Skip to content Skip to content

Site Report: St Law NEC Site 28 Drainage Basin

Site Name: St Law NEC Site 28 Drainage Basin
Address: Northeast Cape, Saint Lawrence Island, Savoonga, AK 99769
File Number: 475.38.013
Hazard ID: 241
Status: Active
Staff: Erica Blake, 9074512182 erica.blake@alaska.gov
Latitude: 63.314194
Longitude: -168.962333
Horizontal Datum:NAD83

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 operated 1957-1972. There are 29 separate sites associated with the main facility not including the White Alice site (Site 31) which is uphill about 1/2 mile. Site 30 is the name given to the various background sampling areas. The Drainage Basin is a large wetland drainage area including the Suki River (Site 29). The area is north of the Headquarters Area and generally west of Cargo Beach Road. The area has been impacted from various spills over the years of facility operation, the largest being the ~180,000-gallon spill in 1968 that originated at Site 11. Depositional areas have petroleum and PCB contamination over action levels in soil and sediment. Biota (resident fish and plants) have been impacted by PCBs. A risk assessment was performed on the site in 2003. EPA ID # D981765894. DERP/FUDS. See 475.15.006 for additional information. (rpltr3.1) Last staff assigned were Noland, Ortelee, Markey, Kalu, Rutkowski and Brownlee. A Building Demolition/Debris Removal was completed in 2003. All the buildings, above ground structures and debris were removed including those at the White Alice site.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
11/9/2004 Site Added to Database Site duplicated from "St Lawrence NE Cape/DERP-Army 13", Reckey 198532X917913. Jeff Brownlee
11/19/2004 Site Ranked Using the AHRM Jeff Brownlee
1/24/2006 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff attended a Restoration Advisory Board meeting in Savoonga for the Formerly Used Defense Site projects on Saint Lawrence Island. The meeting was well attended by RAB members, community members, COE, Technical Assistance Program (TAP) coordinator, Alaska Community Action on Toxins, attorney for the corporation, and DEC. Agenda items included discussion on the biogenic vs petroleum fraction in sediment samples taken during the Phase IV RI. The DEC and COE explained how cleanup levels are determined in sediment and the results of the 2001 Risk Assessment. If the AK 102 levels found in sediment were considered to be 100% petroleum the risk would remain about the same and the response would remain the same. The DEC also explained the how remedial actions are determined through weighing the balancing criteria including toxicity reduction, long term solution, cost, community acceptance, etc Jeff Brownlee
5/4/2006 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites staff reviewed and commented on a 2005 Interim Removal Action Report for the Northeast Cape Formerly Used Defense Site on Saint Lawrence Island. The work completed the Building Demolition/Debris Removal and Containerized Hazardous Waste project from 2003. Work completed included removal and off-island disposal of about 1,500-tons of debris, burning 370-tons of wood, disposing of approximately 290-tons of PCB contaminated soil and 160-tons of PCB impacted concrete Jeff Brownlee
9/15/2006 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites staff reviewed and commented on a draft Feasibility Study for the Northeast Cape Formerly Used Defense Site on Saint Lawrence Island. No further action is proposed for 17 out of 30 sites at the facility. The study presents several remedial alternatives for the remaining sites including containment such as capping, insitu such as chemical oxidation and ex-situ treatments such as incineration or excavation and off site disposal. Limited actions such as natural attenuation, long-tem monitoring and institutional controls are also evaluated. The study does not attempt to choose specific alternatives, but evaluates the balancing criteria including cost for each individual site. Remedial alternatives will be chosen during development of the Proposed Plan. It is probable that many of the sites will have chosen remedies that are a combination of the presented alternatives for example excavation and off-site disposal combined with institutional controls and long-term monitoring Jeff Brownlee
1/25/2007 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff participated in a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) on Saint Lawrence Island. Participants at the meeting included Alaska Community Action on Toxins (ACAT), the RAB Technical Assistance Program representative, the COE Alaska District, the native corporation attorney, RAB members and DEC. Agenda items included discussion of the remedial actions that took place in Gambell during the summer season included a summary of the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program (NALEMP) work. The Gambell NALEMP project is the largest in the nation with 290,000 pounds of buried debris removed in 2006. There was discussion on the groundwater sampling event at Site 5 which is several monitoring wells surrounding the village water supply well. There were detected levels of DRO and metals (lead, nickel, barium) in a couple wells, but well below the cleanup levels. We also discussed the Feasibility Study for Northeast Cape and the upcoming final of that document Jeff Brownlee
