Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

The Haines Borough is pushing forward with a proposed $20 million replacement for the municipal Lutak Dock despite opposition from some residents concerned about the financial risk and environmental consequences of the project.

The borough recently applied for a permit to begin construction of the new dock, which it says is needed to ensure that Haines residents have a reliable way to get fuel and groceries. The construction is funded by a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD).

The comment period for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit began Aug. 4 and is open for two weeks. It closes Aug. 19. People can submit their comments by mailing letters to regpagemaster@usace.army.mil with the reference number POA-2023-00357.

The project has faced skepticism from critics who say the dock is being pushed by mining interests who want a reliable port to offload ore from the proposed Palmer Project and other mines. The borough has staunchly denied that allegation, saying the aging 70-year-old dock is past its useful lifetime.

But the borough hasn’t responded to a litany of criticism raised by Lynn Canal Conservation, which hired a Palmer-based environmental lawyer to look into issues with the dock rebuild and the borough’s grant application to MARAD.

According to a “white paper” written by Teresa Clemmer, the costs to maintain the dock might be more than the revenue it would bring in, unless the borough were to find another industrial customer like a mine. The report also charges the borough with misleading MARAD in its grant application by claiming that essential supplies might not be able to be shipped to Haines if the existing dock fails. Clemmer pointed out that at the time the grant application was submitted, the dock was undergoing repairs, but supplies were still arriving in Haines via facilities like the roll-on-roll-off dock.

In an emailed statement from an unnamed spokesperson, MARAD told CVN it had “thoroughly reviewed” the borough’s application, and found that it “would increase resiliency to climate change and improve dock infrastructure for a rural community dependent on the cargo and fuel delivered to that dock.”

Jessica Plachta, director of Lynn Canal Conservation, said another risk with the construction is contamination. The area around Lutak Dock is near the fuel tank farm and other unknown contaminants from the area’s military use.

Plachta said she hoped the Army Corps would extend the public comment period to a normal month before issuing the permit, and hold public meetings with residents of Haines and Klukwan. She also said the borough should do more testing for contaminants in the area.

This story previously misstated the permit number