FINAL ACTION MEMORANDUM NON TIME CRITICAL REMOVAL ACTION OPERABLE UNIT B-2 FORMER ADAK NAVAL COMPLEX ADAK ISLAND, ALASKA Prepared by: NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND NORTHWEST SILVERDALE, WASHINGTON 9 JANUARY 2013 Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK CONTENTS 1. PURPOSE 1 2. BACKGROUND AND SITE CONDITIONS 2 2.1 SITE HISTORY 2 2.2 SITE REGULATORY HISTORY 2 2.3 SITE CHARACTERISTICS 8 2.4 LAND USE 11 2.5 PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND ACTIONS 11 2.6 CURRENT ACTIONS 13 2.7 STATE AND LOCAL ACTIONS TO DATE 13 2.8 POTENTIAL FOR CONTINUED STATE/ LOCAL RESPONSE 13 2.9 ENGINEERING EVALUATION / COST ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 13 3. THEATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH OR WELFARE OR THE ENVIRONMENT AND STATUTORY AND REGULATORY AUTHORIES 15 3.1 SUMMARY OF ESHA AND MEC HA ASSESSMENT SCORES 15 3.2 CHEMICAL RISKS 17 3.3 RISK CONCLUSIONS 17 4. ENDANGERMENT DETERMINATION 18 5. PROPOSED ACTIONS AND ESTIMATED COSTS 19 6. EXPECTED CHANGE IN THE SITUATION SHOULD ACTION BE DELAYED OR NOT TAKEN 21 7. OUTSTANDING POLICY ISSUES 22 8. RECOMMENDATIONS 23 9. REFERENCES 24 vi Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK FIGURES Figure 1. Adak Island and Vicinity 3 Figure 2. OU B-2 Sites, Adak Island, Alaska 4 Figure 3. Locations of RAA-01 and RAA-03 (East and West) 5 Figure 4. Locations of RAA-02 and RAA-05 6 Figure 5. Location of RAA-04 7 TABLES Table 1. Summary of RAA Characteristics 10 Table 2. MEC Distribution by Depth 12 Table 3. ESHA and MEC HA Scoring Results 16 Table 4. Summary of Costs and Durations for RAAs-01, -02, -03, -04, and -05 20 vii Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ADEC Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation AM Action Memorandum AMNWR Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ANILCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act ARARs Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements bgs below ground surface CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act EC Engineering Control EE/CA Engineering Evaluation / Cost Analysis EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESHA Explosive Safety Hazard Assessment FFA Federal Facilities Agreement IC Institutional Control LUC Land Use Control MC Munitions Constituents MEC Munitions and Explosives of Concern MEC HA Munitions and Explosives of Concern Hazard Assessment NAF Naval Air Facility NAVFAC NW Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest NCP National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan NPL National Priorities List NTCRA Non Time Critical Removal Action OB/OD open burn/open detonation OU Operable Unit RAA Remedial Action Area RAB Restoration Advisory Board RI/FS Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study ROD Record of Decision SAERA State-Adak Environmental Restoration Agreement TAC The Aleut Corporation USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service viii Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK 1. PURPOSE This Action Memorandum (AM) is the decision document describing the U.S. Navy’s Non- Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) at the Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, Alaska. This NTCRA is being conducted in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) since the Former Adak Naval Complex is currently included on the National Priorities List (NPL). The Navy is the lead agency, under Executive Order 12580, for the CERCLA actions at the Former Adak Naval Complex. There are 11 sites requiring remedial action for munitions at the Former Adak Naval Complex. These sites have been subdivided into five Remedial Action Areas (RAAs) based on proximity and similar nature and extent of munitions contamination. The sites and their subdivision into RAAs are as follows: • RAA-01 - OB/OD-01 • RAA-02 - C1-01 • RAA-03 West - MI-01, MI-02, MI-03 • RAA-03 East - HG-01, RR-01 • RAA-04 - SA93-01, SA93-03 • RAA-05 - ALDA-01, ALSW-01 The purpose of this NTCRA is to protect human health and the environment from the potential presence of munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) in the Remedial Action Areas (RAAs) within Operable Unit B-2. The five RAAs and their respective depths of removal are RAA-01, RAA-02, RAA-03, and RAA-05 to 2 feet below ground surface (bgs), and RAA-04 to 4 feet bgs. The Navy will reserve the opportunity to clear to deeper depths in each RAA if site conditions warrant (e.g., discovery of a disposal pit). A Record of Decision (ROD) is being developed under CERCLA and will follow initiation