Site Report: Dutch Hbr-Mt. Ballyhoo 01

Site Name:	Dutch Hbr-Mt. Ballyhoo 01
Address:	Amaknak Island, Mount Ballyhoo Road, Unalaska, AK 99685
File Number:	2542.38.014
Hazard ID:	1349
Status:	Active
Staff:	Sarah Bernhardt, 9072697527 sarah.bernhardt@alaska.gov
Latitude:	53.915912
Longitude:	-166.513581
Horizontal Datum:	WGS84

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.

Site Chronology
IC / Closure Details
Documents
Associated Sites

Problems/Comments

WW II era buildings, bunkers, gun mounts, etc., are deteriorating. Building debris is scattered over the area. Underground fuel tanks (USTs), transformers and batteries remain. Diesel fuel contaminated soil is present around some of the former USTs. This area on top of Mt. Ballyhoo was used as a harbor defense position during WWII. It was named Fort Schwatka. The gun mounts overlooked Unalaska Bay on Ulakta Head. The area is now part of a National Historic Landmark.

Action Information

Action Date	Action	Description	DEC Staff
8/23/1996	Interim Removal Action Approved	ADEC received the 1996 Field Effort Workplan for Margaret Bay and Generals Hill UST Remedial Action and Pre-WWII Tank Farm Remedial Investigation, dated August 1996. While the workplan did not call for removing tanks on Mt. Ballyhoo, the work was added during the field effort and was generally done in accordance with the workplan.	John Halverson
8/3/1998	Update or Other Action	ADEC received the Workplan Addendum - UST/Pipeline Removals, Thermal Operations Plan, Other RI, IRA and SI Tasks, dated July 1998, describing FUDS work planned on the islands in 1998.	John Halverson
8/5/1998	Interim Removal Action Approved	ADEC received the final 1996 Removal Action/Investigation Report, dated August 1998. It documented that 13 underground fuel storage tanks were removed from the Mt. Ballyhoo area during 1996. Soil samples collected beneath 7 of the 13 tanks contained DRO above the matrix level B standards. Two additional USTs were located but not removed due to access limitations.	John Halverson
8/25/1999	Update or Other Action	ADEC received the final 1998 Report SI/IRA/RI Amaknak and Unalaska Islands, dated August 1999 (Jacobs Engineering). The 2 previously identified tanks were inspected and found to contain from 1 - 10 inches of fuel. Transformers were found in three subsurface vaults. Electrical line switching gear that may contain PCB oil remains in a vault near the top of a buried Parkway cable that connected Fort Schwatka to the rest of the military facilities on Amaknak Island. The location of one other UST was confirmed and two other suspected USTs were identified. Four lead acid batteries and a transformer were documented in an area west of and higher than Fort Schwatka (upgradient from a gate on upper Mt. Ballyhoo Road). These appear to be newer and may not be related to DOD activities. A fuel pipeline on Ballyhoo Spit was removed in 1998 and no contamination was identified along it. However, access to the area of the former Above Ground Tanks against the bluff was blocked by crab pots. Further investigation in the tank area is needed (tanks removed during 85-86 FUDS work).	John Halverson
11/24/1999	Site Added to Database	Diesel fuel contamination.	John Halverson
2/11/2000	Update or Other Action	ADEC reviewed and commented on a December 1999 draft Comprehensive Remedial Investigation Report. It summarized site characterization and removal action work done over the past three years under the FUDS program. Further site characterization and tank closures were recommended. ADEC requested the former fuel line from the above ground fuel storage tanks at the base of Mt. Ballyhoo to the airport area be investigated.	John Halverson
6/5/2000	Site Characterization Report Approved	ADEC received the final Comprehensive Remedial Investigation Report, dated May 2000, by Jacobs Engineering under contract to the Corps. The report recommends removal or in-place closure for remaining USTs, removal of transformers, and no-further-action at eleven area where USTs were previously removed. It also recommends further characterization work at the base of Mt. Ballyhoo, where the Corps removed two large ASTs in the 1980s.	John Halverson
9/5/2001	Interim Removal Action Approved	DEC received the final 2000 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI report by Jacobs, dated August 2001. It documents that two transformers were removed from a vault ~75' south of "Building A" and PCBs measured up to 9 mg/kg in soil in the vault. A single transformer was removed from each of two vaults near "Building B" and "Building C". Low level PCBs (3-12 mg/kg) were present in soil samples from the vaults. Elevated DRO was also present in soil at the vault near "Building B". Test pits were dug at the suspected UST location by the "bomb shelter", but no tank or contaminated soil were found. Two USTs at "Building C" were emptied and closed in place due to safety concerns and historical significance (part of National Historic Landmark and removing the tanks would damage the building structure). Soil samples collected from 7-11 feet bgs did not indicate releases. A UST at "Building H" was closed in place for the same reasons. Three old drums were removed and disposed of off-site. Further action is needed at the transformer vaults and the UST location by "Building B". Further uphill on Ballyhoo a transformer, an oil-stained wood platform and several batteries were removed and disposed of off-site. Soil samples beneath the area contained up to 10,900 mg/kg DRO, 7.2 mg/kg PCB, and 6,000 mg/kg lead.	John Halverson
11/26/2001	Update or Other Action	DEC received the final 2001 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI workplan by Jacobs, dated November 2001. The plan calls for cleaning out the three transformer vaults and collecting soil samples outside them, conducting further site characterization at the Building B former UST location. It also calls for further removal of contaminated soil beneath the former transformer and batteries further up Mt. Ballyhoo.	John Halverson
7/3/2002	Update or Other Action	DEC received the final 2002 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI workplan by Jacobs, dated June 2002. It calls for further soil sampling beneath the former transformer and batteries on the upper portion of Mt. Ballyhoo. It notes that following the 2001 fieldwork additional contaminated soil and wood were removed, but that a confirmation sample still contained up to 24,000 mg/kg DRO.	John Halverson
6/10/2005	Update or Other Action	File number issued 2542.38.014.	Aggie Blandford
5/30/2008	Exposure Tracking Model Ranking	Initial ranking with ETM completed.	Evonne Reese
9/14/2010	CERCLA Proposed Plan	Proposed Plan #6 was received to ADEC electronically on this date. The plan recommends Alternative 1 (Corrective Action/Cleanup Complete with NDAI)for the Transformer vault Building A (BH-01). Remaining DRO contamination does not appear to be migrating, is fairly inaccessible, and is below the Method 3 ACLs.	Meghan Dooley
10/31/2017	Exposure Tracking Model Ranking	A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 72327 WW II era contamination.	Linda (Qi) Liu
7/1/2019	Update or Other Action	Site location was updated on this date. Coordinates for this site are used to determine the presence and position of the site on BLM’s ANCSA Conveyed Land web map.	Rebekah Reams
1/31/2024	Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other	Per the review of the Draft Restoration Summary Report, Containerized Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste. Amaknak Formerly Used Defense Sites F10AK0841-13, -14, -15, -16, -18, -20, Unalaska Valley, Pyramid Valley-Port Levashef, Summer Bay-Humpy Cove, Margaret Bay-Airport, Mount Ballyhoo, and Little South America (2023), this site is anticipated for FY2025 contract.	Cascade Galasso-Irish

