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Site Report: Lonely AFS Dewline - Module Train SS012

Site Name: Lonely AFS Dewline - Module Train SS012
Address: Point Lonely, Nuiqsut, AK 99789
File Number: 320.38.004
Hazard ID: 2936
Status: Cleanup Complete
Staff: No Longer Assigned, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov
Latitude: 70.909891
Longitude: -153.251012
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 Point Lonely SRRS is located on the Arctic Coastal Plain adjacent to the Beaufort Sea. The facility was constructed in 1953 as an auxiliary Distant Early Warning Line Station and currently occupies approximately 1,800 acres of low-lying, undisturbed tundra and man-made gravel pads. The Point Lonely station was active until 1989, and in 1993 was converted to a SRRS which operated until 2005. The nearest communities are Nuiqsut, located 75 miles southeast, and Barrow, located approximately 85 miles northwest. Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse is located approximately 150 miles to the southeast. The facility is located in an area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and has been used as a staging area for oil and gas exploration. This use is likely to continue and potentially increase after Air Force departure from the site. The Module Train site is located southwest of the main installation pad and consists of the gravel pad underneath and surrounding the module train. Power generation and fuel tanks were located inside the train at the eastern end of the building. The radome is located slightly east of the center of the building. Two electrical transformer stands are located on the north side of the building near its east end. Doors on the north and south sides of the building beneath the radome lead to the transmitter room. The transmitter room area contained multiple electrical transformers to support operation of the radar system. The gravel pad is approximately 3 to 4 feet thick in the area, but thins to only a few inches beneath the building, which is raised on wooden pilings. The module train was demolished in 2015 and segregated for off-site disposal. Soil within the footprint was excavated to 6¬–12 inches below ground surface. Because PCB levels remained in exceedance, the numerous discrete surface soil samples were used to determine “hot spots” contributing to the exceeding PCB levels. Twenty-three sub-area “hot spots” were identified and targeted for excavation by removing 4–6 inches of soil for off-site disposal. Further discrete post-excavation samples collected in 2015 documented PCB concentrations below the cleanup level, with the highest concentration remaining at 0.25 mg/kg.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
9/2/1995 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = RI - Remedial Investigation). Action date used is the date of the Air Force Relative Risk Evaluation Worksheet, which indicates the site is in the RI phase. Former Staff
3/3/1997 Site Added to Database Site added by Shannon and Wilson. S&W
2/6/2003 Site Number Identifier Changed Changed the Region from 36 to 31 and Sequence Number from 08 to 05. Former Staff
6/1/2005 Site Ranked Using the AHRM Initial Site Ranking. Emily Youcha
6/1/2005 Site Characterization Workplan Approved Staff approved a remedial investigation/feasibility study workplan for the site. Work will be conducted in July/August 2005. Samples will be collected for DRO/RRO, GRO, BTEX, PCBs, and PAHs. Emily Youcha
7/25/2005 Update or Other Action Staff attended a site visit to Pt Lonely AFS on July 18 with BLM representatives. Emily Youcha
7/29/2005 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff is working with the Air Force on creating a template for ecological and human health risk assessments covering six sites across the North Slope, including this site. The Air Force determined it needs to conduct base-line risk assessments at these sites prior to making cleanup decisions on them. Developing a template is an effort to make the process more efficient. Emily Youcha
12/8/2005 Meeting or Teleconference Held Staff attended the Restoration Advisory Board meeting in Barrow and provided a summary of the current activites at the site. Emily Youcha
3/21/2006 Update or Other Action Staff received a copy of the 2005 draft RI/FS. Staff participated in a meeting with the BLM and the Air Force on February 17 to discuss the status of Pt. Lonely and a potential transfer of the Air Force Buildings to the North Slope Borough. Emily Youcha
5/15/2006 Update or Other Action Staff reviewed the RI/FS for this site. There were two areas of contamination identified, the Module Train - Radome Area and the Module Train - Generator Area. At the Radome Area, PCBs exceeded 1 ppm in 4/17 samples, up to 34.6 ppm. At the generator area, DRO exceeded Method One cleanup levels in 5 of 5 samples collected, but did not exceed Method Two cleanup levels. Xylenes were also detected. The Air Force is recommending remedial action for the PCB contamination. Emily Youcha