3/19/2007 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Jeff Brownlee
7/10/2007 Proposed Plan Final approved. Jeff Brownlee
7/24/2007 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff participated in a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting, public meeting and tribal meeting to introduce the proposed plan for the Northeast Cape FUDS. The meetings were held in Gambell and Savoonga and were well attended with high interest from the community. Alaska Community Action on Toxins (ACAT), the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) coordinator, corporation attorney, and Corps of Engineers were represented at the meeting. The proposed plan outlines the preferred remedies for the 34 sites at the facility Jeff Brownlee
1/8/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff participated in a Restoration Advisory Board meeting for the Formerly Used Defense Sites on Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska. The meeting was held in Savoonga and attended by members of the RAB and community, Corps of Engineers, the COE contractor, Alaska Community Action on Toxins, the attorney for the native corporation, and the Technical Assistance Program advisor for the RAB. Agenda items included a discussion of the geophysics results of the investigation at the Site 7 Landfill, Responsiveness Summary for the Northeast Cape Proposed Plan and the changes to the plan that are resulting from those comments Jeff Brownlee
10/20/2008 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 78160 name: PCB in sediment Jeff Brownlee
10/22/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Site staff participated in a consultative meeting with the leadership from Saint Lawrence Island and Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) concerning the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) on the Island. The commissioner and SPAR director also participated. The island leadership and ACAT wanted to meet with the department to communicate concern about the environmental cleanups at Gambell and Northeast Cape. There is ongoing concern and perception that the FUDS are causing increased cancer incidence on the island. The community also is concerned about the two landfills that will remain at Northeast Cape and the contaminant impacts to an area creek/drainage area and soil and groundwater. The Corps of Engineers has $23-million programmed to address remaining contamination over the next few years Jeff Brownlee
11/7/2008 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites staff reviewed a draft Decision Document for the Northeast Cape Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) on Saint Lawrence Island. There are several sites at the former surveillance station and White Alice Site to be remediated. The Headquarters Area has extensive diesel range organics impacting soil and groundwater. An insitu chemical oxidation pilot test will be done at a portion of this area to assess effectiveness for treating the larger contaminant mass. The drainage and wetlands below the Headquarters Area is planned for dredging or excavation of the more highly impacted sediments. There are several sites that will be excavated for petroleum and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) soil contamination. There will be institutional controls on several areas including two landfills, areas with residual petroleum impacts and shallow groundwater use controls Jeff Brownlee
3/31/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff participated in a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting for the Northeast Cape Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS). The meeting was held in Savoonga on Saint Lawrence Island and attended by the Corps of Engineers, the Technical Assistance Program representative, Alaska Community Action on Toxins, the Island Corporations attorney, RAB members, and interested community members. Discussion items included the Northeast Cape Decision Document which is in draft final review, remedial activities planned for this summer including Site 7 landfill investigation and capping and the Headquarters area chemical oxidation pilot study. We also discussed the ongoing Gambell NALEMP project and a new NALEMP project being started for the Fish Camp at Northeast Cape to remove possible lead based paint and asbestos in cabins built in the area from abandoned facility materials Jeff Brownlee
