| Action Date |
Action |
Description |
DEC Staff |
| 3/26/1993 |
Update or Other Action |
Department of Defense and ADEC joint Technical Memorandum of understanding signed concerning the Base-wide Groundwater. Signatories: ADEC SCRO-Jennifer Roberts Remedial Project Manager and USAF Joseph Williamson Chief Environmental Programs and Restoration.
As a result of the base-wide groundwater study and the FY92 field work that occurred at Operable Units (OUs) 1, 2, and 5 it appears that a large portion of the groundwater flows into OU5 (Attachment 1- Contour Map). based on this information Elmendorf would like to move all upgradient groundwater into the OU5 Feasibility Study, Proposed Plan and Record of Decision. This means we would address all groundwater from upgradient sources (CERCLA (ST20, OU3, and OU4) and OUs 1 and portions of OU2) and SERA) at OU5 instead of at each individual source area (see Attachment 2 - Area Map). Those sites which have free phased product would be looked at to see if there is an available technology to clean them up in a cost effective way. Soil contamination would still be addressed at the source areas. NOTE: addressed at the source areas is interpreted by ADEC as removal through excavation or active treatment systems (e.g. high vacuum extraction, bioventing, etc.). |
Jennifer Roberts |
| 4/21/1995 |
Update or Other Action |
Air Force Memorandum to John Halverson re: UST meeting. Elmendorf AFB will accomplish the following actions regarding UST projects. These actions are based upon conversation between, John Mahaffey, Larry Opperman and yourself.
1) EAFB will make every effort to accomplish clean closure of a UST removal if possible. 2) UST removal locations requiring cleanup action will be transferred into the State Elmendorf Environmental Restoration Agreement (SERA). A list of sites requiring cleanup will be coordinated with your office. 3) The presumptive remedy for contaminated UST sites in the outwash plain only will be bioventing technology. 4) Contaminated soils exceeding cleanup levels may be placed back into the excavation only if the site assessment (SA) indicates a need for further action. 5) Contaminated UST sites not in the outwash plain will require further investigation to determine appropriate cleanup options. 6) We (Elmendorf) will make every attempt possible to assure new USTs or new aboveground tanks are not installed in any way that would hamper future access for cleanup. 7) The project will first accomplish removal of all the USTs. SA information will be used to prioritize sites for cleanup using existing project funds. Additional funding will be requested to complete cleanup if available. Sites not addressed for cleanup due to exhausted funding will be placed in SERA Phase IV.
John Halverson signed memorandum on April 21, 1995. Memorandum submitted by Douglas G. Tarbett, Maj. USAF, Chief Environmental Compliance (CCs 3 WG/JA and 3 SPTG/CE). |
John Halverson |
| 10/17/1996 |
Institutional Control Record Established |
Air Force memo: Restricted Use of the Shallow Aquifer on Elmendorf Air Force Base (EAFB) signed by William R. Hanson P.E. GM-14 Chief Environmental Flight dated October 17, 1996 Memorandum for 3 SPTG/CEC/CEO from 3 SPTG/CEV:
1) Due to the contamination and commitments to regulators the use of the shallow aquifer for any purpose on Elmendorf is not allowed. Please see the attached Facility Board minutes (March 29, 1994 0930-Item 9 of minutes). Mr. William Hanson, Chief of Environmental, briefed to the Facilities Board the policy to not use the shallow water aquifer due to contamination. The Facilities Board approved this policy. Minutes approved by Thomas R. Case Brigadier General USAF Commander. The Installation Restoration Program (IRP) has additional Record of Decisions (RODs) for Operable Units 3 and 6 which require, as a stipulation of the agreement with Environmental Protection Agency and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, this aquifer remain unused.
2) Our concern is that key personnel in the review process within Civil Engineer Squadron are aware of these policies and that these policies are reviewed on a recurring basis. It is imperative that this restriction be recognized and observed during engineer reviews and operations.
