IMMEDIATE POLLUTION CONTROL NEEDS
IN ALASKA
APRIL 1967
U.S. Department of the Interior
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
Northwest Region
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ALASKA WATER LABORATORY
COLLEGE, ALASKA
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
NORTHWEST REGION
A Report of
IMMEDIATE POLLUTION CONTROL NEEDS IN ALASKA
APRIL 1967
Additional copies of this report may be obtained from
Alaska Water Laboratory
College, Alaska
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INDEX
Frontispiece. .. . i
Index ii
Map of Alaska iii
Foreward iv
Area Reports
Anchorage Metropolitan Area 1.1
Fairbanks Area 2.1
Juneau-Douglas Area......... 3.1
Kenai-Soldotna Area 4.1
Ketchilcan Area 5.1
Kodiak Area 6.1
Sitka Borough Area 7.1
Special Problems
Alaska-Wide Seafood Processing Wastes 8.1
Statewide Forest and Mining Industry 9.1
Oil Industry 10.1
Remote Villages and Federal Installations 11.1
ii
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AVAILABLE
DIGITALLY
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FOREWARD
The purpose of this report Is to summarize the immediate, knovm
pollution control needs of Alaska. It is the first step in a com-
prehensive program to clarify the relationship of wastes disposal to
the economy and environment of Alaska. The information presented has
been obtained from existing files and documents in addition to inter-
views with public officials and others with direct knowledge of
pollution conditions. No new water quality surveys were carried out
for purposes of this report. Much of the information contained,
although subjective in approach, represents first hand observations, or
the results of interviews with persons with first hand knowledge.
Waste disposal has only recently begun to be generally recog-
nized in Alaska as an agent causing environmental change; therefore,
some potential problems may have been overlooked. Many smaller
communities have had no pollution surveys whatever, although they are
listed for future planning by an information bulletin released by the
State Department of Health and Welfare. The present report will group
all such communities under a single heading for cost estimating.
This report was prepared under authority of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, Section 3(a), as amended.
1. State of Alaska Department of Health & Welfare, "Proposed
Standards for Water Pollution Control in the State of Alaska",
March 1967.
iv
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SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS AND COSTS THROUGHOUT ALASKA
A. Municipal Waste Treatment
1. Primary and secondary treatment plant
construction provisions for interceptors
and connections, and extension of
outfall lines $58,600,000
Of this figure an estimated 25 percent is presently at the
stage where some engineering planning exists. No projects
are knovm to be under active construction.
B. Oil Pollution Control in Southwestern Alaska
1. Research of control measures $ 200,000
2. Oil well drilling and crude handling..., 7,000,000
3. Preventive measures 400,000
C. Fisheries Industry Waste Treatment
1. Waste Disposal $ 5,000,000
2. Waste Conversion to by-products
a. Research 100,000
b. Plants and Equipment 5,000,000
D. Wood Products
1. Pulp Mill Effluent Treatment $ 4,000,000
2. Sawdust and Scrap Disposal 50,000
E. Mining and Gravel Washing Industries
1. Gold Placer Mining $ 114,000
2. Gravel Washing 2,000,000
TOTAL $82,464,000
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Problem Areas and Immediate Needs
It must be emphasized that much of the effort In pollution
control in Alaska, happily, will be in the category of preventive
measures. Many large areas, where free of human activities, are
also free of pollution. The Alaska State Water Quality Standards
as noxj being promulgated and the existing statutes require that
all waters be maintained in an unpolluted condition (with the possible
exceptions of waters used for gravel washing and placer mining).
Waters of Alaska are today relatively free of pollution
problems when the immense extent of bay, inlet and river water area
is considered. When one considers only those waters near which
there are industrial complexes or population centers, the picture
changes. The waters near population and industrial centers are
becoming polluted to a measurable extent and very little, if anything,
is being done to slow the process.
It is apparent that precisely those practices which brought
pollution to dangerous levels elsewhere, exist today in Alaska.
These practices include (1) use of waters as a dumping ground for
all types of refuse by individuals, (2) the widespread practices
of direct dumping of sewage with no treatment, and (3) inadequate
attention by industry to the prevention of pollution.
Pollution of Alaskan waters is assured if present trends are
not reversed.
vi
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ANCHORAGE METROPOLITAN AREA
1.1
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ALASKA, MA?
0 1QO 800 80O 4OO 30OKilf.Inrr.-t>i
S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. FEDERAL CENTER. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASHINGTON 25. D. C.
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"".ANCHORAGE
10
20
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Scale 1:1,000,000
40 50
60
70
80
sar:
90
100 Statute Miles
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ANCHORAGE METROPOLITAN AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to list and evaluate the sources
and extent of pollution in the Anchorage metropolitan area of
Alaska and to recommend actions designed to solve immediate problems.
The recommendations presented herein are based on studies and
recommendations documented in references (1), (2) and (13) entitled
respectively "Greater Anchorage Area Sewerage Study," "Eagle River -
Chugiak Area Sewerage Study," both by a private consulting engineering
firm, and "The Pollution of the Waters of Knik Arms" by the Alaska
Department of Health. At the present time the Greater Anchorage
Area Borough, an autonomous entity within whose political boundaries
the area under consideration is contained, has adopted the two former
studies as its master sewerage plan and is planning to present a
referendum to its citizens for the authorization of bond sales.
The present pollution conditions are in violation of the
Alaska Water Pollution Control Act and the Administrative Code;
the Department of Health and Welfare therefore requires that at
least primary treatment be given to the sewage from the City of
Anchorage, Elmendorf Air Force Base, and Fort Richardson.
In addition to the State requirements, the Presidential Executive
Order 11288 requires federal installations to provide secondary
treatment for all wastes except cooling waters and fish hatchery
wastes, or preferentially, to discharge wastes into municipal sewer
systems providing adequate treatment.
