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Site Report: Tanaga Island

Site Name: Tanaga Island
Address: Tanaga Island, ~50 Miles West of Adak, Adak, AK 99546
File Number: 2580.38.005
Hazard ID: 2637
Status: Active
Staff: Sarah Bernhardt, 9072697527 sarah.bernhardt@alaska.gov
Latitude: 51.672811
Longitude: -178.050592
Horizontal Datum:WGS84

We make every effort to ensure the data presented here is accurate based on the best available information currently on file with DEC. It is therefore subject to change as new information becomes available. We recommend contacting the assigned project staff prior to making decisions based on this information.

Problems/Comments

The Tanaga Island Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) is located in the Aleutian Islands chain and is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Facilities were constructed on the islands during World War II, to provide defense for Alaska and to assist in recapturing the islands of Attu and Kiska. The island was developed by the U.S Navy Seabees, and operated as an emergency and staging airfield for the Adak Navy Operations Base. The facilities were abandoned in place after the war, and the island has seen little human presence since. The subject site is being cleaned up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under the FUDS Program. The Corps has been working on the FUDS areas since the mid-1980’s. Contaminants of concern in soils, groundwater, and surface water include PCBs, petroleum, chlorinated solvents, metals, and munitions constituents.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
7/15/1994 Preliminary Assessment Approved PA action added by Shannon and Wilson, Inc., on 2/19/97. Based on FUDS Site Summary dated 2/21/96, PA completed 7/94. S&W-Miner
11/21/1996 Site Added to Database Site added by Shannon and Wilson. S&W-Miner
7/1/1997 Update or Other Action EPA added the site to the Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket, effective June 27, 1997. John Halverson
4/3/2000 Update or Other Action DEC received a copy of a letter from EPA X to USFW stating the site may score high enough to be proposed for inclusion on the national priorities list (NPL) and requesting a CERCLA equivalent Site Inspection (SI) and describing various data gaps. John Halverson
12/21/2000 Site Number Identifier Changed Workplan changed to X9 from X1 to reflect metals and PCB contamination. Former Staff
4/2/2001 Update or Other Action ADEC received a copy of a letter EPA sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The letter requests that the Corps conduct SI work in 2003 and attempt to remove contaminated soil and transformers. John Halverson
2/15/2005 Update or Other Action File number issued 2580.38.005 Aggie Blandford
5/11/2005 Update or Other Action DEC reviewed and commented on a May 3, 2005 draft Site Visit Workplan and scope of work for pre-removal assessment for thousands of drums (CON/HTRW project) on Tanaga and Ogliuga Islands. DEC requested clarification and additional details on the historical records review to better identify data gaps that need to be investiated. Requested clarification on whether an Archive Search Report (ASR) has been done on military munitions at Tanaga and, if so, that a copy be provided to the department. Also asked that field work include checking fuel tanks to determine whether they contain product and investigating transformers to determine whether they contain PCBs. John Halverson
11/22/2006 Update or Other Action The EA FONSI was reviewed, no comment. Debra Caillouet
3/21/2007 Update or Other Action draft con/htrw removal work plan reviewed. significant comment submitted to corps. Debra Caillouet
6/20/2007 Cleanup Plan Approved a con/htrw removal work plan was approved Debra Caillouet
2/28/2008 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC received a copy of the Draft version of the 2007 CON HTRW Removal Action Report for our review. The report details the removal of a large number of barrels that still contained hazardous substances,. Also batteries and several transformers were contained and removed from the island. Samples were collected in the areas where containerized waste was removed and evidence of release was observed. Jonathan Schick
3/13/2008 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC issued a letter to the USACE after reviewing the 2007 CON/HTRW Removal Action Report. Overall the report required more detail concerning the locations of samples collected and a clear presentation of the area of concern from which the samples were collected. Also, the state is concerned about the reporting of several batteries as intact when it can be seen that several of these batteries were structurally compromised and therefore the surrounding soil was not sampled. Jonathan Schick
9/24/2008 Update or Other Action The 2007 Containerized Hazardous, Toxic, or Radioactive Waste Removal Action Report dated September 2008 has been submitted to the ADEC. The Removal Action Report outlines the work performed at Tanaga Island and Ogliuga Island, Alaska during the 2007 and 2008 field seasons. The project included CON/HTRW handling and removal, excavation and transportation of HTRW-contaminated soils and analytical soil sampling. Jonathan Schick
10/31/2008 Update or Other Action ADEC recieved a copy of the Draft Site Inspection Report for Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Tanaga. The document is dated October 2008. ADEC staff will review and comment on the document in preparation for the 11/5/2008 meeting with the USACE and their contractors. Jonathan Schick
11/5/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held ADEC staff met with representatives from the USACE Huntsville AL staff and Alaska District staff as well as their contractors to discuss the schedule and plans to move forward on the MMRP work that is to be coordinated with the on-going CON/HTRW RI work that is slated to occur this summer. Plans were discussed regarding time frame for document production and review for the various drafts of the Work Plan and TPP that are still to come. A tentative meeting date for a TPP kick-off meeting was scheduled for the week of 11/10. Jonathan Schick
4/8/2009 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Site Program reviewed and commented on the Draft 2009 Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Tanaga and Ogliuga Island, Alaska. The ADEC stated that overall the plan needs more detail concerning the locations of samples to be collected and a narrative explaining how the field crews will share information and make decisions. Jonathan Schick
6/5/2009 Update or Other Action The Final Remedial Investigation Work Plan for Tanaga and Ogliuga Island, Alaska was received by ADEC. Jonathan Schick
