| Action Date |
Action |
Description |
DEC Staff |
| 10/1/1989 |
Update or Other Action |
(Old R:Base Action Code = SA1 - Phase I Site Assessment (General)). Received vintage report regarding initial site investigation. ADEC never received this report to BT's knowledge. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 10/10/1990 |
Site Added to Database |
Diesel fuel. |
Former Staff |
| 12/17/1990 |
Site Ranked Using the AHRM |
Initial ranking. |
Former Staff |
| 6/21/1991 |
Site Characterization Report Approved |
(Old R:Base Action Code = SI - Site Investigation). Final Report on Soil and Groundwater Investigations, Fairbanks International Airport Fire Training Pits prepared by Shannon and Wilson. Work performed in two phases with a total of 6 soil borings, installation of 4 monitoring wells, and 7 near-surface soil samples. Groundwater samples showed up to 3200 ppb benzene and 7.3 ppb 1,2-dichloroethane. A sheen was observed on the water table in boring B-1. Hydrocarbon contamination down to the water table is present at the old and new burn pits, the truck tanker body, and possibly the prop area. Contamination is also present at the water table in the vicinity of the rail car tanker. Near-surface contamination by hydrocarbons was detected in the barrel storage areas, with limited contamination by chlorinated compounds. Elevated levels of metals are associated with surface waste oil contamination. |
Former Staff |
| 9/8/1992 |
Update or Other Action |
(Old R:Base Action Code = RECN - Site Reconnaissance (CS)). Met with Alan Braley to inspect all areas of treatment contamination. Will summarize comments in letter to FIA. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 9/15/1992 |
Preliminary Assessment Approved |
(Old R:Base Action Code = SA1R - Phase I SA Review (CS/LUST)). ADEC reviewed 1989 SA. Noted elevated levels of soil and ground water within 7 separate contamination/treatment zones. In letter requested a comprehensive site summary in 90 days. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 11/9/1992 |
Update or Other Action |
(Old R:Base Action Code = CORR - Correspondence (General)). Letter to FAI requesting summary of activities at the seven zones within the fire training pit site. Requested written site summary by January 11, 1993. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 11/18/1992 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
ADEC Dan Basketfield and Vanessa Blevins met with Al Braley, FAI/ADOT Airport Engineer, and Bob Bullock, FAI/ADOT Airport Manager, to discuss contaminated site and discharge permit topics. |
Dan Basketfield |
| 1/31/1993 |
Update or Other Action |
(Old R:Base Action Code = SA2R - Phase II SA Review (CS)). Reviewed and commented on FAI's summary of treatment activities. Landfarm appears to be effective but needs adequate, reprentative data to validate closure. Infiltration gallery may work, but further confirmation data are pending. Leach bed was failure and not planned for reuse. ADEC will require full scale release investigation. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 2/23/1993 |
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. DOT/Clarke Milne responded that they have nothing to do with the site and ADOT should be removed as RP. |
Jeff Peterson |
| 1/13/1995 |
Update or Other Action |
SITE SUMMARY: DOT has failed to provide progress to assess overall site and handle one acre landfarm. DOT has been searching for State MOA funds to complete. Request status of soils in land farm, and the 7 zones of impact. COBC may be necessary. |
Cindy Thomas |
| 5/8/2002 |
Update or Other Action |
Runway extension activities at the airport have run into impacted soil associated with the Old Fire Training Pit. Soil is being stockpiled on site (may include approximately 2000 cubic yards). Soil sampling will be conducted and report submitted. |
Janice Wiegers |
| 7/10/2002 |
GIS Position Updated |
Plotted latitude and longitude coordinates and found them to be acceptable for associated property or address. |
Heather Goldman |
| 8/19/2002 |
Update or Other Action |
Contaminated Soil Report submitted describing excavation and sampling activities in summer 2002 associated with the runway extension. Benzene, arsenic, and chromium remained above cleanup levels in soil at northern and western boundaries of the excavation (maximum 2.65, 16.1, and 29.1 mg/kg). Approximately 2000 cubic yards was removed to the FIA biocell. Buried tar drums and three batteries were also removed from the site. |
Janice Wiegers |
| 7/1/2004 |
Update or Other Action |
The Department received an anonymous complaint that 50 to 100 drums of hazardous waste were buried between 1988 and 1990 near the south east end of the airport. DEC contacted DOT regarding this complaint. DOT is aware of an old dump site in that general vicinity- and believes that the buried wastes encountered during the ski strip extension construction in 2002 is part of that dump site. Characterization of this dump site will occur next field season when more investigation of the old fire training pit is conducted.
