1. The meeting was held at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) office in Anchorage and NAVFAC NW office in Poulsbo, Washington, as well as via telephone connections to Adak, Alaska, and Olympia and Seattle, Washington. The following people were in attendance:

Name	Affiliation	Location
Violet Pearl	Community Co-Chair	Adak, AK
Mark Wicklein	Navy Co-Chair	Poulsbo, WA
Michael Mitchell	RAB Community Member	Anchorage, AK
Steve Hines	RAB Community Member	Adak, AK
Mike Durfee	RAB Community Member	Adak, AK
Charles Lyon	RAB Community Member	Adak, AK
Agafon Krukoff	RAB Community Member	Adak, AK
Ingrid Carlson	Aleutian Island Tribe Rep.	Adak, AK
Kathy Dunn	Nurse Practitioner	Adak, AK
Jason Weigle	ADEC	Anchorage, AK
Jim Brown	Navy RPM	Poulsbo, WA
Mark Murphy	Navy MEC	Anchorage, AK
JoAnn Grady	Grady & Associates	Anchorage, AK
George Spencer	USA Environmental	Anchorage, AK
Cheryl Riordan	USA Environmental	Anchorage, AK
Sharon Quiring	URS	Seattle, WA
Wendy Oresik	URS	Seattle, WA
Debbie Rodenheizer	URS	Seattle, WA
Bill Rohrer	URS	Olympia, WA
Mary Lou Sullivan	URS	Poulsbo, WA



2. Welcome and Opening Remarks:

Mark Wicklein called the meeting to order at approximately 6:10 p.m. (Adak time). Since there was a quorum of Adak RAB members participating, the minutes from the previous two RAB meetings (Sept. 20, 2004 and April 12, 2005) were approved without comment or changes.

Mark Wicklein proceeded to the next item on the agenda, the summary of 2005 field season activities and the Proposed Actions for 2006.

3. 2005 Field Activity Update

Mark Wicklein, with assistance from Jim Brown and Mark Murphy, presented various sections of the 2005 field season update. The presentation generally followed the material presented in the printed Navy Work Summary for 2005 Adak Field Season and the Navy Planned Work Summary for 2006 Adak Field season, which had been provided to RAB members before the meeting (in the mailed RAB information packets).

• Landfill Repairs at White Alice and Roberts Landfills

  Jim Brown stated that the Navy contractor completed restoration activities at Roberts and White Alice landfills in late July and early August. The work performed included ground preparation, seeding, finish grading, and placement of erosion control matting in specified areas. Prior to implementation, a work plan was prepared and reviewed by ADEC. The restoration activities were conducted to mitigate areas at the two landfills that had not been seeded in the past, or areas that had been seeded but the seed stock failed to take root. The restoration activities are in compliance with post-closure care requirements under the individual landfill permits. Both landfills are regulated by the State of Alaska.

  A Navy representative was on island in September and documented that all areas re-seeded had a good starter growth of vegetation. The Navy will continue monitoring the re-vegetated areas over the next few years and will make additional repairs as necessary.

• Marine and Long-Term Monitoring

  Jim Brown stated that the Navy contractor completed fish and shellfish monitoring in June. The preliminary results are in and the 2005 data will be compared with data collected from previous years. A draft report was sent to EPA and ADEC last week. The document should be finalized by late November 2005, and posted on Adakupdate.com subsequently.

  Steve Hines posed a question regarding whether or not the Adak data has been compared to the data from Amchitka. Mr. Hines thought that the preliminary Amchitka report was prepared by the USGS. Jim Brown stated that the Adak data would not be compared to Amchitka data. Rather, it will be compared to the previous rounds of sampling conducted near Adak since 1999. The sample results are for blue mussel and rock sole, collected from Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay, with a sample from Bay of Islands used for reference.

• Annual Groundwater and Landfill Monitoring

  Jim Brown stated that the Navy contractor completed the annual groundwater and landfill monitoring and inspections. The field effort took approximately three weeks and ended in late September.