3) If you have questions on this subject, please contact Mr. Joe Williamson at 552-7229. |
Jennifer Roberts |
| 6/30/1997 |
Update or Other Action |
Site Evaluation and bioventing studies for SERA Phase V Sites. 2,000 gallon heating oil underground storage tank (UST) ST530 AFID 893 was removed in May 1996. The UST contained a small quantity of heating oil, which was removed priorto excavation of the tank. Although the tank and associated piping appeared to be in good condition, there was visual evidence of leakage of heating oil (e.g., stained soil, hydrocarbon odors) in the soil surrounding the tank and the pipe trench. Heating oil was observed leaking from holes in the pipe connecting the tank to Building 43-890. Excavated soil was stockpiled on site.
Diesel range organics (DRO) contamination was present in soil beneath the pipe trench (1,760 mg/kg DRO), southern end of tank (792 mg/kg DRO), stockpiled soils (1,820 mg/kg DRO) and at a depth of 12' bgs (2,310 mg/kg DRO). Although DRO was detected above cleanup level "B" in the stockpiled soil, the entire stockpile was placed back in the excavation and capped with uncontaminated fill.
Recommendations in report: Limited field investigation (approximately 5 soil borings advanced to groundwater) be conducted to define the extent of contamination. Because of close proximity to Building 43-890, a decision will be made during the investigation whether to configure this site for a possible bioventing system and to conduct a treatability study. |
Louis Howard |
| 7/10/1997 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Site evaluation and biostudies WP comments.
General: GW monitoring wells will be required at all sites where contamination has reached the GW. ADEC is requiring monitoring wells be installed within the known hot spot of the former UST or POL excavation & within 100 yards down gradient of the site. If existing monitoring wells exist within 100 yards & down gradient of the site they may be used in lieu of installing a new down gradient well. Sampling of the contaminated ground water is needed to help the department evaluate the levels & the extent of GW contamination as result of releases from the former UST & POL sites.
Periodic GW sampling will be required to help the department determine the effectiveness of the corrective action method being implemented. Ground water samples should be tested for BTEX, GRO & DRO using analytical methods listed in, Table 1, Part B, of the UST Procedure manual. At sites involving releases from waste oil tanks, GW samples shall test for the presence of total chlorinated solvents & PCBs in addition to the standard Alaska methods if these compounds were detected in the soil samples.
General: The Air Force is proposing to test for the levels of BTEX in soil using the EPA 8020 analytical method. The Departments UST Procedure Manual, dated September 22, 1995, recommends the Alaska 101 method with methanol field preservation. Using this method may result in a cost savings for the Air Force because AK 101 analytical method can be used to detect both BTEX & gasoline constituents.
General: On sites where the boiventing is not selected as the presumptive correction action the Air Force will be required to develop another corrective action plan & submit a work plan for the department’s review.
General: It appears contractors performing UST closures for the Air Force have returned excavated soils containing high levels of contamination back into the excavation. In the past the Department has allowed the Air Force to backfill the excavation with contaminated soils if the soils slightly exceeded the Alaska Cleanup Matrix (ACM) level for the site. On many sites soils exceeding this threshold where return to the excavation, eg., ST 509 (AFID 105), ST 516 (AFID 154), ST 522 (STMP 431), ST 523 (AFID 16), ST 524 (AFID 149), ST 525(AFID 330), ST 528 (AFID 857), ST 530 (AFID 893), ST 531 (STMP 240), ST 532 (STMP 243), ST 533 (STMP 246), ST 534 (STMP 300) and ST 535 (STMP 428). At some sites laboratory samples were not collected and analyzed from the stock pile. Soils were returned to the excavation has positive PID readings, eg., ST 515 (AFID 580). These two practices are in violation of our agreement and shall be discontinued.
See site file for additional information. |
Tim Stevens |
| 3/30/1999 |
Update or Other Action |
Summary report for site evaluations and bioventing studies at SERA Phase V sites (ST501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 516, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, and ST538)
Although the earlier Site Evaluation report (1997) stated that five (5) borings were to be placed at the former UST site to delineate the extent of contamination still found to be present at 12', only one boring was installed.
One soil boring was advanced to within approximately five feet ofthe water table at ST 530 to
investigate potential soil contamination around the former UST. Two samples from 8.5' and 15' were taken from the one boring installed away from the previous boring next to the building that had the highest DRO contamination in the previous report. One other planned boring was not installed due to the close proximity of buried water pipelines.
