RAB Meeting Notes

A view of Downtown Adak, overlooking Sweeper Cove

April 24, 2008 - Draft

The meeting was held at the EPA office in Seattle and NAVFAC Northwest office in Silverdale, Washington, as well as telephone connections to Adak, Alaska, Poulsbo, WA, Bainbridge Island, WA and Olympia, WA. The following people attended:

Name	Affiliation	Location
Violet Pearl	Community Co-Chair	Adak, AK
Mark Wicklein	Navy Co-Chair	Silverdale, WA
Guy Warren	ADEC	Anchorage, AK
Lisa Spitler	Non-RAB Adak Community Member	Adak, AK
Jarod Patterson	Non-RAB Adak Community Member	Adak, AK
Gary Simmons	Navy RPM	Silverdale, WA
Layna Goodman	Navy RPM	Silverdale, WA
Dina Ginn	Navy RPM	Poulsbo, WA
JoAnn Grady	Grady & Associates	Seattle, WA
Tom Hall	EPA Consultant	Seattle, WA
Bill Rohrer	URS	Olympia, WA
Jennifer Allen	URS	Bainbridge Island, WA

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Violet Pearl and Mark Wicklein called the meeting to order at approximately 6:09 p.m. (Adak time). With the absence of a quorum, there were not enough community RAB members present to approve the October 10, 2007 RAB meeting minutes. However, there were no comments from the participants that attended. The approval of these minutes will be delayed until the next formal RAB meeting.

Mark Wicklein proceeded to the next item on the agenda, the 2008 field season update.

2008 Field Season Update

The 2008 field season update was presented by Mark Wicklein. The presentation generally followed the material presented in the printed 2008 Field Season Update, which had been provided to RAB members before the meeting (in the mailed RAB information packets and the posting on the Adakupdate.com website).

Landfill and Land Use Control Repairs/Upgrades

SES-Tech
5 - 10 people
One month between August and September

This project will involve repairing sections of the Metals and Palisades Landfills, repairing fencing at Parcel 4, and repairing monitoring wells as recommended in the CMP.
Pipeline Investigation at Area 303

This project has been postponed until next summer.
Free-Product Recovery

SES-Tech
2 people
One week a month continuous through August

The technically practicable endpoint for product recovery systems has been met for the monitoring wells at all three sites - NMCB, South of Runway 18-36 and SWMU 62. Recovery trenches endpoints at the last two sites have not met the endpoint. Therefore, the Navy will continue free-product recovery on monitoring wells that are producing measurable quantities until the recovery trenches achieve the practical endpoint. According to Guy Warren, the free-product recovery has helped reduce the thickness of free product in some wells.
OUB-1 Remedial Action

EOD Technology (EODT)
Ca. 65 people
Mid- to late-May through October

This project is a munitions clearance of 366 acres at Mount Moffett Sites MM- 10F, MM-10G and MM-10H that remain from the 2004 field season and may extend over to the 2009 field season.
OUB-2 Supplemental Remedial Investigation\Feasibility Study

USA Environmental
Ca. 40 people on this and the LJ-01 and RG-01 projects combined
July through September

This project will fill gaps in data collected during previous field seasons at the 17 OUB-2 sites with further action. Results of this work will lead to a risk assessment, feasibility study, proposed plan and ROD (2009-2010).
Lake Jean (LJ-01) RA and Rifle Grenade Range (RG-01) NTCRA

USA Environmental
40 people for the combined field efforts in 2008
July through August

This project will complete work remaining at Lake Jean from the 2000, 2001 and 2004 and 2006 field seasons.
Munitions Quality Assurance

Battelle
5 to 10 people
May 4, 2008 through the end of October

Battelle will be the Navy's independent quality assurance contractor for the 2008 field season. In the past, EOD Tech Div has performed this duty only for a two- week period during active munitions clearance projects. This year, Battelle will be on-island for the entire field season and will be involved in all three munitions projects: OUB-1, OUB-2 RIFS, and Lake Jean/Rifle Grenade Range. The NTR will also be on island this summer.
Annual Monitoring and IC Inspections

SES Tech
7 or 8 people
Three weeks starting early September

This is the annual groundwater and landfill monitoring project. The annual institutional control inspection will be completed during this same time.
Andrew Lake Seawall Sweep

EOD Whidbey Island Detachment
2 people
One week in September

This is the annual clearance of surface munitions from the seawall

Adak Munitions Update
The Adak Munitions Update was presented by Mark Wicklein.

Non-Field Work Performed Since Last RAB Meeting
- OUB-1:
  
  Lake Jean
  Contract awarded to USA Environmental
  Project plan development
  
  Mount Moffett sites (MM-10F, MM-10G and MM-10H)
  awarded to EOD Technology
  Project plan development
- OUB-2:
  
  Rifle Grenade range
  Contract awarded to USA Environmental
  Project plan development
  
  Supplemental remedial investigation/feasibility study
  Contract awarded to USA Environmental
  Project plan development
Mark Wicklein acknowledged the extra time that EPA and ADEC had expended in reviewing the work plans and QAPPs and meeting with the Adak OU B project teams to expedite the upcoming field efforts

Non-Field Work Planned Between Now and Next RAB Meeting
- OUB-1:
  
  Lake Jean
  Complete project plans
  Prepare after action report (after the next RAB)
  
  Mount Moffett sites (MM-10F, MM-10G and MM-10H)
  Complete project plans
  Prepare after action report (after the next RAB)
- OUB-2:
  
  Rifle Grenade range
  Complete project plans
  Prepare after action report (after the RAB)
  
  Supplemental remedial investigation/feasibility study (after the RAB)
  Complete project plans
  Prepare after action report and begin risk assessment (after the RAB)
Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol
Mark Wicklein presented a summary of the Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol.