Inasmuch as the recommendations presented in references (1)
and (2) comply with these requirements, implementation of these
recommendations is justified. The Alaska Water Laboratory, however,
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VICINITY
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feels that the Location of the proposed point of effluent discharge
warrants further evaluation of oceanographic data.
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES
Responsible Agency Immediate Treatment Estimated Cost Relative Vicinity
and Nature of Waste Needs to Correct Priority Map Index
City of Anchorage
and Anchorage sub-
urban area (domestic
wastes)
Ft. Richardson
U.S. Army
(domestic wastes)
Elmendorf Air Force
Base (domestic
wastes)
Two privately owned
canneries (fish
cannery wastes)
Greater Anchorage
Area Borough
(domestic wastes
from Eagle River-
Chugiak area)
City of Anchorage
(proposed snow-
melting plant wastes,
High chloride and
silt loading
expected)
Ft. Richardson and
Elmendorf AFB
(grease rack and
wash rack wastes)
$ 26,500,000
Primary treatment
and disinfection
(to include Ft.
Richardson,
Elmendorf AFB,
and Anchorage
suburbs)
Primary treatment *
and disinfection
Primary treatment
and disinfection
Separation of solids *
at cannery and
disposal of liquids
to municipal sewer.
Solids to be dis-
posed of by owner of
cannery in accor-
dance with local
solid waste dis-
posal practices.
Secondary treatment $ 650,000
and disinfection
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
No immediate treat-
ment needs, as
future design and
location of plant
should have abate-
ment provisions
built-in.
Grease traps and
sedimentation
tanks.
No separable
cost
(D)
NA
$ 50,000
(B)
2,3
1.6
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Responsible Agency Immediate Treat- Estimated Cost Relative Vicinity
and Nature of Waste ment Needs to Correct Priority Map Index
Privately owned Sedimentation $ 100,000 (C) 5
gravel washing
plants (high silt
loading)
Total estimated costs $ 27,300,000
* The estimated cost to correct is included in the cost for the
combined sewerage system for the City of Anchorage and Anchorage
area. This cost includes interceptors and trunks but does not
include laterals and house connections.
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The Anchorage metropolitan area, containing nearly half the total
population of Alaska, has relatively high water quality needs. Anchorage
is at the head of one of the largest migration routes for anadromous fish
in Alaska. Fisheries are the largest industry in Alaska, and the continued
discharge of untreated pollutants into these waters can be expected to cause
the eventual depletion, both in quality and quantity of this valuable
resource. The discharge of this untreated sewage also leads to deteriora-
tion of the waters and shore areas immediately surrounding Anchorage,
creating potential health hazards and also leading to aesthetic and
nuisance problems.
An increase in the bacterial pollution of groundwater has caused
much concern, especially in those areas served by private shallow wells.
The continued practice of discharging sewage into septic tanks and cess-
pools which connect directly to groundwater aquifers can only add to the
potential health hazard now and, in proportion, increase as the surface
area above the aquifers is residentially developed.
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In order to abate the existing pollution problem in the Anchorage
metropolitan area, the following immediate steps are recommended,
in order of relative priority.
A. Construct a primary sewage treatment plant to treat all
domestic sewage originating from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Fort
Richardson, the City of Anchorage and its environs.
B. Construct interceptor and trunk sewers to transport sewage
to the recommended plant from the foregoing areas.
C. Construct a collection system and secondary treatment
plant for the Eagle River-Chugiak suburban area.
D. Install grease traps to separate oil and silt from wash
and grease rack wastes at Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force
Base. Fort Richardson presently is in the programming stage of
this project.
E. Install sedimentation facilities at gravel washing plants
which presently discharge silt laden waste water in Chester Creek.
IV. RECENT PROCESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
The Greater Anchorage Area Borough recently adopted a "Master
Sewerage Plan" (1) and (2) which provides for the collection and
treatment of all domestic sewage in the metropolitan area, including
Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. The Eagle River-
Chugiak area is proposed to be served immediately by a trunk and
lateral system and a secondary treatment facility discharging to
Eagle River, for a total immediate cost of $641,000.
It is proposed to serve the balance of the area by a primary
treatment plant and by an interceptor and trunk system estimated
to cost $26,000,000. The primary treatment plant effluent will
discharge to Knik Arm via a submarine outfall. The consultant's
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recommendation to use only primary treatment for this portion of
the area was predicated on oceanographic studies which indicate
adequate dilution of the primary effluent. Chlorination of the
effluent is also proposed. The AWL feels that the point of dis-
charge requires further evaluation.
This proposal will eliminate the discharge of all untreated
domestic and cannery sewage from the waters of Knik Arm and Eagle
River. The proposed Eagle River facility will discharge chlorinated
secondary effluent to Eagle River. The consultants compute that
dissolved oxygen will not be lowered below 6-8 rag/liter in the
Eagle River.
V. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Pertinent Basin Characteristics
1. Geography (Also see maps on front piece)
The Anchorage metropolitan area is located at the
head of Cook Inlet in southcentral Alaska. For the purpose of this
report it is defined as the lowland west of the Chugiak Mountains,
south of Eagle River and north of Rabbit Creek. It is bounded on
the northwest by Knik and Turnagain Arms. The area defined covers
about 160 square miles. It includes the City of Anchorage, several
suburban communities, and two military bases, Elmendorf Air Force
Base and Fort Richardson. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska
and the chief transportation center for this part of the State.
2. Topography and Geology
The Anchorage area is generally low lying, situated
on glacial alluvium, rubble and till. Much of the terrain within
this region is typified by rather flat lowlands, undulating and
becoming progressively steeper near the base of the Chugiak Mountains.