  Following laboratory analysis and data validation, summary reports for both groundwater and landfills will be prepared and submitted for regulatory review to both EPA and ADEC. The final reports should be available for public review in April or May 2006.

• Annual Institutional Control Site Inspections

  Mr. Brown said that the Navy contractor completed the annual institutional control site inspections the last week of September. A summary report to EPA and ADEC is due out in late November. All deficiencies noted from the previous inspection have been corrected. The final report should be available for public review in January or February 2006.

  Mr. Brown stated that final reports for each of these field activities would be placed in the information repositories and electronic copies available for viewing on the Adakupdate.com web site.

• MEC Investigation and Cleanup

  Mark Murphy summarized the MEC-related activities that took place on Adak recently. In early October, EOD Mobile Unit (MU) 11 conducted the Andrew Lake Seawall Sweep and disposed of some MEC items on the island. In the process of conducting their site visit, EOD MU 11 found a number of illumination rounds. They had anticipated finding about 22 cartridges; instead, 165 cartridges were discovered near SWMU 21A, White Alice Upper Quarry. EOD MU 11 did not bring enough explosives with them to Adak to dispose of all the smoke-generating cartridges found, as well as the 20 mm round left from last field season. Therefore, not all MEC discovered was destroyed on island. Those items that were not destroyed remain in their original location.

  USA Environmental will visit Adak Oct. 20 -23, to support work plan development concerning the clearance of the RG-01 range in the access-restricted area, Parcel 4. The fieldwork may take place in 2006.

• Free-Product Recovery

  Mark Wicklein stated that Tetra Tech Environmental Company (TTEC) measured and removed free-phase petroleum product from wells at the Tanker Shed, NMCB and South of Runway 18-36 sites. In addition, oil-absorbent booms were maintained at four locations on-island. This 12-month field effort was completed in July 2005.

  A closure report for these three sites, plus Yakutat Hangar and Norpac Hill (pertaining to previous work), will be completed in December 2005. This work completed interim remedial actions for these five sites, as required by the OU-A Record of Decision (ROD).

• Sampling at SWMU 17

Mr. Wicklein stated that URS performed sediment sampling near SWMU 17 (Power Plant 3) in June. The latest results for this site were from 1998 and updated information was needed to support the Site Characterization / Risk Assessment (SC / RA) report.

The SC / RA report will be completed by December 2005. The results of this report will lead to a proposed plan and decision document for this site.

• Site Visit for Remedial Action at Three Sites

  Mr. Wicklein stated that TTEC was on-island in September 2005 to support design and work plan development for remedial action at NMCB, South of Runway 18-36 and SWMU 62. The work is planned for the 2006 field season. Planned work for 2006 will also include the removal of the soil pile from the Bering Hill warehouse.

• Site Visit for Area 303 RI/FS

Mr. Wicklein said that URS was on-island in September 2005 to support work plan development for a planned subsurface investigation between GCI and SWMU 62 in 2006. Mark Wicklein commented that this activity was performed because of a USGS report in 2005 stating there may be another contaminant plume in the area.

In addition to this investigation, Mr. Wicklein said that there would be an investigation at Tango Pad (near the former Contractors Camp) and installation of compliance monitoring wells at NMCB.

4. Navy Planned Work Summary for 2006 Adak Field Season

   Mark Wicklein summarized the planned field work for 2006 as follows:

   • Annual groundwater and landfill monitoring and inspections are planned for August/September 2006.
   • Annual institutional controls site inspections are planned for September 2006.
   • Clearance of the RG- 01 site in the access-restricted area adjacent to Lake Andrew (Parcel 4) is planned for completion in about one month in 2006. Additional work for OU B-1 sites in Parcel 4 may or may not occur, depending on the outcome of discussions with EPA and ADEC.
   • Remedial action construction at NMCB, South of Runway 18-36 and SWMU 62, plus removal of the Bering Hill soil stockpile, is planned for May - September 2006.
   • Additional actions to be conducted in the 2006 field season will include - Rommell stake removal between Roberts Landfill and the borrow pit; Metals landfill cap repair and Roberts Landfill cap repair.
   • An investigation of the area between GCI and SWMU 62 is planned for June-July 2006. This work will include an investigation at Tango Pad, installation of compliance monitoring wells at NMCB and well abandonment work.
   • Free-product recovery will resume upon completion of remedial action construction at NMCB, South of Runway 18-36 and SWMU 62.

