1 FORMER ADAK NAVAL COMPLEX 2 DECLARATION OF THE RECORD OF DECISION, OPERABLE UNIT B-1 3 4 SITE NAME AND LOCATION 5 6 Operable Unit B-1 CERCLIS ID # AK4170024323 7 Adak Naval Complex 8 Adak Island, Alaska 9 10 STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE 11 12 This Record of Decision (ROD) presents the selected remedial actions for Operable Unit B-1 (OU B-1) at 13 the former Adak Naval Complex (NAF Adak or Adak military reservation) on Adak Island, Alaska. 14 OU B-1 includes 131 ordnance and explosives (OE) or unexploded ordnance (UXO) areas of concern 15 (AOCs, or sites). A ROD was prepared for OU A in 1999 and signed in 2000, which covered petroleum 16 sites and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites. An 17 additional ROD will be prepared for the areas of concern (AOCs) within OU B-2. The ROD for OU B-2 18 will be the final ROD for the former Adak Naval Complex on Adak Island, Alaska. 19 20 Naval Air Facility (NAF) Adak was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. For technical and 21 administrative purposes, Adak was divided into two operable units (OUs), OU A and OU B in 1998. In 22 general, OU A encompasses the entire military reservation with respect to chemical contamination, while 23 OU B encompasses the entire military reservation with respect to ordnance contamination. OU B was 24 further subdivided into OU B-1 and OU B-2 to facilitate expedited transfer of real estate within OU B-1. 25 26 This decision document presents the Selected Remedy for OU B-1, which was chosen in accordance with 27 CERCLA (1980) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); 42 28 United States Code (USC) Section 9601 et seq.; and, to the extent practicable, the National Oil and 29 Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). This decision is based on the Administrative 30 Record for sites identified within OU B-1. 31 32 The State of Alaska concurs with the selected remedy. 33 34 ASSESSMENT OF THE SITE 35 36 The response actions selected in this Record of Decision are necessary to protect public health, welfare or 37 the environment from actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment. Such a 38 release or threat of release may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, 39 welfare, or the environment. 40 41 DESCRIPTION OF THE SELECTED REMEDIES 42 43 OU B-1 addresses all of the OE/UXO sites within the former Adak Naval Complex with the exception of 44 areas in the vicinity of Mt. Moffett and Andrew Lake. OU B-1 includes 131 sites containing OE/UXO 45 items. OE/UXO educational awareness programs and incorporation of deed notices in property transfer 46 documents will be implemented throughout the former Adak Naval Complex that will encompass these 131 47 sites. No Further Action (NOFA) is selected for 104 of the 131 sites. NOFA, as this term is used in this 48 ROD, includes the continuation of the Adak OE/UXO Awareness Program and the inclusion of a deed 49 notice pursuant to CERCLA § 120(h)(3)(A)(i) or other suitable information on OE/UXO in the Bureau of 50 Land Management permanent file concerning the conveyance. OE/UXO clearance to 4 feet below ground 51 surface (bgs) will be conducted at three of the 27 sites. Ground surface is defined as the interface between 52 surface vegetation and underlying mineral soil. The remaining 24 sites will undergo final characterization 53 and clearance to 4 feet bgs, as needed to support future land use. Disposal sites will be cleared to a depth of 54 4 feet below the lowest depth that OE/UXO is found or to bedrock, whichever is encountered first. Nine 55 targets in seven of the 24 sites will have soil sampled for explosives-related chemicals and soil removed, 56 treated, and disposed of, either on site or offsite, as necessary. The major components of the selected 57 remedies are summarized in the following section. 58 Final OU B-1 ROD 10-31-01 i 1 NO FURTHER ACTION (NOFA) 2 3 NOFA is selected for 104 of the OU B-1 sites, based on initial screening efforts by the Adak OU B Project 4 Team and on evaluations completed as part of the Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study (RI/FS) 5 process. NOFA, as this term is used in this ROD, includes the continuation of the Adak OE/UXO 6 Awareness Program and the inclusion of a deed notice pursuant to CERCLA § 120(h)(3)(A)(i) or other 7 suitable information on OE/UXO in the Bureau of Land Management permanent file concerning the 8 conveyance. 