Skip to content Skip to content

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

You are here: DEC / SPAR / CSP / SPAR Online Services / Contaminated Sites Search / Site Report

Site Report: Umiat Lake (FUDS)

Site Name: Umiat Lake (FUDS)
Address: ~1-2 Miles NE of Umiat, Nuiqsut, AK 99789
File Number: 335.38.001
Hazard ID: 3084
Status: Active
Staff: Kelly Walker, 9074512166 kelly.walker@alaska.gov
Latitude: 69.384722
Longitude: -152.091389
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

Site has impacts resulting from exploratory oil well drilling activities conducted in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Investigation of Umiat Test Well No. 3 in 1997 identified DRO and RRO in the sediments at the northeastern end of Umiat Lake. Initially, Umiat Lake was considered part of the same site with Umiat Test Well No. 3. However, subsequent investigation in 1998 found drums in the water along the northeastern portion, and petroleum contamination of sediment and surface water. Impacts are more widespread than can be accounted for from the proximity of Well No. 3. It is believed that the flat surface of Umiat Lake made an ideal winter staging area for well construction and testing activities for several of the Umiat test wells during the late 1940’s and 1950’s. It is possible that drums were abandoned on the lake ice, and allowed to sink during spring breakup. Several of the test wells are located relatively near the northeastern portion of Umiat Lake. Umiat Test Well No. 3 does not appear to be an active source of contamination to Umiat Lake. For this combination of reasons, Umiat Lake is considered a separate site from Umiat Test Well No. 3. Umiat Lake is approximately one mile long, extending from approximately 1 mile northeast of Umiat at the western end to approximately 2 miles northeast of Umiat on the eastern end. See Umiat Former Air Force Station, reckey 198931X902511, for actions prior to June 2004. Prior to this time, the entire Umiat facility was managed as one site. In June, 2004, the facility was broken out into separate sites for the Main Gravel Pad, Airstrip Complex, Landfill and Seasonal Slough, 11 former Navy Test Wells, and Umiat Lake.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
6/14/2004 Site Added to Database DRO and RRO. Tamar Stephens
9/10/2007 Update or Other Action Tamar Stephen (DEC) conducted a site visit by helicopter along with Corps of Engineers project manager Mary Jemin and project engineer Bob Haviland. Tamar Stephens
10/25/2007 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
3/12/2008 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed. Tamar Stephens
7/10/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
10/13/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
12/5/2008 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Contaminated Sites staff reviewed and sent comments on a draft work plan for a removal action at Umiat Lake, a Formerly Used DOD Site (FUDS). Partially-submerged drums and petroleum sheen have been observed on the shoreline of Umiat Lake. An unknown number of drums are present in the lake. Umiat Lake was likely used as a staging platform during winter drilling of several Umiat test wells in the late 1940’s and early 1050’s. Based on common disposal practices in the past, empty fuel drums were likely abandoned to sink into the lake when it thawed each summer. The upcoming project will take place in two phases. The first phase will be a geophysical study, planned for March 2009, to identify locations of drums in the lake. The second phase, planned for summer 2009, will involve removal of drums from the lake and removal of any visibly stained soil along the shoreline. Tamar Stephens
12/12/2008 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated Sites staff participated in a comment resolution meeting for the draft work plan for a removal action to remove drums from Umiat Lake, remove petroleum-contaminated soil from the shoreline, and collect soil and surface water samples to facilitate site management decisions in the future. The Corps of Engineers is conducting this project under the FUDS program. The project will consist of a geophysical investigation to identify drum locations during the winter, followed by a removal action in the summer. Written responses to comments addressed most of the comments. The comment resolution meeting focused on two main issues. The first was discussion of strategies for distinguishing petroleum-stained shoreline soil and for determining when an excavation was complete, given the challenges of working with wet, highly organic soil. The second issue had to do with site access issues, and will require input from the BLM to determine what requirements they will incorporate into a right of entry permit. Tamar Stephens
1/16/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff participated in a project planning meeting with representatives from the Corps of Engineers, their consultant, and the Bureau of Land Management for a removal action planned at Umiat Lake. The removal action will consist of geophysical investigation this winter to map locations of drums in Umiat Lake, followed by removal of drums during summer, 2009. Issues discussed and resolved during this meeting dealt with site access and staging of material for the site due to its location in tundra wetlands, and with impacts to the tundra from removal of contaminated soil associated with drums, and nature and extent of tundra restoration activities. Tamar Stephens
1/16/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites (CS) staff participated by teleconference on July 1 in a pre-mobilization planning meeting for a drum removal project at Umiat Lake. Drums have been observed on the shoreline of the lake and in the water. A geophysical study this past winter identified 280 anomalies in and around the lake that are consistent with drums. In a site visit with the Corps of Engineers in September 2007, CS staff noted sheen on the water adjacent to shoreline drums. The contractor for the drum removal project has also noted petroleum sheen during site reconnaissance. Plans for management of drum contents was refined during the teleconference. Drums will be overpacked before being removed from the lake, and contents will be managed in three categories: water with no sheen; water with sheen; and drums with product or water/product mixture. The contractor expects to mobilize to the site in mid-July. DEC reviewed and commented on the draft work plan in December 2008. Through an oversight, the revised work plan was not sent to DEC; this oversight will be corrected. Tamar Stephens