Action Date

Action

Description

DEC Staff

8/23/1996

Interim Removal Action Approved

ADEC received the 1996 Field Effort Workplan for Margaret Bay and Generals Hill UST Remedial Action and Pre-WWII Tank Farm Remedial Investigation, dated August 1996. While the workplan did not call for removing tanks on Mt. Ballyhoo, the work was added during the field effort and was generally done in accordance with the workplan.

John Halverson

8/3/1998

Update or Other Action

ADEC received the Workplan Addendum - UST/Pipeline Removals, Thermal Operations Plan, Other RI, IRA and SI Tasks, dated July 1998, describing FUDS work planned on the islands in 1998.

John Halverson

8/5/1998

Interim Removal Action Approved

ADEC received the final 1996 Removal Action/Investigation Report, dated August 1998. It documented that 13 underground fuel storage tanks were removed from the Mt. Ballyhoo area during 1996. Soil samples collected beneath 7 of the 13 tanks contained DRO above the matrix level B standards. Two additional USTs were located but not removed due to access limitations.

John Halverson

8/25/1999

Update or Other Action

ADEC received the final 1998 Report SI/IRA/RI Amaknak and Unalaska Islands, dated August 1999 (Jacobs Engineering). The 2 previously identified tanks were inspected and found to contain from 1 - 10 inches of fuel. Transformers were found in three subsurface vaults. Electrical line switching gear that may contain PCB oil remains in a vault near the top of a buried Parkway cable that connected Fort Schwatka to the rest of the military facilities on Amaknak Island. The location of one other UST was confirmed and two other suspected USTs were identified. Four lead acid batteries and a transformer were documented in an area west of and higher than Fort Schwatka (upgradient from a gate on upper Mt. Ballyhoo Road). These appear to be newer and may not be related to DOD activities. A fuel pipeline on Ballyhoo Spit was removed in 1998 and no contamination was identified along it. However, access to the area of the former Above Ground Tanks against the bluff was blocked by crab pots. Further investigation in the tank area is needed (tanks removed during 85-86 FUDS work).

