United States ArmyCorps of EngineersAlaska DistrictPO Box 898Anchorage, AK99506-0898Trip ReportGambell FUDS SiteGambell, Alaska21 – 22 July 2004Prepared byLisa K. GeistEnvironmental Scientist29 July 2004F10AK069603_01.13_0501_a200-1eTrip ReportGambell FUDS SiteGambell, Alaska21-22 July 20041. GeneralA team from the Alaska District, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (the District or the Corps) traveled to Nome,Alaska and the Village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island to conduct a site visit, hold a public meeting,distribute ordnance posters/pamphlets, conduct oversight for the ongoing Native American LandsEnvironmental Mitigation Program (NALEMP) project, collect a groundwater sample, and move the NomeInformation Repository to a new location. The members of the team were:a. Lisa Geist, Environmental Scientist (CEPOA-EN-EE),b. Scott Kendall, Environmental Engineer, (CEPOA-EN-EE), andc. Carey Cossaboom, Project Manager (CEPOA-PM-P).The team traveled to Nome, Alaska on July 21, 2004 and continued on to Gambell in the afternoon. The teamreturned to Anchorage on July 22, 2004.2. PurposeThe objectives of the July 2004 trip included ongoing community relations activities, a public meeting todiscuss the Proposed Plan for Remedial Action in Gambell (FUDS), a site visit for the remedial design engineer,distribution of ordnance safety posters/pamphlets, and collection of a potential fuel free product sample fromgroundwater near the washeteria, and oversight of the ongoing NALEMP debris excavation activities.3. BackgroundThe Gambell site was used by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force from approximately 1948 until thelate 1950s, but was largely dismantled in the early 1960s. Various facilities around the village of Gambell wereconstructed to provide housing, communications, and other functions. All DOD structures were demolished,burned, or scavenged, and debris buried on-site.A Phase I Remedial investigation was started at Gambell in 1994. A Phase II investigation was completed in1997. A removal action was conducted by Oil Spill Consultants during the summer of 1999 to remove surfacedebris and contaminated soils. A Supplemental Remedial Investigation was conducted during 2001. A removalaction was completed in 2003 by Montgomery Watson Harza under the NALEMP program to excavate burieddrums and debris.4. Field ActivitiesThe major on-site tasks for the 2004 site visit were:a. Re-locate the Nome Information Repository from the National Park Service Building to a new location.b. Hold a Public Meeting regarding the Proposed Plan for Remedial Action in Gambellc. Collect a sample of reported free product from the vicinity of former soil boring location SB-18A nearthe local Washeteria building.2d. Observe the sites proposed for remedial action for design purposes, including Site 7 Former PowerFacility, Site 8A the airport runway and exposed marsten matting, Site 8D Beach Ammunition Debrispit, and Site 12.e. Document the status of existing monitoring wells at Site 5.f. Distribute pamphlets on Safety Around Military Ammunition to interested community members, hangeducational posters in prominent locations around town.g. Provide oversight to the Native Village of Gambell staff conducting the NALEMP debris excavationactivities.On Wednesday, July 21, 2004, Carey Cossaboom and Lisa Geist arrived in Nome around 9:30 am. They metwith Brad Bennett at the National Park Service office in Nome to discuss transferring the InformationRepository materials currently located at their office. The team organized the existing materials, then visited thecity library and the U.S. Army National Guard facility. Space was not available at these locations. The teamthen spoke with Gary Smith, Director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Northwest Campus. Gary Smithagreed to house the St. Lawrence Island documents at the campus library. Carey and Lisa were assisted bypersonnel from the National Park Service and completed moving the documents in the afternoon.On Wednesday afternoon, Scott Kendall joined the field team. The team arrived in Gambell around 4:30 pmwhere they were met by Hansen from the Sivuqaq Lodge and Edmond Appasingok from the Native Village ofGambell IRA (and local agent for Cape Smythe Airlines). Carey Cossaboom confirmed the meeting roomarrangements with the City of Gambell. Lisa Geist and Carey Cossaboom set up the meeting room at 6 pm,including the conference telephone, power point projector and laptop. The Public Meeting started at 7:15 pm.Additional details on the meeting are contained in the separate meeting minutes document.On Thursday, July 22, 2004, Lisa Geist and Scott Kendall walked to Site 18A and began to organize the wellpoint supplies at 8:00 am. Carey Cossaboom joined the field team at 8:45 am with a locally rented ATV. Thewell point location was determined by consulting with prior field notes, and eventually confirmed with anhistorical mark on the 8th fence post of the washeteria fence. A well point consisting of a 36 inch drive point,10-slot (0.01 screen size), 1 ¼ inch diameter, with 5-ft lengths of steel pipe risers. The well point was placed 3feet north of the fence, directly in front of the 8th fence post, approximately 75 feet east of the northeast cornerof the building (see photo log).Figure 1 – Well point installation at Site 18A.75 ft3 ftBldgFenceGreentankWhitetankAt 9:25 am, the well point was driven 14.5 feet below ground surface. The well point was tested for water usingthe bailer. The top of casing was measured at 45 inches. The water recovered in the bailer had a slight odor offuel, with grey silty water. The well point was pounded in an additional 1.5 feet. At 9:45 am, the well pointwas completed. The final top of casing measurement was 31 