| Action Date |
Action |
Description |
DEC Staff |
| 5/14/1997 |
Update or Other Action |
EPA Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) Site Discovery. CERCLA ID# 0002011385 |
Bruce Wanstall |
| 9/16/1997 |
Preliminary Assessment Approved |
EPA START Preliminary Assessment. |
Bruce Wanstall |
| 3/2/1999 |
Update or Other Action |
EPA START Site Characterization. Kotzebue Drum Dump (KDD) -CERCLIS ID AK0002011385, Latitude: 69 52' 25" Longitude:162 37' 10" West legal description Section 16, Township 17 North, Range 18 West.
Site Inspection Report TDD: 97-09-0011 Contract 68-W6-0008 February 1999 (received on March 9, 1999) Region 10 Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START). The KDD is located south of Ralph Wein Memorial Airport (referred to as the Kotzebue Airport), which is south of the City of Kotzebue and adjacent to the city's facilitative sewage lagoons. This site is located on a strip of land bordered by Kotzebue Sound on the west and a saltwater lagoon to the east (see also CS reckey# 1999320110401 Kotzebue Drum Dump).
The KDD is a stockpile of 150 rusted or otherwise comprimised 55-gallon drums scattered over approximately one acre of land. The site is not fenced or gated. Approximately 5% of the drums are labeled with either United States Air Force or United States Navy markings. The drums labeled United States Air Force are also labeled Mona Lisa Project. The Mona Lisa Project was an Air Force effort to transport supplies of all types to rural locations throughout Alaska. The ADOT and Public Facilities (State of Alaska) is the current property owner, prior to statehood, the land remained in the public domain. The Air Force has never owned the land, and records of any improvements to the site do not exist. The former Long Range Radar Station (LRRS) is located approximately two to three miles southeast of the site.
Aerial photos from August 25, 1969 indicates more than 500 drums were stacked in two similar sized piles approximately 150 ft. apart. 1977 aerial photos indicate that all but 10 drums from the southern drum pile had been moved, the northern drum pile still contained approximately 400 drums, fish camps were present in the tent city area west of the KDD. Aerial photos from 1987, vegetation obscures the view of the Drum Dump area, making an estimate of the number of drums difficult, but apparently many of the drums had been removed since 1977.
The community of Kotzebue contends the drums were deposited by the Air Force during operations and closure of the LRRS. The Air Force contends that while the drums originally may have been Air Force property, the drums were utilized by local residents and deposited on the site after non-military use.
A total of five surface soil samples were collected from the KDD to determine potential contaminants associated with the source. Two samples were collected from the southern stockpile (7,500 sq. ft.) and three samples were taken from the northern stockpile (75,625 sq. ft.). Surface samples were collected from 0 to 6 inches below ground surface (bgs). Gasoline range organics (GRO) was found in DD02SS at 420 mg/kg and diesel range organics (DRO) ranged from 13,000 mg/kg to 71,000 mg/kg and residual range organics ranged from 38,000 to 160,000 mg/kg. These petroleum contaminants were the only contaminants of concern that were detected above any applicable cleanup level. Based on the Preliminary Assessment, EPA does not anticipate further investigation under the Federal Superfund Program. |
Bruce Wanstall |
| 4/5/2001 |
Site Added to Database |
VOC, SVOC, GRO, DRO and RRO contamination. |
Bruce Wanstall |
| 4/5/2001 |
Site Ranked Using the AHRM |
Preliminary ranking. |
Bruce Wanstall |
| 2/27/2007 |
Update or Other Action |
Changed file name from "Kotzebue Drum Dump" to "Kotzebue Airport – Sewage Lagoon Drum Dump" |
Shannon Oelkers |
| 3/9/2007 |
Update or Other Action |
Updated database to reflect administrative file. |
Shannon Oelkers |
| 7/27/2007 |
Update or Other Action |
Site transferred from Oelkers to Farris. |
Shannon Oelkers |
| 6/6/2008 |
Exposure Tracking Model Ranking |
Initial ranking with ETM completed. |
Ann Farris |
| 10/16/2008 |
Update or Other Action |
Site included in Kotzebue Areawide RFP. NTP dated Sept. 2008. Shannon and Wilson field work occurred Oct. 6-10, 2008. |
Tamara Cardona-Marek |
| 11/19/2008 |
Update or Other Action |
Samples collected from pore water along the shore adjacent to the drum dump site. No contaminants were detected above cleanup levels. However, soil samples were not collected at this time and will be collected during the summer of 2009 to evaluate surface soil contamination. Visual evaluation indicates that surafec soil contamination as well as some drums remain on site. |
Tamara Cardona-Marek |
| 4/19/2013 |
Update or Other Action |
