RAB Meeting Notes template

A view of Downtown Adak, overlooking Sweeper Cove

April 11, 2007

The April 11, 2007 Adak RAB meeting was held at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) office in Anchorage and the NAVFAC NW office at SUBASE Bangor in Silverdale, Washington, as well as via telephone connections to Adak Island, Alaska, and Seattle and Olympia, Washington. The following people were in attendance:

Name	Affiliation	Location
Violet Pearl	Adak RAB Co-Chair	Anchorage, AK
Mark Wicklein	Navy Co-Chair	Silverdale, WA
Mike Durfee	RAB Community Member	Adak, AK
Jack Stewart	Adak Community Member	Adak, AK
Carrie Johnson	Aleut Enterprise LLC	Anchorage, AK
Melvin Smith	TAC	Anchorage, AK
Guy Warren	ADEC	Anchorage, AK
Chris Cora	EPA	Seattle, WA
Gary Simmons	Navy RPM	Silverdale, WA
JoAnn Grady	Grady & Associates	Anchorage, AK
Michael Meyer	URS	Vashon Island, WA
Bill Rohrer	URS	Olympia, WA

Welcome Opening Remarks, Approval of Minutes:

Violet Pearl and Mark Wicklein called the meeting to order at approximately 6:00 p.m. (Adak time). While minutes from the previous RAB meetings were being reviewed, Carrie Johnson asked about barge service for the upcoming field season. Samson and Monson Construction are both planning to send barges this summer. Ms. Johnson indicated that Tom Rebar from Seattle Action Services was also considering providing barge service this summer.

Since there was a quorum of Adak RAB members participating, the minutes from the previous two RAB meetings (Oct. 11, 2006 and April 19, 2006) were approved without comment or changes. After approval of the minutes, Mr. Wicklein responded to a question from Ms. Johnson about whether she could still be a RAB member without being a resident of Adak. Mr. Wicklein indicated that she could. Melvin Smith inquired as to whether he was still a RAB member. Violet indicated in the affirmative.

Mr. Wicklein then proceeded to the next item on the agenda, the summary of the Proposed Actions for the 2007 Adak Field Season.

Navy Planned Work Summary for 2007 Adak Field Season

Mark Wicklein summarized the planned field work for 2007 as follows:

MEC Range Clearance

Summary: Clearance of ca. 3 acres left over from the 2004 field season at Lake Jean and clearance of a few remaining grids at Rifle Grenade Range (RG-01)

Contractor: USA Environmental

On-Island Dates: July2007 to August 2007

Number of Field Personnel Required: 20
LUC Upgrades

Summary: A DVD player will be installed at the airport to update the ordnance educational program. This will be activated upon arrival of visitors to the island from incoming flights. New island trail maps will also be distributed to several venues on the island. Signs, fences, and gates will also be installed near the landfills and at Parcel 4 to identify ordnance hazards and land use restrictions associated with the landfills and ordnance sites.

Contractor: Tetratech/Sealaska-TetraTech (SES-Tech)

On-Island Dates: June 2007 to July 2007

Number of Field Personnel Required: 10
Free-Product Recovery

Summary: Petroleum product will be removed from numerous recovery wells by passive skimming at the NMCB, South of Runway 18-36 and SWMU 62 sites.

Contractor: Sealaska -TetraTech (SES-Tech)

On-Island Dates: Monthly at least through August 2007 (1 week per month); Monitoring status will be evaluated after the monitoring in August to determine if practicable endpoints have been achieved.

Number of Field Personnel Required: 2 people / sampling event
Annual Long-Term Monitoring

Summary: Annual monitoring of 28 sites and over 200 locations. Work occurs in accordance with a comprehensive monitoring plan.

Contractor: SES Tech

On-Island Dates: September 2007 to October 2007 (4 weeks)

Number of Field Personnel Required: 7
Annual Institutional Controls Site Inspection

Summary: Inspect 47 sites to ensure institutional controls remain effective and reliable.

Contractor: SES-Tech

On-Island Dates: September 2007 to October 2007

Number of Field Personnel Required: 1
Long-Term Marine Monitoring

Collect marine tissue samples (from sole and mussel) for assessing PCB trends in Kuluk Bay and Sweeper Cove.

Contractor: SES-Tech

On-Island Dates: June 2007

Number of Field Personnel Required: 2

Andrew Lake Seawall Sweep

Conduct a beach sweep for MEC on the Seawall at Andrew Lake to render them safe or otherwise dispose of them.