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The land surface in the Anchorage area slopes north and west from
the Chugiak Mountains to Knik and Turnagain Arms. The altitude
ranges from 1200 feet on the mountain slope to sea level along the
estuaries. The wide plain that extends from Eagle River west to
Point Woronzof and south to Rabbit Creek is the plain an which
Anchorage and its environs are located. Tide flats border the shore
of Turnagain and Knik Arms and extend in to the mouths of most of
the streams which cross the lowland.
3. Climate
The surrounding mountain barriers prevent the Anchorage
area from having the temperature extremes of the interior of Alaska
and the heavy precipitation of regions along the Gulf of Alaska.
The average annual rainfall, based on standard normals for the
period 1931-1960, is 14.71 inches. In most years the winter and
spring are relatively dry. About 48 percent of the mean annual
precipitation recorded at Anchorage falls during the 3-month period
July-September. The average seasonal snowfall is about 5 feet.
The spring and fall at Anchorage are characteristic-
ally short, the summer cool, and the winter moderately cold.
The average annual temperature based on standard normals for the
period 1931-1960 is 35.2° F. The lowest temperature recorded was
-38°F. in February 1947 while the highest was 86° F. in June 1953.
Temperatures as high as 80° F. are uncommon. The average frost
free season is 112 days. The ground usually begins to thaw in
April or May and to freeze in October. During the winter the ground
commonly freezes to depths of 6 to 8 feet and deeper where the snow
has been removed. Cloudy days are common and contribute to the
low rate of evaporation which ih turn favors the growth of forest
where the climate is semiarid by middle-latitude standards.
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4. Population
The present population of the Greater Anchorage Area
ia about 115,000, excluding the Eagle Rivar-Chugiak area. Forecast
growth for this area predicts a population of 260,000 persons by
1980.
The Eagle River-Chugiak area presently has a populati. on
of 4,600 persons and growth patterns indicate a population of
7,100 persons by 1970 and 19,000 persons by 1980.
5. Industry
There is very little industry in the Anchorage met-
ropolitan area. With the possible exception of fish processing,
major forecast activity is in transportation and light industry,
which may be expected to have relatively low water use and waste
production rates.
Present industrial type wastes consist of the following:
Cooling water discharges from the power plants at Elmendorf
Air Force Base, Fort Richardson, and the Chugiak power plant at
Ship Creek. It could be noted that the cooling ponds of the first
two are presently used as fish hatcheries for salmon and trout.
The effect of increased temperatures caused by blowdown from these
ponds may have some bearing on fish population, but this effect
has not been fully evaluated.
There are two seafood processing plants discharging wastes
into Knik Arm on a seasonal basis.
There are several gravel washing plants dumping a large
amount of silt into Chester Creek on a seasonal basis.
6. Streams and Rivers
The streams in the Anchorage area are Ship Creek,
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and Rabbit Creek, which arise in the mountains, and Chester Creek,
which arises in the lowland. All these streams flow to tidewater
and are tidal near their mouths. The range of tidal fluctuation
in the estuaries is commonly 30 feet or more. Within the lowland
plain are many depressions and flat areas that are marshy. Shallow
lakes are common in these places, especially southeast of Anchorage.
All the streams in the Anchorage area, except Eagle
River, are non-glacial. The stream flows are provided by surface
runoff and groundwater seepage. Where the streams emerge from the
mountains onto lower ground, the stream beds are higher than the
surrounding water table, and in such areas water is lost from the
streams. However, when the streams leave the mountains and cross
the lowlands to the inlet, the streams have incised their beds to
relatively low elevations in respect to the water table and thus
are, at the present time, receiving water from the surrounding areas.
Deep well pumping in the Anchorage area has no effect on the surface
water levels. Draining or installing a municipal sewer system which
would reduce the surface water input would lower the surface water
level and affect the surface water inflow to the lowland streams.
a. Chester Creek
Chester Creek is about seven miles long and drains
a lowland surface area of about twenty square miles. It flows
from Muldoon Road to Knik Arm. Chester Creek derives most of its
flow from water contributed from swamps, springs and drainage
ditches. The water during the summer is brown. The average yearly
discharge is about 24 cfs. A high maximum flow of 95 cfs occurred
during April 1965, and the lowest flow recorded was 4 cfs during
March 1964. The expected temperatures would be in. the range of
32° F. to 65° F. 1.12
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Chester Creek formally supported a small run of
coho and chum salmon and a run of Dolly Varden char. Concurrent
with industrial and civic development, Chester Creek has become
less productive of these fish species owing to disrupted flows and
spawning gravels. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has written
off Chester Creek as a producer of sport and commercial fishes.
It is, however, included in the proposed "Greenbelt" for the City
of Anchorage.
b. Ship Creek
Ship Creek flows approximately 22 miles from head-
water tributaries high in the Chugiak Mountains to the tidewater of
Knik Arm. The drainage area of 113 square miles has provided maxi-
mum flows of 766 cfs during June 1964 and 2 cfs minimum flows during
March 1964. These measurements were made at the Elmendorf power
plant location about 2 miles from the mouth of the stream. Consid-
erably larger flows have been recorded at the City's municipal water
diversion dam at 11.5 mile, and at periods during the winter the
total Ship Creek flows at this point have been diverted.
The City of Anchorage, Fort Richardson, and Elmendorf
use Ship Creek for domestic water supply. A 40-foot dam for diverting
domestic water is located approximately 11.5 miles above its mouth.
Below this domestic diversion, three steam power plants divert
water for turbine condenser cooling. A total of four diversion
dams are installed within the first eight miles. Incremental flows
entering below the City's 40-foot dam maintain sufficient water to
operate these cooling ponds.