8/10/2010 Site Visit Staff conducted site visits to observe the status of ongoing remediation work being conducted by the Army Corps. of Engineers under the 2010 HTRW Removal Action Work Plan. 2010 remediation efforts included the removal of 1,500 tons of PCB-contaminated soil at sites 13, 21, and 31; the removal of 2,700 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil at Sites 3, 6, and 32, the removal of 17 tons of arsenic-contaminated soil at Site 21; construction of a landfill cap at Site 9; and the removal of 38.5 tons of metal and wood debris from Sites 9, 29, and site wide. Other work conducted included a UVOST investigation to delineate the petroleum-contaminated soil at the main operations complex, ground water monitoring at the main operations complex, and monitoring of natural attenuation of diesel contamination at Site 8 via surface water and sediment sampling. Curtis Dunkin
9/12/2011 Site Visit ADEC conducted multiple site visits and inspections of 2011 remedial work being implemented sitewide. Curtis Dunkin
10/13/2015 Meeting or Teleconference Held CS staff participated in the semiannual Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting which was conducted in Savoonga, AK on Saint Lawrence Island. Participants included representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, ADEC, Savoonga residents and RAB members, the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, and the University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA). The agenda included presentations by the Army Corps which summarized the 2014 and 2015 remedial efforts and results. The Army Corps conducted the last major removal and offsite disposal actions in 2014 and conducted groundwater monitoring at the Main Operations Complex in 2015; the 2015 draft report is pending. Dr. Frank von Hippel of UAA presented a summary of the results from a multi-year fish tissue sampling and analysis study to evaluate PCBs in Nine-spine Stickleback and AK Blackfish in the Suqi River; the drainage of which flows through the Northeast Cape FUDS. Curtis Dunkin
1/9/2017 CERCLA Removal Action Report ADEC received the Final 2014 Northeast Cape Removal Action Report (which is dated May 2016), and submitted final approval of the report to the Army Corps of Engineers. Site characterization and removal action requirements that are outlined in the 2009 Decision Document were conducted in consecutive years since 2009 and were completed in 2014. Future and ongoing work planned within the current five-year review period (2014-2018) includes monitoring as well as follow-on sampling and analyses of surface waters, sediments, groundwater, and soils; including the development and implementation of land use controls, and notices of environmental contamination with the landowner. Curtis Dunkin
6/1/2018 CERCLA ROD Periodic Review ADEC reviewed the draft 2018 Post Removal Action Review Work Plan and submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. The objectives of the 2018 work plan effort are to support the five-year and period reviews to be conducted by the Corps in 2018-19. Curtis Dunkin
6/1/2018 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC reviewed the draft 2018 Remedial Action Review Work Plan and submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. Curtis Dunkin
8/6/2018 Site Visit ADEC project manager traveled to Northeast Cape, Saint Lawrence Island, overnighted two nights onsite, and conducted three days of site inspections and field work observations with representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers and their technical contracted support who were implementing the 2018 Long-term Monitoring and Addendum Site Investigation Work Plan. Curtis Dunkin
11/15/2018 Meeting or Teleconference Held ADEC project manager participated in a technical project planning meeting with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and their contracted technical support staff to discuss the preliminary laboratory analysis results and field activities, as well as the prospective reporting of the 2018 long-term monitoring and addendum investigation efforts. Curtis Dunkin
2/15/2019 CERCLA ROD Periodic Review CERCLA Five-year Review Questionnaire Submitted: ADEC completed its responses to the questionnaire (5 pages) for the prospective draft Second CERCLA Five-year Review for the Northeast Cape FUDS sites and submitted its responses to the Army Corps of Engineers. Scheduled distribution date of the draft review report is May 2019. Curtis Dunkin
12/13/2019 CERCLA ROD Periodic Review ADEC reviewed the draft 2019 Second CERCLA Five-year Review Report (FYR) for Sites 21 and 28 and submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. The draft FYR document also included draft site assessment reports per the 2018 field inspections for each of the two subject sites, and also included a draft report for the 2018 Site 28 Sediment Survey and Sampling implementation effort; all of which were attached as appendices to the primary document. ADEC reviewed and submitted its comments on the attached supporting documents (assessments and reports) in conjunction with its comments on the FYRs. Curtis Dunkin
2/11/2020 CERCLA ROD Periodic Review ADEC reviewed and drafted provided determinations on USACE's responses to comments on the draft 2019 Second CERCLA Five-year Review Report for Sites 21 and 28, and participated in a comment resolution meeting with representatives from USACE and their contracted implementation team. Curtis Dunkin
