BLM invites public comment on Copper Valley Telephone Cooperative's proposal to bury a fiber optic cable from Gakona to Delta Junction
Organization
Media Contact:
GLENNALLEN, Alaska – Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Glennallen Field Office is
announcing a 15-day public review and comment period on a proposed plan from Copper Valley Telephone
Cooperative (CVTC) to install a 140-mile fiber optic cable along the Richardson Highway between Gakona
Junction and Delta Junction, Alaska.
CVTC’s proposed plan is expected to provide a critical link for Southcentral Alaska. When completed, it will
connect facilities in Valdez, Whitter, Fairbanks, and beyond to the North Slope.
The proposed fiber optic cable will be buried about 48 inches below the surface and will require a working
corridor 15-feet wide, requiring some clearing of vegetation. Construction is anticipated to begin during the
2017 field season and will complete no later than October 2018.
Public comments will help inform the BLM analysis on CVTC’s application and the comment period begins
Friday, March 31, 2017, and ends Saturday, April 15, 2017. To review the proposed action and submit
comments, please visit the BLM’s National NEPA register at https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office.
Using an “Advanced Search,” enter NEPA number: DOI-BLM-AK-A020-2017-0023-EA. You may also
submit comments to the BLM Glennallen Field Office, Attn: CVTC – Fiber Optic Cable, P.O. Box 147,
Glennallen, AK 99588.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identification information in
your comment, be advised that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your
personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.