Historically, Ship Creek has a record of producing
a large run of king and pink salmon. Chum salmon are present in
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small numbers. Dolly Varden char and rainbow trout are present
but are not numerous in the system. The stream is closed to salmon
fishing. Fish passage facilities are provided at the diversion
dams, and salmon and trout can pass, when water conditions are favor-
able, to the base of the 40-foot dam at 11.5 mile. Spawning gravels
are good, and it has been estimated that enough gravel is available
to meet the requirements of 21,000 king salmon. During recent years
fewer than 100 king salmon have been observed in Ship Creek. Pink
and chum salmon use the lower three miles of the creek.
Oil pollution in the stream has occurred several
times from Elmendorf Air Force Base. The oil has been traced to
leaking storage tanks, and during 1962 an oil separator was installed
to prevent oil from entering the stream. Coal dust from flue cleaning
at the power plant has been allowed to enter Ship Creek, but the
effects of this discharge have not been evaluated.
Water that is diverted from Ship Creek to the
power plants is circulated through cooling ponds. The water from
these ponds is used for condensing steam in the turbine system.
Since the water gradually increases in temperature, water is added
from Ship Creek and then discharged from the pond back into Ship
Creek. The result is a small increase in the temperature of the
stream. During the winter the discharged water is warm enough to
prevent the formation of ice. The Fort Richardson and Elmendorf
cooling ponds have been used for many years to rear rainbow trout.
The trout are supplied from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game,
Fire Lake Hatchery, introduced into the warm cooling pond water,
feed on prepared food and raised to stockable size. The fish are
used to stock lakes and streams located on military reservations and to
some extent other areas outside the jurisdiction of the military.
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-. Campbell Creek
Campbell Creek is similar to Ship Creek in that it
has its origin in the Chugiak Mountains; however, the drainage area
of 30 square miles is much smaller. The maximum flows recorded
occurred during June 1949 when nearly 900 cfs was recorded, and the
lowest was 0 during October of 1958.
Coho, king, and a few pink salmon enter the system
for spawning purposes. Dolly Varden and stickleback are present in
the stream and reservoir.
An earth-fill dam was constructed across Campbell
Creek at tidex^ater in 1958 forming a reservoir of about 80 acres.
Access into the lake for fish has been provided by a culvert and
boulders which allow fish to pass during high tides. No pollution
has been reported, although extensive housing developments have
been erected along its banks in recent years. The lake and stream
are under study by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for possi-
ble stocking and rehabilitation of the sports fishery.
d. Rabbit Creek
Rabbit Creek arises in the Chugiak Mountains and
flows from a small lake located at the 3,000-foot elevation to tide-
water on Turnagain Arm, a distance of about 10 miles. No stream
gaging has been conducted on Rabbit Creek, and no temperature infor-
mation is available. Judging from the size of the watershed, Rabbit
Creek is probably smaller than Campbell Creek. It would be expected
to contain little or no flow during the coldest winter months and
discharge up to 400 cfs during periods of high runoff.
Very little information is available regarding fish.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is studying a small remnant run
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of pink salmon. A few cohos could be expected to enter the stream
also. While no pollution has been reported to date, house construction
with attendant land clearing may be expected to provide some increase
in silt load, and increased human habitation could eventually pollute
this stream which at present is, except for the area near its mouth,
still in its natural state.
e. Eagle River
Eagle River flows from the base of Eagle Glacier
25 miles to Rnik Arm. Several fairly large tributaries enter the
main water course along the way; many of these are glacial fed.
Eagle River is clear during the winter and turbid with glacial melt
during the rest of the year. Owing to its glacial origin and partially
to its larger size, Eagle River is cooler than surface runoff streams.
The turbid water during the summer limits the growth of aquatic plants
and animals. Tributary streams and side channels of the main river
provide suitable spawning and rearing areas for anadromous fish.
Eagle River supports all five species of Pacific
salmon. Besides king, coho, pink, and chum, sockeye have been found
to spawn here in significant numbers. Dolly Varden char are also
present. There are no reports of rainbow trout in the drainage.
Fort Richardson discharges untreated sewage through
a 30-inch outfall into a small tributary of Eagle River. The outfall
is located in the souttwest corner of T. 14 N., R. 2 W., about 3
miles northeast of Otter Lake.
The Eagle River valley above the highway bridge has
been set aside for a power and domestic water source by the City of
Anchorage. The site is under preliminary permit No. 2405 by the
Federal Power Commission.
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Homesteading above the reservoir withdrawal area
has gradually taken up all the available land on the north side of
Eagle River. A good all-weather road connects most of these lands
to the Glen Highway at the town of Eagle River. Housing developments
are gradually replacing the homesteads and can be expected to
provide a source of future pollution as the trend toward urban
sprawl encroaches upon the Eagle River area.
7. Vegetation
Plant cover follows three distinct types. In well-drained
areas the forest consists of white spruce, cottonwood, aspen, birch
willow, and alder. Along the tidal flats and at the mouths of
streams, the vegetation is particularly sparce owing to the frequent
tidal flooding. Only salt-tolerant plants are found. In the poorly-
drained land above tidal influence the ground cover is predominantly
moss, sedge, grass, and other marsh plants. Black spruce, birch
and alder grow in a few marshy places. Peat has formed in most of
the bogs.
B. Present Water Quality
1. Domestic Pollution Sources
At the present time domestic sewage from the following
areas is being discharged untreated directly or indirectly into
the water of Cook Inlet through the following sewers and numerous
other small outfalls:
Population Average Flow (MGD)
a. City of Anchorage 21,700 3.11
b. Spenard area 13,500 1.85
c. Elmendorf 16,100 1.28
d. Ship Creek 3,450 1.14 (much
infiltration)
e. Fort Richardson 12,700 1.11
(Eagle River)
J. JL /
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Population Average Flow (MGD)
f. Governement Hill 3,700 .26
g. Turnagain Heights sewer small
h. International Airport sewer small
2. In addition to the direct discharge into Cook Inlet
of domestic wastes, many suburban areas of metropolitan Anchorage
utilize separate home septic tanks or cesspools which discharge
into the ground. As the population of the metropolitan area is
presently estimated at about 115,000 persons, this signifies that
the sewage contributed by about 45,000 persons is disposed of in
this manner.