Because ST 530 is located in the OU 5 Groundwater Study Area, groundwater is not a completed exposure pathway. However, to be conservative the analytical data for ST 530 was compared with the Method One values in the regulations using the more stringent migration to groundwater pathway, where appropriate, to detennine if the site could be closed with no further action. No soil samples at ST 530 exceeded the revised ADEC Method One soil cleanup levels in 18 AAC 75. |
Louis Howard |
| 12/20/2001 |
Site Added to Database |
Heating oil release. |
Former Staff |
| 12/20/2001 |
Site Ranked Using the AHRM |
Initial ranking. |
Louis Howard |
| 10/21/2002 |
Update or Other Action |
Letter sent to Joe Williamson dissolving the State Elmendorf Environmental Restoration Agreement. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reviewed the issue of abolishing the State Elmendorf Environmental Restoration Agreement (SERA) per your recommendation. Elmendorf Air Force Base and DEC entered into the SERA in 1992. The agreement was developed as a tool to bring the Base into compliance with Alaska's regulations addressing underground storage tanks, oil and other hazardous substance releases and solid waste.
Since that time, Elmendorf has made significant progress in investigating and cleaning up historic contamination problems. Many of the sites covered by the SERA have been successfully cleaned up and closed. Cleanup is underway at the remaining sites.
Additionally, Alaska has amended the regulations addressing fuel storage tanks, oil and other hazardous substance spills and solid waste. We concur with you that the SERA is no longer a necessary or beneficial. This letter serves as notice that DEC will end oversight on environmental work at Elmendorf by using the SERA. Instead, it is understood that the sites and programs formerly addressed by SERA: solid waste, underground storage tanks (UST), and oil and other hazardous substance discharges will be addressed in accordance with 18 AAC 60, 18 AAC 78 and 18 AAC 75. |
Jennifer Roberts |
| 6/13/2003 |
Update or Other Action |
Letter from ADEC to USAF (J. Mahaffey)RE: Building 43-890 Final Site Assessment Report FY95 O&M Tank Removal AFID 893 Delivery Order No. 0003 Contract No. DACA85-95-D-0011 Elmendorf Air Force Base November 1996, Reckey# 199621X017701
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (the Department) is in the process of reviewing our files on storage tank removals and assessment work done in the past to ensure that all sites where releases of oil or other hazardous substances have been documented are cleaned up in accordance with state regulations. Many former tank sites had been incorporated into the State Elmendorf Environmental Restoration Agreement (SERA), but it appears that others were not. Now that the SERA has been closed out, releases that have not been cleaned-up and closed out need to be addressed following the applicable current contaminated sites and underground storage tank regulations (18 AAC 75 and 18 AAC 78).
The Department recently completed a review of the document referenced above and has provided comments below. The site is located at 18762 Talley Avenue, previously named Hubble Road, and is formerly known as “Building 43-590”. If the Air Force has any other documents on assessment or cleanup of this site, please provide them for our information and records.
The text states that Level “B” is the appropriate cleanup criteria for this site. The regulations have changed since this report was produced. 18 AAC 75 Table A1 Method One Category “B” diesel range organics is still set at 200 mg/kg for cleanup in soil. However, for release investigations conducted at this site, in addition to meeting Table A1 criteria, the site must meet the most stringent standards for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes (BTEX) for the applicable exposure pathway in Table B1 in (c) of 18 AAC 75.341. The cleanup levels are as follows: benzene 0.02 mg/kg, ethylbenzene 5.5 mg/kg, toluene 5.4 mg/kg and total xylenes at 78 mg/kg.
2.2 Site History Page 2-The text states that the 2,000 gallon underground storage tank (UST) held heating oil. Unless the Air Force can adequately prove the tank only contained #2 Diesel, it must now analyze for gasoline range organics (GRO) in addition to diesel range organics (DRO) and BTEX constituents in any further investigation/corrective action confirmation sampling. This requirement for GRO analysis is found in the UST Procedure Manual Table 2 Determination of Sampling and Laboratory Analysis for Soil and Groundwater (eff. December 1, 1999
4.4 Sampling Procedure Page 8-The text states that a background sample was taken as part of the site assessment. The Department does not require nor request background samples be taken for petroleum releases unless the responsible party is trying to attribute inorganic contamination present at the site is due to naturally occurring background concentrations (e.g. lead for gasoline contaminated sites). Heating fuel does not fall into this category.
