Site Report: Wildwood AFS Trench Area Burn Pit

Site Name:	Wildwood AFS Trench Area Burn Pit
Address:	3.5 Mile North Kenai Road, Wildwood Drive, Kenai, AK 99611
File Number:	2320.38.051
Hazard ID:	25197
Status:	Active
Staff:	Erica Blake, 9074512182 erica.blake@alaska.gov
Latitude:	60.611567
Longitude:	-151.295280
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

The former Trench Area Burn Pit is located near the southeast end of Trench A. The pit was approximately 50 feet by 40 feet. Visual observations during the investigation phase suggested the pit was used to burn waste. The upper 2 feet of petroleum and lead contaminated soil was removed and disposed of off-site in 1996. This amounted to approximately 117 cubic yards of material. The excavation was backfilled with clean fill. Five confirmation soil samples were collected from the excavation and analyzed for DRO and lead. Remaining lead concentrations ranged from 34 mg/kg to 420 mg/kg. Lead concentrations exceeded the 400 mg/kg screening level at only one sample location. Remaining DRO concentrations ranged from 1,200 mg/kg to 18,000 mg/kg.

Action Information

Action Date	Action	Description	DEC Staff
4/7/1990	Site Added to Database	Multiple contaminants. (Date adjusted from 11/10/1999 for report/query consistency. (Reese))	John Halverson
4/7/1990	Update or Other Action	Phase II HTRW report completed. Several areas found to be contaminated with petroleum or other hazardous substances. Several different source areas of concern were identified within the larger site. The landfill area was investigated, a well point was installed and sampled, a geophysical survey indicated about 16,000 square feet of landfill area (excluding the trenches). A pond is adjacent to the landfill. 60-80 drums, some leaking unidentified wastes was identified ~ 150' north of well point #1.	John Halverson
2/3/1992	Update or Other Action	OHM conducted a removal action for the Corps and submitted a summary report. It indicated that ~ 26 drums of waste were removed from the general area of the disposal trenches.	John Halverson
1/25/1995	Site Characterization Report Approved	Received the draft-final Phase III Remedial Investigation Report - Cleanup Design, prepared by E&E, for the Corps. It documented low levels of vinyl chloride in groundwater beneath the landfill and solid waste on the ground surface in the landfill and trench disposal areas.	John Halverson
8/22/1995	Long Term Monitoring Established	Received groundwater monitoring plan documents from the Corps calling for quarterly and semi-annual monitoring from various wells throughout the Wildwood AFS site.	John Halverson
8/22/1995	Update or Other Action	Received the final baseline human health risk assessment report for Wildwood AFS. It concluded that an unacceptable risk may exist under current or potential future land uses at the landfill area along with some other areas at the larger site.	John Halverson
4/1/1996	Risk Assessment Report Approved	Received the final Ecological Risk Assessment Report (Tier I) for Wildwood AFS. It recommended either proceeding to a Tier II ecological risk assessment or conducting removal/remedial actions to address hot spots.	John Halverson
4/18/1996	Proposed Plan	The Corps finalized the proposed plan. Preferred alternatives included: Main Complex tank farm and USTs 5-1 and 5-2 - vapor extraction and air sparging; Maintenance Building, ACS MARS, Quonset Hut and Disposal Trench Area Burn Pit - soil excavation and off-site treatment followed by no further action; Operations Building - excavation and off-site treatment followed by natural attenuation and institutional controls; Landfill and Disposal Trenches - capping, natural attenuation (landfill area only) and institutional controls.	John Halverson
6/3/1996	Update or Other Action	Received a groundwater monitoring report for tank farm area from sampling in August 1995. It covered the main complex area tank farm and USTs (significant fuel contamination), ACS/MARS facility (low level DRO), Operations Building (DRO and low TEX), Landfill (low level VOCs) and Trench disposal areas (DRO and benzene at burn pit area).	John Halverson
7/20/1996	Update or Other Action	ADEC received a draft record of decision for the Wildwood Air Force Station FUDS. It called for capping the landfill and disposal trench areas with soil, grading and revegetating the areas and monitoring groundwater. It also called for documenting the disposal site locations in the appropriate land records as an institutional control. Due to challenges over implementing institutional controls and a few other issues, the ROD has not been finalized.	John Halverson
8/27/1996	Update or Other Action	Received the December 1995 groundwater monitoring event report. It covers the tank farm area and former USTs at the main complex (significant petroleum contamination in GW at and downgradient from tank farm), the ACS MARS facility and Quonset Hut area (low level DRO in GW), the Operation Building (DRO and TEX in GW), Landfill (low level VOCs) and Trench Disposal Areas (DRO, benzene at burn pit area).	John Halverson
11/22/1996	Interim Removal Action Approved	Received final "Remedial Action Report Interim Removal Action, Wildwood AFS" by Harding and Lawson Associates, October 28, 1996. Conclusions, based on confirmation samples at the end of the removal document that within the Trench Area Burn Pit elevated DRO (1,200 - 18,000 mg/kg) remains in soil.	John Halverson
8/13/1997	Update or Other Action	ADEC received the workplan for Phase II Remediation, Wildwood AFS, by HLA/Wilder, dated July 2, 1997. Plan called for capping the disposal trenches and landfill areas with a soil cover and revegetating them. ADEC reviewed and commented on the draft workplan, but the comments were not all addressed. No formal approval was given on the plan.	John Halverson
12/9/1997	Update or Other Action	Received the groundwater monitoring report for sampling done in July 1997. Groundwater levels have dropped significantly, some MWs have gone dry. Sampling was done at the tank farm and former USTs at the main complex (sheen and noticeable fuel odor present in two MWs, free product in MW AP-365; also 1,2 DCA level increased in a downgradient, off-site MW), Landfill (low level VOCs), Operations Building (up to 6 mg/l DRO), Rifle range (260 ug/l total lead) and Firing Range (12 ug/l total lead).	John Halverson