Except for Fort Richardson, all of the raw domestic
sewage is discharged into Knik Arm. Although the dilution available
is theoretically infinite in this body of water, there is evidence
of local pollution by the existence of unsightly and odorous solids
on the shores. Some of the outfalls are accessible to children
playing on the shore, thereby presenting a health hazard.
Fort Richardson discharges its sewage to the ground
surface from whence it meanders about one mile across marshland to
Eagle River and thence into Knik Arm. This practice makes direct
contact accessible to animals or persons who may be in the area.
Upon reaching the Eagle River, a dilution factor of 1.7 to 1 is
available based on minimum winter flows of 4.8 cfs in the Eagle
River and maximum discharge of sewage of 1,82 MGD from Fort Richard-
son. Although this is an exceptionally low dilution factor, the
effect on the Eagle River may be alleviated by the one-mile overland
travel of the raw discharge, which would be conducive to removal
of solids and re-aeration of the effluent before merging with
the Eagle River.
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The discharge of individual home septic tank effluent
or cesspool effluent is conducive to pollution of ground water
sources. This is evidenced by the increasing frequency of bacterio-
logically polluted wells in the area, as determined by Alaska
Department of Health tests,
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Greater Anchorage Area Sewerage Study for the Greater
Anchorage Area Borough. Prepared by Tryck, Nyman & Hayes and
Stevens & Thompson (1966).
2. Eagle River-Chugiak Area Sewerage Study for the Greater
Anchorage Area Borough. Prepated by Tryck, Nyman & Hayes and
Stevens & Thompson (1966).
3. USGS Bulletin 1095, "Surficial Geology of Anchorage and
Vicinity, Alaska."
4. USGS Paper 1372, "Compilation of Records of Quantity*and
Quality of Surface Waters of Alaska Through September 1950."
5. USGS Paper 1740, "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters
of Alaska, October 1950 to September 1960."
6. USGS Paper 1773, "Geology and Ground Water Resources of the
Anchorage Area, Alaska."
7. USGS Paper 1953, "Quality of Surface Waters of Alaska,
1961-1963."
8. USGS Publication, "Water Resources Data for Alaska Eort,
Surface Water Records 1965."
9. USGS Publication, "Water Quality Records in Alaska, 1964."
10. USC&GS Publication, "Tidal Current Tables 1967 Pacific
Coast of North America and Asia."
11. USC&GS Publication, "Tide Tables High and Low Water Pre-
dictions 1967, West Coast North and South America including the
Hawaian Islands."
12. U.S. Dept. HEW, USPHS Report, "Water Well Contamination and
Waste Disposal in the Greater Anchorage Area."
13. State of Alaska Department of Health and Welfare Report,
"The Pollution of the Waters of Knik Arm" January 1964.
14. State of Alaska Department of Health and Welfare Report,
"Greater Anchorage Water Pollution Survey, 1963."
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FAIRBANKS AREA
2.1
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ALA;--;:
ALASKA. MAP C
100 aoo 300 409 SnoKil'.lm-T.-ts
EOLOSICAL SURVEY. FEDERAL CENTER. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASHINGTON IS, 0. C.
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FAIRBANKS AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to list and evaluate the sources
and extent of pollution in the Fairbanks area of Alaska and to
recommend actions designed to solve immediate needs.
Although the City of Fairbanks, University of Alaska, Fort
Wainwright, and Eielson Air Force Base provide treatment for their
sewage, the balance of the area disposes of its wastes either direct-
ly to the Chena River, the Tanana River or through cesspools and septic
tanks directly into the ground. The discharge of untreated sewage
into ground water aquifers or to surface streams is in violation of
the Alaskan Water Pollution Control Act and the State of Alaska
Administrative Code; the Department of Health and Welfare requires
that at least primary treatment be given to all sewage before dis-
charge to the waterways.
In addition to the state requirements, the Presidential Executive
Order 11288 requires federal installations to provide secondary treat-
ment for all wastes. A preferred method is to discharge to a
municipal system with adequate treatment.
A detailed study was not made in the preparation of this summary.
It was presumed that a complete engineering design analysis will
preclude physical implementation of the recommendations presented
herein.
2.3
-------
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,: FAIRBANKS, AL
SCALE 1:250,000
!0
-------
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES.
Responsible Agency Immediate Treatment Estimated Cost Relative Vicinity
and Nature of Waste Needs to Correct Priority Map Index
$12,000,000
(for imple-
mentation)
Fairbanks North Assumption of health $150,000
Star Borough powers by Fairbanks (for an engi-
(Domestic Wastes) North Star Borough and neering design
immediate initiation analysis)
of an engineering sewer
study, followed by
implementation. Fort
Wainwright should be
included in such a
study. The Borough
presently has a com-
prehensive plan in
the process of pre-
paration, but this plan
is not expected to
include sufficient
detail to provide the
basis of satisfying
immediate needs.
Fort Waim/right Supplement the exist- $2,000,000
(Domestic Wastes) ing primary system with
secondary treatment and
disinfection.
(A+)
(A)
(C)
Eielson Air Force Supplement the exist-
Base ing primary system with
(Domestic Wastes) secondary treatment and
disinfection.
$100,000
(B)
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The Fairbanks area is characterized by a haphazard arrangement of sub-
divisions surrounding the City of Fairbanks. Except for the City itself, the
University campus, Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base, all other areas
of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, including those areas immediately outside
the city limits, dispose of their sewage into septic tanks, cesspools or by
direct discharge into the nearest slough or stream. Since all water supplies
in this area originate in ground water aquifers, the effect on potable water
quality has been very noticeable. Over 50% of all non-public water supplies
show evidence of sewage pollution. This condition has caused much concern by
health authorities, especially for those areas served by private shallow wells.
