SUMMARY OF RECORD OF DECISION, OPERABLE UNIT B-1

SITE NAME AND LOCATION

Operable Unit B-1
CERCLIS ID # AK4170024323
Adak Naval Complex
Adak Island, Alaska

STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE

This Record of Decision (ROD) presents the selected remedial actions for Operable Unit B-1 (OU B-1) at the former Adak Naval Complex (NAF Adak or Adak military reservation) on Adak Island, Alaska. OU B-1 includes 131 ordnance and explosives (OE) or unexploded ordnance (Munitions) areas of concern (AOCs, or sites). A ROD was prepared for OU A in 1999 and signed in 2000, which covered petroleum sites and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites. An additional ROD will be prepared for the areas of concern (AOCs) within OU B-2. The ROD for OU B-2 will be the final ROD for the former Adak Naval Complex on Adak Island, Alaska.

Naval Air Facility (NAF) Adak was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. For technical and administrative purposes, Adak was divided into two operable units (OUs), OU A and OU B in 1998. In general, OU A encompasses the entire military reservation with respect to chemical contamination, while OU B encompasses the entire military reservation with respect to ordnance contamination. OU B was further subdivided into OU B-1 and OU B-2 to facilitate expedited transfer of real estate within OU B-1.

This decision document presents the Selected Remedy for OU B-1, which was chosen in accordance with CERCLA (1980) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); 42 United States Code (USC) Section 9601 et seq.; and, to the extent practicable, the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This decision is based on the Administrative Record for sites identified within OU B-1.

The State of Alaska concurs with the selected remedy.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SITE

The response actions selected in this Record of Decision are necessary to protect public health, welfare or the environment from actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Such a release or threat of release may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, welfare, or the environment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED REMEDIES

OU B-1 addresses all of the OE/Munitions sites within the former Adak Naval Complex with the exception of areas in the vicinity of Mt. Moffett and Andrew Lake. OU B-1 includes 131 sites containing OE/Munitions items. OE/Munitions educational awareness programs and incorporation of deed notices in property transfer documents will be implemented throughout the former Adak Naval Complex that will encompass these 131 sites. No Further Action (NOFA) is selected for 104 of the 131 sites. NOFA, as this term is used in this ROD, includes the continuation of the Adak OE/Munitions Awareness Program and the inclusion of a deed notice pursuant to CERCLA 120(h)(3)(A)(i) or other suitable information on OE/Munitions in the Bureau of Land Management permanent file concerning the conveyance. OE/Munitions clearance to 4 feet below ground surface (bgs) will be conducted at three of the 27 sites. Ground surface is defined as the interface between surface vegetation and underlying mineral soil. The remaining 24 sites will undergo final characterization and clearance to 4 feet bgs, as needed to support future land use. Disposal sites will be cleared to a depth of 4 feet below the lowest depth that OE/Munitions is found or to bedrock, whichever is encountered first. Nine targets in seven of the 24 sites will have soil sampled for explosives-related chemicals and soil removed, treated, and disposed of, either on site or offsite, as necessary. The major components of the selected remedies are summarized in the following section.

NO FURTHER ACTION (NOFA)

NOFA is selected for 104 of the OU B-1 sites, based on initial screening efforts by the Adak OU B Project Team and on evaluations completed as part of the Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study (RI/FS) process. NOFA, as this term is used in this ROD, includes the continuation of the Adak OE/Munitions Awareness Program and the inclusion of a deed notice pursuant to CERCLA 120(h)(3)(A)(i) or other suitable information on OE/Munitions in the Bureau of Land Management permanent file concerning the conveyance.

The major components of the NOFA Selected Remedy include:

• Continue the Adak OE/Munitions awareness program for the foreseeable future and evaluate its continuation as part of the 5-year CERCLA review process. The program applies to the entire military reservation at Adak. This program is intended to familiarize island residents and visitors with the history of ordnance use, storage, handling, and disposal on Adak Island; basic characteristics of OE/Munitions items on Adak; and the procedures that should be followed if a suspected OE/Munitions item is encountered.
• Provide copies of this ROD and the Finding of Suitability to Transfer (FOST) to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be maintained as part of the permanent file of conveyance documentation. This information will summarize the known nature and extent of OE/Munitions on these sites and the depths of clearance actions taken. Reference to these documents and their availability in the BLM permanent conveyance file will be included in the interim conveyance executed by BLM.

Munitions CLEARANCE TO 4 FEET BELOW GROUND SURFACE

Based on additional field investigation and documentation through the RI/FS process, 3 of the remaining 27 sites (C3-01A, C6-01A, and ML-01A) were recommended for OE/Munitions Clearance to 4 feet bgs.

The major components of the selected remedy for the C3-01A, C6-01A, and ML-01A sites include:

• Remove all metallic debris from the surface that could interfere with geophysical surveys.
• Geophysically survey sites to find possible OE/Munitions.
• Identify locations to dig for possible OE/Munitions (based upon geophysical data).
• Re-locate and excavate identified targets to 4 feet bgs
• Dispose of OE/Munitions by detonation in place or removal and treatment at a remote location
• In addition, disposal sites will be cleared to a depth of 4 ft below the lowest depth that OE/Munitions was found or to bedrock - whichever is encountered first.

