Dump Found Shows Little Trace of Oil

More Screening May Be Required

A line is buried under rubbish-strewn dirt near the entrance to an access road. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A dump uncovered during construction of a road to "Holtan Hills" was determined to have a low amount of toxic pollutants, according to an official with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Six soil samples taken from material dumped decades ago near Girdwood's school revealed petroleum and other chemicals well below a threshold mandating an extensive clean up, said Jade Gamble, who works in the DEC's "Rapid Response" division.

DEC received a report August 6 and the agency closed the case six days later after testing samples from the site.

A consultant screening for "volatile organic compounds" found that "nothing was deemed a threat to groundwater or surface water or to the general public," Gamble said. "And now they're just running into garbage." She said that "several hundred cubic yards" of trash-strewn dirt have been removed.

In early August workers excavating an access road and sewer line for the controversial "Holtan Hills" project turned up refuse—from oil drums to trash-filled plastic bags to car axles—of a dump closed in 1979. A portion of the garbage was removed in 2002 after children at the school complained of bad smells and orange sludge coming from the playground. The remediated playground area was unlisted as a contaminated site, according to the DEC.

But while garbage uncovered this month is part of the same dump and also had an odor, soil samples from recent excavations had "diesel-range organics" in the 30s parts-per-million and the threshold triggering more stringent regulations is 230 ppm, Gamble said. Tests for heavier oils, like engine oils, showed no amounts of the hazardous waste, she said.

She said the process has already cost time and money for the city's contractor, GMC Contracting.

Heavy equipment lines the access road to a planned subdivision dubbed '“Holtan Hills”. Construction will continue in September with a paved road and bike path. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

The Anchorage Assembly recently approved $2.5 million to fund the "off-site" development of a road and sewer line for a subdivision project dubbed "Holtan Hills". That award led one assembly member to warn that the project, rejected by most of Girdwood's residents, could end up unprofitable for the city. 

Meanwhile, portions of garbage-filled dirt that were trucked to Anchorage's landfill for screening were deemed acceptable, said Neil Lehner, of DEC's Solid Waste Program. Debris remaining at the site will also be taken to the landfill for disposal "if they will accept it," Lehner said.

As to whether additional loads of trash-strewn dirt meet the landfill's requirements, "you'll have to contact the Muni," Lehner said. "From the DEC's perspective, we just make sure it goes to a permitted landfill."

A crushed drum is among debris excavated during construction. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

Gamble said though its analysis is still in draft form, DEC's case on the matter is closed. She added that monitoring is ongoing and that a case may be reopened if signs of contaminants, like oil stains and smells, are detected. She said old, rusted oil drums and plastic oil containers in the dirt heap were likely discarded empty.

A worker at the site who has encountered refuse on other projects in the state said debris that doesn't meet the landfill's standards may mean it has to be shipped out of state for processing. He said GMC encountered two debris fields, one at the terminus of the access road and another at its entrance on Hightower Rd. A representative for GMC directed questions to the Municipality of Anchorage. 

Though the area at the end of Hightower Rd. was used as dumping ground from, at least, 1965 to 1975, it was never a permitted landfill. In 1997, an underground storage tank was found to be leaking by the school, resulting in a remediation effort. Another clean up of the playground area was completed in 2002.

DEC's hotline for reporting contamination and spill is 1-800-478-9300.

Construction adjacent to the Girdwood School. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)