Comments provided to USKH (form Brice Incorporated) identifying the proposed materials mining site for the airport expansion project is the site of the Kotzebue Airport Sewage Lagoon Drum Dump, and that sampling and/or cleanup is required. |
Jim Fish |
| 7/22/2013 |
Update or Other Action |
Workplan received for removing drums and characterizing contents, and removing and sampling contaminated surface and subsurface soils. |
Jim Fish |
| 7/24/2013 |
Cleanup Plan Approved |
Approved remedial work plan, with comments on appropriate sampling (following Tables 2A & B of Field Sampling Guidance) and appropriate analyses (VOCs, PAHs, glycols). Some work (drum gathering and surface excavations) were performed before DEC approval of the remedial work plan. |
Jim Fish |
| 9/24/2013 |
Update or Other Action |
Changed staff assigned name from Jim Fish to Michelle Barnes temporarily in order to make site location updates. |
Evonne Reese |
| 9/24/2013 |
Update or Other Action |
Site symbol visually adjusted using ArcGIS and documents from the file. 66.874576, -162.619934. 9/24/13; MLB. |
Michelle Barnes |
| 3/4/2014 |
Cleanup Plan Approved |
Approved Remedial Assessment Work Plan for Kotzebue Airport Material Site Cleanup Project, dated February, 2014, as part of the Airport Expansion Project. Cross-Ref with Kotz Airport - ADOT Maintenance Station (410.26.009). |
Jim Fish |
| 3/4/2014 |
Update or Other Action |
Approved Dewatering Monitoring Plan for Kotzebue Airport Material Site Cleanup Project, dated February 27, 2014, as part of the Airport Expansion Project. Cross-Ref with Kotz Airport - ADOT Maintenance Station (410.26.009). |
Jim Fish |
| 3/24/2014 |
Update or Other Action |
Div of Water issued a 401 Certificate of Reasonable Assurance for the Kotzebue Sound Airport RSA Improvements (includes expansion of Isaac Lake materials Site - site of drum dump). Included stipulations for contractor to adhere to Remedial Assessment Work Plan and Dewatering Moniotring Plan apperoved by CS Program. Cert expires in 5 years. |
Jim Fish |
| 3/24/2014 |
Site Characterization Workplan Approved |
Approved a (revised) Dredged Soils Monitoring Plan for the Kotzebue Airport Barge Channel construction. |
Jim Fish |
| 4/18/2014 |
Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved |
Approved mining of materials in Drum Dump site that are ablove Arctic Zone soil cleanup levels for DRO/RRO. Confirmation sampling indincates VOCs are ND. Approval was germane to drum dump/materials site, and not contaminted soils previously excavated and stockpiled. |
Jim Fish |
| 7/8/2014 |
Update or Other Action |
Reviewed and approved Issac lake Dewatering monitoring Report (May 2014); TWUP expired 30 June 2014.
Addtional dewatering pending new TWUP from ADNR.
Stockpiles sill present, awaiting final disposal (transport to landfill or off-site disposal) |
Jim Fish |
| 8/26/2014 |
Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other |
Received & approved Former Drum Dump Remedial Action Report today. |
Jim Fish |
| 8/27/2014 |
Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved |
Based on results of remedial action report, DEC issued Non-objection letter (and soil transport approval form) for use of the former drum dump as materials site for airport runway/roads construction/expansion materials. Based on TCLP data submitted to DEC, DEC also approved segregating stockpiled soils into materials suitable as sub-grade materials and a new stockpile destined for disposal. DEC requested segrated soils be screend to omit DRO contaminated soils from sub-grade materials, and a separate soil transport approval form was issued. DEC also requested soils (meeting Artic Zone leanup levels, but above 40-inch zone migration-to-groundwater cleanup levels) and sub-grade materials be relocated inland and 50-feet from surface water. |
Jim Fish |
| 8/27/2014 |
Exposure Tracking Model Ranking |
A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 74226 drums. |
Jim Fish |
| 9/11/2014 |
Offsite Soil or Groundwater Disposal Approved |
Approval given to dispose 5 cu yds of contaminted soil at the airport runway extension fill area, where soils with be located 1.5 to 2.0-ft bgs, but 8-ft above groundwater, and 100-ft from surface water, spread approximately 1-f thick over a 25 x 25-ft area. Maximum DRO and RRO levels exceed direct contact levels, TCLP data indictaes loew potential for leaching into groundwater or surface water. Final coordinates will be supplied to DEC by consultant. |
Jim Fish |
| 2/10/2015 |
Cleanup Complete Determination Issued |
Cleanup Complete Determination issued after review of final cleanup report, site maps and file review. |
Jim Fish |
| 7/1/2015 |
Meeting or Teleconference Held |
Teleconference with Tri-lateral Group Committee (KIC, Kotz IRA Native Village, and City of Kotz) about potential cleanup efforts in Kotz, as potential wetlands mitigation options for Cape Blossom Road Construction. Drum Dump mentioned as potentially contaminated, but additional information given by DEC to clarify status of this site. |
Jim Fish |