John Halverson

11/24/1999

Site Added to Database

Diesel fuel contamination.

John Halverson

2/11/2000

Update or Other Action

ADEC reviewed and commented on a December 1999 draft Comprehensive Remedial Investigation Report. It summarized site characterization and removal action work done over the past three years under the FUDS program. Further site characterization and tank closures were recommended. ADEC requested the former fuel line from the above ground fuel storage tanks at the base of Mt. Ballyhoo to the airport area be investigated.

John Halverson

6/5/2000

Site Characterization Report Approved

ADEC received the final Comprehensive Remedial Investigation Report, dated May 2000, by Jacobs Engineering under contract to the Corps. The report recommends removal or in-place closure for remaining USTs, removal of transformers, and no-further-action at eleven area where USTs were previously removed. It also recommends further characterization work at the base of Mt. Ballyhoo, where the Corps removed two large ASTs in the 1980s.

John Halverson

9/5/2001

Interim Removal Action Approved

DEC received the final 2000 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI report by Jacobs, dated August 2001. It documents that two transformers were removed from a vault ~75' south of "Building A" and PCBs measured up to 9 mg/kg in soil in the vault. A single transformer was removed from each of two vaults near "Building B" and "Building C". Low level PCBs (3-12 mg/kg) were present in soil samples from the vaults. Elevated DRO was also present in soil at the vault near "Building B". Test pits were dug at the suspected UST location by the "bomb shelter", but no tank or contaminated soil were found. Two USTs at "Building C" were emptied and closed in place due to safety concerns and historical significance (part of National Historic Landmark and removing the tanks would damage the building structure). Soil samples collected from 7-11 feet bgs did not indicate releases. A UST at "Building H" was closed in place for the same reasons. Three old drums were removed and disposed of off-site. Further action is needed at the transformer vaults and the UST location by "Building B". Further uphill on Ballyhoo a transformer, an oil-stained wood platform and several batteries were removed and disposed of off-site. Soil samples beneath the area contained up to 10,900 mg/kg DRO, 7.2 mg/kg PCB, and 6,000 mg/kg lead.

John Halverson

11/26/2001

Update or Other Action

DEC received the final 2001 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI workplan by Jacobs, dated November 2001. The plan calls for cleaning out the three transformer vaults and collecting soil samples outside them, conducting further site characterization at the Building B former UST location. It also calls for further removal of contaminated soil beneath the former transformer and batteries further up Mt. Ballyhoo.

John Halverson

7/3/2002

Update or Other Action

DEC received the final 2002 Island-Wide SI/IRA/RI workplan by Jacobs, dated June 2002. It calls for further soil sampling beneath the former transformer and batteries on the upper portion of Mt. Ballyhoo. It notes that following the 2001 fieldwork additional contaminated soil and wood were removed, but that a confirmation sample still contained up to 24,000 mg/kg DRO.

John Halverson

6/10/2005

Update or Other Action

File number issued 2542.38.014.

Aggie Blandford

5/30/2008

Exposure Tracking Model Ranking

Initial ranking with ETM completed.

Evonne Reese

9/14/2010

CERCLA Proposed Plan

Proposed Plan #6 was received to ADEC electronically on this date. The plan recommends Alternative 1 (Corrective Action/Cleanup Complete with NDAI)for the Transformer vault Building A (BH-01). Remaining DRO contamination does not appear to be migrating, is fairly inaccessible, and is below the Method 3 ACLs.

Meghan Dooley

10/31/2017

Exposure Tracking Model Ranking

A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 72327 WW II era contamination.

Linda (Qi) Liu

7/1/2019

Update or Other Action

Site location was updated on this date. Coordinates for this site are used to determine the presence and position of the site on BLM’s ANCSA Conveyed Land web map.

Rebekah Reams

1/31/2024

Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other

Per the review of the Draft Restoration Summary Report, Containerized Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste. Amaknak Formerly Used Defense Sites F10AK0841-13, -14, -15, -16, -18, -20, Unalaska Valley, Pyramid Valley-Port Levashef, Summer Bay-Humpy Cove, Margaret Bay-Airport, Mount Ballyhoo, and Little South America (2023), this site is anticipated for FY2025 contract.

Cascade Galasso-Irish

Contaminant Information

Name

Level Description

Media

Comments

Control Type

Type

Details

Requirements

Description

Details

There are no documents for this site report.

No associated sites were found.

Missing Location Data

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Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Site Report: Dutch Hbr-Mt. Ballyhoo 01

Site Chronology

IC / Closure Details

Documents

Associated Sites

Problems/Comments

Action Information

Contaminant Information

Control Type

Requirements

Missing Location Data

State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation