Nome Joint Utilities, Port hold joint work session
The Port of Nome and Nome Joint Utility System are working on development issues they have in common and on Monday evening they held a joint work session.
The Port is looking at a very large expansion in the near future as it becomes an important way station in the USA’s move to protect its Arctic interests. Land the City owns at the Port of Nome is being prepared for development. Several tank farms sit on that land and some of those tanks have issues with permafrost. NJUS has four large tanks up on the upper pad and they plan to move those tanks down to lower ground next to the power plant. Preparation of the real estate is complicated because some is stable and some isn’t. Some is contaminated by previous users and there is a hodge-podge of ownership.
“The main reason for the work session is the long-range planning for the West tank farm and property development,” said Jim West Jr. in opening the session. Port Commissioner Joy Baker had prepared packets with a number of aerial photos and graphics of the property under discussion.
She described how the port is planning to take possession of Air Force property to be used for tank farm, boat haul out and other uses. This will enable the port to vacate the boat yard on the upper pad. Drainage is a big issue and much work has to be done to understand how the pads are graded and which direction the waters are flowing.
The big project for the utilities is moving their four tanks from up on top of the Thornbush pad down to a spot next to the power plant. The new spot has been a tank farm previously and is therefore pre-contaminated.
A lot of work is in the planning stages and state and federal regulations can make that planning difficult. But Monday’s meeting with the two city entities sitting down together got both sides thinking they weren’t so far apart after all. They both have much work on their plates. In the meantime, the City Planning Commission meets Tuesday night.