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Site Report: Kwethluk Former Joseph Guy Community Center

Site Name: Kwethluk Former Joseph Guy Community Center
Address: Intersection of Jay Hammond Way and Airport Road, Kwethluk, AK 99621
File Number: 2424.57.001
Hazard ID: 25663
Status: Cleanup Complete - Institutional Controls
Staff: IC Unit, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov
Latitude: 60.809951
Longitude: -161.423544
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

The Former Joseph Guy Community Center was located in Kwethluk, Alaska. The site is a rural Alaskan village located approximately 12 miles East of Bethel. An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Targeted Brownfield Assessment (TBA) was completed in 2009/2010. The focus of the TBA was the former 5,000-square-foot Joseph Guy Community Center, which was incinerated during a fire in April 2006. A site visit was conducted on October 15, 2009 and the field work occurred on June 9, 2010. A total of 28 soil samples were collected and submitted to a laboratory for analyses. Surface soil samples inside the burned community center contained several metals that exceeded regulatory levels. Those metals included antimony, arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, and nickel. Two surface soil samples collected outside the burned community center contained concentrations of n-nitroso-di-n-propylamine and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate above regulatory criteria. Deeper subsurface soil samples did not indicate any contamination, therefore indicating that the compounds had not migrated vertically. One surface soil sample collected near the distribution line of the former aboveground storage tank (AST) exceeded regulatory criteria for diesel range organics (DRO).

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
8/18/2009 Brownfields Award Site was approved for an EPA TBA on this date, confirming the status as a brownfield. John Carnahan
3/21/2011 Site Characterization Report Approved Received Targeted Brownfield Assessment from EPA. EPA requested that DEC R&R Program consider additional work at this site. John Carnahan
3/21/2011 Brownfields Award FY 2012 EPA STRP funds $225,951 awarded to Kwethluk for a cleanup of the Former Joseph Guy Community Center. NTP 18-4002-11-039F Cascade Galasso-Irish
6/6/2011 Update or Other Action ANTHC and the Community of Kwethluk are working together to address the demolition and cleanup at the Former Joseph Guy Community Center. Deborah Williams
6/8/2011 Site Added to Database A new site has been added to the database Deborah Williams
7/14/2011 Site Characterization Report Approved Completed review of report: Former Joseph Guy Community Center ARRA Funded Targeted Brownfield Assessment, Kwethluk, Alaska, March 2011. Project completed by EPA using their START contractors. John Carnahan
7/14/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held Meeting between EPA and DEC R&R staff to discuss potential mechanisms to fund clean up of burned structure, and conduct any necessary sampling. John Carnahan
7/14/2011 Update or Other Action Communication with DEC RA and then Dave Bartos with EPA led to the conclusion that this is a relatively straight forward issue from a federal hazardous waste perspective. He did not see any reasonable basis to presume that the building debris would designate as a listed hazardous waste. If the entire remains of the burned-out building are disposed of as a single waste stream, it would be unlikely for the demolition debris to exhibit a hazardous characteristic. Formally, whomever is doing the building demolition and disposal is responsible for making hazardous waste designation, but thinks this is reasonable guidance for making the determinations. There may be environmental issues that need to be addressed, but it sounds like they are contaminated sites issues, not RCRA hazardous waste management issues. (Ref email chain dataed 6/8/11) John Carnahan
8/19/2011 Update or Other Action Consultation letter from USFWS dated August 5, 2011 received confirming the proposed removal of the Center and contaminated soil at the site will not affect any threatened or endangered species. Melinda Brunner
8/19/2011 Update or Other Action Letter from State Historic Preservation Officer dated August 12, 2011 received confirming the proposed removal of the Center and contaminated soil at the site will not affect any historic properties. Melinda Brunner
8/25/2011 Update or Other Action Online Public Notice - Request for public comments on the Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives, Former Joseph Community Center, Village of Kwethluk, Alaska. John Carnahan
8/30/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held A public meeting to discuss the Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) occurred on this date at the City of Kwethluk offices in Kwethluk. The meeting was scheduled to take place during the 30-day public comment period required by EPA when EPA brownfield funding is being used for a cleanup project. Representatives from DEC, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the Kuskokwim River Watershed Council, and Kwethluk community members participated in the meeting. Sonja Benson
2/3/2012 Brownfields Award FY 2013 EPA State and Tribal Response Program (STRP) funds $91,596 awarded to Kwethluk for continued cleanup to remove and transport soil under building footprint with metals above CLs. NTP# 18-4002-11-042C, NTP continuing work from 2012. Current status: project complete and site closed. Cascade Galasso-Irish
2/27/2012 Cleanup Assumed by ADEC Under the Reuse & Redevelopment Program, a notice to proceed to DC term contractors has been established to address the remediation associated with this site. John Carnahan
2/29/2012 Meeting or Teleconference Held Meeting with Oasis and ANTHC to discuss the proposed schedule of activities for the upcoming cleanup. Coordination between ANTHC and DEC SW staff have already established permissions to dispose of specific waste materials. Pending debris removal is tentatively scheduled for last week of March or early April if possible. John Carnahan
3/9/2012 Update or Other Action Received letter from City of Kwethluk permitting the disposal of burned debris at its the Bethel permitted landfill. John Carnahan
3/12/2012 Update or Other Action Letter of concurrence with solid waste determination from DEC to Organized Village of Kwethluk, that the solid waste does not constitute a hazardous waste. John Carnahan
5/31/2012 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other OASIS Environmental submitted a draft work plan entitled, "Joseph Guy Community Center, Kwethluk, Alaska, Brownfield Cleanup Action Plan," dated May 24, 2012 on May 24, 2012 for review. Brunner returned comments on the draft to OASIS on May 31, 2012. Melinda Brunner
6/4/2012 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other OASIS Environmental submitted a draft work plan entitled "Joseph Guy Community Center, Kwethluk, Alaska, Brownfield Cleanup Action Plan" dated June 1, 2012 and Quality Assurance Project Plan on June 1, 2012. Brunner returned comments on the draft to OASIS on June 4, 2012. Melinda Brunner
6/5/2012 Site Characterization Workplan Approved OASIS Environmental submitted revised draft work plans entitled "Joseph Guy Community Center, Kwethluk, Alaska, Brownfield Cleanup Action Plan" dated June 4, 2012 and a Quality Assurance Project Plan on June 4th and June 5, 2012. Brunner approved the revised work plan and QAPP on June 5, 2012. Melinda Brunner
6/7/2012 Update or Other Action Documents entitled "Joseph Guy Community Center, Kwethluk, Alaska, Brownfield Cleanup Action Plan" dated June 4, 2012 (Revision 2) and a Quality Assurance Project Plan approved by Donald Brown of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Clean up of contaminated soil, as described in these documents, scheduled to begin June 7, 2012. Melinda Brunner
7/7/2012 Update or Other Action Quality assurance review by USEPA Region 10 (Donald M. Brown) approves Brownfield Cleanup Action Plan & QA Project Plan, but Oasis Environmental. John Carnahan
7/12/2012 Meeting or Teleconference Held Meeting with Kwethluk City and IRA council to go over the work to date, and what is pending. Informed EPA of results of meeting. Community expressed its gratitude. John Carnahan
6/3/2013 Cleanup Plan Approved Received letter of approval from Solid Waste program to place the Kwethluk soil SuperSacks in the dump. Sacks were to be placed against fenceline. John Carnahan
7/1/2013 Update or Other Action Final report sent to City and Tribal Council. John Carnahan
9/1/2013 Final Cleanup Report Reviewed Final ERM 'Brownfield Cleanup Action, Joseph Guy Community Center' report reviewed and approved. Report dated June 2013. All metals contaminated material were removed, passed TCLP and SPLP sampling and were deposited in supersacks at the Kwethluk dump. Residual arsenic concentrations are similar to background arsenic, both of which exceed direct contact cleanup levels. Residual isolated areas of arsenic, chromium and copper exceed MTGW cleanup levels and may be attributed to treated timbers used to construct the building that were burned. Samples of the metals-bearing soils did not fail leaching tests, and direct contact cleanup levels were deemed appropriate for site. John Carnahan
9/1/2013 Final Cleanup Report Reviewed Final ERM 'Brownfield Cleanup Action, Joseph Guy Community Center' report reviewed and approved. Report dated June 2013. All metals contaminated material were removed, passed TCLP and SPLP sampling and were deposited in supersacks at the Kwethluk dump. Residual arsenic concentrations are similar to background arsenic, both of which exceed direct contact cleanup levels. Residual isolated areas of arsenic, chromium and copper exceed MTGW cleanup levels and may be attributed to treated timbers used to construct the building that were burned. Samples of the metals-bearing soils did not fail leaching tests, and direct contact cleanup levels were deemed appropriate for site. John Carnahan
1/31/2014 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 79598 name: Building exterior soil John Carnahan
1/31/2014 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 79598 Building exterior soil. John Carnahan
7/15/2014 Cleanup Level(s) Approved Per Decision Document dated July 15, 2014 John Carnahan
10/31/2014 Cleanup Complete Determination Issued John Carnahan
10/31/2014 Institutional Control Record Established Institutional Controls established and entered into the database. (12/29/14 Update) Received recorded NEC from Bethel Recording District. 13 pages received in Bethel 11/7/2014. John Carnahan
4/13/2023 Institutional Control Compliance Review IC compliance review completed and an IC reminder letter was issued to the landowner. Evonne Reese

