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Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Aleutian Island Unit 95 Sterling Highway, Ste

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Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Aleutian Island Unit 95 Sterling Highway, Ste U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Contaminant Assessment • January 2014 Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Aleutian Island Unit 95 Sterling Highway, Ste. 1 Homer, AK 99603 Alaska Maritime National Phone: (907) 543-3151 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1 800/344-WILD Wildlife Refuge – http://www.fws.gov January 2014 Attu and Kiska Islands Contaminant Assessment January 2014 Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Contaminant Assessment Deborah D. Rudis January 2014 This report may be cited as: Rudis, D.D. 2013. Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Contaminant Assessment. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Juneau Field Office, Alaska. 146 pp. On the cover: Kiska Island Volcano. USFWS photo Executive Summary The purpose of the Contaminant Assessment Process (CAP) is to compile and summarize known past, present, and potential future contaminant issues on National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs). The CAP has gathered information to help Service personnel make informed management decisions about contaminant threats to refuge lands and resources. Because of the extent of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (refuge), CAP reports for this refuge cover units, sub- units, or individual islands of the refuge. This report documents known and potential contaminant issues on Attu and Kiska Islands of the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Most people regard National Wildlife Refuges as untouched areas reserved for the conservation of wildlife and fish. However, during the World War II Aleutian campaign, Attu and Kiska were of strategic importance and were occupied by both Japanese and Allied forces. Remains of buildings, tent camps, gun emplacements, fuel storage tanks, pipelines, dumps, ammunition piles, utilities, vehicles, and ord- nance are found on refuge land on these islands. As the years progress, erosion exposes new sites while others are overgrown by vegetation. Both islands encompass a variety of maritime habitats, including rolling tundra where Aleutian Canada geese and rock ptarmigan nest, coastal cliffs that serve as nesting sites for thousands of seabirds, rivers where salmon spawn, and rocky shorelines where common eiders nest and feed offshore, along with sea otters that are found in the coastal kelp forest. Kiska holds the world’s largest population of least auklets on the slopes of Kiska Volcano at Sirius Point. Monitoring these and other wildlife species is a primary refuge management goal. The majority of contaminant issues on Attu and Kiska are from World War II (WWII) activities. Leakage and spills from petroleum product tank farms and other storage areas, fuel lines, burn pits, and barrel dumps are common, as are battery dumps, ammunition piles, electri- cal transformers, and debris piles. Unexploded ordnance is a serious issue on both islands, presenting potential hazards to refuge staff, visiting scientists, and the public. Soil and water sampling has been conducted at both islands by contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for assessing extent of contamination at former military sites, and its contractors. Soil, sediment, and some biota were sampled on Attu by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, Service) in the early 1990s. Additional sampling is needed on both islands to fully characterize the extent and severity of contamination. On Attu, most all of the known contaminated sites are associated with former Department of Defense (DoD) activities on refuge lands, including a series of facilities operated by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) as aids to navigation. On Kiska, all of the known contaminated sites are associated with DoD activities. Cleanup and remediation of DoD sites will be undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) under the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program. If and when any potentially contaminated lands presently under USCG ii Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge – Attu and Kiska Islands Executive Summary jurisdiction are proposed to be conveyed back to the refuge, a full contaminant assessment involving rigorous sampling should be com- pleted by the present land managers before the Service accepts any of these properties. Because some of the contaminated sites on Attu are associated with long-term ongoing fuel leaks, these areas are a hazard to birds that forage in these upland locations. There are also sites where fuel still flows into nearby streams during warm weather periods. In addition, groundwater contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons may also be a concern at former tank farm sites. These sites should be a priority for further investigation, cleanup, and remediation actions. The Great Circle Route for ocean-going transport brings over 3,000 vessels per year through the area between the Near Islands (the island complex that includes Attu) and the Rat Islands (where Kiska is located). Because of the potential for future oil spills, spill response pre- paredness through spill contingency planning is one way for the refuge to prepare for such potentially damaging events. Collection of adequate baseline data prior to spill events is important for damage assessment efforts when spill incidents occur that affect Service trust resources. The remote location of these islands will present considerable response challenges, should significant spills occur. Sites in the western Aleutians may be subject to long-range atmo- spheric and oceanic transport of contaminants from sources in Asia, and migratory birds may serve as a biotic vector for transport of both contaminants and nutrients, particularly through guano deposition, to these island ecosystems. Marine debris will continue to present ongoing challenges for the refuge. Potential transport of debris associated with the March 2011 Japan tsunami may exacerbate an already significant problem. Contaminant Assessment iii Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................ii Acronyms and Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................ix Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................................................xi Author’s Notes ...............................................................................................................................................................xi Contaminant Assessment Process ...............................................................................................................................1 The Contaminant Assessment Process in Alaska ...............................................................................................1 The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and the Islands of Attu and Kiska .............................................3 Attu and Kiska Islands ..........................................................................................................................................3 Attu ....................................................................................................................................................................5 Kiska and Little Kiska ....................................................................................................................................8 Land Status ...........................................................................................................................................................11 Attu ..................................................................................................................................................................11 U.S. Coast Guard Lands ...............................................................................................................................11 Aleut Corporation Lands ..............................................................................................................................12 National Historic Landmark .......................................................................................................................14 Kiska ...............................................................................................................................................................14 Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) .............................................................16 Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) ..........................................................................16 Attu .................................................................................................................................................................................17 Contaminant Investigations ................................................................................................................................17 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) ...................................................................................................17 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, Service) ...................................................................................17 Navy Town Petroleum Contamination ........................................................................................................20
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