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Site Report: Copper River Railroad Yard

Site Name: Copper River Railroad Yard
Address: Center Drive, Between Chase & C.R. Hwy., Cordova, AK 99574
File Number: 2215.38.004
Hazard ID: 1016
Status: Cleanup Complete
Staff: No Longer Assigned, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov
Latitude: 60.541111
Longitude: -145.744167
Horizontal Datum:

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

Site was the location of a railroad roundhouse from early 1900s-1936. During WWII, the military used the yard and railroad as a staging area. After WWII it reverted back to private ownership. Heavy, black oil was found in utility trenches and other excavations around the site. Located on several lots within the Odiak Park Subdivision. The project parcel is defined as that parcel of land bounded by Chase Street to the north, Center Drive to the east, the Copper River Highway to the south, and Odiak Pond (Lagoon) to the west. CERCLA #AKD983068560. A cost sharing agreement was developed between British Petroleum, the Corps of Engineers and Kennicott Corp to fund the cleanup. BP managed the cleanup.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
5/31/1990 Preliminary Assessment Approved America North Inc., hired by Wilson, summarized that large amounts of waste oil was drained into large pits on property, free oil has been reported near surface excavation on Eyak property. No near surface contamination exists on Wilson property indicating off-site source of groundwater contamination. Former Staff
9/20/1990 Preliminary Assessment Approved Ecology and Environment sent in report. Priority assessment: no further investigative action under CERCLA is recommended because no direct human targets are suspected to be affected by contaminant migration from site. Subsurface contamination is present at site and is likely to be heavy metals, VOCs, and PAH (polyaromatic hydrocarbons). Contaminated groundwater could discharge to Eyak Lake a water supply for Cordova. Former Staff
10/25/1990 Site Added to Database Solvents, waste oils, greases, creosote and potential heavy metals/pesticides. Former Staff
8/13/1991 Site Ranked Using the AHRM New information from Jane Tonkin caused site to get reranked. Former Staff
6/15/1993 Site Characterization Workplan Approved BP submitted the "Cordova Roundhouse Site Assessment Workplan" dated June 1993, prepared by Montgomery Watson. John Halverson
12/20/1993 Update or Other Action BP submitted the "Cordova Roundhouse Site Assessment Report - Draft" dated December 1993, by Montgomery Watson. The report concluded that an area of ~30,000 square feet was contaminated with a heavy petroleum product from depths around six to twelve feet below ground surface, which extended below the shallow water table. A localized area of solvent contamination was found in the NE corner of the site. Groundwater impacts were localized with the soil contamination. John Halverson
1/27/1994 Preliminary Assessment Approved (Old R:Base Action Code = SA1 - Phase I Site Assessment (General)). Review of draft site assessment report conducted by district and regional staff. Former Staff
2/4/1994 Update or Other Action BP submitted a "Cordova Roundhouse Qualitative Human Health Risk Assessment" report dated, January 1994, by Montgomery Watson. It concluded that risk to humans was well below the EPA criteria of a hazard index of 1 or carcinogenic risk of 1E-6. John Halverson
2/15/1994 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = CORR - Correspondence (General)). ADEC requested cleanup plan. Former Staff
4/18/1994 Update or Other Action BP submitted a "Proposed Corrective Action Program for the Cordova Roundhouse" dated April 1994. It summarized the site history, existing assessment data and possible cleanup alternatives. Data gaps and details still needed to be addressed. John Halverson
4/18/1994 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = CORR - Correspondence (General)). Former Staff
5/3/1994 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = RAPR - Remedial Action Plan Review (CS)). Several remediation methods are being considered. Former Staff
2/10/1995 Update or Other Action Corps of Engineers submitted a "Site Operations and Ownership History Report - Cordova Railroad Yard Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) Cordova, Alaska" dated December 8, 1994, by DPRA Inc. The report was prepared under the Corps FUDS program as part of the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) project to evaluated Department of Defense responsibilities for cleanup. It is a detailed site history report. John Halverson
8/31/1995 Site Characterization Report Approved BP submitted the "Cordova Roundhouse Spring 1995 Field Activities Summary of Field Results" dated August 1995, by Montgomery Watson. The report describes additional site characterization including installation of soil borings and monitoring wells, sampling and analysis, an aquifer test. It further defined the extent of residual product and groundwater contamination. John Halverson
3/26/1996 Cleanup Level(s) Approved ADEC approved the soil cleanup levels of 2190 mg/kg DRO and 2,000 mg/kg RR0. John Halverson
5/16/1996 Cleanup Plan Approved (Old R:Base Action Code = RAPA - Remedial Action Plan Approval). Reviewed and approved a GW Treatment System Plan. Mike Krieber
5/16/1996 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = RAU - Remedial Actions Underway (General)). Remedial action underway. John Halverson
6/1/1996 Update or Other Action ADEC approved BP's "Soil Remediation Plan (Revised) for Cordova Roundhouse Cleanup" dated May 1996. John Halverson
6/24/1997 Update or Other Action ADEC sent landowners at the site letters documenting the no further investigation or cleanup is necessary. John Halverson
7/10/1997 Update or Other Action BP submitted preliminary laboratory data from confirmation samples at the limits of site excavations and thermally treated soil. Approximately 17,500 cubic yards of petroleum contaminated soil and 1,500 cubic yards of other oily debris were excavated and treated or disposed off off-site. John Halverson
9/15/1997 Update or Other Action BP submitted a "Cordova Roundhouse Groundwater Monitoring Report" dated September 1997. It documented that groundwater at the site met applicable cleanup levels and recommended the wells be properly decommissioned. John Halverson
8/27/2002 Site Closure Approved Based on a review of all site data, soil and groundwater at the site meet approved cleanup levels. No final report was submitted, however, all cleanup work was completed during 1997. No further investigation or cleanup are planned unless new information becomes available the demonstrates a need for further work. John Halverson

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments
For more information about this site, contact DEC at (907) 465-5390.

Control Type

Type Details
No ICs Required

Requirements

Description Details
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site.

There are no documents for this site report.

No associated sites were found.

Missing Location Data

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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
TDD: 800-770-8973
Physical Location: 410 Willoughby