inches above ground surface. The well point was3tested again for water. A strong fuel odor was present in the bailer. The well point was left to rest for severalhours.At 9:45 am, Carey Cossaboom departed for a scheduled meeting with the Native Village of Gambell IRACouncil and NALEMP staff at their office building. Carey Cossaboom also took ordnance posters fordistribution to the IRA Building, Native Store, City Hall, Village Public Safety Officer, Washeteria, SivuqaqLodge, and Post Office.At 10:00, Lisa Geist and Scott Kendall traveled to the airstrip to view the exposed marsten matting. At 10:30am, the team encountered Bruce B., the local airport maintenance employee. Bruce mentioned that Pat Kellererwas the FAA/DOT contact in Nome. The exposed marsten matting is concentrated along the southern half ofthe eastern side of the runway. Towards the southern end of the runway, an exposed group of wires wasobserved (see photo log). According to Bruce, the power lines for the runway lights are buried underneath theasphalt runway. However, the FAA’s navigation aids appear to be connected by wiring which runs east of therunway (see sketch).Figure 2 - Marsten matting along east side of airport runway (Site 8A)The field team continued to Site 12 and Site 8D to observe current conditions. The location of Site 12 isadjacent to a fork in ATV trails south of Troutman lake. Some remnants of debris/trash were observed, but thelead-contaminated soil is not visible to the eye. Site 8D, the beach ammunition burial pits were located duewest of Site 12. Two kinds of ammunition were predominantly observed. The casings included both intact andpreviously ruptured shells.At 12:20 pm, the field team returned to the well point at Site 18A. The bailer was used to recover groundwater.The water had a slight fuel odor, but no visible free product layer. The water column was slightly silty at thebottom. Approximately 1 foot of water was present in the bailer.At 12:30 pm, the field team traveled to Site 5 to conduct an inventory the existing monitoring wells. MW28was located southwest of the fenced Village water supply well building, and found filled with gravel. MW29was located east of the ATV trail, and southeast of the water supply building. The well was locked, but would4require cutting of the lock to be opened. Slight frost jacking was observed. MW 32 was located due southeastof the water supply building. The top of the well was resting on the casing, no lock was present. Otherwise, thewell seemed in good condition. MW 15 was located northeast of the water supply building. This well is anolder vintage. No lock was present on the outer casing, but the interior well was capped with a white plasticPVC cap. MW30 was located northwest of the water supply building. The well was locked, but weathered inplace and would require cutting. Another monitoring well not related to previous remedial investigations wasdocumented due north of the water supply building. MW 14 was located further north from MW15. A plastictie secured the top of the protective casing, the lock had been previously removed. The protective casing ofMW14 was also loose.Five additional older vintage monitoring wells were observed north of Site 5 in the vicinity of Sites 2 and 3.The previous location of the POL-contaminated soil excavation at Site 2 was approximately located andphotographed. The area appeared discolored from campfire burning (ash), other local trash was visible. Justnorth of this area near rocks at the base of Sevuokuk Mountain, more local trash was observed, including metalrims from discarded ATV wheels (see photo log). The team continued along the north beach and back to themain village area.At 1:45 pm, the field team returned to the well point at Site 18A to collect a groundwater sample. A slightsheen and fuel odor was observed from the water recovered from the bailer. The water was clear at the top ofthe bailer. Approximately 14 inches of water was recovered in the bailer. The total depth of the well point was224 inches (to top of casing). The top of casing was 31 inches above ground surface. The total depth of thewell point was 16 feet below ground surface. Water was encountered at approximately 14.5 feet below groundsurface.At 2:25 pm, the field team finished collecting enough water to completely fill two 50 ml amber sample jars,leaving no head space. The collected water had a definite sheen.At 2:30 pm, the top 5 foot section of pipe was unscrewed and removed. The well point was abandoned in placeby filling the remaining underground pipe with gravel.The field team returned to the Sivuqaq Lodge to complete paperwork and package the samples and cooler forreturn to Anchorage. Since the sample was not free product as originally anticipated, the cooler did not requirehazardous materials labeling. The sample was refrigerated at the COE and was transferred to chemist ChrisFloyd on Friday morning, July 23, 2004. The sample was shipped to the laboratory on Monday, July 26, 2004.At the end of the day, the field team observed the local NALEMP staff working on the excavation of burieddebris at Site 18, just east of the washeteria/water treatment complex. The local laborers were hand cuttingdebris and loading a staged connex at the job site. The team noted that the John Deere 744H Loader’s rearwindshield was broken, and required covering with plastic bags by the equipment operator. Several supersackswere observed, but appeared to be only partially filled with contaminated soil. Many black plastic garbage bagshad being used to containerize debris (later determined to be insulation) in piles. The excavation area was alarge pit, with some twisted Quonset hut metal frames visible. A portion of a fuel pipeline had also beenexposed near the washeteria fence. The job site area was marked