At a public meeting in Haines last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers presented a clean up plan for a fifty-year-old fuel spill at about 15.5 mile on the Haines Highway. Their plan is to excavate contaminated dirt on both sides of the highway and treat it with a process called “land farming” at a different location near the Chilkat River. Contaminated soil under the highway would not be moved.
The deadline for public comment lapsed last week. Borough Manager Debra Schnabel suggested the municipality weigh in anyway.
“The staff is questioning the solid science of doing a partial remediation and so is recommending that the Army Corps do nothing, as opposed to undergo a half remediation,” she said at the Haines Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday (3/10).
Half remediation is only half the problem. Residents expressed concern that the plan to treat the contaminated soil at another location on the river could jeopardize salmon spawning ground.
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers presented four options for cleanup, including a “no action” option. Their preferred alternative for cleanup is the most rigorous. Public Facilities Director Ed Coffland said that it introduces risk without addressing the whole problem. He recommended the Haines Borough support the “no action” Alternative.
“It’s been as it is since sometime before 1973 when the pipeline shut down,” said Coffland.
“I don’t believe that their proposed solution really solves anything. So why bother to do anything?”
In a memo to the borough, he expressed concern that the cleanup would leave contaminated material under the highway. He said that if the Army Corps of Engineers moves forward, they should do a full clean up—and take any contaminated soil out of Haines.
During public comment at the end of the meeting Takshanuk Watershed Council’s Derek Poinsette said he has been involved with the Army Corps of Engineers’ process at the spill site. He cautioned that contamination could continue to pollute the Chilkat River if no action is taken.
“The best thing to do would be remove all of it, including what’s under the road. The second best thing would be to do what the Army Corps recommended. To do nothing would be irresponsible,” Poinsette said.
Anne Marie Palmieri regulates the project for Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation. In an interview with KHNS last month, Palmieri said the contamination is still a hazard to human health and environment. She said she encouraged the Army Corps of Engineers to consider a full clean up, and excavate the soil under the Haines Highway.
The Assembly voted to write a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking for a full cleanup or no action. If cleanup takes place, they asked that all materials be shipped out of Haines, rather than cleaned up near the river.