3/12/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
7/13/2009 Update or Other Action Reviewed and sent comment letter for draft final Umiat Lake Removal Action Work Plan for removal of drums submerged in the lake or along the shoreline of Umiat Lake. Tamar Stephens
7/13/2009 Cleanup Plan Approved Reviewed and sent approval letter for final Umiat Lake Removal Action Work Plan. This work plan describes a removal action to remove an estimated 200 drums that are submerged or partially submerged in Umiat Lake, to treat and dispose water removed from the drums, and characterize and dispose any product found in the drums. Drums will be over-packed prior to removal from the lake. This work is scheduled to commence in July, 2009. Tamar Stephens
9/17/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
12/13/2009 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
1/25/2010 Update or Other Action Reviewed a draft Umiat Air Force Station, Umiat Lake Removal Action Report. DEC received this report on December 22, 2009. This report describes a removal action conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of a geophysical investigation performed during April 2009 to identify the locations of metal within the lake. Phase two, conducted during July through August 2009, consisted of removal and disposal or recycling of 82 submerged drums and drum carcasses; removal of 63 drums and drum carcasses between 0 and 50 feet from the lake shoreline; removal of 125 drums and drum carcasses 50 to 200 feet from the shoreline; and sampling of lake and shoreline sediments and soil associated with surface staining, sheen, or other evidence of possible petroleum contamination. Approximately 300 gallons of waste liquid was disposed of as hazardous benzene-contaminated water and 450 gallons of liquid was recycled as usable fuel. No soil or sediment removal or treatment was performed; however samples were collected from locations that showed evidence of potential contamination. Tamar Stephens
1/25/2010 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens reviewed and sent comments on the draft Umiat Lake Removal Action Report. Tamar Stephens
3/18/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
5/14/2010 Update or Other Action Reviewed draft Proposed Plan and sent Corps of Engineers an electronic copy showing markups for recommended changes. Proposed plan presents “No Further Action” as preferred remedy. Tamar Stephens
5/17/2010 Proposed Plan John Halverson sent e-mail approving Proposed Plan. Tamar Stephens
6/3/2010 Public Notice Tamar Stephens attended public meeting held by Corps of Engineers in Nuiqsut to present Proposed Plan for Umiat Lake. Public comment period is from June 3 – July 12, 2010. Tamar Stephens
6/17/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
10/13/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
3/17/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held Contaminated sites staff Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board Meeting. Tamar Stephens
10/13/2011 Meeting or Teleconference Held Tamar Stephens attended Barrow Restoration Advisory Board meeting. Tamar Stephens
8/20/2013 Meeting or Teleconference Held Melody Debenham attended RAB meeting in Nuiqsut. Melody Debenham
9/1/2014 Update or Other Action COE issues Declaration of Project Closure Decision and No Department of Defense Action Indicated document. The decision to closeout this HTRW project is based upon the findings of previous investigations and remedial action completed at the site. John Carnahan
2/17/2015 Meeting or Teleconference Held Attended RAB meeting Corps of Engineers FUDS program in Nuiqsut. Discussed status of Umiat sites. Melody Debenham
3/1/2015 Update or Other Action COE submits revised NDAI document, stating no further action is warranted. John Carnahan
3/1/2015 Update or Other Action COE issues Declaration of Project Closure Decision and No Department of Defense Action Indicated document. The decision to closeout this HTRW project is based upon the findings of previous investigations and remedial action completed at the site. John Carnahan
8/19/2016 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Approved final work plan describing the removal of drums and contaminated soil from the drum mound near Umiat Lake. Melody Debenham
5/11/2017 Meeting or Teleconference Held Umiat LF meeting held at DNR offices. Agenda located in file and meeting minutes forthcoming. Discussed elements of successful LF project, including cleanup criteria. New location for LF proposed. John Carnahan
6/19/2017 Site Visit Site visit to inspect multiple locations with USCOE representatives. Hike to site locations and inspect current status and recovery. John Carnahan
4/17/2019 Update or Other Action Restoration advisory board (RAB) meeting held in Utqiagvik. Update provided on Umiat and others. John Carnahan
11/13/2019 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC staff participated in the Restoration Advisory Board meeting in Nuiqsut, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussed planned activities for Umiat FUDS sites. Melinda Brunner
7/21/2023 Meeting or Teleconference Held Meeting held with USACE, ADEC, BLM, and Paragon-Central Joint Venture Team to discuss the initial remedial design phase of the landfill relocation project for the former Umiat Air Force Station. Items discussed included contract requirements, remedial design framework, and the upcoming site visit and landfill inspection. Kelly Walker
8/15/2023 Site Visit DEC, BLM, USACE, and contracting staff conducted the annual landfill inspection at Umiat AFS August 15-16. Staff walked the footprint of the former landfill area to inspect condition of cap and to note uncovered debris and status of former monitoring wells. Additionally, the proposed borrow area was inspected and evaluated for possible backfill useage during restoration phase of the project. Staff also walked/hiked to the proposed monofill locations for the inert debris excavated from the former landfill. Kelly Walker

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments

Control Type

Type Details

Requirements

Description Details

There are no documents for this site report.

No associated sites were found.

Missing Location Data

Because the GIS location data for this site has not been entered, we cannot direct you to its position on the map. Click "Continue" to proceed to the Contaminated Sites Web Map or "Close" to return to the site report.
Continue     Close

Public Notices  •  Regulations  •  Statutes
Press Releases  •  Contact

 

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