5/26/2006 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites staff recently obtained term contractor review of a draft Air Force North Slope Risk Assessment Work Plan (RAWP). Comments were received from the term contractor, and a comment review teleconference was held with the term contractor risk assessor on 5/10/06. The RAWP seeks to develop risk based cleanup levels based on exposure pathways for categories of sites (e.g., garage sites) at Air Force radar stations in the north slope region. The work plan is generally well written, but some of the key items that need clarification are how data gaps will be handled at individual sites; determination of background levels for organics and inorganics; how it will be determined whether a large water body is potentially affected by a site; and how toxicity will be determined for trichloroethylene. Emily Youcha
7/11/2006 Meeting or Teleconference Held Staff performed a site visit to Pt. Lonely with the North Slope Risk Assessment team. Sites SS03 and SS02 are included as template sites, but nearly all sites at Pt Lonely were visited. The former location of the pumphouse was identified and has not yet eroded into the ocean. The coast continues to erode, particularly in the vicinity of the former Sewage Outfall site and little beach remains for vehicle or foot travel on the beach in that area. Emily Youcha
8/18/2006 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff met with the Air Force and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to discuss the upcoming cleanup at Point Lonely Air Force Station. This site is located in a right-of-way on BLM property and the Air Force has to meet several environmental requirements before relinquishing the property. The Air Force requested to re-open a permitted landfill at Point Lonely for one time use to deposit demolition debris and low-level petroleum-contaminated soil. BLM is hesitant to approve it because landfills built on BLM property are not consistent with their policy. Emily Youcha
7/11/2007 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Intitial Ranking Complete for Source Area: 73912 (Autogenerated Action)
10/25/2007 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
12/11/2007 Risk Assessment Report Approved ADEC received the Final Risk Evaluation Report – Alaska North Slope Radar Installation Sites on November 6, 2007. This report meets the requirements of the ADEC Contaminated Sites Program Risk Assessment Procedures Manual, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 75.340. An approval letter was sent to Dave Cook, Program Manager HQ PACAF/A7NR, on December 10, 2007 This project identified categories of sites that are common on remote Air Force installations in the North Slope region of Alaska and developed conceptual site models and human health and ecological risk based screening levels for four of these categories: garage sites, fuel storage sites, non-fuel storage sites, and transformer sites. The project developed templates for conducting human health and ecological risk evaluations for these categories and performed a risk evaluation as a test case for one example of each type of site. The final report contains guidance on applying the process to other North Slope region sites. It may be used on a site-specific basis as a tool to assist in assessing potential risks posed by North Slope Air Force installation sites. Tamar Stephens
12/11/2007 Risk Assessment Report Approved ADEC received the Final Risk Evaluation Report – Alaska North Slope Radar Installation Sites on November 6, 2007. This report meets the requirements of the ADEC Contaminated Sites Program Risk Assessment Procedures Manual, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 75.340. An approval letter was sent to Dave Cook, Program Manager HQ PACAF/A7NR, on December 10, 2007 This project identified categories of sites that are common on remote Air Force installations in the North Slope region of Alaska and developed conceptual site models and human health and ecological risk based screening levels for four of these categories: garage sites, fuel storage sites, non-fuel storage sites, and transformer sites. The project developed templates for conducting human health and ecological risk evaluations for these categories and performed a risk evaluation as a test case for one example of each type of site. The final report contains guidance on applying the process to other North Slope region sites. It may be used on a site-specific basis as a tool to assist in assessing potential risks posed by North Slope Air Force installation sites. Tamar Stephens
12/13/2007 Public Notice Public meeting was held in Barrow to present Proposed Plan. Public comment period: 12/13/2007 - 1/11/2008. DEC contaminated sites staff attended. Tamar Stephens
5/2/2008 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Contaminated sites staff reviewed and sent comments on a draft decision document. Tamar Stephens
7/10/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
7/30/2008 Cleanup Plan Approved Staff reviewed and approved the Draft Quality Assurance Program Plan for 2008 Clean Sweep Activities (Cleanup Plan) for USAF Point Lonely SRRS. This work plan describes the cleanup activities that will be conducted at the Point Lonely SRRS during 2008. Tamar Stephens
8/29/2008 Cleanup Level(s) Approved Cleanup levels were approved with signing of the Decision Document on 8/29/2008. Cleanup level for PCBs is the Method Two Arctic Zone cleanup levels from 18 AAC 75.341 Tables B1 of 1 mg/kg. Tamar Stephens