   Once Mr. Wicklein was finished with the summary, Jim Brown provided more detail about the work to be performed at Metals and Roberts landfills. Mr. Brown stated that, during the course of the IC site inspection field work that occurred this past September, the contractor noticed that a drainage ditch associated with Metals landfill had lining material that was in disrepair. The material had apparently been caught be the wind and shredded. Approximately 300 ft. of material will need to be replaced / repaired.

   Mr. Brown stated that, at Roberts landfill, there is a small erosional area at the south end of the landfill. In both instances, design for repairs and work plans will have to be generated, to allow the field work component to commence in summer or fall 2006. More detail concerning what was discovered at these sites will be available in the final IC Site Inspection report, due to be available for public viewing on Adakupdate.com in early 2006.

5. Update on the Report Concerning Partial Deletion of Adak Sites from the NPL

   Jim Brown stated that the Navy continues to move forward with the partial deletion of OU A and OU B1 sites that meet the criteria for deletion from the National Priorities List (NPL).

   The partial deletion includes soil and surface water at 55 OU A sites and soils at 146 OU B-1 sites. The draft close out report has been reviewed by the agencies and the Navy has prepared a response to comments. The draft final version of the report was just sent out for back-check of comments and any additional review, as necessary. Once the close out report is final, EPA will take the lead and prepare a Notice of Intent to Partially Delete (or NOIPD) and place it in the Federal Register (FR). Copies of the final close out report and other documentation supporting deletion will be placed in the two information repositories (Adak and Anchorage) prior to posting the NOIPD. There will be a 30-day public comment period. At the end of the public comment period, a responsiveness summary will be prepared and copies placed in the repositories. Following completion of the responsiveness summary, EPA will place in the FR the Notice of Partial Deletion (or NOPD), concluding the partial deletion process for these sites.

   As Mr. Brown indicated in previous RAB meetings, operation and maintenance activities and other actions specified in the individual RODs will continue beyond this deletion. Annual monitoring, institutional control site inspections, etc. will continue until the remaining sites and media meet the required cleanup standards and the property is then eligible for full deletion.

   At this point, Violet Pearl stated that Agafon Krukoff was interested in the list of sites that are to be deleted. Jim Brown accepted the Action Item to compile a list of sites, and post it on the Adakupdate.com web site. Mike Mitchell wanted to know if comments had been received from EPA and ADEC, and whether they were to be posted on the web site as well. Jim Brown stated that copies had recently been sent to the agencies, and the Navy had not received comments yet. Jason Weigle stated that when the NOIPD is published in the FR, the public would have time to review and comment on the report. Mr. Weigle said that he did not anticipate many comments, as most of the sites required No Further Action (NFA), or had minor cleanup needs. He felt that most of the sites listed for deletion were "low key and simple."

6. 2005 Marine Monitoring Preliminary Results

   Jim Brown said that the ROD for Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay required marine monitoring for a period of 5 years, to evaluate PCB concentrations in fish and shellfish. The species selected for the study were rock sole and blue mussel. Samples were collected from 1999 through 2003 and a technical memorandum was prepared summarizing the 5 years of data (the technical document can be viewed at the following: http://www.adakupdate.com/pdfs/docs/FinalAdakMarineTechMemowoComments.pdf).