Navy: EOD Whidbey Island Detachment

On-Island Dates: September 2007

Number of Field Personnel Required: 2

Munitions Update
Mr. Wicklein provided an update of the munitions program at Adak. The Navy, EPA, and ADEC had been in dispute over the cleanup of sites LJ-01 and MM-10 F, G, and H on Mt. Moffett since the end of the 2004 field season. These sites comprise a portion of OU B-1, land that was formerly transferred to TAC. The Navy has agreed to complete investigation of these sites in 2008 field season, ending the dispute. Work Plans for LJ-01 are being prepared for the upcoming field season.

With regard to OU B-2 (or sites comprising Parcel 4) a Final Draft After-Action Report for RG-01 has been completed, and a Draft Final RI/FS for OU B-2 sites is being prepared. The latter will guide field efforts in 2008 to fill in data gaps from the previous field seasons. Draft plans for the RG-01\LJ-01 work are nearly complete.

Activities within the Munitions program that will be completed before the next RAB meeting are: OU B-2 Work Plans, and clearance at LJ-01 and RG-01. Ms. Johnson asked whether the OU B-2 sites were fenced off. Mr. Wicklein answered in the negative but Mr. Simmons indicated that there is fencing around OU B-2 on the west side of Andrew Lake, in addition to an access gate and signs, as well as 3-string barbed wire surrounding SA 93.
Petroleum Sites Update
Gary Simmons then provided an update on the Adak Petroleum program. The Decision Document for SWMU 17 has been completed.
- Monitored natural attenuation
- Institutional controls
Closeout reports have been completed for the Tango Pad Soil Cleanup, Well Installations at several sites (NMCB, South of Runway (SOR) 18-36, and SWMU 62), as well as soil pile disposal from Bering Hill.

Free product recovery trends are on track to meet endpoint criteria at SWMU 62 and SOR 18-36. This is equivalent to 5 gallons/month as an average for each site over a running 6-month time period. Peak recovery rates of 3.5 gallons/month for a single well were observed at SWMU 62. Mr. Simmons anticipates that the endpoint criteria will be met at the end of the six-month period ending September 2007.

The Site Characterization and Risk Assessment for Area 303 has been completed. The Draft FFS is to be completed in May 2007. The proposed remedy will likely include free product recovery, MNA, and institutional controls. Next up is the Proposed Plan and Decision Document for Area 303. The Remedial Design Work Plan and decommissioning of the pipeline at Area 303 will occur subsequent to the next RAB meeting.
2006 Institutional Controls Inspection Report
Mark Wicklein (in Jim Brown's absence) presented a brief description of the work related to the 2006 Institutional Controls Inspection. Annual IC inspections are required under the remedy provisions of the OU A Record Of Decision. Inspections are conducted at 45 sites to assess:
- Whether current land use is consistent with the remedies at these sites
- If groundwater is being used for domestic purposes
- If landfill covers have been compromised, and
- If the on-island ordnance education program is still effective.
The 2006 report was completed in February 2007, hard copies were distributed to the Adak Information Repositories, and the electronic version of the document was also posted to the Adakupdate website.

Recommendations from the inspection report include the following: 1) replacement of a warning sign at Palisades Landfill and the installation of an excavation prohibition sign at SWMU 67, White Alice PCB Spill site, 2) improve the excavation notification process to ensure construction activities at IC sites get the appropriate review before any on-site construction work begins, 3) expand the institutional control educational survey to include more visitors and non-residents, and 4) continue to improve the Ordnance Awareness program. The latter will include distribution of new tear-proof hiking trail maps of Adak, children-oriented education materials, a DVD to be installed at the airport to provide ordnance awareness information to incoming visitors to the island. The DVD content will also be able to carry advertisements from local Adak residents.

Mr. Smith asked whether cultural and heritage material could be posted to the LUC material. Mr. Wicklein indicated that such information, in addition to other community messages, information from USFW or Alaska Airlines could be added. Mr. Smith indicated he could provide information pertaining to Aleut cultural issues.