DOT records indicate that FIA had problems finding a way to dispose of 87 drums of hazardous materials in 1990. These drums were eventually shipped out of state through Northwest Enviroservice/Burlington Environmental. |
Janice Wiegers |
| 8/4/2005 |
GIS Position Updated |
Corrected site location and updated metadata values. Changed datum to NAD1983. |
Torsten Ernst |
| 9/6/2006 |
Update or Other Action |
Updated problem statement. FIA intends to do further site characterization of the area between the Old Ski Strip and the new Fire Training Pit in 2007. The results of that investigation will verify wheather or not contamiation exists from a rumoured former dumpsite. |
Kim DeRuyter |
| 11/8/2007 |
Update or Other Action |
GW sampling of MW1, 2 & 5 indicate no BTEX, DRO or surfactants in MWs. This report also determined groundwater flow direction. This sampling was done to verify the soundness of the double lined Fire training pit. FIA will continue to conduct GW monitoring on an annual basis. |
Neal Everson |
| 3/17/2008 |
Exposure Tracking Model Ranking |
Initial ranking with ETM completed. |
Neal Everson |
| 12/16/2008 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Reviewed 2008 report. Results indicate that no contamination is detected in MWs and therefore not migrating. |
Neal Everson |
| 8/31/2015 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC met with the Airport Environmental Manager to discuss several sites. The possibility of airport personnel collecting PFC samples as a cost saving measure was discussed. DEC stated that it was a possibility but would require a third-party waiver and oversight by DEC staff. DEC will continue discussing site characterization and PFC sampling with DOT. |
Robert Burgess |
| 5/26/2016 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC met with the airport environmental manager, who agreed that work on the old and new fire training pits will be contracted this summer and will include a review of files and plans for sampling contaminants of concern or potential concern, including fuels and perfluorinated compounds. |
Robert Burgess |
| 4/5/2017 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
The DEC met with the airport environmental manager and a member of her staff to discuss DEC priorities at the Fairbanks airport. Characterization of the fire training area was stressed as DEC's highest priority at the airport. The FIA environmental manager stated that work in the area of the former fire training pit will be taking place this summer, but is more focused on assessing the shooting range that the FAA is requiring them to decommission. DEC staff suggested that PFAS samples be taken opportunistically during the soil sampling effort for the shooting range. |
Robert Burgess |
| 6/1/2018 |
Site Characterization Workplan Approved |
The DEC reviewed and approved the Fire Training Pit Site Characterization Work Plan that describes the sampling of soil, groundwater, and ponded water and sediment within the fire pit. Samples will be analyzed for petroleum related compounds, metals, and PFAS from fire fighting foams. |
Robert Burgess |
| 3/18/2019 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC met with FAI to discuss plans for an interim removal action at the fire pit area. The discussion was focused on consolidating and capping PFAS contaminated soils around the existing fire training pit. The pit has a functional liner that is believed to be intact, and the airport plans to fill this pit with soil and pave over it in order to prevent accumulation of water in the training pit and remove some contaminant mass from the surrounding area. This will prevent costly disposal of rainwater entering the pit in the future and may provide the additional benefit of preventing continued contaminant leaching from this area. FAI will be contracting with environmental consultants to submit a workplan to DEC. |
Robert Burgess |
| 6/21/2019 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
DEC received the Fairbanks International Airport Fire Training Pit Corrective Action Work Plan, which describes work intended to treat and discharge the water currently retained in the lined pit, cap the pit, and install two monitoring well clusters up and downgradient of the fire training pit for ongoing monitoring of groundwater. |
Robert Burgess |
| 8/23/2019 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Staff from DEC's Contaminated Sites Program and Solid Waste Program collaborated on a review of the Fire Training Pit Corrective Action Work Plan and the cap design drawings. Comments were focused on bringing the project closer in line with regulations for industrial waste landfills and ensuring that water does not accumulate in or move through the containment cell. |
Robert Burgess |
| 8/28/2019 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
The DEC received and reviewed the revised Fire Training Pit Corrective Action Work Plan (REV01), and provided additional comments. Comments focused on waste disposal and development of an operation and maintenance plan and institutional controls to monitor the groundwater levels, water accumulation in the cap (if any), and long-term preservation of the cap area. |
Robert Burgess |
| 8/30/2019 |
Update or Other Action |
Following a brief discussion with FAI's consultants and the receipt of responses to comments, the DEC approved starting work on the Fire Training Pit Corrective Action Plan, on the condition that a revised work plan be submitted that includes a discussion of institutional controls and long-term maintenance of the cap. Starting work immediately is necessary to keep the project on schedule and complete the cap within the field season. Work will be focused on work plan sections for which comment resolution is complete until the final work plan is approved. |
Robert Burgess |
| 9/11/2019 |
Update or Other Action |
FAI reported a diesel release estimated to be less than 2 gallons in volume from piping that was being removed as part of the site preparation for construction of a cap over the existing fire training pit. The piping led from the above ground fuel storage tank to the pit, and is presumed to be diesel fuel. The spill was immediately cleaned up, generating approximately 5.3 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Excavation limits were guided by PID field screening. DEC approved of disposing of the soil by adding it to the contaminated soil already in the fire training pit during cap construction, since the contaminants are already present in soil that will be capped. |
