael to navigate the Yukon Delta.

The river channel was completed in 1914. Following the widening of a bend near the Pastolik River’s mouth in 1915, no further work has been performed or planned for this project.

Transport modernization mostly eliminated the need to navigate up the mouth of the Yukon to supply communities in the Interior. If deauthorization is recommended, then Congressional action is required.

The report will be available for 30 days until August 31, said USACE.