with yellow caution tape. The local laborersmoved the debris using ATV trailers and then transferring the debris by hand into the front-door of a standardconnex box. The backhoe was also used to transport debris from the excavation pit location to the staging area.The field team left Gambell at 5:00 pm, arrived in Nome and then Anchorage by 10:30 pm.56. Conclusions and RecommendationsDuring this trip, the District team visited with community members, and toured various areas to prepare forremedial design activities based on the Proposed Plan. The team provided oversight to ongoing NALEMPdebris excavation activities. The free product noted in field notes/observations by previous contractor in 2001was not present at Site 18A. The public meeting was well attended and generated much discussion regardingsites either planned for remedial action or considered for no further action. The main issue of concern was thepossibility of buried ordnance near the base of Sevuokuk Mountain and underwater in Troutman lake. Adispute still exists over the adequacy of prior investigations by the Corps of Engineers and the memory of localresidents.Although the team did not spend a lot of time observing the ongoing NALEMP project, questions were raisedregarding their familiarity with the workplan, and the effective use of laborers, equipment, and communicatingsafe work practices.The information gathered will be used to help identify any remaining data gaps, respond to communityconcerns, prepare a decision document, and plan for future remedial actions.6Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 1-4: Well point installation at Site 18A, adjacent to fence along northern boundary of washeteria area.Photo 1- View southwest towards water treatment bldg Photo 2 - View southeast towards tanks.Photo 3 – view west, City Hall in backgroundPhoto 4 – view east along fence7Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 5-8: Vicinity of well point 18APhotos 5 and 6 - view southeastPhoto 7 - view southwestPhoto 8 - view west8Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 9: Sampling of well point 18APhoto 10: Well point abandoned in place. Top 5 feet of casing removed.9Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 11 - 14: Marsten matting along east side of airstrip (Site 8A)Photo 11- view southwestPhoto 12 - view southPhoto 13: view west, close upPhoto 14: view north10Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 15 - 17: Airport lighting/navigation aids (Site 8A)Photo 15: view north – ATV trail in backgroundPhoto 16: view east towards Troutman LakePhoto 17: detail view of power supply11Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 18 -20: Decaying drums at Site 8A, northern edge of exposed marsten matting area12Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 21: Exposed cables near southern end of airstrip. View southwest towards runway.Orange navigation aids / lights in background.Photo 22: close up of cablesPhoto 23: view north from southern end of airstrip13Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 24: Exposed marsten matting along eastern edge of Airstrip, looking south (Site 8A)Photo 25: Exposed marsten matting at Site 8A, view west14Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 26 - 30: vicinity of Site 12, south of Troutman LakePhoto 26: view eastPhoto 27: view southeastPhoto 28: view southPhoto 29: view northwestPhoto 30: view north towards ATV trails15Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 31- 26: vicinity of Site 8D beach ammunition burial pitsPhoto 31: view northeastPhoto 32: view east, Site 12 in distancePhoto 33: close up of small arms ammunitionPhoto 34: close up viewPhoto 35: beach gravelsPhoto 36: beach gravels16Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 37 - 40: Site 5, Monitoring Well #29Photo 37: Top view of MW29Photo 38: view north along trail and Sevuokuk Mtn.Photo 39: view north towards village water supply bldgPhoto 40: view east towards mountain17Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 41 - 42: Site 5, Monitoring Well #32Photo 41: close up of MW 32Photo 43: Site 5, MW#31, close viewPhoto 42: view northwest towards village water supplyPhoto 44: view east from MW3118Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 45: Site 5, unknown well, view southPhoto 47: Site 5, Monitoring Well #15,close upPhoto 46: Site 5, Monitoring Well #15close viewPhoto 48: view southwest from MW1519Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 49: Site 5, Monitoring Well #14close upPhoto 50: view south from MW14Photo 51: Monitoring well #30Photo 52: view south-southwest from MW3020Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 53 - 58: Site 2/3 – vicinity of 1999 soil excavation, local debris and campfire remnants21Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 59 - 60: Near north beach and Sevuokuk Mountain, local debris and ATV wheel rims.Photo 61: Fuel off-loading area at north beachPhoto 62: Pond/depression area located east ofCAA housing and north of the main village.22Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photos 63 - 65: NALEMP excavation activities at Site 18, east of the Washeteria complex. Views south andsoutheast towards Troutman Lake.23Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 66: Village of Gambell, view northeastPhoto 67: Village of Gambell, view east24Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 68: Aerial view of Gambell, view northeast, High School, power plant, and Sevuokuk MountainPhoto 69: Aerial view of Gambell, view northeast. Airstrip in foreground, Troutman Lake, Village in distance.25Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska – July 22, 2004Photo 70: Aerial view of Gambell, view southeast. End of Troutman Lake, Nayvaghat Lakes, West beach.26