Site Report: Rampart School
| Site Name: | Rampart School |
|---|---|
| Address: | Tracts 2A/2B of USS3677, Rampart, AK 99767 |
| File Number: | 760.38.001 |
| Hazard ID: | 99 |
| Status: | Active |
| Staff: | Livia Bracker, 9072697695 livia.bracker@alaska.gov |
| Latitude: | 65.504990 |
| Longitude: | -150.169990 |
| Horizontal Datum: |
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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
Soil contamination and oil in basement food storage area due to leaks and overfills of heating oil tank reported in 5/81 under the old Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school. Recent 2,000-gallon heating oil spill (no information on this spill was found 4/2009 - requested info from the Prevention and Emergency Response Program [PERP]). Extent of contamination unknown. Nearby village water well may be threatened. Cross reference file 760.02.001. Spill in close proximity to village water well and small pond. Area around well filled in with gravel due to sinkage from melting permafrost. Well over 200 feet deep. Area under school may have been old dump site. Small pond near generator building had 1"-2" fuel product on surface as of 12/1990. Pond is 15' from village water well. *** 8/3/2016 Update Correction to above information regarding "Recent 2,000-gallon heating oil spill." No documentation was found to support this statement. A site visit conducted by DEC on 7/27/90 indicated an overfill of 1000+ gallons of fuel oil spilled from the day tank. The drinking water well is very close to the spill.
Action Information
| Action Date | Action | Description | DEC Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/13/1981 | Site Visit | (Old R:Base Action Code = FI - Field Inspection (General)). Site visit to assess problem of oil in basement food storage area. Documented leaks in piping and valves, as well as soil contamination and sheen on puddles in area. Interviews with Mr. George King and Alfred Wiehl revealed that spills of greater than 100 gallons have occurred during tank filling. | Former Staff |
| 7/27/1990 | Site Visit | Site visit/inspection by Bill Smythe. Spill of approximately 1000+ gallons resulted from day tank overfill. Photographs in case file show extensive staining, sheen, and stressed vegetation. | Sonja Benson |
| 8/1/1990 | Site Added to Database | Heating oil. | Former Staff |
| 11/19/1990 | Site Ranked Using the AHRM | Initial ranking. | Former Staff |
| 6/20/1994 | Update or Other Action | (Old R:Base Action Code = RPL2 - Site Information Request Letter). Sent PRP-CS Database Notification Letter to RP requesting update and more environmental information concerning contaminated site. | Jeff Peterson |
| 3/6/2001 | Update or Other Action | File number updated from 760.02.001 to 760.38.001. | Mitzi Read |
| 11/29/2006 | Update or Other Action | Staff transferred from Pikul to Jaynes. | Aggie Blandford |
| 4/2/2008 | Exposure Tracking Model Ranking | Initial ranking with ETM completed. Email sent to Village Council inquiring about current status of site | Bill O'Connell |
| 4/9/2009 | Update or Other Action | Sent another email to the village council contact but the email came back as undeliverable. I will attempt another contact via phone. | Pam Clemens |
| 4/9/2009 | Update or Other Action | Spoke with John Christian with Yukon Kuskokwim School District and Rampart is not part of their district. I will remove the YKSD affiliate information in file. Rampart is not part of the Yukon Flats School District or the Lower Kuskokwim School District. The school that had the contamination in its basement appears to be the old BIA school, I am unable to find out any information about it. | Pam Clemens |
| 4/16/2009 | Update or Other Action | Left second message on phone at the Rampart Village Corporation (Baan O Yeel Kon Corporation) in Fairbanks at 907-456-6259, requesting information on the (school) building that had contamination in the basement food storage area in 1981. There are no state funded schools in Rampart as per AK Division of Community and Regional Affairs (ADCRA) database and "a new washeteria, well, watering point, water treatment plant, and 35,000 gallon storage tank were recently completed." (No date listed in ADCRA's database). | Pam Clemens |
| 4/16/2009 | Update or Other Action | Spoke with Linda Evans and found that the old BIA school was used as a washeteria and teacher housing until VSW built a new washeteria and well about 50 feet from the old BIA school. The new school that was built in 1984 was used until approximately 2000 when it closed because there were not enough students. Currently there are no children in Rampart. Linda said that the water from the new well is tested and it is good to drink. Unsure of land ownership of the old BIA school - it may have transferred to the Village Council. | Pam Clemens |
| 4/22/2009 | Update or Other Action | Verified with DEED (Dept. of Education and Early Development) that student enrollment was below minimum and school closed. | Pam Clemens |
| 5/4/2009 | Update or Other Action | Spoke with Linda Evans about possible Reuse and Redevelopment grants. Linda referred me to Elaine Evans with the Rampart Village Council 907-358-3312, I left a message. | Pam Clemens |
| 12/2/2009 | Update or Other Action | Left a second message for Elaine Evans with the Rampart Village Council 358-3312. | Pam Clemens |
| 11/3/2011 | Update or Other Action | It was reported to DEC that DEED has obtained funding to demolish the Rampart school as it is no longer in use. However, DEED is also evaluating the viability of re-use of the school building by the village. | Linda Nuechterlein |
| 4/27/2012 | Update or Other Action | File transferred to Sonja Benson in Fairbanks 4-27-12 | Susan Carberry |
| 6/22/2012 | Update or Other Action | Resident of Rampart visited the DEC Fairbanks office to ask about options other than demolition for the old school so that the community could reuse the structure. DEC contacted Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) to discuss, but options are limited due to state liability and complex process for property tansfer to community. Structure has been vandalized and is in bad shape. DEED has also been in contact with community residents about the issue. Currently working on an evaluation of potential demolition costs. Land at location of the most recently used school, which was built in 1984, is owned by DOT&PF; land on other side of site is owned by DNR. | Sonja Benson |
| 2/5/2013 | Potentially Responsible Party/State Interest Letter | Letter sent to Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) advising them of their potential financial liability for contamination at the Rampart School, which is no longer in use. Structures of the former schools are currently the subject of a DEED-funded evaluation to support funding requests for future demolition and removal. | Sonja Benson |
| 8/5/2015 | Update or Other Action | Site transferred to Whitsel for evaluation of BIA as PRP and follow up. | Fred Vreeman |
| 8/26/2015 | Update or Other Action | Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was assessed as a potentially responsible party (PRP) as part of an on-going assessment of contaminated sites associated with former BIA schools across the state. BIA is not a PRP at this site; ownership was transferred to Alaska Department of Natural Resources in 1971, and the first documentation of contamination occurred in 1981. | Joy Whitsel |
| 7/3/2017 | Update or Other Action | A letter was sent to Yukon Flats School District ranking all schools with contaminated sites within the school district according to human health risk. | Joy Whitsel |
| 6/28/2019 | Update or Other Action | Letter provided to BIA providing a list of 31 sites where BIA is a PRP and requesting a meeting to discuss long-term planning for cleanup at these sites. | Gretchen Caudill |
Contaminant Information
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Control Type
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Requirements
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No associated sites were found.