7/1/2010 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites Staff recieved a formal application from the US Army Corps of Engineers for a groundwater use determination for Tanaga and Ogliuga Island FUDS. The request states that the groundwater is too shallow to provide a suitable potable water source. Jonathan Schick
10/8/2010 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites submitted a letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers stating that the request for a groundwater use determination under 18 AAC 350 has been denied. The land manager, USFWS and ADEC Contaminated Sites staff did not find the characterization of the contaminants at the sites to be adequate to support this determination and so the groundwater at the sites will be compared to the drinking water cleanup levels. Jonathan Schick
11/12/2010 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Site Program reviewed and commented on the Risk Assessment Work Plan for Tanaga and Ogliuga Islands. ADEC's main concern was that the sites that were not adequately characterized should not be included in the risk assessment. ADEC provided a list of sites deemed inadequately characterized to the USACE. Jonathan Schick
12/6/2010 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Contaminated Sites staff issued a letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers with an attached comment response form detailing issues in the Draft-Final version of the Remedial Investigation Report for Tanaga and Ogliuga Islands FUDS. The majority of the comments were pointing out data gaps that ADEC found in the reporting. Other comments were editorial in nature. Jonathan Schick
6/27/2011 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program received the Final Remedial Investigation Report for Tanaga and Ogliuga Islands, Alaska. Jonathan Schick
7/22/2011 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program reviewed and submitted comments on the Draft Red-Line Strikeout Risk Assessment Report for Tanaga and Ogliuga Islands, Alaska. One of ADEC's main comments was that certain areas were not sufficiently characterized, and therefore data are not adequate for risk assessment. Jonathan Schick
10/15/2012 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program received the Final Risk Assessment Report for Tanaga and Ogliuga Island, Alaska. Jonathan Schick
1/24/2013 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 73613 name: drums. This is an auto action that was triggered by an administrative fix to correct reporting problems in the Unranked Sites Report. This is not an actual ETM ranking and no answers were altered within the ETM. The only part of the record affected by this fix may be the ranking dates. (Reese) Kristin Thompson
6/18/2013 CERCLA FS The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program reviewed and provided comments on the draft Feasibility Study for Formerly Used Defense Sites Tanaga and Ogliuga Island, Alaska. The ADEC sent a letter requesting, amongst other points, that the assessment of ecological risk be included in the feasibility study document. Based on the fact that the site is located on a remote island in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, potential ecological risks are the primary concern that needs to be addressed in the cleanup and management of contamination. Additional remedial investigation and risk assessment are necessary prior to ADEC concurrence on a decision document for the sites. Jessica Morris
8/6/2015 Site Visit Conduct site visit with USFWS to evaluate contaminants and debris remaining at the former WWII airfield. Several areas of concern were observed. Of particular concern is the drum storage area where full drums of product remain and significant soil staining is present. Guy Warren
9/7/2016 Meeting or Teleconference Held A meeting was held between ADEC and Shannon & Wilson, Inc. to discuss the Tanaga Ogliuga Islands FUDS Risk Assessment and Technical Support Contract. Jessica Morris
12/1/2016 Meeting or Teleconference Held CS managers participate in the annual FUDS site management action plan meeting. The purpose of the is to collaborate with FUDS management on site progress and prioritization for all of the formerly used defense sites. FUDS prioritization is based on risk, congressional interest, state input and proximity to other sites on the prioritization list. FUDS has increased environmental restoration funding in Alaska for the 2017 and 2018 field seasons to meet National goals for site progress. Darren Mulkey
5/10/2017 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program submitted comments on the draft Phase II HTRW Remedial Investigation and CON/HTRW Removal Action Work Plan, Phase II MMRP Remedial Investigation QAPP, and Risk Assessment Work Plan. Jessica Morris
8/4/2017 Update or Other Action The ADEC Contaminated Sites Program sent a compliance advisory letter to the USACE and Ahtna Engineering Services for conducting site characterization and cleanup work without an ADEC approved work plan. ADEC received a revised work plan on June 26, 2017 and field activities commenced on July 3, 2017. Jessica Morris
9/3/2021 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC reviewed Project Closeout Report Containerized Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Project # F10AK0228-02 Tanks/Drums/Transformers, Tanaga Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, dated August 2021. ADEC concurred with project closeout and sent concurrence letter. Ginna Quesada
9/12/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other on 9/12/2022 ADEC approved the Final Phase III Remedial Investigation and Risk Assessment Work Plan, Tanaga Island FUDS, Dated June 2022. The specific objectives of the Phase III RI and risk assessment are to collect sufficient data to define the nature and extent of contamination at known and potential contaminant sources of military origin, to confirm the contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) that have impacted each media and differentiate between CERCLA and petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) features to determine the regulatory pathway, and to collect sufficient unbiased data to assess risk to human health and the environment associated with the FUDS POL and CERCLA features. Daniela Fawcett

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments

Control Type

Type Details

Requirements

Description Details

No associated sites were found.

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State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

P.O. Box 111800
Juneau, AK 99811-1800
Phone: 907-465-5066
Fax: 907-465-5245
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