Keku Cannery
- View detailed information from the database on this site.
- Database Name: Keku Cannery
- Status: Informational
- Location: Kake
- Latitude: 56.964758
- Longitude: -133.926173
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Key DBAC Services:
- Site Assessment
- Hazardous Building Materials Abatement
- DBACs Awarded: 2014, 2018
- DEC File Number: 1514.38.011
DEC Contaminated Sites contact: Hans Rinke, 907-262-3419
Site Narrative
- Requested by the Organized Village of Kake
Photo of the Keku Cannery in Kake, Alaska.
The Keku cannery operated as a fish processing and packaging plant from the early 1900's until 1977 when the plant was closed. The buildings and docks fell into disrepair and two large warehouses collapsing into the bay. Parts of machinery, equipment and vehicles were left inside the main cannery building. The cannery was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1997 due to its cultural significance as the cannery was built in 1912 on the site of a traditional Tlingit fishing camp.
Once the main building of the Keku Cannery is renovated, the Organized Village of Kake (OVK) plans to use the facility as a cultural center, historical museum, restaurant, a Tribal Transportation Office, and a marketplace for native goods. In significant preservation and rehabilitation efforts OVK has obtained over $2 million in funding in order to stabilize the main cannery building and determine the extent of hazardous substances on the property.
In SFY 2014, the Organized Village of Kake received DBAC services to conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. An asbestos abatement was completed in 2015, but additional hazardous materials remained. In FFY 2015, the Organized Village of Kake received a Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) from the EPA which located asbestos containing materials, metal halide and fluorescent light bulbs with possible PCB containing light ballasts, and mercury containing thermostats and switches.
In FY18, DEC drafted an Analyses of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) and held a public comment period regarding the HBM in the buildings. The selected cleanup alternative was Hazardous Building Materials Abatement (HBM) and Off-site Disposal. DEC abated the asbestos and removed the other HBM from the buildings at the cannery and shipped the materials for disposal to Seattle, Washington. Although additional cleanup is needed to address the soil and sediment contaminated areas, the buildings are available for renovation and reuse.