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Site Report: ACOE - Chena Lakes Nike Site

Site Name: ACOE - Chena Lakes Nike Site
Address: Chena Lakes Recreational Area, North Pole, AK 99705
File Number: 100.26.003
Hazard ID: 24156
Status: Active
Staff: Kelly Walker, 9074512166 kelly.walker@alaska.gov
Latitude: 64.757839
Longitude: -147.219471
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.

Problems/Comments

Dissolved fuel constituents were found in groundwater while evaluating site in 1987/88. Diesel fuel contamination found to be from former UST on site. Amount of fuel, date(s) of release, extent of contamination, and health impact unknown. USTs were removed in 9/89. Contaminated soil was excavated and stockpiled on site as of 11/4/90. Groundwater contamination known to remain. Contaminated soil from UST excavation spread out at Moose Creek Dam; soil removed and stockpiled at original site on 11/4/89. Hazard ID 736 is a duplicate of this site, and therefore was labeled "non-qualifying" within the database.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
9/9/1987 Site Visit FI; Nine water samples taken at Chena Project and analyzed for metals and volatile hazardous substances. Two wells indicated presence of petroleum hydrocarbons up to 0.6 ppm. No benzene detected. Former Staff
9/11/1987 Site Visit FI; Fairbanks North Star Borough sampled wells at Chena Lakes Recreation Area. Up to 2 ppb benzene detected in change house and water pumps # 13 and 18. Former Staff
10/1/1987 Leaking Underground Storage Tank Corrective Action Underway RAPR; "Environmental Assessment, Nike Tare Site Demolition, Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project, North Pole, Alaska". Demolition of site to include UST removal. Dust and smoke releases anticipated during demolition. 11/25/87 - DEC approved removal of USTs, well abandonment, and solid waste disposal, but wants confirmation of no groundwater contamination. Former Staff
1/11/1988 Release Investigation SI; U.S. Army Engineer Dist., Alaska Geotechnical Branch, Materials & Instrumentation Section "Nike Tare Site Demolition, Summary of Chemical Analysis for Cleanup of Underground Storage Tanks". Investigation included installation of 10 monitoring wells, soil and groundwater sampling and analysis, and field screening of samples. Two monitoring wells adjacent to 20,000 gallon UST showed contamination of up to 39,000 ppb xylenes. Additional samples taken on 1/23 & 1/24/88 showed benzene in two wells at up to 1600 ppb. Former Staff
1/14/1988 Leaking Underground Storage Tank Corrective Action Underway RAPR; Proposed cleanup actions of UST submitted to DEC. DEC agreed to proposal with some additional comments. Former Staff
8/25/1988 Site Visit FI; Water samples taken from Chena Project monitoring wells. Benzene detected up to 541 ppb in monitoring wells adjacent to UST. Former Staff
3/31/1989 Update or Other Action REM; Aoki Brothers Construction to perform UST removal, site demolition and excavation. Excavation began 9/28/89. Shannon & Wilson, Inc. performed screening/sampling during excavation operations and submitted reports dated 11/2/89 and 11/27/89. Former Staff
10/10/1989 Leaking Underground Storage Tank Corrective Action Underway RAPR; R. Pickett with Army Corps submitted plan for removal and treatment of contaminated soil, which included spreading contaminated soil on road east of Moose Creek Dam. This practice was followed during excavation operations. DEC responded on 10/24/89 with requirements that all contaminated material be removed from road by 11/23/89 and a proposal for final disposal be submitted. Soil was removed by 11/4/89 and stockpiled near the original site. Former Staff
10/19/1989 Leaking Underground Storage Tank Release Confirmed - Petroleum LUST Site created in CSP for source area ID 76791 ADD; Former Staff
12/4/1989 Site Visit FI; Site visit by R. Little to inspect contaminated soil stockpiles. Found no berms or liners to contain soil. Former Staff
9/20/1990 Leaking Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Initiated - Petroleum LCAU; Thomas reports: stockpiled soils improperly stored from a 1989 tank pull were sampled by ESI and presumably incinerated around 9/20/90. Former Staff
12/9/1993 Update or Other Action UPD; Couch: Nothing added to file since NOV issued in March 1990. Former Staff
10/7/2004 Update or Other Action Transferred site from Light to Jaynes Cynthia Pring-Ham
4/6/2011 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC approved a UVOST Site Investigation Work Plan submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Work Plan proposes to use Ultraviolet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST) to investigate potential and known release areas from former USTs. The investigation area includes the UST locations associated with DEC File Number 100.26.003 and 100.26.172. Fred Vreeman
2/1/2012 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided review comments for the Draft 2011 UVOST Site Investigation Report, Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project, North Pole, AK, January 2012. Based on the review DEC requested additional temporary well points and/or an up-gradient monitoring well be installed to the north of the contaminant source area in order to verify the groundwater flow direction and to address any groundwater characterization data gaps. Dennis Shepard