   The technical memorandum also presented recommendation for future sampling, as well as changes in the written fish consumption advisory. The 5 years of data indicated that total PCB concentrations in rock sole from Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay appear to be increasing, and exceed the risk-based action level (RBAL) of 6.5 ug/kg. The total PCB concentrations in blue mussel from Sweeper Cove exceed the RBAL of 31 ug/kg, but are trending downward. The total PCB concentrations in blue mussel from Kuluk Bay are trending upward, but remain below the RBAL. The technical memorandum went on to recommend continued monitoring of both water bodies on an every-other-year basis and the removal of the consumption advisory for blue mussel from Kuluk Bay. The consumption advisory for blue mussel in Sweeper Cove and rock sole in Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay would remain in effect. A July 2004 fact sheet on this topic is available athttp://www.adakupdate.com/pdfs/news/AdakFinalFactSheetJuly2004.pdf.

   Based on the 2003 recommendations, the Navy conducted marine monitoring again in the summer of 2005. The samples have been analyzed and a data evaluation conducted. The draft technical memorandum summarizing the 2005 results has been sent to EPA and ADEC for their review.

   Briefly, Jim Brown summarized the results and recommendations from the 2005 technical memorandum: 1) total PCB concentrations in rock sole from Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay have decreased since 2003, but still exceed the RBAL, 2) the mean total PCB concentrations in blue mussel from Sweeper Cove and Kuluk Bay appear to be increasing, and concentrations exceed the RBAL for both water bodies. Although the mean concentration of PCBs in blue mussel from Kuluk Bay exceeds the RBAL for the first time, the Navy's recommendation is to maintain the current fish consumption advisories until after the 2007 sampling results are evaluated. If the mean concentration in blue mussel again exceeds the RBAL in Kuluk Bay, the reinstatement of the fish consumption advisory should be considered.

   Based on information presented by Mr. Brown, Agafon Krukoff asked if it was still considered wise to have no fish advisory signs posted on Adak now. Mark Murphy stated that the old signs were broadly worded, and may have provided misinformation. Mr. Krukoff asked if people on Adak should be concerned that there are no current advisories posted on signs on island. He wondered if similar levels of PCBs were in other fish near Adak. Mark Murphy stated that it was the consensus of the multiple agencies involved in the remedial investigation (RI) that blue mussels and rock sole were the best indicator species for shellfish and fish, respectively. Mr. Murphy clarified to Mr. Krukoff that the term "RI" refers to the initial investigation that took place on Adak, identifying possible sites and sources of contamination.

   Mike Mitchell asked Jim Brown if he had any idea why the PCB levels seemed to be trending upward. Mr. Brown responded that, over time, the data had trended in multiple directions. The first year, PCB values had a mean concentration above the RBAL. He said that the USGS report, recently issued in draft form by James Estes, might have some ideas. Mr. Brown stated that he had the report, but had not read it in detail yet. Mr. Krukoff asked again, based on the rising trend, if the people of Adak should be considering putting the fishing advisory signs back up. Jim Brown said that the Adak community may choose to do so, to which Mr. Krukoff responded that it should be the Navy telling the community to place the signs back up. Jim Brown stated that fact sheets were mailed out to each Adak resident in July 2004, explaining harvest and meal limits. Mr. Krukoff wanted to know at what level people should get concerned about the contaminants in fish. Jason Weigle responded that there is no absolute level at which people should get concerned. He said levels are probability-based, and should be used as guidelines. For a particular advisory, it is based ion the information available at the time. In the case of Adak, the risk-based evaluation made considered PCB concentration below the RBAL to be protective of human health. Ingesting fish/shellfish containing PCB levels above the RBAL may incrementally increase a person's risk above background. Mr. Weigle commented that the Alaska Department of Public Health had issues with the Adak advisory, believing it to be too restrictive based on the relatively low levels of PCBs detected. Mr. Krukoff seemed to understand that the apparent current trend upward in PCB values might in fact be a temporary drift attributable to one sample point vs. a reproducible trend.

7. Five-Year Review

   Mark Wicklein stated that a review is performed every five years, to review information or technology that may have become available that would change the ROD and to ensure that the remedies selected are still protective of human health and the environment. In the Adak Five-Year Review, OU A, OU B-1 and petroleum sites are included. A fact sheet describing the process was prepared in August of this year, and is available at: http://www.adakupdate.com/pdfs/news/5 - Year_Review77_fact_sheet.pdf.