2.5
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The areas bordering on the Fairbanks city limits could solve their
problem by petitioning for annexation to the City and connecting to the
municipal sewer system. They could also petition the Fairbanks North
Star Borough, a recently constituted autonomous governmental entity, to
develop a service district for the purpose of providing sewer service
to a specific area. A preferable solution, however, would be for the
Fairbanks North Star Borough to assume the responsibility of providing
sewers by referendum and to provide sewer service to citizens on an
area-wide basis.
In order to abate the existing pollution problem in the Fairbanks
area, the following immediate steps are recommended in order of
relative priority.
A. The Fairbanks North Star Borough should immediately assume
sewer powers followed by the authorization of an engineering sewer
study followed by implementation of the study. Fort Wainwright,
because of its proximity to the City of Fairbanks and to the proposed
sewered area,should also be included in this study. The probability is
that participation in an area-wide sewer plan would be more economical
than providing separate treatment. On this basis it may be desirable
to hold any action on the proposed Fort Wainwright sewage treatment
facility until such time as a detailed engineering analysis deter-
mines whether this would result in the least cost to the taxpayer.
B. Construct a secondary treatment facility to supplement the
existing primary facility at Eielson Air Force Base for the purpose
of improving the quality of primary effluent which is presently being
discharged to Garrison Slough.
2.6
-------
IV. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
There has been a relatively large amount of information gathered
in the Fairbanks area concerning pollution. The State Department of
Health and Welfare has made several bacteriological and chemical sur-
veys of the Chena River and other streams in the local area, and the
state sanitarian is at present monitoring the quality of potable water
supplies from a bacteriological and detergent standpoint. The Alaska
Water Laboratory is also monitoring the quality of the Chena River as
well as other streams in the immediate area and performing chemical
and bacteriological tests. The Fairbanks North Star Borough is in the
process of compiling a comprehensive study of the Fairbanks North Star
Rural Area, a portion of which will be devoted to a water and sewer
study. The Corps of Engineers is completing the second phase of a
report of the Fairbanks flood control project. This-project envisions
a dam and reservoir in the Chena River upstream from the Fairbanks
area. The pollution load in the Chena River will be definitely
affected by the control of discharge from this proposed reservoir.
The DOD plans to program construction projects to abate pollution in
the near future. Their plan for controlling environmental pollution
has been approved by the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration.
V. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATION
A. Pertinent Characteristics
1. Geography
The City of Fairbanks and its environs is located in the
valley of the Chena River near river mile 10 and the Tanana River near
river mile 210. This valley lies in the central plateau region approxi-
mately 250 air miles northeast of Anchorage and 130 miles south of the
2.7
-------
Arctic Circle. Although its elevation is only about 400 feet above
mean sea level, it is well sheltered from maritime influences by
mountain ranges on practically all sides.
2. Climate
The climate of the basin in which Fairbanks lies is con-
tinental in nature and is characterized by cold dry winters and warm,
relatively moist summers. The total precipitation is low, averaging
about 12 inches. Annual snowfall is about 60 inches.
The temperatures over the basin are characterized by their great
seasonal variation. Subzero temperatures prevail in the winter months
while summer temperatures are as warm as portions of western and
northern United States. At Fairbanks the all-time minimum temperature
is minus 66°F, and the highest temperature on record is a plus 93°F.
3. Vegetation
The vegetation within the basin consists of heavily
forested mountains changing to muskeg and scrub in the lowlands. The
low areas are typified by willows, sedges, black spruce, potholes, and
hummocky tundra scattered over permafrost, while the better drained
lands support stands of white spruce, poplar, and birch.
4. Population
The present population of the Fairbanks-Fort Wainwright-
College-Lemeta complex is approximately 40,000 persons. Expansion of
the population since 1960 shows a continuation of the "boom" quality.
Indications are that this expansion will continue for some time.
5. Economy
The City's central location gives it an advantage over
other Alaskan cities in functioning as the trade and distribution center
of the vast interior. Trade is the important ingredient in the economy
2.8
-------
of Fairbanks. Without it the city cannot prosper. Because of the
distances involved, transportation costs are high and labor is an
expensive commodity in Fairbanks. Also due to its relative isolation,
climatic conditions, high transportation, and development costs, the
potentials of the interior, mining, agriculture, and forestry have been
slow to materialize. As a result of these factors, the economic well-
t
being of Fairbanks continues to be dependent upon construction
associated with military programs, service and retail functions,
government, and transportation.
6. Rivers
The important streams in the Fairbanks area are the Chena
and Xanana Rivers.
a. Chena River
The Chena River originates in a mountainous region
about 90 air miles east of Fairbanks and discharges into the Tanana
River below Fairbanks. It is an unregulated river approximately 150
miles long with a watershed of about 1980 square miles. The average
annual discharge at Fairbanks is 1344 cfs with a range of 100-24,200
cfs. Maximum discharge is reached in April and May with normal flows
occurring in the summer and extreme low flows occurring during the
winter season. Water temperatures range from near 32° F. in the
winter to about 60° F. in July. Ice begins to form in October and
spring breakup occurs in April and May.
b. Tanana River
The Tanana River originates in the glaciers of the
Wrangell Mountains in Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 250 air
miles southeast of Fairbanks. It flows in a northwesterly direction to
empty into the Yukon River at Tanana approximately 125 air miles west
2.9
-------
of Fairbanks. It is approximately 600 miles long, unregulated but
greatly affected by glaciers. The average discharge near Fairbanks in
1965 was 22,010 cfs while the maximum recorded discharge is 117,000 cfs.
Maximum flows occur in the spring and minimums occur during the late
winter. Temperatures range from near 32° F. to a maximum of 55° F.
