Alaska Administrative Code › Title 11 - Natural Resources › Part 6 - Lands › Chapter 63 - Aquatic Farmsite Permits and Leases › 11 AAC 63.050 - Application review; best interest finding

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) After an
				aquatic farmsite lease application period closes, the affected agencies will
				check the applications for completeness. If applications are filed for sites
				within a state game refuge or critical habitat area, the commissioner will
				request the approval of the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game as
				required by
				AS
				16.20.060 or
				16.20.530.
(b) The commissioner will prepare a
				preliminary best interest finding on proposed aquatic farmsite leases for which
				applications have been timely filed, and on applications the commissioner
				intends to deny. The preliminary best interest finding will be made available
				for public and agency review during the fall that follows the application
				period. If the sites are unclassified, a proposed land use plan and
				classification order will be prepared, and will accompany or be included as
				part of the preliminary best interest finding for public review and comment. If
				the commissioner decides to amend or deny an application, to limit the number
				of sites to be authorized, or to offer a lease at auction rather than
				noncompetitively, the preliminary best interest finding must explain the
				reason. The finding must consider both advantages and disadvantages of the
				proposal. The following criteria are within the scope of the department's
				review:
(1) repealed 6/14/98;
(2) repealed 6/14/98;
(3) repealed 6/14/98;
(4) whether aquatic farming is compatible
				with land management policies applicable to the proposed aquatic farmsite and
				nearby upland, including legislative or congressional designations such as
				parks or wilderness areas and adopted federal, state, and local land use plans,
				land classifications, and zoning;
(5) whether aquatic farming conflicts with
				existing uses, or with pending uses, as that term is defined in
				11 AAC 63.900, of the site and of
				nearby land, whether or not the nearby land is in state ownership; under this
				paragraph, the finding must consider
(A)
				impacts on nearby communities or residential land;
(B) traditional and existing uses of the
				site, including commercial fishing, sport fishing, subsistence activities, use
				as an anchorage, navigation, seaplane landing area, recreation, sightseeing,
				and tourism; consideration of this criterion will, in the commissioner's
				discretion, be combined with a traditional use finding if such a finding is
				required by
				AS
				38.05.830;
(C) historic and cultural resources;
				and
(D) commercial or industrial
				facilities, such as log transfer facilities, salmon hatcheries, seafood
				processing plants, or harbor development, that might be incompatible with
				aquatic farming;
(6) how
				public access to and along public waters, and the upland owner's right of
				reasonable access to tidewater, will be ensured by reserving easements under 11
				AAC 53 or by other means; if upland access to the water is limited to a
				specific point by topography, existing improvements, or other factors, the
				commissioner will ensure that aquatic farming facilities do not obstruct water
				access to that point;
(7) how the
				interests served by the public trust doctrine, specifically the public's right
				to use navigable waters and the land beneath them for navigation, commerce,
				fishing, and other purposes, will be protected;
(8) whether special lease provisions or other
				measures are needed to mitigate identified conflicts; for this purpose the
				commissioner will consult guidelines set out in an applicable land use plan or
				zoning ordinance; and
(9) other
				significant social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed aquatic
				farming.