SITES SELECTED FOR OBSERVATIONAL APPROACH AND PRESUMPTIVE CLEARANCE (OAPC SITES)

The 24 other sites have been identified for final characterization and clearance to 4 feet bgs, as needed to support future land use. These sites include the following: Combat Range 3 Sites C3-01B, -01C, -01D, -01E, and C3-04A; Combat Range 8 Sites C8-01, -03 and -05A; Lake Jean Site LJ-01; Mitt Lake Sites ML-01B, -02A, and -02B; Lake DeMarie Site DM-06A; Finger Bay Sites FB-01 and -04; Blind Cove Site BC-01; Husky Pass Training Area (HP-01); the Shagak Bay Gun Emplacement (SH-01); the 20-mm, 40-mm, and 37-mm gun emplacements (GUN-01, -02, and -03); and the Ammo Pier sites, FBAP-02 and AP-02, and FB-03 (see Section 13). OE/Munitions that has been identified at these areas during past investigations has been removed.

The major components of the selected remedy for 15 of the 24 sites noted above are the same as for the 3 sites previously discussed. For these sites, implementing the remedy will first require gathering final characterization data on the extent of ordnance contamination as part of an observational approach to executing clearance at the site. However, at 9 sites (FB-01, FB-04, Husky Pass Training Area, the Shagak Bay Gun Emplacement, 20-mm, 40-mm, and 37-mm gun emplacements, and the two Ammo Pier sites, FBAP-02 and AP-02, a reconnaissance survey will be performed in addition to these activities. The purpose of the reconnaissance survey is to better define the area for characterization through visual inspections and with hand-held geophysical detectors, as needed.

SITES SELECTED FOR EXPLOSIVE-RELATED CHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Based on field observations during OE/Munitions clearance activities (for 9 targets in 7 sites of the 24 OAPC sites), there is a potential for the presence of explosives-related chemical contamination in soils. The selected remedy at these sites includes the following:

• Sample sites where explosives compounds may pose a risk to human receptors and excavate, containerize, and treat and/or dispose contaminated soils (either on-site or off-site) that exceed cleanup levels.

CHANGES TO THE REMEDY SINCE PUBLICATION OF THE PROPOSED PLAN

As a result of changes in site nomenclature since the publication of the Proposed Plan and Final RI/FS, the identification of new sites, and the inclusion of former OU B-2 sites within OU B-1 to facilitate property transfer, remedies in addition to those described in the Proposed Plan and above are described in Section 13.

NEW SITE JM-01

JM-01 (a suspected burial and detonation site for twenty 105mm mustard rounds) was recently discovered southeast of Lake Jean. However, there is insufficient information to draw conclusions about the nature and extent of potential OE and chemical contamination, much less required remedial actions. This site will be addressed as part of OU B-2 Record of Decision and will be excluded from the parcel of real estate to be considered in the FOST.

INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS

Due to limitations in current technology and site-specific conditions on Adak, it is not possible to entirely eliminate the potential for encountering OE/Munitions. While the selected remedies for OU B-1 sites will allow residential land use, the need for maintaining the existing ordnance education and awareness program is recognized by the Navy as a component of the selected remedy for all OU B sites. This institutional control will provide residents and visitors with information on the past ordnance use, storage, handling, and disposal practices on Adak as well as necessary procedures to be followed should they encounter OE/Munitions items.

The Navy will also provide copies of this ROD and the Finding of Suitability to Transfer (FOST) to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be maintained as part of the permanent file of conveyance documentation. This information will summarize the known nature and extent of OE/Munitions on these sites and the depths of clearance actions taken. Reference to these documents and their availability in the BLM permanent conveyance file will be included in the interim conveyance executed by BLM.

ROD DATA CERTIFICATION CHECKLIST

The following information is included in the Decision Summary section of this ROD. Additional information can be found in the Administrative Record for OU B-1.

 Land and groundwater restrictions, if any (Section 6)

 Cleanup levels established forand the basis for these levels
     (Sections 7 and 8)

 How source materials constituting principal threats are addressed (Section 11.2)

 Current and reasonably anticipated future land use assumptions (Section 6)

 Potential land and groundwater that would be available at the site as a result of the
     selected remedy (Sections 6 and 11)

 Estimated capital, operation and maintenance (O&M), and total present worth costs;
     discount rate; and the number of years over which the remedy cost estimates are
     projected (Section 11.3 and Tables 11-2 through 11-4)

 Decisive factor(s) that led to the selection of the remedy (Section 11.1).

Information concerning explosive compound(COCs) and their respective concentrations, baseline risks represented by the COCs, and cleanup levels established for COCs and the basis for the levels, can be found in Sections 5.8 and 8.3 of this document.

STATUTORY DETERMINATIONS

The Selected Remedy is protective of human health and the environment and protects the public from explosive safety hazards, complies with federal and state requirements that are applicable or relevant and appropriate to the remedial action, is cost-effective, and uses permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies to the maximum extent practicable.

This remedy also satisfies the statutory preference for treatment as a principal element of the remedy (i.e., reduces the toxicity, mobility, or volume of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants as a principal element through treatment) by destroying OE/Munitions through excavation and detonation. Furthermore, soils contaminated with explosives-related chemicals will be excavated, treated and disposed of either on-site, or off-site at a permitted facility. Since there is the potential that OE/Munitions contamination may still exist on Adak Island, the effectiveness of the OE/Munitions Educational Awareness Program will be evaluated as part of the 5-year review process to assure that final remedial actions for OE/Munitions on Adak Island remain protective. In addition, Navy and DoD are responsible for responding to any discovery of ordnance on Adak and any additional clean up that is required.