(a) Classification
of surface water bodies by an operator or by an agency must be made according
to the following criteria:
(1) on private land
in Region I, classification of surface waters into Type I-A, I-B, I-C, or I-D
must be made in accordance with
AS
41.17.950(31) - (34) using
the procedures established in this section; any surface waters that do not meet
the criteria set out in
AS
41.17.950(31) - (34) do not
have a riparian area, within the meaning given the term in
AS
41.17.950, but are subject to surface water
quality protection best management practices in accordance with this
chapter;
(2) on private land in
Region II, classification of surface waters into Type II-A, II-B, II-C, or II-D
must be made in accordance with
AS
41.17.950(35) - (38) using
the procedures established in this section; any surface waters that do not meet
the criteria set out in
AS
41.17.950(35) - (38) do not
have a riparian area, within the meaning given the term in
AS
41.17.950, but are subject to surface water
quality protection best management practices in accordance with this
chapter;
(3) on private land in
Region III, classification of surface waters into Type III-A, III-B, or III-C
must be made in accordance with
AS
41.17.950(39) - (41) using
the procedures established in this section; any surface waters that do not meet
the criteria set out in
AS
41.17.950(39) - (41) do not
have a riparian area, within the meaning given the term in
AS
41.17.950, but are subject to surface water
quality protection best management practices in accordance with this
chapter;
(4) on other public land
and on state land managed by the department in Region I, classification of
surface waters must indicate whether the surface waters are anadromous or
contain high value resident fish under
AS
41.17.950;
(5) on other public land and on state land
managed by the department in Regions II and III, classification of surface
waters into Type II-A, II-B, II-C, II-D, III-A, III-B, or III-C must be made in
accordance with
AS
41.17.950(35) -
(41).
(b) A stream may have more than one water
body classification along its length and may also have a different water body
classification on opposite banks, depending on streambank
characteristics.
(c) An operator's
classification of a water body type may be verified by the agencies before or
during the review of a detailed plan of operations, and is subject to a field
inspection under
AS
41.17.090(f). Except as
provided in
AS
41.17.090(e), the division
will change the water body classification made by an operator if the division
determines that a water body was incorrectly classified. For private land in
Region I, the division will base its decision on evidence or lack of evidence
of anadromous fish at or upstream of the area proposed for reclassification
using procedures in (g) of this section and the criteria set out in
AS
41.17.950(31) - (34). In
Regions II and III, the division will base its decision on the criteria set out
in AS
41.17.950(35) - (41) and the
evidence or lack of evidence of anadromous fish or high value resident fish at
or upstream of the area proposed for reclassification.
(d) An operator or the division may request
the Department of Fish and Game to conduct a field review to document the
presence or absence of anadromous fish, and in Regions II and III, the presence
or absence of high value resident fish. The recommended practice is to schedule
a field review at a time when anadromous fish or evidence of anadromous fish
are likely to be present and the site is accessible. This subsection provides
an optional procedure for an operator and does not extend the time schedule for
field inspections under
AS
41.17.090(f).
(e) A water body that was incorrectly
classified at the time of submission of the detailed plan of operations, and
that has standing timber remaining in the riparian area at the time of
subsequent reclassification under (c) of this section, is, with respect to any
remaining standing timber, subject to the appropriate riparian standard under
AS
41.17.116-41.17.119, and this
section.
(f) Except for an
estuarine area at the mouth of an anadromous fish stream, salt water bodies are
not subject to
AS
41.17.115-41.17.119.
(g) The following provisions and Table A of
this subsection apply to classification of an anadromous fish stream on private
land in Region I:
(1) beginning at the mouth
of an anadromous fish stream and proceeding upstream, a stream in which all the
required elements of a Type I-A stream as defined in
AS
41.17.950(31) predominate
remains a Type I-A stream up to the point of physical blockage, or where any
required element of a Type I-A stream ceases to predominate for the remainder
of the stream, whichever occurs first; at that point, the stream becomes a Type
I-B, I-C, or I-D stream as the case may be;
(2) a Type I-B stream may become, in an
upstream segment, a Type I-A stream if the required elements of a Type I-A
stream are present in that upstream segment;
(3) a stream may not be classified a Type I-A
or I-B upstream from the point of physical blockage;
(4) an operator may presume that a physical
blockage occurs at any point or stream reach that meets one or more of the
criteria in Table A: Anadromous Fish Blockage; however, the agencies and
operators may not consider a physical blockage to occur if evidence or presence
of anadromous fish is found above that point or reach of the stream, in which
case it would be reclassified using the procedures and standards in this
section;
(5) to determine fall
height under (4) of this subsection, measure the additive height of multiple
falls only if resting pools do not occur between them; otherwise, the falls are
separate features; measurements are made from the jump pool surface to the
water surface above the fall, both at ordinary high water;
(6) notwithstanding (4) of this subsection,
in stream reaches that provide rearing habitat for juvenile anadromous fish,
but not spawning habitat for adult anadromous fish, an operator may presume a
blockage if any individual falls is greater than three feet; measured as
described in (5) of this subsection;
(7) a beaver dam is not presumed to
constitute a blockage.
(h) In Region II, an operator may presume
that a physical blockage occurs at any point or stream reach that meets one or
more of the criteria in Table A, set out in (g) of this section. However, if
evidence or the presence of anadromous fish or high value resident fish is
found above that point or reach of the stream,
(1) an agency or operator may not consider a
physical blockage to occur; and
(2)
the stream will be reclassified using the criteria set out in
AS
41.17.950(35) - (38).
TABLE A:
Anadromous Fish Blockage
Species Requirements (in feet)
Criterion
Coho
Steelhead
Sockeye
Chinook
Pink/Chum
Maximum
fall height.
A blockage
may be
presumed
if fall height
in feet exceeds:
11131011 a) 4 with
deep jump
pool
b) 3 with-
out pool Pool depth. A blockage
may be pre-
sumed if the
unobstructed
water
column
depth in feet
within the
pool is less
than:
1.25 X jump height, except that no minimum pool depth
exists
for falls, as follows:
a) less than 4 in the case of coho and steelhead;
b) less than 2 in the case of other anadromous fish
species. Steep
channel.
A blockage
may be pre-
sumed at the
upper end of
the reach if
channel
steepness in
feet is equal
to or greater
than the
following
without
resting
places for
fish:
>= 225 at 12 percent gradient
>= 100 at 16 percent gradient
>= 50 at 20 percent gradient
>= 25 at 20 percent gradient
>= 100 at 9 percent gradient