5/15/1999	Update or Other Action	Received groundwater monitoring report for sampling done in July 1998. Tank farm area (GW level rose slightly, free product found in 3 MWs, GRO increasing in down-gradient MW, 1,2DCA increasing in downgradient MW), Landfill area (low level VOCs, near cleanup levels), Operations building (DRO low levels, need new wells in better locations), Rifle range (total lead and antimony decreased, dissolved lead and antimony N/D), Firing range (total and dissolved lead and antimony N/D).	John Halverson
9/3/1999	Update or Other Action	ADEC received the Remedial Action Report, Phase II Remediation, by HLA/Wilder, dated August 25, 1999. It documents work done between June 1997 and November 1998. The landfill and trench areas were capped as specified in the workplan. Trench area burn pit still has residual soil contamination that needs to be addressed, either through institutional controls or further cleanup.	John Halverson
9/12/2002	Site Number Identifier Changed	Workplan changed from X5 to x9. Sequence Number changed to 03 from 01 to accommodate changing the Workplan. The DBA pointed out to the project manager that despite this site being listed as a military landfill, vinyl chloride appears to be the biggest chemical of concern.	John Halverson
9/12/2002	Site Ranked Using the AHRM	Checked the Multiple Sources box.	Former Staff
2/3/2005	Update or Other Action	File number issued 2320.38.051	Aggie Blandford
6/2/2005	Site Characterization Workplan Approved	A work plan for Site Characterization and Attenuation Monitoring was approved with minor comments. The work plan describes the planned investigation to delineate further the locations of remaining NAPL at the various source areas within the former Wildwood AFS using the Rapid Optical Screening Tool (ROST), Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF). It includes sampling and analysis to calibrate the results of the ROST LIF work and to further characterize contaminant nature and obtain data with which to evaluate the status of each source area using current Method II and III tools, and possibly a 4-phase partitioning model. Sampling and analysis will also obtain data with which to evaluate natural attenuation occurrence at each source area.	Debra Caillouet
6/21/2005	Meeting or Teleconference Held	Staff visited all of the Wildwood sites with the new project manager and the environmental engineer for the site. Staff also observed the ROST/LIF in operation.	Debra Caillouet
6/15/2007	Update or Other Action	The Declaration of Project Closure Decison for the CON/HTRW project at Wildwood was signed.	Debra Caillouet
9/5/2007	Site Characterization Report Approved	The ROST/LIF Investigation, Former Wildwood Air Force Station, Revision 1, April 2007 Report was reviewed and approved. The report presents the results of the investigation at multiple areas within the former Wildwood AFS during the summer of 2005. The logs from the ROST/LIF are presented along with laboratory analysis results. The report provides valuable site characterization data to support future decisions and generally meets the requirements of 18 AAC 75.335 Site Characterization.	Debra Caillouet
9/22/2008	Site Added to Database	A new site has been added to the database	Mitzi Read
9/26/2008	Exposure Tracking Model Ranking	Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 78511 name: Trench Area Burn Pit	Debra Caillouet
11/9/2018	Update or Other Action	Drafted closure evaluation letter, dated November 9, 2018 and sent to the Corps of Engineers. Requested historical groundwater table be developed for several wells. Table is due February 19, 2019.	Joshua Barsis
1/23/2019	Update or Other Action	Reviewed letter from USCOE, dated January 14, 2019 sent in response to DECs letter dated November 9, 2018. Letter documents sampling completed in 1996 at Well AP-375. ADEC requested additional files from achieve in response to letter and as part of the closure evaluation for this site.	Joshua Barsis
2/7/2019	Update or Other Action	Letter sent to ACOE on this day (February 7, 2019) with a full site summary and recommended action.	Joshua Barsis
9/2/2021	Site Characterization Workplan Approved	Approved Kenaitze Indian Tribe NALEMP work plan to remove 20 cy of contaminated soil from the Trench Area Burn Pit. Soil will be sampled for lead and DRO. If appropriate soil waste will be transported to ASR.	Lisa Krebs-Barsis
8/3/2022	Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other	A NALEMP Draft Report for the Removal of Contaminated Soil at the Trench Area Burn Pit was reviewed. The report included work at other hazard ids. Comments were sent. The consultant removed approximately 40 cubic yards of contaminated soil in the area believed to be where 2009 soil boring BP-4 was located. The excavation was 7 ft deep and extended into the saturated zone. Five sidewall samples were collected from the excavation and analyzed for DRO and lead. The maximum concentration of DRO was 437 mg/Kg. Lead did not exceed soil cleanup levels. Waste generated by the excavation was analyzed for VOC, PCB, RCRA metals, and dioxins in addition to DRO and lead. DRO was detected in the stockpile at up to 1,080 mg/Kg. Dioxins below the cleanup level were also detected. The waste will be transported to MCF for thermal treatment.	Lisa Krebs-Barsis
8/3/2022	Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved	Approval to transport 40 cy of soil to MCF. Soil is contaminated with diesel. Dioxins below cleanup levels are present.	Lisa Krebs-Barsis
5/10/2024	Exposure Tracking Model Ranking	A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 78511 Trench Area Burn Pit.	Erica Blake
7/9/2024	Site Visit	DEC staff conducted a site visit to the Wildwood AFS area in Kenai, Alaska. The purpose of the site visit was to inspect multiple sites within the Wildwood Air Force Station and observe groundwater monitoring fieldwork. Sites inspected were; 12-acre Landfill, disposal trench area, Underground Storage Tank (UST) area near the Correctional Facility, and the Operations Maintenance Building. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers staff accompanied DEC staff around the facility for the inspection.	Peter Campbell
7/29/2024	Update or Other Action	DEC provided the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers with a letter summarizing site inspection notes from a July 9, 2024 site visit at various Wildwood AFS sites. The letter described several deviations from the approved work plans (dated 2016 and 2023), and requested USACE discuss impacts of the deviations and issues in the reporting.	Erica Blake