Ms. Johnson asked how many maps will be provided by the Navy. Mr. Wicklein indicated that it is planned to provide 2500 maps. There was a following comment that most of the hunters and visitors arrive on island after July. Ms. Johnson asked whether maps could be ordered if the first set runs out. Mr. Wicklein indicated that someone on island should track how quickly they are being distributed and then contact the Navy about a year in advance of when they will likely run out. The Navy agreed to print more maps if they do run out. According to Ms. Johnson, the island has between 600 to 800 visitors a year.
Other Issues / Questions
Violet Pearl asked if there were any other issues to discuss. Ms. Johnson asked whether contractors and visitors are going to be required to view the UXO Awareness upon arriving at the island. Mr. Wicklein indicated that they will have to take the Awareness Training. Ms. Johnson asked if the awareness materials, specifically the new trail maps, could be issued at other places besides the airport, for example at the Post Office. Mr. Wicklein indicated that the Navy will consider optional distribution points.

Carrie Johnson stated that before her recent departure from the island, physician assistant, Catherine Haine, had been distributing a good number of education materials at the Health Clinic to both local residents and transient workers. She asked who would be taking over the Nurse's Aid position at the clinic. Apparently, the Nurse's Practitioner will only be on island for another month or so.

There followed a more general discussion of possible additional places on island where awareness materials could be distributed: USFW, Post Office, Fish Plant, Clinic, Fuel Station, General Store, and Ms. Pearl's Store. Guy Warren asked if there were any plans for multi-language signs. Mr. Wicklein indicated that the Navy wasn't considering that option at this time. There was discussion about the need to provide for housing and food for 100+ contractors starting in June of 2008. Alaska now has a new food shipping rate; $.31/pound compared to the previous $1/pound rate.

Ms. Johnson asked whether there was a plan to evaluate how many people actually go through the awareness training each year. Mr. Wicklein indicated that his assistant's survey from this past year suggested about 200 people (a subsequent review of information obtained by the Navy in a 2006 survey of on-island sources yielded the following: 200 to 300 annual boat visitors, 190 to 215 annual plane visitors, 60 to 70 residents, and 20 to 25 children). Ms. Johnson stated she felt many more people visited the island and 200 was an inaccurate and rather low number to represent the number of folks actually coming to the island. There ensued a more general discussion about tracking these numbers by accounting for the number of trail maps handed out. Mr. Warren asked whether the City issued back country permits. Ms. Johnson indicated that only about a third of such visitors obtain the necessary permits. Groups range in size from 7-25 people. There are now 7-10 calls from hunters each day inquiring about future trips. The fish processing plant employs 200 workers seasonally, and Boeing employs 4-5 people to support the new radar system. She reported there are other workers from Alutiq Security and also from Monson Construction. Apparently, there is little housing left to rent from the 334 units at Sandy Cove.

Chris Cora asked whether USFW issued permits that could be used to track the number of visitors. Ms. Johnson indicated again that many visitors do not obtain the necessary permits, and last summer an enforcement officer issued a good number of fines... Mr. Warren suggested having a log-out sheet to include the number of people in each party requesting a back-country permit. Ms. Johnson stated that there was a growing concern about visitors (and residents?) trespassing onto abandoned buildings.

There was a question about when the awareness training DVD would be completed and whether the RAB could view an advanced copy. Mr. Wicklein indicated that the plan was to install the DVD player in August 2007, and to send each community member a copy of the DVD. The Navy will seek community input to the DVD. Mr. Wicklein suggested submitting materials to Mr. Jim Brown. Mr. Wicklein will consider sending out tracking pads to function as log-out sheets, as a means of tracking the number permits and visitors to the island.
Review Action Items
Mr. Wicklein indicated that he would talk to Mr. Brent Jones of Tetratech about where to put the new awareness materials when they are distributed this summer. This was completed. Aleutian Housing authorities and Al Giddings has materials and maps.
Preliminary Agenda for Next Meeting
M. Wicklein proposed a draft agenda for the fall 2007 RAB meeting, including:
- 2008 summer field season update
- Progress report on OU B munitions issues
- Update on petroleum sites
Mr. Wicklein asked to have additional agenda items emailed to him in advance of the next RAB meeting.
Set Date for Next RAB
The proposed date for the next formal RAB meeting is Wednesday, October 10, 2007. Once again, the meeting is planned to commence at 6:00 PM, Adak time. The preliminary agenda will be sent out via fax, e-mail and posted on Adakupdate.com. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Smith indicated that they had not been receiving agenda notices via email. Mr. Bill Rohrer said he would update the contact list to include: cjohnson@adakisland.com and msmith@aleutcorp.com.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM, Adak time.