| Action Date |
Action |
Description |
DEC Staff |
| 5/1/2017 |
Brownfields Award |
Main portion of the Polaris hotel approved for a Targeted Brownfield Assessment to be conducted by the EPA. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 4/28/2020 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup (DBAC) kick off meeting held on this date. Meeting topics included services desired and potential timeline. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 5/22/2020 |
Site Added to Database |
A new site has been added to the database |
Mitzi Read |
| 5/27/2020 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Targeted Brownfield Assessment report reviewed on this date. The report consists of a Hazardous Building Materials Survey of the main portion of the hotel. 542 samples were taken for suspect Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM), and 365 samples were taken for evaluation of lead based paint. Results of the report found both friable and non-friable ACM, lead based paint, and fluorescent light magnetic ballasts that are assumed to contain PCBs. Mercury-containing fluorescent light tubes were not located in the main portion of the hotel. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 10/19/2020 |
Brownfields Award |
SFY 21 DEC Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup awarded to City of Fairbanks for the purposes of conducting a health and safety analysis, possible site characterization and cleanup planning. EPA State and Tribal Response Program (STRP) funds $71,705.00 awarded. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 11/9/2020 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Meeting with Polaris Work Group conducted on this date. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 5/5/2021 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Teleconference was held between ADEC, City of Fairbanks, Explore Fairbanks, and NORTECH. Items discussed were the Health and Safety report and the Data Gap analysis report. As some items could be considered both health and safety or a data gap, after review and collaboration, the goal is to complete a health and safety action that could accomplish City of Fairbank's main concerns, and address other data gaps with remaining Brownfields funding. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 5/12/2021 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC reviewed the Polaris Buiding Data Gap Analysis Report received on March 8, 2021. The report identified potential issues that could inhibit the redevelopment of Block 12. These issues include:
Exterior paint needs further evaluation of lead and PCBs
Transformer oil present requires evaluation of PCB content
Potential threats to groundwater located in the basement need further evaluation
Groundwater within the building footprint has not been evaluated
Potential impacts on Lots 5, 6 and 8 are unknown
Historical releases on or near Lot 9 are unknown
Potential upgradient source areas have not been evaluated
The report recommended the following:
Analyze the exterior paint for lead and PCBs
Ground surface around the building should be evaluated for flaking paint and extend evaluation as necessary
Conduct an inspection of each type of drain to evaluate connection to wastewater system
Pack and dispose of all waste chemicals and cylinders
Inspect the floor beneath the waste chemicals and cylinders, and conduct potentially conduct a subsurface investigation
Test and remove the remaining transformer oil
Test the water found in the sub-slab pits in the basement
Test the groundwater beneath the Polaris Building, with potential for soil gas sampling
Evaluate potential releases on Lot 5, 6, 8 and 9
Test the groundwater around the perimeter of Block 12
ADEC had no comments on the report.
|
Lisa Griswold |
| 5/12/2021 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC reviewed the finalized Health and Safety Evaluation and Recommendations report received on March 19, 2021.This Report documented the current health and safety issues that exist at the Polaris Hotel with recommendations on how to proceed. Recommendations include:
Developing a detailed Site Safety and Health Plan (SSHP)
Secure the building to address the current physical hazards, biological hazards, and hazardous materials
Conduct a pre-abatement release prevention action
Address other materials that would be considered hazardous during demolition
Abate the Hazardous Building Materials and interior biological hazards
Demolish the building
ADEC had no further comments on this report.
|
Lisa Griswold |
| 6/18/2021 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Meeting held between ADEC, Nortech and City of Fairbanks. Topics included moving forward on the project and funding. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 8/31/2021 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Meeting with the Polaris Working Group held on this date. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 10/12/2021 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC received draft of a Health and Safety work plan for the Polaris Hotel and has no comments. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 10/13/2021 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Update meeting with Nortech held. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 11/4/2021 |
Update or Other Action |
Nortech submitted results from PCB paint testing. PCB containing paint is present on site. See site file for more information. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 12/15/2021 |
Update or Other Action |
Staff assigned changed to Marc Thomas. |
Lisa Griswold |
| 2/10/2022 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC received report entitled, "PCBs in Paint - Results Summary and Additional Recommendations
Polaris Building & Annex." This report summarized the results of four sampling events addressing PCB sampling of exterior and interior painted surfaces and outlined considerations/recommendations for addressing (including options for disposal) identified PCBs. |
Marc Thomas |
| 5/18/2022 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
DEC and the City of Fairbanks discussed project findings and next steps for the project. |
Marc Thomas |
| 6/14/2022 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC received the report entitled, "April 2022 Interior Paints and Concrete Sampling - PCB Results Summary
Polaris Building & Annex." This report summarized additional PCB sampling that occurred in April 2022. |
Marc Thomas |
| 7/27/2022 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
DEC received report entitled, "Polaris Building: Pre-Demolition Assessment." This report summarizes previous investigations of the site, documents steps taken to address immediate concerns at the property that were identified as current risks, and provide recommendations for the City of Fairbanks to consider as next steps are identified related to site remediation/building demolition and disposal options. |
Marc Thomas |
| 8/24/2022 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
ADEC received the report entitled, "Universal Waste Collection and Disposal Polaris Building & Annex," which summarized the universal waste collected and disposed in May 2022. |
Marc Thomas |
| 11/3/2022 |
Update or Other Action |
Received for review documents associated with City of Fairbanks RFP for building demolition. |
Marc Thomas |
| 5/31/2023 |
Update or Other Action |
Demolition of annex building commenced. |
Marc Thomas |
| 6/29/2023 |
Update or Other Action |
DEC received a summary of DBAC-supported work provided by the contractor to assist the City of Fairbanks utilize federal appropriations to demolish the Polaris Hotel and Annex. |
Marc Thomas |
