Problems/Comments

In April 2018, 7,000 gallons of gasoline were released to secondary containment through a hole in the bottom of a 10,000-gallon above ground storage tank (tank G-2) at the Askinuk Corporation Tank Farm in Scammon Bay. The tank farm is located in the northwest corner of the community and is surrounded by wetlands, an unnamed creek, and the Kun River. Tank farm operators indicated that fuel and water may have flowed over a damaged portion on the west side of the containment berm and that fuel and water may have been pumped out of the secondary containment into the adjacent wetland. At the time of the release subsistence fisherman, ice fishing on the Kun River, observed sheen on open water. Initial response actions included the issuing of a subsistence recommendation for activities within impacted area. Observations by responders did not indicate any concentrated pooling of free product around the tank farm though pockets of unrecoverable sheen were observed intermittently in melt water around the facility. At an inspection in May 2018, a breach was observed on the west side of the containment berm. Sand and gravel along the breach and inside the secondary containment were impacted. At the base of the pad below the breached berm a strong hydrocarbon odor was present. Outside the berm at the base of the pad near the breach, unrecoverable rainbow sheen was present if the mud was agitated. This area was within the fence surrounding the tank farm. DEC staff collected two surface water samples, one from the ponded water adjacent to the fence closest to the breach and one from the unnamed creek (down-gradient of the ponded water) that flows into the Kun River. Samples were analyzed for Gasoline Range Organics (GRO), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sample collected from the ponded water exceeded the water quality standard for Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons (TAH) and Total Aqueous Hydrocarbons (TAqH), and exceeded Table C values for 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, benzene, and naphthalene. Samples collected from the creek also exceeded the TAH and TAqH water quality standards. In July 2018 another round of surface water sampling was conducted on the ponded water and creek. The samples were analyzed for GRO, VOC, and PAHs. No contaminants of concern were detected. DEC rescinded the subsistence recommendation based on improved water quality of the creek. Since the site inspection in May 2018 there have been no reported observations of sheen in the surface water (wetlands or creek) adjacent to the tank farm. Impacted sand and gravel remain in the pad and within the secondary containment.

Action Information

Contaminant Information

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Requirements

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