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Last Uniformed Military Leaves AdakOn March 1, 2002, Petty OfficerRonald O’Toole, a NavySeaBee, left Adak. PettyOfficer O’Toole had beenassigned to duty at the NavyCaretaker Site Office (CSO)since April 1999. Petty OfficerO’Toole has the distinction ofbeing the last uniformed militarymember to serve on Adak,marking the end of nearly 60years of continuous militarypresence.

Military presence at Adakbegan during the early days ofWorld War II. The Japanesehad occupied Attu and KiskaIslands, and the United Stateswas beginning preparations foran offensive campaign todislodge them. In August 1942,members of the unit nicknamed“Castner’s Cutthroats” firstlanded on Kuluk Beach. Thefollowing quote from The Thou-sand-Mile War: World War II inAlaska and the Aleutians, byBrian Garfield, describes thisinitial landing:

“In the heaving darkness ofthe night of August 28, 1942,fleet submarines Triton andTuna surfaced a mile off theAdak coast. Without lightsor sound, Colonel LawrenceCastner and the thirty-sevencommandos slipped intorubber boats, pushed away

from the pitching subma-rines, and rowed toward thedim coastline.

Crossing the reefs, theypaddled into Kuluk Bay,dragged their rafts up on thebeach, and fanned out in-land. They covered groundthoroughly, taking all nightto sweep the island. Theyfound no Japanese; therewere not even any ashes toindicate recent enemy pres-ence on the island code-named Fireplace.”

Petty Officer O’Toole is retiringfrom active military service after20 years in the Navy. His friendsand co-workers wished him wellat a formal retirement ceremonyon March 22, 2002, at theNavy’s Engineering Field Activ-ity, Northwest, in Poulsbo,Washington.

Petty Officer O’Toole’s departurefrom Adak marks another signifi-cant milestone toward complet-ing the transition of the formernaval air facility to a self sustain-ing, self governing Alaskacommunity with a private-sectorcommercial economy.

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Navy Prepares Draft FOST forPublic Comment

On March 5, 2002, the Navypublished a notice of the avail-ability of the draft Finding ofSuitability To Transfer (FOST) forParcel 1A of the Adak NavalComplex. The Navy and theBRAC Cleanup Team (includingthe Alaska Department of Envi-ronmental Conservation and theU.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency) are requesting input onthe draft FOST, which whenfinalized will enable the transferof former military property to TheAleut Corporation (TAC) forongoing and future economicreuse. Public comments are dueto the Navy by April 8, 2002.

A FOST is required under theU.S. Department of Defense’sbase closure program to docu-ment both the environmentalcondition of the property suitablefor transfer and any associatedland use restrictions. The FOSTis prepared to ensure that theproperty (in this case, the Down-town Area and portions of theremote areas near Clam La-goon) is suitable for transferfrom the federal government toTAC. With issuance of theFOST, the Navy determines thatall cleanup actions necessaryprior to property conveyancehave been completed, or are in

place and are working “properlyand successfully,” as required bySection 120(h) of Superfund.

The Adak FOST refers to anEnvironmental Baseline Survey(EBS), also recently completedfor the entire Adak Naval Com-plex. Each chemical, petroleum,ordnance, and temporary stor-age site within the Navy propertyis evaluated in the EBS and itsEnvironmental Condition ofProperty (ECP) assessed. Thebase closure program definesseven ECP categories, asfollows:

❑ ECP 1 — Areas of norelease,

❑ ECP 2— Areas whererelease or disposal ofpetroleum has occurred,

❑ ECP 3— Areas wherechemical release or disposalhas occurred, but not atlevels that require cleanup,

❑ ECP 4— Areas wherechemical release or disposalhas occurred, but where allcleanup actions have beentaken,

❑ ECP 5 — Areas wherechemical release or disposalhas occurred, but wherecleanup actions have beenstarted but have not beencompleted,

❑ ECP 6— Areas where

chemical release or disposalhas occurred, but wherecleanup actions have notbeen taken, and

❑ ECP 7— Areas that havenot been evaluated.

Under the base closure pro-gram, only sites and parcels withECP scores of 1, 2, 3, or 4 canbe transferred. Ordnance sitesthat have not been investigatedor cleaned up are included inother land parcels that will betransferred at a later time.

Completion of the FOST forParcel 1A, which comprisesapproximately 32,000 acres, willbe a major milestone on the wayto completing the transition ofthe former naval air facility to aproductive Alaska community.