Action Date

Action

Description

DEC Staff

4/7/1990

Site Added to Database

Multiple contaminants. (Date adjusted from 11/10/1999 for report/query consistency. (Reese))

John Halverson

4/7/1990

Update or Other Action

Phase II HTRW report completed. Several areas found to be contaminated with petroleum or other hazardous substances. Several different source areas of concern were identified within the larger site. The landfill area was investigated, a well point was installed and sampled, a geophysical survey indicated about 16,000 square feet of landfill area (excluding the trenches). A pond is adjacent to the landfill. 60-80 drums, some leaking unidentified wastes was identified ~ 150' north of well point #1.

John Halverson

2/3/1992

Update or Other Action

OHM conducted a removal action for the Corps and submitted a summary report. It indicated that ~ 26 drums of waste were removed from the general area of the disposal trenches.

John Halverson

1/25/1995

Site Characterization Report Approved

Received the draft-final Phase III Remedial Investigation Report - Cleanup Design, prepared by E&E, for the Corps. It documented low levels of vinyl chloride in groundwater beneath the landfill and solid waste on the ground surface in the landfill and trench disposal areas.

John Halverson

8/22/1995

Long Term Monitoring Established

Received groundwater monitoring plan documents from the Corps calling for quarterly and semi-annual monitoring from various wells throughout the Wildwood AFS site.

John Halverson

8/22/1995

Update or Other Action

Received the final baseline human health risk assessment report for Wildwood AFS. It concluded that an unacceptable risk may exist under current or potential future land uses at the landfill area along with some other areas at the larger site.

John Halverson

4/1/1996

Risk Assessment Report Approved

Received the final Ecological Risk Assessment Report (Tier I) for Wildwood AFS. It recommended either proceeding to a Tier II ecological risk assessment or conducting removal/remedial actions to address hot spots.

