Overview
Umiat Test Well No. 9 is located in the Alaskan foothills of the Brooks Range, more than 100 miles from the nearest road system. It is one of 11 petroleum exploration wells drilled by the U.S. Navy between 1945 and 1953
in the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, a remote exploration drill site now known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The well was cored with a rotary drill with an oil-based drilling mud that contained polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), resulting in the ground surface surrounding the well to become contaminated with PCBs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been conducting cleanup activities at the site since 2009 to remove PCB-contaminated soils around the well. HGL, under contract to USACE, excavated, transported, and disposed of 2,270 cubic yards of contaminated soil under austere and Arctic winter conditions in an area situated within a fragile tundra ecosystem.
| Project Highlights | |
|---|---|
| ✔ | Completed removal of over 2,000 tons of Toxic Substances Control Act-classified waste from the site during winter, and sequenced transport of the waste by snowcat, truck, railcar, and ship over 2,200 miles to the disposal facility. |
| ✔ | Obtained approval for 10 different permits/authorizations from numerous federal and state government agencies in fewer than 90 days to facilitate an accelerated schedule. |
| ✔ | Established and operated an on-site lab that achieved both Environmental Laboratory Approval Program and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation certification for PCB soil analysis, saving over $250,000 in project costs. |