DoD's munitions response program was established in 2001.

There are currently:
- 1333 munitions response sites (MRS) on active Department of Defense (DOD) installations
- 318 MRS on BRAC installations (of which Adak is one)
- 1658 MRS on formerly-used defense sites (FUDS)
The DOD does not have the capability to address all MRSs at once and must prioritize for response actions based on risk to human health and the environment. Congress directed the DOD to identify and then prioritize Munitions response sites (MRSs) The Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol (MRSPP) was published as a rule on October 5, 2005 (32 CFR Part 179).

Priority is assigned based on the overall conditions at each MRS, taking into consideration various factors relating to safety and environmental hazard potential. The DOD generally considers those MRSs posing the greatest hazard as being the highest priority for action.

Most importantly for Adak's program is that funding is being provided regardless of MRSPP scoring. The Adak scoring tables are related to the Navy's investigation and cleanup of areas, which may have received munitions, and explosives of concern and hazardous materials from past operations.

The scoring tables were reviewed by a Navy Quality Assurance panel and reflect the Navy's initial scoring of the munitions sites. Public notification of the MRSPP process and scoring sheets is required This is to ensure that EPA, other federal agencies, state regulatory agencies, tribal governments, local restoration advisory boards (RABs) and local stakeholders are offered opportunities to participate in the application of the policy.

One of the ways to provide this public notification is through the RAB process, and that is why we are discussing this topic during this RAB.

The Navy will:
- Place a copy of scoring tables for Adak, the MRSPP fact sheet and the MRSPP final rule in the information repositories at the Bob Reeves High School on Adak and the University of Alaska Anchorage, as well as the web-site adakupdate.com
- Solicit comments from the public during the 30-day comment period, which will begin after the information has been uploaded to the repositories and web-site. The Navy will send RAB members an e-mail announcing that these materials are available at the above locations for review and comment.
- Incorporate any comments received into the Administrative Record
- An annual review is required but this is not applicable to Adak since funding is already being provided.
As soon as the scoring tables, MRSPP fact sheet, and MRSPP final rule is posted to the two Adak information repositories and the website, the 30-day comment period will be started.
Petroleum Sites Update
Gary Simmons presented the Petroleum Sites update.
Monitoring/Site Closeout Update
Layna Goodman, who replaced Jim Brown after his retirement in February of 2008, presented a summary of monitoring and site closeout activities.
- Institutional Controls
  
  The institutional controls site inspection was conducted in September 2007. The Institutional Controls Site Inspection Report was finalized in March 2008.
  
  Conclusions and recommendations to the program are:
  - Primary site inspections continue at all sites on an annual basis as outlined in the Comprehensive Monitoring Plan.
  - The annual Institutional Control inspections included a survey of 12 residents and 4 visitors. The results indicate Ordnance Awareness Program is working fairly well, but some improvements were suggested that would help new residents and visitors to Adak. These suggestions will be evaluated over the next 6-months. If implemented, will be next summer (FY09 funding).
  - Repairs to drainage swales 4 and 9 at Metals Landfill and sections of the East and West drainage swales at palisades Landfill are recommended. The Navy is preparing a work plan to complete these repairs scheduled for the summer of 2008.
- Marine Monitoring
  
  Marine Monitoring Reports have been finalized and mailed to residents and agency personnel and posted to the adakupdate.com website. The bi-annual monitoring took place in June 2007. The next round of sampling will be conducted in 2009.
  - Based upon the results of the tissue sampling, suggested consumption limits for Rock Sole and Blue Mussel in Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay have been identified.
  - Suggested Fillet/mussel meal limits (1 meal is 8-ounces for adults, less for children)
    - Sweeper Cove: Rock sole 8-ounces every 2-weeks; Blue mussel 8-ounces every 2-weeks
    - Kuluk Bay: Rock sole 16-ounces per week; blue mussel 12-ounces per week
  - In 2009, duplicate samples will be collected from the same individual.
  - There is a slightly increasing trend observed in Sweeper Cove, and we will evaluate ways to assess the trend during our next round of sampling.
- Landfill Monitoring
  
  Field measurements for the Landfill Monitoring were conducted by SES Tech in September 2007. A draft "Annual Landfill Monitoring Report" was prepared in December 2007. Both the EPA and ADEC have provided comments to the Navy. The Navy is currently preparing responses to those comments. The report will be finalized in the upcoming weeks.
- Groundwater Monitoring
  
  Field measurements for the Groundwater Monitoring were conducted by SES Tech in September 2007. A draft "Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report" was prepared in January 2008. Both the EPA and ADEC have provided comments to the Navy. The Navy is currently preparing responses to those comments. The report will be finalized in the upcoming weeks.
Other Issues / Questions
No other issues or questions were raised.
Review Action Items
URS will post the Munitions Site Prioritization Protocol on the Adakupdate.com website and at the two information repositories referenced above.
Preliminary Agenda for Next Meeting
Mark Wicklein suggested that a proposed agenda be e-mailed or mailed out about a month before the next RAB meeting. The proposed agenda would be jointly developed by Violet Pearl and Mark Wicklein. Interested RAB members could then e-mail or call their comments into Mark Wicklein and/or Violet Pearl, and refinements to the agenda could be made accordingly.
Set Date for Next Pre-RAB and Adjourn
Mark Wicklein and others discussed that the next scheduled RAB meeting convene on Adak on Tuesday, September 9, 2008.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:46 PM, Adak time.