John Halverson

4/18/1996

Proposed Plan

The Corps finalized the proposed plan. Preferred alternatives included: Main Complex tank farm and USTs 5-1 and 5-2 - vapor extraction and air sparging; Maintenance Building, ACS MARS, Quonset Hut and Disposal Trench Area Burn Pit - soil excavation and off-site treatment followed by no further action; Operations Building - excavation and off-site treatment followed by natural attenuation and institutional controls; Landfill and Disposal Trenches - capping, natural attenuation (landfill area only) and institutional controls.

John Halverson

6/3/1996

Update or Other Action

Received a groundwater monitoring report for tank farm area from sampling in August 1995. It covered the main complex area tank farm and USTs (significant fuel contamination), ACS/MARS facility (low level DRO), Operations Building (DRO and low TEX), Landfill (low level VOCs) and Trench disposal areas (DRO and benzene at burn pit area).

John Halverson

7/20/1996

Update or Other Action

ADEC received a draft record of decision for the Wildwood Air Force Station FUDS. It called for capping the landfill and disposal trench areas with soil, grading and revegetating the areas and monitoring groundwater. It also called for documenting the disposal site locations in the appropriate land records as an institutional control. Due to challenges over implementing institutional controls and a few other issues, the ROD has not been finalized.

John Halverson

8/27/1996

Update or Other Action

Received the December 1995 groundwater monitoring event report. It covers the tank farm area and former USTs at the main complex (significant petroleum contamination in GW at and downgradient from tank farm), the ACS MARS facility and Quonset Hut area (low level DRO in GW), the Operation Building (DRO and TEX in GW), Landfill (low level VOCs) and Trench Disposal Areas (DRO, benzene at burn pit area).

John Halverson

11/22/1996

Interim Removal Action Approved

Received final "Remedial Action Report Interim Removal Action, Wildwood AFS" by Harding and Lawson Associates, October 28, 1996. Conclusions, based on confirmation samples at the end of the removal document that within the Trench Area Burn Pit elevated DRO (1,200 - 18,000 mg/kg) remains in soil.

John Halverson

8/13/1997

Update or Other Action

ADEC received the workplan for Phase II Remediation, Wildwood AFS, by HLA/Wilder, dated July 2, 1997. Plan called for capping the disposal trenches and landfill areas with a soil cover and revegetating them. ADEC reviewed and commented on the draft workplan, but the comments were not all addressed. No formal approval was given on the plan.

John Halverson

12/9/1997

Update or Other Action

Received the groundwater monitoring report for sampling done in July 1997. Groundwater levels have dropped significantly, some MWs have gone dry. Sampling was done at the tank farm and former USTs at the main complex (sheen and noticeable fuel odor present in two MWs, free product in MW AP-365; also 1,2 DCA level increased in a downgradient, off-site MW), Landfill (low level VOCs), Operations Building (up to 6 mg/l DRO), Rifle range (260 ug/l total lead) and Firing Range (12 ug/l total lead).

John Halverson

5/15/1999

Update or Other Action

Received groundwater monitoring report for sampling done in July 1998. Tank farm area (GW level rose slightly, free product found in 3 MWs, GRO increasing in down-gradient MW, 1,2DCA increasing in downgradient MW), Landfill area (low level VOCs, near cleanup levels), Operations building (DRO low levels, need new wells in better locations), Rifle range (total lead and antimony decreased, dissolved lead and antimony N/D), Firing range (total and dissolved lead and antimony N/D).

John Halverson

9/3/1999

Update or Other Action

ADEC received the Remedial Action Report, Phase II Remediation, by HLA/Wilder, dated August 25, 1999. It documents work done between June 1997 and November 1998. The landfill and trench areas were capped as specified in the workplan. Trench area burn pit still has residual soil contamination that needs to be addressed, either through institutional controls or further cleanup.

John Halverson

9/12/2002

Site Number Identifier Changed

Workplan changed from X5 to x9. Sequence Number changed to 03 from 01 to accommodate changing the Workplan. The DBA pointed out to the project manager that despite this site being listed as a military landfill, vinyl chloride appears to be the biggest chemical of concern.

John Halverson

9/12/2002

Site Ranked Using the AHRM

Checked the Multiple Sources box.

