RAB Meeting Notes template

A view of Downtown Adak, overlooking Sweeper Cove

October 11, 2006

Name	Affiliation	Location
Violet Pearl	Adak RAB Co-Chair	Anchorage, AK
Mark Wicklein	NAVFAC NW	Anchorage, AK
Michael Mitchell	Adak RAB Member	Anchorage, AK
Guy Warren	ADEC	Anchorage, AK
Jennifer Roberts	ADEC	Anchorage, AK
Chris Cora	EPA	Seattle, WA
Greg Siekaniec	USFWS (Alaska Maritime Refuge)	Anchorage, AK
Kent Sundseth	USFWS (Alaska Maritime Refuge)	Anchorage, AK
Gary Simmons	NAVFAC NW	Silverdale, WA
JoAnn Grady	Grady & Associates	Anchorage, AK
Bill Rohrer	URS	Anchorage, AK
Jon Isaacs	URS	Anchorage, AK

Violet Pearl opened the meeting at 7:10 PM with introductions of all attendees. Violet asked for comments on the minutes. Since a quorum of Adak RAB members was not present, the minutes will have to be approved at a subsequent meeting.

Mark Wicklein introduced Chris Cora (EPA) and Guy Warren (ADEC). He then stated that he and Gary Simmons had new responsibilities. Mark will be taking over ordnance-related work, while Gary will be managing the remaining petroleum-related work on Adak.

Mark then moved on to a description of 2006 field activities. New product recovery trenches were installed at South of Runway (SOR) 18-36 and SWMU 62. A 1500-cubic yard contaminated soil pile was removed from Bering Hill for off-site disposition. Product recovery equipment was installed at NMCB, SOR 18-36, and SWMU 62. Petroleum-contaminated soil was removed from Tango Pad spill site, SA 82, and SA 77, with backfilling completed Oct. 14 (last limited soil removal). Cover repairs were completed at Roberts and Metals Landfills. Rommel Stakes, found during last year's Institutional Control (IC) Sites inspection, were removed near White Alice and Metals Landfills. The barge will leave Adak October 15th.

A remedial investigation for the Area 303 RI/FS (near GCI and SWMU 62) was conducted this summer. This was a potential new site identified by USGS during a 2003 Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) study. Also a, subsurface investigation at Tango Pad Spill site was completed. Monitoring wells were abandoned and repaired at various locations. New monitoring wells were installed at NMCB, SOR 18-36, and SWMU 62 for monitoring and product recovery.

Field activities at the Rifle Grenade Range (RG-01) included clearance and removal of 96 live UXO items and 49 Munitions Debris (MD) items. There were about 19,000 intrusive digs conducted, leading to the removal of 771 pounds of MD and 1,535 pounds of scrap. All UXO was Blown In Place (BIP'd). Geophysical survey and intrusive work is to be completed next year.

Free product recovery started in September at SWMU 62, SOR 18-36, and, NMCB and will continue once a month for 12 months.

Annual monitoring at 28 Long Term Monitoring (LTM) sites and 200 locations was completed in early October, in accordance with the Adak Comprehensive Monitoring Plan.

Institutional Control (IC) Sites inspections were completed at 47 sites in September. These included a review of Adak UXO Awareness Education Plan elements. On-island residents were interviewed, to assess their familiarity with the UXO Awareness Education program elements, as well as the IC excavation notification process and the existing fish / shellfish consumption advisory.

Next year's field activities will include Lake Jean UXO / MD clearance. There will also be a geophysical survey and re-acquisition of targets at RG-01, to address inadequate Quality Control (QC) during the 2000, 2001 and 2004 field seasons. There will also be work related to maintenance of existing engineering controls (fences, gates, signs), expansion of the UXO Awareness education program (with input from Adak stakeholders), monitoring at LTM sites, IC sites inspections, marine monitoring, free product recovery and additional soil sampling at 16 No Further Remedial Action Petroleum (NFRAP) sites, as well as a UXO sweep at the Andrew Lake Seawall by Navy EOD.

Mark discussed the status of Adak's second five-year review. Approximately 70 comments were received from EPA in July; they were resolved in August. The Navy is awaiting comments from ADEC. The final document will be completed by December 14, 2006. A fact sheet will be subsequently completed and distributed to on-island residents and stakeholders. In response to a question from Mike Mitchell, Mark indicated that responses to comments will be incorporated in a section of the final version of the report. Chris Cora will verify that EPA comments have been resolved by conferring with the previous EPA site manager (i.e. Jacques Gusmano).

Gary Simmons provided a petroleum site update. The SWMU 17 Decision Document (DD) is in internal draft form. Other work to be completed is:

the Area 303 remedial investigation, risk, assessment and feasibility study, as well as the Proposed Plan and DD for Area 303;
Tango Pad closure report;
closure reports for well installations at SWMU 58, SA 73, Tanker Shed, and NMCB;
closure reports for SA 77 and ASR-8;
construction reports for NMCB, SOR 18-36, SWMU 62, and removal of the 1500-yd³ soil pile from Bering Hill;
continued product recovery at NMCB, SOR 18-36, and SWMU 62;
additional soil sampling at 16 No Further Action (NFA) sites,
design / and work plans for decommissioning Main Road pipeline.