   Interviews with stakeholders and regulatory personnel involved with the Adak site were completed in late September. The Navy Internal Draft report is due in January 2006, with a draft report sent to EPA and ADEC in March 2006. A second fact sheet, summarizing the results of the Five-Year Review, will be presented in July 2006, with the Final Five-Year Report due in August 2006. The final report will be placed in the information repositories, as well as posted on the Adakupdate.com web site.

8. 8. OU B-1 ROD Amendment In/Formal Dispute and Status of OU B Ordnance Cleanup

   Mark Murphy stated that conversations had taken place between the 3 parties that had signed the Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) - ADEC, EPA and Navy. In the course of those discussions, an alternative analysis was proposed. This analysis would compare the existing remedy for OU B sites (stipulating clearance to 4 ft. depth) with the surface clearance approach that the Navy believes is most appropriate for the Navy-retained Parcel 4. The Navy will be coordinating this alternative analysis, with the assistance of EPA and ADEC. There is no timeline set for the resolution of the dispute.

9. Petroleum Sites Update

   Mark Wicklein offered a Power Point presentation entitled "Status of Free-Product Petroleum Sites with Potential Unacceptable Risks, Former Naval Complex, Adak Island, Alaska." This presentation discussed four main sites on Adak - NMCB Building T-1416, Expanded Area; South of Runway 18-36; SWMU 62 New Housing Fuel Leak Area; and SWMU 17 Power Plant No. 3. Since there was a lot of material to cover (49 slides), Mr. Wicklein said that people could either interrupt him during the course of the talk, or submit questions via e-mail or phone call at a later date. The first 8 slides presented necessary background information, such as 10 "no risk" sites vs. 4 sites with unacceptable risks, the location of the sites, some background on past Adak history and transfer status, and a brief discussion of ADEC cleanup levels. Slides 9 and 10 represented conceptual site models for human health and ecological risk assessment, respectively. Slides 11 - 24 dealt with the NMCB site. The format of the NMCB site presentation, and for the two sites subsequently covered in detail, is thus:

   • General site location map, showing extent of investigation area.
   • Map showing various types of land use occurring at the site.
   • Two slides with charts discussing human health risk assessment sources, affected media, routes of exposure, and possible receptors. A companion slide discusses the hazard index and potential cancer risk above background associated with the site and the contaminants present.
   • Two slides discuss the ecological risk assessment performed at the site. The second slide presents the media impacted, and whether or not target health goals are exceeded.
   • A slide presents the Alternative Cleanup Levels (ACLs) derived for the site (based on ADEC Method 4, typically).
   • A map depicting the extent of soil, groundwater, etc. contamination associated with the site is next.
   • Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) are presented in the next slide.
   • Remedial alternatives are discussed in the next four slides. The alternatives are rated, based on 7 ADEC-specified criteria. The advantages/disadvantages of alternatives are presented, and the presentation included details of which alternative the Navy presented as the preferred option. In most cases, Institutional Controls (ICs), Free-product (FP) recovery and Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) are included in the preferred alternative.
   • The last slide per site focuses on additional activities proposed at the site. For example, at NMCB, there will be soil, groundwater and surface water samples taken to ensure that contaminants do not migrate to water bodies (refer to slide # 24).

   All 49 Power Point slides are located on the Adakupdate.com web site at: http://www.adakupdate.com/RAB_10-19-05_Presentation_rev1.ppt. Since the presentation is 10MB, residents on Adak may have difficulty opening it on their computers. All RAB meeting attendees were provided hard copies of the presentation, for reference during and after the meeting. The schedule for the review/approval of the Proposed Plans (PP) by ADEC and the subsequent associated public comment periods is:

   1. NMCB PP released August 2005. Public comment period over. Decision Document (DD) being prepared.
   2. SWMU 62 PP in to ADEC for review / approval November 2005. Public comment period November 2005.
   3. South of Runway 18-36 PP in to ADEC for review / approval November 2005. Public comment period November 2005.
   4. SWMU 17 Site Characterization\Risk Assessment report review\approval November, PP and DD due first half of 2006.

