Local residents blew the whistle on the new Baldy Lake Airpark development only two months after breaking ground. There were reports of equipment in the creek, cleared dams, and even stream reroutes in some areas. The tributary is an outlet of Baldy Lake and feeds Answer Creek.
Silt fencing, one of the most important ways to keep sediment from getting into the stream during construction, was absent. Soil from the top of the temporary bridge was dropping through holes into the stream below.
Representatives from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, or ADF&G, and the Army Corps of Engineers visited the site last week to see the damage. They met with the developer, Art Mathias.
The development is considered a Condo Plat, or Common Interest Community, under Alaska statute. It allows developments to skirt subdivision process requirements and does not allow for public input.
Mathias acquired a permit from ADF&G for the temporary bridge over Answer Creek. At the time, no other permits were needed, based on information Mathias provided about the development to the permitting agencies.
Sarah Myers, ADF&G Habitat Biologist and Mat-Su Area Manager says that Mr. Mathias would work with the Habitat Section and their statutory authority to gain compliance. This means the development was not in compliance at the time of their visit.
The tributary that was damaged had been designated as a resident fish stream. The ADF&G sampled a portion of that stream during the visit and found rearing juvenile coho salmon. That tributary will now be nominated as an anadromous stream, which will afford it additional protections under the law if accepted.
It is unclear if the Army Corps of Engineers will now require permits for the development, which had not been needed for just the temporary bridge, or if they will require remediation for the damage.