Site Characterization Work Plan-It is not apparent from the document that the over-excavation efforts by the contractor achieved cleanup levels. Lacking the documentation to show that the site has met Level “B” cleanup criteria, the Department requests the Air Force, within sixty (60) days of receipt of this letter, provide a site characterization work plan which meets the applicable requirements found in 18 AAC 75.335 Site Characterization.
Cleanup Report-Finally, the Department will require the Air Force submit a final report as required by 18 AAC 75.380 Final Reporting Requirements and Site Closure |
Louis Howard |
| 12/5/2003 |
Long Term Monitoring Established |
Letter from J. Halverson ADEC to USAF J. Mahaffey. In June 2003, you submitted thirty-eight (38) decision document packets to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) Contaminated Sites Program, Department of Defense oversight section. Each individual packet included a summary of the site history, site characterization and cleanup work conducted to date along with a request for No Further Action. All of the sites are petroleum contaminated sites associated with current or former fuel storage tanks.
Residual soil andlor groundwater contamination is present at all ofthe sites. Based on our
review, thirty-six (36) of the sites (see the list below) do not appear to pose an unacceptable
risk to human health or the environment and are suitable for a No Further Remedial Action Planned (NFRAP) determination. The ADEC's NFRAP determination indicates that no additional cleanup is necessary but that institutional controls and/or long term monitoring are necessary. We have determined that the groundwater impacts at these sites are being adequately addressed within the base-wide groundwater monitoring program and the Operable Unit 5 groundwater treatment system. Because petroleum contaminated soil (contaminant levels higher than the Method 2 cleanup levels in Tables BlIB2 found in 18 AAC 75.341) remains at these sites, the Base Master Plan needs to be updated to document the locations of residual contamination and the need to manage contaminated soil properly during any future construction or excavation work. Upon notification that the Base Master Plan has been updated, the ADEC will change the status of these sites in our contaminated sites database to NFRAP with institutional controls in place.
Because ST530 is located in the OU 5 Groundwater study area and the Air Force is monitoring the groundwater on a regional basis, this site will be included as a part of that monitoring program. |
John Halverson |
| 12/5/2003 |
Conditional Closure Approved |
John Halverson Federal Facilities-Acting Section Manager sent a no further remedial action planned (NFRAP) letter to John Mahaffey re: Compliance funded sites review and response. Residual soil and/or groundwater contamination is present at all of the sites. Based on our review, thirty-six (36) of the sites do not appear to pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment and are suitable for a No Further Remedial Action Planned (NFRAP) determination. DEC's NFRAP determination indicates that no additional cleanup is necessary, but that institutional controls and/or long-term monitoring are necessary. We have determined that the groundwater impacts at these sites are being adequately addressed within the base-wide groundwater monitoring program and the Operable Unit 5 groundwater treatment system. Because petroleum contaminated soil (e.g. contaminant levels higher than Method 2 cleanup levels in Tables B1/B2 found in 18 AAC 75.341) remains at these sites, the Base Master Plan needs to be updated to document the locations of residual contamination and the need to manage contaminated soil properly during any future construction or excavation work. Sites in addition to ST530 referred to in the letter include: 404, 405, 411, 413, 414, 415, 430/9, 431, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505/9, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 525, 528, 530, 533, 535, 536, 537, 700, 701, 902, 903, 904, and 906. Sites ST 420 and ST 524 are not located within the capture zone of the Operable Unit 5 treatment system (the outwash plain) and contain higher contaminant levels. Therefore, the ADEC is requesting additional site characterization at these two sites. |
John Halverson |
| 4/21/2004 |
Update or Other Action |
Site moved from LUST to CS DB this date. Facility ID = 1525, Event ID = 1828, File L77.126. |
Former Staff |