Ice begins to appear in late September, and breakup occurs in April
and May.
Both rivers support substantial salmon runs and also contain an
endemic population of sport fish such as grayling, pike, ling cod and
whitefish.
B. Present Water Quality Problems
At the present time, Eielson Air Force Base discharges approxi-
mately 80,000 GPD of primary effluent to Garrison Slough, which flows
into the Tanana River. The State Department of Health has been con-
cerned about the evidences of pollution in this waterway. The construc-
tion of secondary treatment facilities to supplement the existing primary
sexjage treatment plant at Eielson should alleviate this condition.
Fort Wainwright presently discharges approximately 600,000 GPD of primary
effluent into the Chena River upstream from Fairbanks. The Fairbanks
municipal primary sewage treatment plant discharges the sewage contri-
buted by about 17,000 persons into the Chena River. Further downstream,
a secondary treatment plant managed by a private utility company dis-
charges secondary effluent into the Chena River, contributed by the
University of Alaska with a population of approximately 2,000 persons.
The balance of the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, con-
sisting of approximately 15,000 persons, discharges raw sewage directly
into the Chena, or to numerous sloughs connecting to it, or to septic
tanks or cesspools with insufficient horizontal clearances.
2.10
-------
The groundwater table is high in the Fairbanks area, and in most places
is within several feet of the surface. The State Department of Health
and Welfare is continually performing detergent and bacteriological
analyses of water supplies in the Fairbanks area. The following re-
sults from sampling in various subdivisions surrounding the City of
Fairbanks are given to illustrate the seriousness of groundwater
pollution. Detergent analysis results taken from December 1, 1963
through March 10, 1964 are: Hamilton Acres 70% positive; Aurora Sub-
division 50% positive; McKinley Acres 75% positive; College area 75%
positive. The average value of all the samples taken indicates that
61% were positive. As could be expected, the waters of the Chena River
show high coliform counts and significant levels of BOD. However,
because of cold water temperatures and the short distance from the
outfalls to the Tanana River, where an exceptionally high dilution
factor is available, there is no noticeable oxygen sag curve in the
Chena River.
Due to the recent construction of a mine-mouth power plant at
Healy, the anticipated shutdown of the local Golden Valley Electric
Association power plant has caused a great deal of concern in the com-
munities bordering Noyes Slough, a tributary of the Chena River.
With the cessation of the discharge of cooling water into Noyes Slough,
numerous private outfalls presently discharging into it will have no
dilution whatever.
The population density of the presently unsewered Fairbanks environs
has increased to the extent that it would be economically feasible to
provide sewers for the majority of these areas. It is almost mandatory
to provide such service considering the amount of polluted groundwater
which presently supplies the numerous individual shallow wells.
2.11
-------
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Report Number 8, Chena River Survey, Fairbanks, Alaska - 1955,
Alaska Water Pollution Control Board.
2. Surface Water Records of Alaska, 19S4, U.S. Department of the
Interior, Geological Survey.
3. Letter Report, Fairbanks Flood Control Project Alaska, prepared
by U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska, 1962, revised 1954.
4. Fairbanks Public Utility Plans, 1951, by the city planning
office.
5. Fairbanks Neighborhood Analysis, 1961, city planning office.
6. Fairbanks Alaska Comprehensive Plan, October 1959, prepared
for the City of Fairbanks by the Alaska Housing Authority.
2.12
-------
JUNEAU-DOtJGlAS AREA
3.1
-------
AUASKA..MA? ;
Q iqo aoo aog 4<>O sooKilnMi.-t.-t.
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10
-------
JUNEAU - DOUGLAS AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to examine and evaluate the
sources and extent of pollution in the Juneau-Douglas Area and to
recommend actions designed to satisfy immediate needs.
The Cities of Juneau and Douglas presently discharge their
raw sewage to Gastineau Channel through numerous outfalls. Except
for three small package treatment plants in the Mendenhall Glacier
Area, all other raw sewage from this area is discharged to the ground
via septic tanks or cesspools, or to local bodies of water.
These practices are inconsistant with the Alaska tfater Pollution
Control Act and the State Administrative Code, The State Department
of Health requires that a minimum of primary treatment be given to
sewage discharged to surface waters.
In addition to State requirements, Presidential Executive Order
11283 requires Federal Installations to provide secondary treatment
for all wastes, except cooling water and fish hatchery wastes, or
preferentially, to discharge wastes into a municipal sewer system
providing adequate treatment.
No detailed study was made in the preparation of this summary.
A complete engineering design analysis will be required prior to
physical implementation of the recommendations presented herein.
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES
Responsible agency Immediate treat- Estimated cost Relative Vicinity
and nature ofjwaste ment needs to correct Priority Map Index
City of Juneau Primary treat- $400,000 (A) 1
(domestic wastes) ment and disin- (improvements
fection to existing
system only)
3.4
-------
Responsible agency Immediate treat- Estimated cost Relative Vicinity
and nature of waste ment needs to correct Priority Map Index
City of Douglas
(domestic wastes)
ment needs
Primary treat-
ment and disin-
fection
$500,000
(improvements
to existing
system only)
(A)
$2,600,000
(interceptors
Primary treat-
ment plant for
cities of Juneau and plant only)
and Douglas
$3,500,000
(total cost of
combined improve-
ments)
(A)
Greater Juneau
Borough, Menden-
hall Glacier
Valley Area
(domestic wastes)
One privately
owned seafood
processing
plant. (Seafood
wastes)
Primary treat-
ment and disin-
fection
$1,500,000
(A)
Separation of Capital cost
solids at plant, included in
Disposal of municipal system
liquids to Muni- costs above.
cipal Sewer. Dis-
pose of solids by
solid waste dis-
posal methods.
