Haines Fuel Terminal, Haines, Sears Creek Station, Tok Fuel Terminal, Tok and Gerstle River Test Site

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Alaska District contracted Bristol to conduct environmental investigations at four U.S. Army Garrison sites across Alaska – Haines Fuel Terminal (HFT), Sears Creek Station (SCS), Tok Fuel Terminal (TFT), and Gerstle River Test Site (GRTS) – three sites along the Haines Fuel Pipeline (HFP) and one active maneuver area, extending from Haines in Southeast Alaska to Delta Junction in Alaska’s interior, over 500 miles apart. Portions of the Haines Fuel Pipeline (HFP) are co-located with the Canadian Oil (CANOL) Pipeline between Tok and Fairbanks.

The investigation included three remedial investigations (RIs), two site investigations (SIs), and Class V underground injection control (UIC) and pipelines risk assessments (RAs) concurrently at three sites. The RI objectives were to characterize features identified in the data gap analyses as needing further investigation, delineate the nature and extent of contaminants in soil and groundwater (including potential impacts from former Class V UIC well systems, petroleum storage tanks, and petroleum pipelines), and collect adequate data to be incorporated into baseline human health and ecological risk assessments (HH/ERAs), to be used to establish site remediation goals. RI objectives were achieved through extensive field screening using an ultra-violet optical screening tool (UVOST), photoionization detector (PID), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), and passive soil gas modules; installation of numerous soil borings and monitoring wells, and the collection of soil and groundwater analytical data. 

Removed and closed 20 dry wells and two septic systems at four sites. Specific scope for each site included:

  • Haines Fuel Terminal Pipeline Removal removed 15,169 linear feet (lf) of piping, 80 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, 330 gallons of contaminated liquid, and associated scrap metal. 
  • Tok Fuel Terminal Pipeline Removal removed 8,030 lf of piping, 240 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, 1,375 gallons of contaminated liquid, and associated scrap metal. 
  • Sears Creek Station underground storage tank (UST), aboveground storage tank (AST), and Pipeline Removal removed two USTs, two ASTs, a fuel dewatering tower, a concrete waste pit, 3,000 lf of piping, 130 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, 1,315 gallons of contaminated liquid, and associated scrap metal. 
  • Gerstle River Test Site Sump and Piping Decommissioning removed a concrete waste sump, 150 lf of associated drainage and discharge piping, six 55-gallon drums of sump and piping sludge, and 1,250 gallons of contaminated liquid. 

Bristol prepared three Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) RI reports, two Human Health (HH)/Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) reports, two SI reports, three tank and pipeline removal reports, one sump decommissioning report, three monitoring wells repair reports, and two brush-clearing/fence maintenance reports. The RI reports achieved project data quality objectives (DQOs), defined nature and extent of contamination, estimated risk, calculated site-specific Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) Method 3 alternate cleanup levels (ACLs) and estimated volume of contaminated soil remaining at each site.

Immediate Response Action, Air National Guard C-130 Crash Clean Up

This task order awarded by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District under the Rapid Response / Immediate Response IDIQ for Remediation of Various Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) Sites, Single Award Task Order Contract (SATOC) was for a time critical immediate response action for cleanup at the site of a National Guard C-130 Transport plane crash in Port Wentworth, Georgia. The crash shattered the aircraft, dispersing debris, creating a fire ball, and releasing petroleum-based contaminants over the crash site; including four lanes of State Route (SR) 21, the median, and shoulders within the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) right-of-way (R/W) and on CSX Transportation (CSXT) R/W on the west side of SR 21. SR 21, a major thoroughfare for Savannah, Georgia, required complete closure until the crash site could be restored. 

Required activities included excavation and offsite disposal of petroleum-contaminated soil resulting from the crash; backfill and site restoration of the excavated areas; removal of damaged asphalt on the state highway due to the fuel spill, and fire associated with the plane crash; repaving of the damaged areas of the state highway; removal and offsite disposal of all trees damaged by the plane crash; as well as coordination between Savannah District Corps of Engineers, State of Georgia Department of Energy (DE), the state DOT, and CSX Railroad. The available working area at the site was extremely constrained, and to meet the objectives and timeliness for all stakeholders, highway repairs, and soils remediation required concurrent action with substantial safety oversight so that highway repair, excavation/T&D, soil sampling, and other actions could be simultaneously conducted.

O&M (dewater & backfill), Former Spartan Tactical Launch Stations

Through a joint venture, Bristol was awarded this task order (TO) by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District under the Rapid V term contract to open, dewater, backfill, re-cover, and reseal 30 Spartan Tactical Launch Stations (TLSs) at the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex in Nekoma, North Dakota, with new rubber seals and welded bead. The previously analyzed water from the TLSs indicated that some of the TLS structures contained varying concentrations of cadmium and chromium exceeding Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulatory levels. A Notice of Violation (NOV) was issued to the government by the North Dakota Department of Health (ND DOH), requiring the activities covered in this TO to be performed. Prior to mobilization, Bristol conducted five site visits to confirm scope and existing site conditions, collect water samples, meet with project stakeholders, and plan for project execution.

Initial activities commenced in July 2015, and involved site preparation; including utility locates and installation of a new access gate, access roads, staging areas, and erosion control measures. Services required opening the protective covers on the launch chamber and the exhaust duct as well as the personnel access hatch on the mechanical and electrical equipment vault (MEEV). Bristol then removed the water in the Spartan TLS structures and treated the water on site. Dewatering was accomplished with hydraulic pumps and suction hoses, which were lowered into the exhaust duct of the TLS. As the dewatering of the TLS structures progressed, Bristol conducted confined space entry (CSE) into the MEEVs and launch preparation equipment vaults (LPEVs) of each TLS following strict CSE safety procedures; including air monitoring, donning of harnesses and retrieval devices, and use of a dedicated entry attendant. During the CSE, Bristol personnel sealed off potential entry points for future water infiltration and secured the manways into the LPEV open to allow for future backfill with flowable fill. 

The water treatment system used 10-micron bag filters, two anion media collection vessels and two special media (proprietary) vessels. Due to a concern for potential presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), water removed from the auxiliary vaults was segregated and containerized in frac tanks and conveyed through the system for metals removal as well as additional clay and carbon treatment vessels designed to remove PCBs. The treated water was containerized on site in an 18,000-barrel capacity Lake Tank and sampled. Following receipt of the analytical results indicating that the treated water was below RCRA regulatory levels, and the acceptance criteria of the Grand Forks Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW), a total of 473,760 gallons of water was transported off site for disposal as clean. 

Bristol backfilled the TLSs with sand to within one-foot of the launch chamber surface and the exhaust duct, attaching a 1-foot-thick cap of structural concrete with rebar to the interior walls of the launch chamber and the exhaust duct; re-covering and resealing the Spartan TLSs. All hazardous materials were removed from the site and disposed of in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations. Bristol prepared all required waste profiles, bills of lading, and hazardous waste manifests in accordance with applicable regulations.