Problems/Comments

The Lower Yukon School District maintained six 8,000-gallon ASTs in one farm on this site, which is located in a high-traffic area for Kotlik residents. The tank farm was visible in a 1984 aerial photograph of Kotlik, but at that time only five tanks were visible. A reconnaissance report by E&E dated 2002, reporting on a site visit made in 2001, stated that the area smelled strongly of fuel oil, and the tanks were still present at that time. The state Bulk Fuel Community Database noted that the liner within the area was torn and that oil-stained absorbent pads were present in 1997. Of greatest concern is the proximity of the AST farm to the river and public water supply, which is within 0.25 mile of the site. An EPA review of LYSD’s Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan in 2001 (Plan Number FRPAKA0299, September, 2001) noted discrepancies regarding adequate response equipment and secondary containment, among other concerns. E & E noted a sizable inventory of sorbent boom and pads on site during October 2001; however, the adequacy of LYSD’s fuel systems and SPCC plan was not evaluated. While LYSD elected not to participate in the bulk fuel consolidation program in 2001, LYSD fuel facilities were scheduled to be upgraded with the construction of the new school, for which work was underway at the time of E&E's visit. The report recommended that environmental assessment should occur along with, or subsequent to AST site demolition activities, and that remedial measures may be required. During a September 2007 Brownfield assessment of the adjacent property to the south, it was observed and also discussed in interviews with local residents that the fuel tanks had been removed, along with possibly some quantity of contaminated soil, but no further information has been located or provided by LYSD about the disposition of the tanks or soil. Concentrations of contaminants in both water and soil samples taken from the adjacent property to the south were generally higher in the northern portion of that property, closest to the former tank farm site. The LYSD tank farm was removed sometime between 2001 and 2006. Local residents recalled the removal of both of the tanks and some impacted soils, though the exact year of these activities could not be determined from interviews, and the site was not previously listed on the DEC database. A liner associated with this tank farm was still present on this site in 2007. It is possible that releases from this tank farm have impacted the adjacent property, and this would provide an explanation for the decreasing contamination gradient from north to south on the adjacent property, in spite of the intuitive assumption that ground and surface water should be migrating to the north, in the general direction of the nearby Kotlik River. Note on property description: located within U.S. Survey No. 4411. See also Brownfield file no. 2423.57.001, "Former BIA School Playground, Kotlik."

Action Information

Contaminant Information

Control Type

Requirements

There are no documents for this site report.

No associated sites were found.