8/29/2008 CERCLA ROD Approved 8/29/08 Decision document signed. Decision document was signed by Colonel Brent Johnson, USAF, on 8/27/2008 and by DEC Environmental Program Manager John Halverson on 8/29/2008. The main components of the remedy are excavation of PCB contaminated soil above the 18 AAC 75.341 Method 2 arctic zone soil cleanup level of 1 mg/kg, with disposal in an offsite treatment, storage, or disposal facility. Tamar Stephens
10/13/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
3/12/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
6/12/2009 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Staff reviewed and sent comments on the Draft Quality Assurance Program Plan (cleanup work plan) for 2009 Clean Sweep Activities at the U.S. Air Force Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, Alaska. Tamar Stephens
7/17/2009 Cleanup Plan Approved Staff approved the Final Quality Assurance Program Plan (Cleanup Plan) for 2009 Clean Sweep Activities. This is a work plan for continuation of cleanup activities that were begun in 2008. Tamar Stephens
12/13/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
3/18/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
4/21/2010 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Staff reviewed and sent comments on the Draft Cleanup Report for 2008-2009 Clean Sweep Activities, Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, Alaska. This report describes cleanup actions that were performed during 2008 and 2009 at the Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station. Tamar Stephens
6/17/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
7/29/2010 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Staff reviewed and sent comment on the draft Point Lonely Work Plan for 2010 Site Activities. The work plan describes activities to be conducted at Point Lonely during summer 2010. Tamar Stephens
8/23/2010 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Staff approved the Final Work Plan for 2010 Site Activities (August 2010) for Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, Alaska. Field work is planned to take place during August 2010. Tamar Stephens
10/14/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
3/17/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
10/13/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
11/9/2011 CERCLA Remedial Action Completion Report Approval of Final Cleanup Report for 2008-2009 Clean Sweep Activities at Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, Alaska (June 2010) Module Train (SS012): The module train site consists of the gravel pad under and immediately surrounding the module train. PCB contaminated soil was excavated from two areas on both sides of the stairs leading to the generator room, and was transported off site for disposal. Confirmation sample results show that the site meets the cleanup level of 1 mg/kg for PCBs. The report recommends no further action for PCB contaminated soil, and cleanup of soil impacted by a small oil spill from the generator room after the building is demolished. DEC concurs with this recommendation. Tamar Stephens
3/2/2015 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Draft Construction Completion Report #2, 2014 Building Demolition, Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, AK, February 2015 Debra Caillouet
7/24/2015 CERCLA Remedial Design/Remedial Action Plan Approved Final UFP-QAPP for Remedial Activities at Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station, AK, Revision 1 July 2015 Debra Caillouet
7/31/2015 Update or Other Action Transfer to Fairbanks Susan Carberry
8/4/2015 Update or Other Action Project management changed from Caillouet to Carnahan. John Carnahan
9/15/2015 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Finalize agreement on modified MI sampling for footprint of module train, to include minimum 50 increments with dup/trip samples. Collection as per workplan requirements. John Carnahan
10/7/2015 Meeting or Teleconference Held Complete State Performance Reporting. John Carnahan
1/17/2017 Update or Other Action Stephen Krause replaces Lori Roy as the AF RPM for Barter, Bullen, Wainwright, Lisburne, Point Lonely, Oliktok, Lake Louise, Big Mtn and Duncan Canal. John Carnahan
11/27/2018 Cleanup Complete Determination Issued The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Contaminated Sites Program (DEC) has completed a review of the environmental records associated with the Lonely AFS Dewline – Module Train (SS012) site at the U.S. Air Force Point Lonely Short Range Radar Station (SRRS), located in Point Lonely, 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 unless new information becomes available that indicates residual contaminants may pose an unacceptable risk. This Cleanup Complete determination is based on the administrative record for the Lonely AFS Dewline – Module Train SS012, which is located in the DEC office in Fairbanks, Alaska. John Carnahan

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments
PCBs - Total < Method 2 Most Stringent Soil Highest measured PCB impact was 0.25 mg/kg

Control Type

Type Details
No ICs Required

Requirements

Description Details
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site.
Movement or use of contaminated material (including on site) in a manner that results in a violation of the water quality standards is prohibited (18 AAC 70)

No associated sites were found.

Missing Location Data

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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