LNG may bring more Kenai River traffic

Managers are concerned that pressure on the Kenai River could increase if the Alaska LNG project goes through.

The project is still tentative and will not receive a final ruling until 2018 at the earliest, but if it does go through, the borough could see an influx of as many as 5,000 workers for the five years it takes to construct the 900-acre plant in Nikiski. Unless the camp is closed, many of them will likely recreate on the Kenai River.

The Kenai River Special Management Area board raised concerns about access to the river at its meeting Thursday. The Kenai River is already seeing impacts from too many people wanting to fish and boat, and the addition of a potential 5,000 more LNG employees — and potentially their families — to the peninsula.

Larry Persily, borough mayor Mike Navarre’s special assistant for oil and gas, addressed the board with an update about the particulars of the project. Much is still up for debate, including whether the project will even happen, he said.

“It’s going to be three years at best before we know whether this project is going to go through,” Persily said. “But during those three years, there will be a lot of work to do and a lot of community input.”

The board has been debating ways to limit access to the river for some time. During the board’s October meeting, the members asked Alaska Department of Parks and Outdoor Recreation representative Jack Blackwell to request a white paper from the Department of Law about ways to limit use of the river.

Blackwell said he requested the paper, but it was not ready for the November meeting. However, he said it would be ready for the December meeting.

The overuse of the river could be affecting habitat and water quality as well. Jeanne Swartz, a board member and an environmental program manager with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, said a water quality survey from the Kenai Watershed Forum showed a relative improvement in water quality but elevated levels of certain metals, including copper and zinc.

“We’re not sure what could be causing that,” Swartz said. “We looked at the things that we were sure weren’t a problem and took them out of the program, and everything else is going to be looked at closely. Then we’ll be able to make a more sophisticated or more in-depth analysis.”

Elevated levels of copper can disturb young salmon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When the agency conducted a survey of 811 sites around the country in 2007, they found that elevated levels of copper may have come from road runoff in the surrounding areas and interfered with the salmon’s senses.

Swartz said the Department of Environmental Conservation is not sure what is causing the elevated levels of metals in the river but may request data from the Alaska Department of Transportation about road traffic as well as other information about potential sources of toxins in the environment.

If the LNG does come to Nikiski, there will likely be significant increases in traffic on roads close to the Kenai River, which could cause impacts in the water quality if road runoff damages salmon.

Persily suggested that the board list all its items of concern and submit them to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which will be conducting the Environmental Impact Statement for the LNG project. That statement will take approximately three years and will play a significant role in the project’s fate, he said.

“FERC and the regulators know that this is going to have to look at salmon habitats, road traffic and air quality standards,” Persily said. “If there’s a concern that what are the company’s plans to deal with 5,000 workers roughly who on their days off will want to go to limited recreational opportunities on Kenai, that should be proposed in the EIS.”

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Brad Snowden and Julie Crites participate in a Seward City Council candidate forum at the Seward Community Library in Seward on Thursday.
Seward council candidates discuss issues at election forum

Participating in Thursday’s forum were Julie Crites and Brad Snowden

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Soldotna adopts arts and culture master plan

The plan outlines how the city plans to support arts and culture over the next 10 years

Architect Nancy Casey speaks in front of a small gathering at the Fireside Chat presented by the Kenai Watershed Forum on Nov. 30, 2022, at Kenai River Brewing in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum’s Fireside Chats return Wednesday

The chats will cover a range of interesting topics, centered on knowledge, research and projects

Erosion of the Kenai bluff near the Kenai Senior Center. (Photo by Aidan Curtin courtesy Scott Curtin)
Kenai to sign bluff stabilization agreement Monday

A signing event will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Kenai Senior Center

Engineer Lake Cabin can be seen in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public comment accepted for proposed rate increases for overnight fees at refuge

Campsites would increase $5 per night and cabins would increase $10 per night

Abigal Craig, youth winner of the Seventh Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby, is presented a novelty check by Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Shannon Martin, City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver Salmon Derby nets fish, funds for river protection

116 fish were weighed by 79 anglers across the six days of competition

Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis talks about the Soldotna field house project during a Soldotna City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna awards field house contract

Anchorage-based Criterion General, Inc. will construct the facility

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly to let borough mayors speak sooner during meetings

The mayor’s report will now be given after the first round of public comments and before public hearings and new assembly business

Assembly members Lane Chesley, left, and Richard Derkevorkian participate in a borough assembly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Haara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly asks state to allow term limits for school board members

Alaska Statute does not allow term limits to be imposed on school board members

Most Read