2/14/2020 CERCLA ROD Periodic Review ADEC submitted a post response resolution letter to USACE which summarized ADEC's positions and its determinations and rationale for not concurring with some of the protectiveness determinations that were presented in USACE's final 2020 Second CERCLA Five-year Review report for Sites 21 and 28; specifically with regard to Site 28 concerns. Curtis Dunkin
2/11/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC reviewed the draft 2022 Work Plan for the Site 28 Sediment Removal and Various Follow-up Actions from the Second Five-year and Periodic Reviews and submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. Curtis Dunkin
5/24/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC reviewed the responses to comments for the draft 2022 Northeast Cape Work Plan and submitted review determinations and additional comments to the Army Corps of Engineers. Curtis Dunkin
6/16/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC reviewed an additional second round of responses to comments for the draft 2022 Work Plan and submitted review determinations and approval to finalize the work plan document to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Curtis Dunkin
7/26/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC received and reviewed the final 2022 Work Plan and submitted an approval letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Curtis Dunkin
8/2/2022 Site Visit ADEC staff traveled to Northeast Cape and conducted three days of field inspections and site visits in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers' implementation of the 2022 Work Plan effort that includes site 28 sediment removal and various follow-up actions at multiple sites from the Second Five-year and Periodic Reviews. The field team's mobilization to the site began in mid July and field work is anticipated to continue through the month of August. Additional site characterization is being conducted at site 8 and removal actions are occurring at the sites 15 and 28. Curtis Dunkin
4/14/2023 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided review comments for the "Draft Combined Report Site 28 Sediment Removal and Various Follow-Up Actions from the Second Five-Year and Periodic Reviews Formerly Used Defense Site F10AK096903 Northeast Cape, Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska," (dated March 2023) to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). The remedial action-operation (RA-O) objective work occurred at Site 7 Cargo Beach LF, Site 8 Petroleum Oil and Lubricant (POL) Spill, Site 15 (part of the Main Operations Complex of Sites 13-27), Site 28 drainage Basin and Site 29 Suki River. Erica Blake
4/18/2023 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) held a landowner consultation meeting in Savoonga to discuss the remedial action-operation (RA-O) fieldwork that occurred at several sites on Northeast Cape August 2022. Erica Blake
6/29/2023 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided approval for the "Final Combined Report Site 28 Sediment Removal and Various Follow-Up Actions from the Second Five-Year and Periodic Reviews Formerly Used Defense Site F10AK096903 Northeast Cape, Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska (dated June 2023)" to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). Remedial action objectives were conducted at Site 7, Site 8, Site 28 and the Main Operations Complex (MOC) Site 15, and improvements were made to the gravel airstrip. Additionally, Site 9 landfill was inspected to confirm the cap is still in tact. The report was approved with the expectation DEC staff and USACE staff will continue discussing site cleanup options. Erica Blake
8/18/2023 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided review comments for two draft Explanation of Significant Differences (ESDs) to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The two ESDs were for multiple sites at Northeast Cape FUDS. The documents discuss the need to place covenants on several sites with remaining contamination. DEC recommended the covenants be completed, and signed prior to finalization of the ESD documents. Erica Blake
1/31/2024 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided comments for the "Draft Visual Site Inspection Work Plan Northeast Cape Formerly Used Defense Site Remedial Action – Operations, Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska (dated January 2024)" to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The work plan describes proposed visual inspection activities as part of the Third Periodic Review for multiple sites at Northeast Cape on Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska. Erica Blake

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

Because the GIS location data for this site has not been entered, we cannot direct you to its position on the map. Click "Continue" to proceed to the Contaminated Sites Web Map or "Close" to return to the site report.
Continue     Close