Copies of the document areavailable at the three Adakinformation repositories: onAdak, at the Anchorage PublicLibrary, and at the Navy’s Engi-neering Field Activity Northwestoffice in Poulsbo, Washington.For questions or comments tothe Navy, contact Mr. MarkMurphy at (360) 396-0070 or bye-mail atMurphyMS@efanw.navfac.navy.mil.

1. Notify the regulators of the start of FOST (completed)2. Prepare FOST (completed)3. Notify the regulators and the public of the intent of the Navy to sign the FOST

and silicit public comment (completed)4. Address public comments and finalize the FOST (planned during April 2002)5. Notify the public of the execution of the FOST (planned during April 2002)

Steps in the Parcel 1A FOST Process

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Adak Restoration AdvisoryBoard Co-Chairs Cathy Villa andMark Murphy were the mastersof ceremony at this year’sDepartment of Defense spon-sored Alaska RAB Workshop.The RAB workshop was held inconjunction with the AlaskaForum on the Environment inAnchorage on February 7, 2002.The keynote speaker at this

year’sworkshopwas MajorGeneralJamesLovelace, theU.S. ArmyCommander

The Navy plans to carry out anumber of environmentalprojects on Adak for the upcom-ing field season. Weathertypically limits most of theenvironmental work to the periodfrom late spring into mid-fall(May through October). Theprojects, some of which werestarted in 2001 (or before),involve the following elements.

UXO Investigation andRemediationThe Navy plans to complete theremediation of Operable Unit(OU) B-1. This work will includefinishing three small sites con-tained within Parcel 1A (FingerBay 03, Combat Range Site C3-01, and Blind Cove 01) thatcould not be completed by theend of last field season. Workwill also continue on the MountMoffet sites in Parcel 1B, whichtogether with Parcel 1A com-

prises the 47,150 acres plannedto be transferred to TAC. In OUB-2, in the vicinity of LakeAndrew, the Navy plans tocommence its Remedial Investi-gation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) field investigation activities.

Petroleum ProjectsFree product petroleum willcontinue to be recovered fromthe groundwater this field sea-son. Free product recoverygoals have been reached at theTanker Shed site, and comple-tion of post-recovery monitoringis expected at SWMU 62 thisfield season. Surface waterdrainage will be recontouredaround the power plant 3 sitethis field season. Work willcontinue in 2002 to address thepetroleum seep that appears tobe causing a sheen on SouthSweeper Creek at the TransitRoad Bridge.

RAB Workshop Heldin Alaska. In attendance werecommunity members, DoDmembers, regulators, andinterested stakeholders. Onehundred and twenty-one peopleregistered for the workshop.

The Navy organized the state-wide RAB workshop this year.There were educational ses-sions provided by representa-tives of the Navy, the Army, theAlaska Department of Environ-mental Conservation, and theAlaska Department of Healthand Social Services. The edu-cational sessions focused on fivedifferent topics: risk assessmentand risk management;

unexplodedordnancebasics;chemicalsin the foodchain; riskcommuni-

cation; and DoD siteprioritization procedures. Theafternoon session focused onroundtable discussions thatemphasized improving the RABprocess in Alaska and under-standing the functions of RABs.Approximately 68 co-chairs, orRAB representatives, partici-pated in the afternoon session.A summary of the workshop willbe posted on http://www.adakupdate.com.

Work Planned for 2002 Field SeasonThe Navy is gathering additionalinformation necessary prior tocleaning and closing over30,000 linear feet of abandonedpetroleum pipeline. The aban-doned pipeline once carrieddiesel, gasoline, and Avgas fromthe tank farms to various loca-tions. Additional informationbeing gathered includes theconditions of the piping, whichmay affect the appropriatetechnology to clean and closethe pipeline.

Groundwater andBiological MonitoringGroundwater quality will con-tinue to be monitored at petro-leum and CERCLA sites as wellas at landfills during the 2002field season. The U.S. Geologi-cal Survey’s Biological Re-sources Division will againperform biological monitoring offish and shellfish in Sweeper

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Cove and Kuluk Bay. Tissuesamples collected from theseorganisms will be analyzed tomonitor trends in chemicallevels.

Cabin DemolitionDemolition of over 50 cabins invarious areas of Adak’s northernhalf is planned for 2002. Alldebris from the structures will bedisposed of in Roberts Landfill ina cell specifically designated forinert demolition debris.

University of Alaska, AnchorageLibrary Reserve Room

3211 Providence Dr.907-786-1871

M-F, 8am to 5pm

Information repository AdakSecond Floor,

Adak City Hall BuildingM-F, 8am to 5 pm

Web Sitewww.adakupdate.com

Work Planned for2002 Field Season (continued from page 3)

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