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Division of Spill Prevention and Response
20 Years after the Exxon Valdez
A comparison of spill prevention and response in Prince William Sound in March 1989 to March 2009. Look for more information soon on the 20 years after the March 24th, 1989 grounding of the T/V Exxon Valdez.
Contaminated Sites Program
Kincaid Park Former Biathlon Range, Anchorage – (6/21/12)
The former biathlon range within Anchorage's 1,516-acre Kincaid Park was contaminated with lead and antimony. It was cleaned up to state and federal cleanup standards in October 2011. The Environmental Protection Agency and DEC's Contaminated Sites Program received a final closure report in early May 2012, and both agencies granted site closure on May 11, 2012.
With the exception of 78 tons of soil that was shipped out of state as hazardous waste in October 2008, work to evaluate and clean up visible lead and lead-contaminated soil was done between mid-May and mid-October 2011. Contaminated soil was treated with phosphate-rich fertilizer and lime to stabilize the lead so that the treated soil could be disposed of at the Anchorage Regional Landfill as non-hazardous waste. An estimated total of 9,031 pounds of lead was removed from the site through the completion of remedial activities in October 2011. This mass of lead was found to be consistent with estimates of the mass of bullets discharged during the 20 years the range operated, from 1988 to late 2007.
The Salt Chuck Mine, a Superfund site – (5/31/12)
The Salt Chuck Mine is an abandoned historic gold, silver, copper and
palladium mine located on the southeast side of Prince of Wales Island.
An extensive tailings deposit of an estimated 100,000 cubic yards is
located mostly in the inter-tidal zone south of the mill, on state-owned
tidelands. A preliminary analysis published in 2007 outlined several
areas of contamination both in the uplands and the inter-tidal area. Due
to the high levels of metals and risk to human health and then
environment, on March 2, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
announced it was giving the Salt Chuck Mine site Superfund status by
placing it on the agency's National Priorities List. The U.S. Forest
Service built a road to the site and conducted a soil removal in the
uplands area in 2011, but additional contamination remains in the
uplands. The EPA collected some sediment samples in the inter-tidal area
in 2011 and expects to collect additional samples in both the
inter-tidal and uplands areas in 2012. The EPA plans to draft a Remedial
Investigation report over the winter for release in spring 2013.
Recently Updated Guidance
Lab Data Review Checklist - (1/2010) - updated
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Lab Data Review Checklist for air samples -
In the interests of standardizing DEC’s review of air data, the Contaminated Sites Program has developed a Laboratory Data Review Checklist for Air Samples. This checklist is appropriate for evaluating the quality of air data as part of a vapor intrusion investigation. The checklist should be completed by a qualified person when reviewing laboratory data deliverables containing indoor air, outdoor air, or soil gas analytical data. Completed checklists are submitted with the report, or an independent third party review can be contracted in lieu of the checklist.
Draft Field Sampling Guidance - (2/2010)
The guidance contains fundamental guidelines, methods, and equipment options for sample collection at contaminated sites and leaking underground storage tank sites. It updates and expands the sampling procedures currently found in the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Procedures Manual, adopted by reference in the 18 AAC 78 regulations. It is DEC’s intent to see the DRAFT Field Sampling Guidance used to help develop work plans and guide fieldwork during the upcoming field season. The initial release of the guidance focuses on soil and groundwater; sediment, surface water, and air sampling protocols are under development and more specialized material may be added in the future as input from staff and the regulated community is received.
Industry Preparedness Program
2013 Arctic/Cold Regions Oil Pipeline Conference
Development of a conference on Arctic/ Cold Regions Oil Pipelines began in October 2012 with an essential goal of educating newcomers to the region on the challenges, solutions and expectations for safe operations. A DEC contractor is producing the conference with the assistance of a volunteer technical committee comprised of industry experts. The breadth of the conference spans regulatory and social awareness, logistics, innovations of pipelines and foundation design, impacts and solutions for dynamic weather, geotechnical and hydrological threats, and lastly offshore pipeline design challenges. The conference will also look forward to discuss challenges for future pipelines east and west of current North Slope operations. The conference will be held in Anchorage between September 17th to 19th, 2013.
Please contact Roger Burleigh or Keith Sanfacon if you need additional information. Our contractor, Shannon & Wilson, point of contact is Tim Terry, and his contact info is provided below.
Tim Terry, CPG | Senior Associate
5430 Fairbanks Street, Suite 3
Anchorage, Alaska 99518
Phone: (907) 561-2120 Fax: (907) 561-4483
Direct: (907) 433-3230
Email: tmt@shanwil.com
New Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is engaged in a multi-year, multi-phase project to comprehensively review and update the oil discharge prevention and contingency plan regulations in 18 AAC 75.
Prevention and Emergency Response Program
Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment Project
The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Coast Guard and State of Alaska (ADEC) are working on a multi-phase risk assessment of maritime transportation in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Archipelago.
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