Former Staff

2/3/2005

Update or Other Action

File number issued 2320.38.051

Aggie Blandford

6/2/2005

Site Characterization Workplan Approved

A work plan for Site Characterization and Attenuation Monitoring was approved with minor comments. The work plan describes the planned investigation to delineate further the locations of remaining NAPL at the various source areas within the former Wildwood AFS using the Rapid Optical Screening Tool (ROST), Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF). It includes sampling and analysis to calibrate the results of the ROST LIF work and to further characterize contaminant nature and obtain data with which to evaluate the status of each source area using current Method II and III tools, and possibly a 4-phase partitioning model. Sampling and analysis will also obtain data with which to evaluate natural attenuation occurrence at each source area.

Debra Caillouet

6/21/2005

Meeting or Teleconference Held

Staff visited all of the Wildwood sites with the new project manager and the environmental engineer for the site. Staff also observed the ROST/LIF in operation.

Debra Caillouet

6/15/2007

Update or Other Action

The Declaration of Project Closure Decison for the CON/HTRW project at Wildwood was signed.

Debra Caillouet

9/5/2007

Site Characterization Report Approved

The ROST/LIF Investigation, Former Wildwood Air Force Station, Revision 1, April 2007 Report was reviewed and approved. The report presents the results of the investigation at multiple areas within the former Wildwood AFS during the summer of 2005. The logs from the ROST/LIF are presented along with laboratory analysis results. The report provides valuable site characterization data to support future decisions and generally meets the requirements of 18 AAC 75.335 Site Characterization.

Debra Caillouet

9/22/2008

Site Added to Database

A new site has been added to the database

Mitzi Read

9/26/2008

Exposure Tracking Model Ranking

Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 78511 name: Trench Area Burn Pit

Debra Caillouet

11/9/2018

Update or Other Action

Drafted closure evaluation letter, dated November 9, 2018 and sent to the Corps of Engineers. Requested historical groundwater table be developed for several wells. Table is due February 19, 2019.

Joshua Barsis

1/23/2019

Update or Other Action

Reviewed letter from USCOE, dated January 14, 2019 sent in response to DECs letter dated November 9, 2018. Letter documents sampling completed in 1996 at Well AP-375. ADEC requested additional files from achieve in response to letter and as part of the closure evaluation for this site.

Joshua Barsis

2/7/2019

Update or Other Action

Letter sent to ACOE on this day (February 7, 2019) with a full site summary and recommended action.

Joshua Barsis

9/2/2021

Site Characterization Workplan Approved

Approved Kenaitze Indian Tribe NALEMP work plan to remove 20 cy of contaminated soil from the Trench Area Burn Pit. Soil will be sampled for lead and DRO. If appropriate soil waste will be transported to ASR.

Lisa Krebs-Barsis

8/3/2022

Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other

A NALEMP Draft Report for the Removal of Contaminated Soil at the Trench Area Burn Pit was reviewed. The report included work at other hazard ids. Comments were sent. The consultant removed approximately 40 cubic yards of contaminated soil in the area believed to be where 2009 soil boring BP-4 was located. The excavation was 7 ft deep and extended into the saturated zone. Five sidewall samples were collected from the excavation and analyzed for DRO and lead. The maximum concentration of DRO was 437 mg/Kg. Lead did not exceed soil cleanup levels. Waste generated by the excavation was analyzed for VOC, PCB, RCRA metals, and dioxins in addition to DRO and lead. DRO was detected in the stockpile at up to 1,080 mg/Kg. Dioxins below the cleanup level were also detected. The waste will be transported to MCF for thermal treatment.

Lisa Krebs-Barsis

8/3/2022

Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved

Approval to transport 40 cy of soil to MCF. Soil is contaminated with diesel. Dioxins below cleanup levels are present.

Lisa Krebs-Barsis

5/10/2024

Exposure Tracking Model Ranking

A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 78511 Trench Area Burn Pit.

Erica Blake

7/9/2024

Site Visit

DEC staff conducted a site visit to the Wildwood AFS area in Kenai, Alaska. The purpose of the site visit was to inspect multiple sites within the Wildwood Air Force Station and observe groundwater monitoring fieldwork. Sites inspected were; 12-acre Landfill, disposal trench area, Underground Storage Tank (UST) area near the Correctional Facility, and the Operations Maintenance Building. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers staff accompanied DEC staff around the facility for the inspection.

Peter Campbell

7/29/2024

Update or Other Action

DEC provided the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers with a letter summarizing site inspection notes from a July 9, 2024 site visit at various Wildwood AFS sites. The letter described several deviations from the approved work plans (dated 2016 and 2023), and requested USACE discuss impacts of the deviations and issues in the reporting.

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

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Site Report: Wildwood AFS Trench Area Burn Pit

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