9 10 The major components of the NOFA Selected Remedy include: 11 12 • Continue the Adak OE/UXO awareness program for the foreseeable future and evaluate its 13 continuation as part of the 5-year CERCLA review process. The program applies to the entire 14 military reservation at Adak. This program is intended to familiarize island residents and visitors 15 with the history of ordnance use, storage, handling, and disposal on Adak Island; basic 16 characteristics of OE/UXO items on Adak; and the procedures that should be followed if a 17 suspected OE/UXO item is encountered. 18 19 • Provide copies of this ROD and the Finding of Suitability to Transfer (FOST) to the Bureau of 20 Land Management (BLM) to be maintained as part of the permanent file of conveyance 21 documentation. This information will summarize the known nature and extent of OE/UXO on 22 these sites and the depths of clearance actions taken. Reference to these documents and their 23 availability in the BLM permanent conveyance file will be included in the interim conveyance 24 executed by BLM. 25 26 UXO CLEARANCE TO 4 FEET BELOW GROUND SURFACE 27 28 Based on additional field investigation and documentation through the RI/FS process, 3 of the remaining 27 29 sites (C3-01A, C6-01A, and ML-01A) were recommended for OE/UXO Clearance to 4 feet bgs. 30 31 The major components of the selected remedy for the C3-01A, C6-01A, and ML-01A sites include: 32 33 • Remove all metallic debris from the surface that could interfere with geophysical surveys. 34 35 • Geophysically survey sites to find possible OE/UXO. 36 37 • Identify locations to dig for possible OE/UXO (based upon geophysical data). 38 39 • Re-locate and excavate identified targets to 4 feet bgs 40 41 • Dispose of OE/UXO by detonation in place or removal and treatment at a remote location 42 43 • In addition, disposal sites will be cleared to a depth of 4 ft below the lowest depth that OE/UXO 44 was found or to bedrock – whichever is encountered first. 45 46 SITES SELECTED FOR OBSERVATIONAL APPROACH AND PRESUMPTIVE CLEARANCE 47 (OAPC SITES) 48 49 The 24 other sites have been identified for final characterization and clearance to 4 feet bgs, as needed to 50 support future land use. These sites include the following: Combat Range 3 Sites C3-01B, -01C, -01D, 51 -01E, and C3-04A; Combat Range 8 Sites C8-01, -03 and -05A; Lake Jean Site LJ-01; Mitt Lake Sites 52 ML-01B, -02A, and -02B; Lake DeMarie Site DM-06A; Finger Bay Sites FB-01 and -04; Blind Cove Site 53 BC-01; Husky Pass Training Area (HP-01); the Shagak Bay Gun Emplacement (SH-01); the 20-mm, 40 54 mm, and 37-mm gun emplacements (GUN-01, -02, and –03); and the Ammo Pier sites, FBAP-02 and 55 AP-02, and FB-03 (see Section 13). OE/UXO that has been identified at these areas during past 56 investigations has been removed. 57 Final OU B-1 ROD 10-31-01 ii 1 The major components of the selected remedy for 15 of the 24 sites noted above are the same as for the 3 2 sites previously discussed. For these sites, implementing the remedy will first require gathering final 3 characterization data on the extent of ordnance contamination as part of an observational approach to 4 executing clearance at the site. However, at 9 sites (FB-01, FB-04, Husky Pass Training Area, the Shagak 5 Bay Gun Emplacement, 20-mm, 40-mm, and 37-mm gun emplacements, and the two Ammo Pier sites, 6 FBAP-02 and AP-02, a reconnaissance survey will be performed in addition to these activities. The 7 purpose of the reconnaissance survey is to better define the area for characterization through visual 8 inspections and with hand-held geophysical detectors, as needed. 9 10 SITES SELECTED FOR EXPLOSIVE-RELATED CHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS 11 12 Based on field observations during OE/UXO clearance activities (for 9 targets in 7 sites of the 24 OAPC 13 sites), there is a potential for the presence of explosives-related chemical contamination in soils. The 14 selected remedy at these sites includes the following: 15 16 • Sample sites where explosives compounds may pose a risk to human receptors and excavate, 17 containerize, and treat and/or dispose contaminated soils (either on-site or off-site) that exceed cleanup 18 levels. 19 20 CHANGES TO THE REMEDY SINCE PUBLICATION OF THE PROPOSED PLAN 21 22 As a result of changes in site nomenclature since the publication of the Proposed Plan and Final RI/FS, the 23 identification of new sites, and the inclusion of former OU B-2 sites within OU B-1 to facilitate property 24 transfer, remedies in addition to those described in the Proposed Plan and above are described in Section 25 13.