   After the presentation, Mark Wicklein asked if anyone had questions. No one did. Mr. Wicklein continued to explain some additional petroleum-related work. There is a new area being investigated, located between the GCI facility and SWMU 62. This area will be investigated, a Proposed Plan will be developed, and a Decision Document will be produced (in similar fashion to the 3 sites previously discussed). Work on this site is expected to occur between 2006-2008.

   Contractors Camp (i.e. Tango pad) will have some soil removal / remediation work performed in 2006. Mr. Wicklein also inquired about the use of the Main Road pipeline. He wondered if the City of Adak, or others, planned to use this pipeline. Is it able to be decommissioned at this point? Mr. Wicklein also mentioned three site soil removals that will take place in 2007/8. Approximately 100 yd3 of soil will be removed from ASR-8, SA-77 and SA-82.

   Agafon Krukoff asked what work was proposed for SWMU 62, and how much potential employment it would involve? Mark Wicklein replied that SWMU 62 will have approximately 450 yd3 of surface soil removed. The old free product recovery system will also be removed, and a free product recovery trench will be installed near the airport terminal adjacent to East Canal. The removed soil will be combined with other soil, and run through an on-island thermal desorption unit. Since there is quite a lot of soil, numerous batches will be run through the desorption unit, which will take time. It is anticipated that the contractor, TTEC, will have 10-20 people on-island from May - Sept. 2006.

   Mr. Wicklein said that, in addition to the work previously mentioned, more product recovery wells (7) would be installed near South Runway 18-36. There will be a free product recovery trench installed at that location as well. At the NMCB site, additional groundwater monitoring wells (5) will be installed along with free-product recovery wells (3). The largest pile of soil in need of thermal desorption treatment will come from the Bering Hill stockpile, which contains approximately 1500 yd³.

   Agafon Krukoff had a question regarding slide # 35, which displays the extent of contamination associated with SWMU 62, New Housing Fuel Leak. He wanted to know if the housing units were being investigated. Mr. Wicklein stated that, on the figure, the housing units that are shaded represent units where pipeline leaks have been repaired in the past. The solid black line, in the center of the figure, represents the area where soil is planned for removal down 2 - 4 feet.

10. Other Issues / Questions

    Mark Wicklein asked at this juncture if anyone had questions. No one had any additional questions.

11. Review Action Items

    Jim Brown had an Action Item to supply the list of sites being deleted on Adak. He said that he would post this list promptly on Adakupdate.com

12. Preliminary Agenda for Next Meeting

    Mark Wicklein asked if anyone had new subjects to suggest for the next Adak RAB meeting. At this point, Jason Weigle asked if the group could re-visit the idea of having the pre-RAB agenda-setting meeting via e-mail. Mr. Weigle said that suggestions / comments for agenda items could be sent to Mark Wicklein by e-mail prior to the next formal RAB. Violet Pearl stated that people on Adak thought that the e-mail idea was fine. The RAB bylaws state that 1/3 of active RAB members must be present to represent a quorum. Having that number available, the idea was approved.

    Mr. Wicklein stated that, in addition to e-mail, he would FAX a hard copy of the proposed agenda to Violet Pearl on Adak. Ms. Pearl and Mr. Wicklein agreed that, after the e-mail disclosing the proposed agenda was sent out, people would have 10 days to comment upon it. At this point, Mr. Krukoff provided his updated e-mail address (agafon@adnmail.com). Mark Wicklein stated that this new process would be implemented to set the next RAB meeting agenda (i.e. April 2006).

13. Set Date for Next Pre-RAB and Adjourn

    The proposed date for the next formal RAB meeting is Wednesday, April 12, 2006. Once again, the meeting would commence at 6:00 PM, Adak time.

    The meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM, Adak time.

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