| Action Date |
Action |
Description |
DEC Staff |
| 11/9/2011 |
Site Added to Database |
A new site has been added to the database |
Mitzi Read |
| 11/15/2011 |
Exposure Tracking Model Ranking |
Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 79200 name: Birchwood Trespass Shooting Area |
Bill O'Connell |
| 11/29/2011 |
Potentially Responsible Party/State Interest Letter |
Phone call from Eklutna Inc aknowledging receipt of PRP letter. No action is anticipated at this site until 2012 |
Bill O'Connell |
| 8/15/2012 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Reviewed Work Plan for Soil Sampling at Birchwood Law Enforcement Range Development. Based on site visits, aerial photos, and analytical data, four shooting areas have been identified as well as the likely shot fall zone at the skeet shooting area. These areas will be cleared of vegetation in preparation for sampling. Field screening will be conducted in the shot fall zone by walking transects with a metal detector and collecting analytical soil samples from a minimum of 5 locations. Up to 5 soil samples will also be collected from each shooting area. A bench scale test on lead shot recoverability will be conducted to evaluate the likely effectiveness of potential lead recovery/recycling efforts. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 11/6/2015 |
Site Characterization Report Approved |
Reviewed Soil Sampling Law Enforcement Range Development Birchwood, Alaska report. The works was conducted in 2012 and the results reported to DEC in October 2015. The objective of the sampling effort was to characterize lead contamination in soil at the site in support of the proposed development of the property into a law enforcement shooting range. The theoretical lead shotfall zone was identified and investigated by walking transects through the zone with a metal detector and collecting soil samples. Five discrete shooting areas were also investigated and a sample was collected for bench scale testing of lead recoverability. Transects were established at 390 feet, 440 feet, 490 feet, 540 feet, and 590 feet from the point of origin based on information contained in the 1997 document titled Environmental Aspects of Construction and Management of Outdoor Shooting Ranges. Four analytical samples were collected to represent the shotfall area. The five discrete areas investigated were labeled SA1 – SA5. Two soil samples were collected at each area, one at the surface and one approximately 6 inches below the surface, to characterize the nature of lead contamination and up to four additional samples were collected form each area to delineate the extent of contamination. The results of the sampling indicate at least one sample from each of the shooting areas contained lead above the cleanup level of 400 mg/k and also above the TCLP limit, except for the sample from SA3, which was below the TCLP limit. One sample from SA2 also contained benzo(a)pyrene above the cleanup level. Detections above cleanup level were all in the surface samples indicating that the impacts to soil are only at the surface and do not extend into the soil. Samples from the shotfall zone transects did not contain lead above the cleanup level or TCLP limit. The lead recoverability testing indicated that sieving the soil was not a sufficient method of separating lead contaminated soil. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 5/2/2016 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Meeting today with MOA and consultants to discuss implementing EPA Best Management Practices at Outdoor Shooting Ranges at the Birchwood Law Enforcement Range. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 7/12/2016 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Reviewed Environmental Stewardship Plan (ESP) for Southcentral Law Enforcement Range. The ESP includes details on the implementation of Best Management Practices in accordance with EPA guidance, which includes the collection and recycling of lead shot, reuse of lead-impacted soil for backstops, phosphate addition to stabilize lead in soil and the placement of mulch to control surface runoff. Following the collection of lead-impacted soil for reuse, confirmation samples will be collected to confirm the removal of soil above ADEC cleanup levels. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 9/27/2016 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Reviewed Revised Environmental Stewardship Plan for South central Law Enforcement Range. Revisions to the ESP include provisions for the stabilization and off site disposal of lead contaminated soil using phosphate, removal and sampling of several batteries at the site and revised outlines of several of the shooting areas based on more accurate field screening. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 4/13/2017 |
Update or Other Action |
Email work plan amendment approved. The amendment includes additional soil removal and resampling at shooting areas SA2 and SA4. Final results from all removals will be included in the project report. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 6/28/2017 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Reviewed Environmental Stewardship Plan Implementation report for Southcentral Law Enforcement Shooting Range, Activities conducted under the plan included solid waste and vegetation removal, soil excavation and sampling, and the stabilization of lead-contaminated soil using phosphate. Solid waste removed from the site included broken batteries, which were placed into drums along with approximately 0.1 cubic yard or more of soil from each battery location. Confirmation samples collected after removal of the batteries did not contain lead above the cleanup level, however the samples exceeded the TCLP criteria for lead. Additional soil was removed from this area and confirmation soil samples did not contain lead above TCLP limits. Phosphate was applied over the six shooting areas (SA1 to SA6), then soil samples were collected three days later and analyzed for TCLP lead. Samples from SA2 and SA5 continued to exceed the TCLP limit, so the area was resampled 14 days later. The sample from SA5 met the TCLP limits, the sample From SA2 did not. A small amount of soil was removed from the SA2 area and added to the battery debris for disposal, the remaining soil was sampled again and met the TCLP limit. Following lead stabilization efforts, approximately 190 cubic yards of lead-containing soil were excavated from the 6 shooting areas. Two to four inches of soil were removed from each area and stockpiled near SA1. Following the excavation, each area was sampled along with a buffer area approximately 10 feet wide at three of the shooting areas using multi incremental sampling. Each SA and each buffer zone were sampled as individual decision units (DU) for a total of 12 DUs. Visible lead fragments were removed from within and around the decision units, which were then adjusted accordingly to include the areas where lead fragments had been present. MI sample results indicated lead-contaminated soil remained in the buffer areas surrounding SA2 and SA4. An additional 35 cy of soil was removed from SA2 and 12 cy from SA4 and the areas were field screened using an XRF. Discrete soil samples were then collected from the locations with the highest field screening results and did not contain lead above the cleanup level. One discrete sample was also collected from stained soil beneath the punctured end of a tank. Contaminants were not detected above cleanup levels. Final waste totals includes 190 cy of stabilized, lead-containing soil were disposed of an Anchorage landfill, along with two dumpsters of household waste. Broken batteries and a small quantity of associated soil were placed into 5 drums and transported to the US Ecology landfill in Grand View Idaho as RCRA characteristic waste. All final confirmation samples met the lead cleanup level of 400 mg/kg. Approximately 47 cy of soil containing lead above the cleanup level from SA2 and SA4 buffer areas is staged and will be beneficially re-used as backstop material at the 300-yard firing range. One area that was sampled during the site characterization effort, LS11, could not be located during the cleanup effort. The sample from this area contained lead at 8,700 mg/kg. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 11/13/2017 |
Exposure Tracking Model Ranking |
A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 79200 Birchwood Trespass Shooting Area. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 12/6/2017 |
Cleanup Complete Determination Issued |
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Contaminated Sites Program (ADEC) has completed a review of the environmental records associated with the Birchwood Trespass Shooting Range located in Birchwood, Alaska. Based on the information provided to date, it has been determined that the contaminant concentrations remaining on site do not pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment and no further remedial action will be required as long as the institutional controls are maintained and effective and no new information becomes available that indicates residual contamination poses an unacceptable risk. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 12/6/2017 |
Institutional Control Record Established |
Institutional Controls established and entered into the database. |
Bill O'Connell |
| 6/24/2019 |
Update or Other Action |
Site location was updated on this date. Coordinates for this site are used to determine the presence and position of the site on BLM’s ANCSA Conveyed Land web map. |
Rebekah Reams |
| 6/14/2024 |
Institutional Control Compliance Review |
IC compliance review completed on this date. An IC reminder letter was issued to the landowner. The next review will be in five years’ time. |
Gaige Robinson |