3/21/2012 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other ADEC received the Final 2011 UVOST Site Investigation Report. The report concluded that two areas are impacted by DRO contamination in soil above Method two cleanup levels. One area on the northwest corner of the project office is estimated to contain 460 cubic yards of weathered arctic grade diesel (the report states that the contamination is likely a result of former military operations at the site Nike Site Tare). A smaller area was estimated to contain 55 cubic yards of DRO contaminated soil. The report recomends further evaluation/site characterization prior to a removal action. The report also concludes that groundwater at the site should be further evaluated. One of five groundwater samples encountered DRO contamination above the Table C cleanup level. No down-gradient groundwater samples have been collected. Installation of permanent monitoring wells were recomended for the site. Dennis Shepard
6/12/2012 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 76791 name: autogenerated pm edit - ACOE - Chena Lakes Nike Site Dennis Shepard
5/14/2015 Update or Other Action DEC Staff contacted Andrea Elconin of USACE to determine project status. To date, no work schedule has been established. Dennis Shepard
6/2/2015 Update or Other Action USACE provided an update to project status: USACE will issue an Inventory Project Report (INPR) to determine eligibility for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program. It will take several months to prepare that report and make a determination on eligibility. Therefore no cleanup work will occur on this site in 2015. Dennis Shepard
8/7/2015 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided a formal approval for the Final 2011 UVOST Site Investigation Report. Dennis Shepard
8/10/2015 Update or Other Action Site Transferred to Joy Whitsel. Dennis Shepard
12/1/2017 Update or Other Action Hazard ID 736 with the site name "Chena Lakes Nike Site" was determined to be a duplicate of this site (Hazard ID 24156, site name "ACOE - Chena Lakes Nike Site). Hazard ID 736 was therefore deemed "non-qualifying" in ADEC's CS database. Melinda Brunner
12/6/2017 Update or Other Action Teleconference with U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) project manager to discuss project status. Federal funding requested for additional site characterization by USACE. Melinda Brunner
7/19/2018 Site Characterization Workplan Approved This Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) has been prepared for the Pavement Improvements Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project by Travis/Peterson Environmental Consulting, Inc. (TPECI). This SAP outlines the environmental tasks, including field screening and analytical sampling, required to ensure appropriate measures are taken to protect worker health and safety, prevent mixing of potentially contaminated media with uncontaminated media, document any encountered contamination, and ensure compliance with applicable hazardous waste designation, storage, and disposal regulations. Darren Mulkey
4/16/2019 Site Characterization Report Approved The Pavement Improvements Chena Lakes Flood Control Project is separated into four work areas. Areas 1 and 2 are not located within the boundaries of a contaminated site. Area 4 was not awarded. However, Area 3 is located within the boundaries of a contaminated site mapped as Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) File ACOE – Chena Lakes Nike Site and ACOE – Chena Lakes Flood Control Project (DEC File # 100.26.003 and 100.26.172).Soil screening and analytical sampling confirm that the sidewalls of the contaminated excavation area are clean from a regulatory standpoint. Petroleum, oils, and lubricant (POL) related contamination (naphthalene) remains in the base of the excavation at a concentration that exceeds the DEC Cleanup Level. Darren Mulkey
10/28/2021 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 76791 autogenerated pm edit - ACOE - Chena Lakes Nike Site. Kelly Walker
12/2/2022 Workplan Requested Additional site characterization was requested at the ACOE-Chena Lakes Nike Site to determine the nature and extent of soil and groundwater contamination associated with the former 20,000-gallon UST removed from the site in 1989. Kelly Walker
11/13/2024 Compliance Advisory Letter DEC sent a Compliance Advisory Letter to USACE for failure to comply with 18 AAC 75.370(b), which specifies that a responsible person, owner, or operator shall obtain approval before moving or disposing of soil subject to the site cleanup rules. In September 2024, a Contaminated Media Transport and Treatment or Disposal (TTD) Approval Form was submitted to DEC for approximately 30 cubic yards of contaminated soils generated from a construction project that occurred within the boundaries of the ACOE-Chena Lakes Nike Site and the Chena Lakes ACOE Office site. Upon review, DEC determined that construction had been conducted within the boundaries of these two active contaminated sites, without knowledge or approval and in violation of 18 AAC 75.370(b). The letter has been transmitted to USACE with a request for coordination prior to initiation of all future construction projects within the boundaries of active contaminated sites. Kelly Walker

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.

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