A munitions update was provided by Mark Wicklein. He described the Adak stakeholder Operable Unit B (OU B) meeting with Navy, ADEC, EPA, USFWS that occurred earlier in the day. The Feasibility Study (FS) for Mount Moffett (MM)-10 F,G, and H was updated in August, 2006. The Navy is awaiting comments from EPA and ADEC. The RI/FS for OU B-2 was also submitted in August 2006. Issues of concern identified by EPA and ADEC included proposed land use change, remedy change, the effectiveness of in-place ICs for ordnance risks, and required revisions to the UXO Awareness education program. An incident involving inappropriately recovered UXO from the Andrew Lake Seawall may result in a revision to the way UXO Awareness training is presented on Adak. Chris Cora asked where the UXO material came from. Violet Pearl replied that there were several items and all were from the Andrew Lake Seawall. The Navy is looking for permanent Restricted Access Military Reservation (RAMR) status for Parcel 4-this would be precedent-setting and hence may be difficult to achieve. Interim RAMR status may be more feasible.

Interim remedies for 3 OU B-1 sites and for OU B-2 sites are being reviewed. Jennifer Roberts participates in a national Munitions Response Committee work group and doesn't think there is a problem with an interim remedy. According to Mark Wicklein, the Navy BRAC PMO office and above have the most concerns. Mark mentioned that there was a good collaborative effort at the stakeholder meeting that occurred earlier in the day. The 2004 After Action Report (AAR) for OU B-1 MM-10 sites and Lake Jean, CR102 needs to be finalized. There is an October 27, 2006 meeting planned to try to address remaining concerns and move forward. A final draft of the AAR is planned in January 2007. Another meeting to address OU B-2 FS comments and perhaps to move directly to a final FS is scheduled for early November. Chris Cora sees OU B-1 issues differently than OU B-2 issues, specifically regarding the Navy's expressed desire to alter the stipulated remedy for OU B-1. Mark mentioned that the Navy is working on a supplement to the UXO Awareness Education Program, and anticipates gathering input from Adak stakeholders. New materials prepared will be sensitive to the concerns expressed previously regarding potential impact on Adak tourism.

Mike Mitchell asked about IC concerns expressed at the Adak stakeholder meeting. Mark Wicklein replied that recent concerns focused on the gate across the road to Parcel 4, which was recently destroyed by a trespasser and subsequently replaced by the Navy. However, access may still be possible around the gate. Another IC-related concern centered on a contractor who excavated within the boundary of SWMU 62 during the course of installing a fiber optic line. An IC excavation notification was not filed with the Navy. The contractor cited an existing easement as the reason the Navy was not notified.

Thirteen agency visitors were recently on island and found a 75mm mortar near MM-10 sites, likely previously covered by snow or unearthed by erosion. There is no signage currently in this area. Guy Warren also stated that there was no video/DVD display or other written notification pertaining to UXO available for visitors at the Adak airport. Mark Wicklein indicated that this level of detail wasn't specifically prescribed as part of the original set of ICs. Consequently, he did not view this as a failure of IC; nonetheless the Navy is considering adding a continuous loop DVD at the airport.

Chris Cora would like to see City of Adak embrace land use ordinances to maintain ICs and have the Navy make sure these controls remain effective. Apparently, the City of Adak discussed the excavation permit process with Brian Cullen (NTR) after the fiber optic incident. Jennifer Roberts indicated that the Navy kept easements and enforcement responsibility. Perhaps, as suggested by Greg Siekaniec while on-island, the USFWS could help in monitoring and enforcement, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The Navy is trying to quantify how to assess IC effectiveness/failures relative to perceived human safety hazards. Was the previously mentioned gate incident an IC failure, for example? There can't be a complete reduction in risk. There should be a balance between the level and effectiveness of ICs and reduction in safety hazards. Most importantly, there needs to be an "attitude of compliance" on the part of city officials and residents, in order for ICs to be effective. Chris Cora agreed with Mark on this point.

Stakeholders are working on a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) schedule revision (the FFA hasn't been revised since 2002, which preceded land transfer). Chris Cora indicated that federal agencies need to update the schedule since they weren't able to resolve issues on OU B-2 in 2004 and 2005. Chris would like to ask other RAB members about the ICs and specific controls on Parcel 4. In other words, does what the agencies are doing make sense to local residents?

Violet Pearl expressed concerns about the lack of enforcement for violating ICs. Steve Hines is no longer going to be City Manager in the near term. Steve is also part owner of GCI, the entity for which the optic cable excavation was conducted. Will Tillion is mayor. Mark Wicklein indicated that after the on-island resident installed the gate at Parcel 4 (under contract to the Navy); he expressed a concern that there should be complete access-he wanted to take down the gate. Violet Pearl thanked Chris Cora for re-engaging in the Adak program.

Agenda items to consider for the next RAB meeting include OU B-1, B-2 Feasibility Study (FS) progress, IC resolution, 2007 field update, standard petroleum sites update, 2006 IC Report, and Area 303 RI/FS. Chris Cora asked whether Adak residents would be willing to provide input on ICs. Violet Pearl replied in the affirmative. Mike Mitchell also suggested an LTM update be included in the next formal RAB meeting.

The next RAB meeting is tentatively scheduled on the second Wednesday of April. The date is April 11, 2007. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.