Robert Burgess |
| 9/24/2019 |
Interim Removal Action Approved |
Following work plan review, comments, and comment resolution, the DEC approved the Fire Training Pit Corrective Action Plan, which describes the removal and on-site treatment of PFAS and petroleum contaminated water from the fire training pit, addition of excavated contaminated soil to the contaminated solids (soil/sediment) in the pit, and construction of a contaminant cap over the pit. The existing double liner in the pit appears to be intact based on previous investigations. The cap design includes a cloth membrane to separate contaminated material from fill that will be graded to drain water away from the cap, an impermeable membrane above the graded fill to ensure rain water will not infiltrate into the pit, and additional fill above the membrane, with topsoil that will be planted to prevent erosion. An existing sump will be maintained and access to it extended to the top of the cap to allow for dewatering if any accumulation of water occurs. The plan also included the installation of deep monitoring wells up- and downgradient of the fire pit. DEC granted conditional approval of the plan with the understanding that institutional controls and a long term cap maintenance plan will be developed. |
Robert Burgess |
| 9/26/2019 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Following post-treatment sample results from the on-site water treatment system intended to treat fire training pit water, Fairbanks International Airport notified DEC that the treatment system did not work as expected, likely due to an algae bloom that occurred over the summer and resulted in a change in pH. The airport's consultants submitted a work plan addendum describing trucking the contaminated water to Anchorage, where their subcontractors have a facility at which the same treatment system will be used following a buffering step to reduce pH and flocculate algae and other solids. The facility discharges to the Anchorage Wastewater Utility, which is subject to an NPDES permit with the EPA. DEC approved the addendum following additional discussion with the Airport's contractors, the utility, and the EPA. |
Robert Burgess |
| 10/30/2019 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC and FAI met to discuss the current site status and ongoing plans. FAI reports that the capping is underway, with the liner being deployed currently. Additional dewatering, fencing, seeding, and addition of a sump monitoring mechanism will be completed in the spring. The DEC reiterated that the institutional controls and operations & maintenance plan for the cap and its components needs to be expanded, per the conditional approval of the corrective action plan. |
Robert Burgess |
| 2/21/2020 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
DEC received the FAI Fire Training Pit Institutional Controls addendum to the fire training pit capping work plan. |
Robert Burgess |
| 5/19/2022 |
Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved |
Pre-approved an estimated 100 gallons of purge water from groundwater sampling to be disposed of through US Ecology at the Viking Road facility in Anchorage. |
Janice Wiegers |
| 3/10/2023 |
Institutional Control Update |
DEC provided comments to the Institutional Control Letter Report for the capped fire training pit. The report noted tire tracks on the cap, rills and erosion on the sides of the cap, and animal burrows in the cap, and comments were focused on future efforts to repair and control erosion in the future. The airport environmental manager replied to confirm that they would assess erosion and vegetation cover, and would look into depth of burrows to determine potential impacts to liners as well as researching deterrent methods for burrowing animals. |
Robert Burgess |
| 6/29/2023 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
DEC provided comments on the Aquagga water treatment work plan, which describes treating water from the fire training pit via foam fractionation and hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT), innovative technologies for treating PFAS contaminated liquids. Water will be removed from the fire training pit and treated first with foam fractionation to remove PFAS and concentrate it into a foamate. Remaining bulk liquids will be polished with GAC treatment to remove residual PFAS. Foamate will then be treated with HALT. Samples will be collected and waste streams will be shipped to a hazardous waste management facility. |
Robert Burgess |
| 7/5/2023 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
DEC approved the Aquagga Water Treatment work plan following receipt of a revised plan that addressed comments. |
Robert Burgess |
| 7/21/2023 |
Site Visit |
DEC staff visited the airport to observe the first phase of the Aquagga work plan for PFAS treatment that is part of the Airport Environmental Mitigation Pilot Program (EMPP) grant from the FAA. The first phase includes using a technique called foam fractionation to concentrate PFAS in water extracted from the capped fire training pit into a lower volume foamate that will later be further treated with innovative destructive technologies. Aquagga personnel described the process, showed DEC staff the system, and noted that several thousand gallons had already been treated through the system, resulting in hundreds of gallons of concentrated foamate. |
Robert Burgess |
| 9/21/2023 |
Update or Other Action |
DEC approved the transport of foam fractionate to Aquagga's headquarters in Washington state to complete HALT treatment. A weld failure on their treatment unit was not repairable on-site, and with winter temperatures setting in the best option is to complete treatment off-site. Aquagga reported that of the 1,350 gallons of foamate produced during foam fractionation, approximately 160 gallons of foamate was treated prior to the failure, and that analytical data indicated 99.99% destruction of target PFAS compounds. |
Robert Burgess |