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments
Arsenic - Total > Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil Direct contact under 40-inch zone.
Antimony - Total < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil
Chromium - Total < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil
Copper - Total Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil
n-Nitroso-di-n-propylamine < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil
DRO < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil
Nickel - Total < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil

Control Type

Type Details
Notice of Environmental Contamination

Requirements

Description Details
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site. Installation of wells on the property with the intent of extracting groundwater for any purpose requires DEC approval.
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site. Any proposal to transport soil off-site requires DEC approval in accordance with 18 AAC 78.600(h). A “site” [as defined by 18 AAC 75.990 (115)] means an area that is contaminated, including areas contaminated by the migration of hazardous substances from a source area, regardless of property ownership. Movement or use of contaminated material in a manner that results in a violation of 18 AAC 70 water quality standards is prohibited.
Periodic Review Any future change in land use may impact the exposure assumptions cited in this document. If land use and/or ownership changes, these management conditions may not be protective and DEC may require additional remediation and revised conditions. Therefore the Organized Village of Kwethluk shall report to DEC every five years to document land use, or report as soon as the Organized Village of Kwethluk becomes aware of any change in land ownership and/or use, if earlier. The report can be sent to the local DEC office or electronically to DEC.ICUnit@alaska.gov.

No associated sites were found.

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State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

P.O. Box 111800
Juneau, AK 99811-1800
Phone: 907-465-5066
Fax: 907-465-5245
TDD: 800-770-8973
Physical Location: 410 Willoughby