of this NTCRA. Page 1 of 21 Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK 2. BACKGROUND AND SITE CONDITIONS The Former Adak Naval Complex is included the former Naval Air Facility (NAF) Adak and is located on Adak Island, approximately 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska in the Aleutian Island chain (Figure 1). The former Navy base occupies 76,800 acres on the northern half of the island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) manages the southern half of the island, which is a designated 117,265-acre wilderness area within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR). Figure 2 shows the location of each of the OU B-2 sites addressed in this AM in relation to all OU B-2 sites. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show the locations of the RAAs. 2.1 SITE HISTORY Military presence on Adak began in 1942 when it was used as a staging area during World War II. The Adak Naval Complex was operated by the Navy from about 1949 to 1997. The Naval Air Facility Adak was closed under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure program on 31 March 1997. In September 2000, the federal government entered into a Land Transfer Agreement with The Aleut Corporation (TAC), a Native corporation. This agreement set forth the terms and conditions to transfer approximately 47,000 acres of the former Adak Naval Complex property to TAC. The transfer occurred on 17 March 2004 and included all of the downtown area, housing units, and industrial facilities. Parcel 4, which includes most of the land surrounding Andrew Lake at the north end of Adak Island and contains all of the OU B-2 sites, was not included in the land transfer. 2.2 SITE REGULATORY HISTORY The Former Adak Naval Complex was designated as a Superfund site when it was added it to the NPL by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1994. In order to facilitate investigation and cleanup activities, the Navy, as lead agency, has entered into agreements with the EPA and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC): In 1993, the Navy, EPA, and ADEC signed a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA). This agreement ensures the environmental impacts associated with past and present activities at the facility are thoroughly investigated and appropriate cleanup actions are taken to protect the public health, welfare, and the environment. It incorporates the EPA’s cleanup process under CERCLA. CERCLA does not include petroleum as a hazardous substance, so the FFA stated that petroleum contamination cleanup would follow State of Alaska regulations under a separate two-party agreement between the Navy and the State of Alaska. Page 2 of 21 170 70 160 150 140 130 Arctic Ocean Barrow Andrew Lake Sitkin Sound Russia ALASKA UNITED STATES Clam Lagoon Chukotsk YUKON CANADA Bering Sea Peninsula ARCTIC CIRCLE SweeperKuluk Bay Nome Shagak Bay Cove Russia Alaska U.S.A. Military Reservation Anchorage Bering Sea Wilderness Area Juneau ADAK ISLAND Adak Island Pacific Ocean S LAND ALEUTIAN IS Pacific Ocean Atka Pass Great Amlia Is Sitkin Is BERING SEA Igitkin Is Atka Is Umak Is Tagalak Is Semisopochnoi Is Tanaga Is Bobrof Is Chugul Is Little Tanaga Is Gareloi Is Adak Strait Kagalaska Is Kanaga Is S Ogliuga Is Adak Island D N A Kavalga Is L Amchitka Is Kanaga Pass I S Amchitka Pass A N Ulak Is T I 0 50 A L E U Amatignak Is Scale in Miles PACIFIC OCEAN Figure 1. Adak Island and Vicinity Map Extent SA93-02 SA93-04 Adak Island Andrew MAG-01 Bay 500 SA93-01 300 BC-03 SA93-03 ALDA-02 ALSW-01 Mitchell Creek Andrew Lake Spillway " Locked C1-01 ALDA-01 Gate 100 100 100 100 1700 1800 SA-01 100 1600 1700 1800 Andrew 100 ClamLagoon Moffett Creek Lake 300 " 100 RR-04 Locked Cable Gate RR-02 RR-03 RG-01 " Locked Steel 400 500 HG-01 Gate MI-03 RR-01 300 Nurse's Creek 600 LEGEND MI-02 500 OBOD-01 100 Site Boundary MI-01 " Gate 200 MM-10D 20-ft Contour ´ 200 300 100-ft Contour 0 0.25 0.5 200 300 500-ft Contour Miles Stream LJ-02A Note: JM-01 not shown on map, Road 200 because this site was never located. 200 Figure 2 OU B-2 Sites, Adak Island, Alaska Action Memorandum Final OU B-2, NTCRA 9 January 2013 Former Adak Naval Complex, Adak Island, AK In April 1994, the Navy and ADEC signed the State-Adak Environmental Restoration Agreement (SAERA) to implement site characterization and remediation of petroleum sites on Adak. In 1998, the FFA was amended to divide Adak into OU A (chemical and petroleum sites) and OU B (MEC sites). The ROD for OU A was signed in April 2000 (U.S. Navy 2000). In 2001, OU B was divided into OU B-1 and OU B-2 to accommodate land transfer.