Approximately 18,500 cubic yards of treated but contaminated soil sits in temporary containment near the site of 2016's Byford junkyard cleanup. The site had been extensively contaminated with lead, petroleum and other substances over decades of use. While the worst bits were already shipped abroad for disposal, the remaining soil will need to find repose closer to home due to lack of funds.
With a month left before work is scheduled to resume, discussions continue on the future of a stockpile of contaminated soil excavated from the former Byford junkyard.
Heading the cleanup effort that began in 2016, the Department of Environmental Conservation removed over 60 shipping containers of debris and heavily contaminated soils from the yard, which for years had been a privately-run repository for automotive and marine junk. The City of Wrangell had assumed responsibility for the property through foreclosure in 2006, and lacking the funds to pay for remediation of the heavily polluted site the state and federal Environmental Protection Agency had stepped in to assist.
EPA Superfund resources slated for the cleanup were diverted elsewhere, and an initial $3.9 million earmarked for the project by the state DEC ended up being insufficient. Growing in scale as work continued, reclamation of the property reached $6.5 million by the first phase's end, and a further 18,500 cubic yards of lead-contaminated, chemically treated soil remained on site for disposal.
Due to the high cost of shipping that soil out, the department had recommended instead storing the material permanently on-island in a designated monofill. Around $5.7 million was budgeted for that part of the project, and a disused Department of Natural Resources rock pit identified as an ideal candidate for its location.
Work slated to begin last July ended up being delayed after local concerns were raised about the site's proximity to Pats Creek, a salmon-producing stream important to recreation and subsistence activities. Putting the project on hold until April 1 of this year, DEC has subsequently allowed the city and Wrangell Cooperative Association time to come up with either alternative locations or additional funding resources. By its own estimates, DEC expected shipment off-island of the material and disposal would cost an additional $6 million.
To the present, the additional money has not materialized. DEC unit manager Sally Schlichting had come down to Wrangell January 22 to meet with city and tribal officials and explore other on-island options.
"We went down to look at some additional alternative sites that the WCA had identified," she said.
Together with WCA's environmental office staff, she examined six new sites, bringing the total number of examined alternatives for the project to 15. To be useful a site needs to meet certain criteria. A new landfill must be at least 500 feet from a drinking water well or surface water source, the area's base must naturally be at least 10 feet above the highest measured level of the uppermost aquifer or built two or more feet above the ground, it cannot be located on a slope greater than 10 percent, and with few exceptions cannot be situated in a wetland.
By that rubric the other locations were eliminated from consideration, with the DNR pit still considered the best candidate.
"Nothing else has really materialized out of those conversations for another site," explained John Halverson, DEC Contaminated Sites Program manager.
A final decision on the project has not been arrived at, with discussions still ongoing with WCA and the city.
"We're going to make a decision soon," said Halverson.
The current stockpile the soils are being kept in has a shelf life of only two years, covered in a plastic tarp weighted down with tires over at the former Byford site. Because the project was intended to prepare the yard for residential use it cannot be permanently interred there, and the materials used to build the stockpile are unsuitable for long-term exposure.
Schlichting explained the stockpile is being inspected on a weekly basis by a contractor. Early on in the winter season some tears in the top cover have had to be repaired, but otherwise the site has been fine. Once the soil is eventually moved to its final resting place the soil beneath the stockpile will be sampled and tested to ensure there was no migration of lead.
The soil was treated with a phosphate-based compound which renders the present lead unavailable to passing water molecules. While still considered contaminated, the soil should be resistant to leaching into surrounding water systems. Once interred in the monofill, it will be covered up and sequestered off from future development, with periodic monitoring.
If the monofill gets built as planned, some further delays and cost additions are expected. $2 million has already been spent for the second phase, with some lease particulars and contractor costs from the delay adding to expenses. As part of its agreement to use the Forest Service's roads to and from the fill site, DEC's contractors will not be able to make trips during the weekends and on holidays. Each day's work will need fair weather, meaning less flexibility for scheduling left by the shortened week, and a potentially lengthier project.
"The contractor is looking at that to see how they can maximize hauling," said Halverson.
Final costs will not be known until work is finally completed. Meanwhile, Halverson said DEC is still in communication with CBW and WCA, and it may schedule another presentation or public meeting before work resumes.
"We will definitely let people know what the plan is," he said.
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