(B)
Small Boat Harbor
(domestic wastes)
Primary treat-
ment and disin-
fection (connect
to municipal system)
$50,000
(B)
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The Juneau-Douglas Area economy is based mainly on government disburse-
ments, with about 50 percent of the civilian workforce employed by the
federal, state or local government. Tourism and seafood processing also
contribute to the economy. There is recreational use of the waters of
Gastineau Channel, Auke Lake and the clearwater streams associated with
these systems. Recreational boating and fishing are very popular. For
the most part, municipal and private water supplies are free from pollution;
however, potable xrater supplies in the Mendenhall Glacier Valley Area
originate in ground water aquifers and are subject to contamination from
sewage discharged from cesspools and septic tanks.
J. j
-------
'
^\\Li.LLl,J. JUNEAU AND VICINITY, ALASKA L,
I
fiShO ;
SCALE 1:24000
o
1 MILE
-------
The continued discharge of untreated pollutants into the
surface waters and aquifers of the Juneau-Douglas Area can be
expected to increase the hazard of using ground water supplies.
Untreated sewage can also be expected to lead to the continued
deterioration of the surface waters and shore areas, by creating
potential health hazards, and aesthetic and nuisance problems.
In order to abate the existing pollution conditions in the
Juneau-Douglas Area the following immediate steps are recommended,
in order of relative priority.
A. Construct a primary treatment plant(s) and interceptor
sewers, so that municipal sewage from the Cities of Juneau and
Douglas will not impare the water quality of Gastineau Channel.
B. Construct a primary treatment plant and sewer system in
the Mendenhall Glacier Valley Area.
C. Screen seafood processing plant wastes and discharge
to municipal sewers, or waters which will provide adequate dilution.
Dispose of solid wastes in accordance with acceptable solid waste
disposal practices.
D. Construct a sewer system for the small boat harbor and
discharge into the municipal system.
IV. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
The Juneau-Douglas Area has been cognizant of the dangers of
pollution for some time and various steps have been taken during
the past several years to analyze the problem.
During 1961 a report entitled "Proposed Street and Sewer
Improvements for the City of Juneau, Alaska" was prepared by I'yller,
Van Doren and Hazard, consulting engineers. During 1962 a similar
report was prepared by the same firm for the City of Douglas.
Treatment was not envisioned in either report.
3.7
-------
In June 1964, the State Department of Health and Welfare
published a report entitled "Sanitary Facilities for the Greater
Juneau Borough" which exemplified the need for additional engineering
studies for the Mendenhall-Glacier Valley Area.
In July 1965, the Alaska State Housing Authority prepared a
report entitled "Comprehensive Plan for Juneau, Alaska", which
touched on the problems of waste disposal, and emphasized the need
for treatment facilities.
The "Streeter Report" published by the FWPCA in July 1966,
and entitled "Oceanographic and Related Water Quality Studies in
Southeastern Alaska, August 1965" was the result of a voyage which
studied water circulation, salinity, dissolved oxygen, PH, and
bacterial quality in Gastineau Channel.
The consulting firm of Hill and Ingram, are presently supple-
menting the Streeter Report by a more detailed survey of bacterio-
logical contamination of Gastineau Channel.
Three small package treatment plants have been constructed
recently in the Mendenhall-Glacier Valley Area. These serve the
Municipal Airport, the Glacier Valley School, and a subdivision.
These plants represent a definite improvement over previous methods
of disposal, and indicate a growing awareness of the dangers of
pollution in the community.
V. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Pertinent Basin Characteristics
1. Geography
The Juneau-Douglas Area is located in the Southeastern
Alaska panhandle 900 miles northwest of Seattle and 75 miles from
the open Pacific Ocean. For the most part, the Juneau Area has
3.8
-------
developed along the Gastineau Channel and encompasses approximately
25 square miles. Juneau, the capitol city of Alaska, is situated
at the base of 3,500 foot Mt. Juneau; in front is Gastineau Channel,
and to the north and south the fingers of the mainland ice field
reach to the fjord-cut coast. Gastineau Channel separates Juneau
from the smaller residential City of Douglas. The two are connected
by a bridge and short highway. Thane to the south and the Mendenhall
Valley to the north, generally outline the remaining geographical
boundries.
2. Climate
The Juneau-Douglas Area has a mild but moist climate
as does all Southeast Alaska. The weather station at the Juneau
Airport reports an annual mean temperature of 40.6° F., January
mean 26.2° F. and the July mean 54.7° F. Annual rainfall is 55.94
inches with the spring and early summer having the lighter monthly
total. Snowfall annual total is 92.1 inches, however, alternating
rain and snow prevent a heavy accumulation. The highest tempera-
ture recorded was 34 and the lowest -21.
3. Population
In 1960 the Juneau election disttict had a population
of 9,745. Since 1960, the population of the area has increased
27.4 percent to 12,413. The growth, which is the result of increased
government employment, immigration and Alaska's high rate of natural
increase, is taking place in Juneau's suburbs rather than within
the city limits of Juneau or Douglas.
4. Industry
Principal payrolls are from government activities, and
fishing. Government employment has been the most important part
3.9
-------
of Juneau's total employment, comprising about 50 percent. Summer
visitors, mining, transportation and trade add to the economy. Approxi-
mately 30 percent is in distributive industries, including transporta-
tion, communications, and public utilities; trade; and finance, insurance
and real estate; and service. Only 9 percent are in the commodity-
producing industries of mining, construction, and manufacturing.
5. Streams and Rivers
Six small streams enter Gastineau Channel within the
Juneau-Douglas Area and produce small numbers of pink and chum salmon.
Although they are closed to salmon fishing, the younger generation
actively participates in sportfishing for Dolly Varden char. Salmon
Creek Reservoir provides good eastern brook trout fishing. Mendenhall
River originates from Mendenhall Glacier, and Mendenhall Lake. It flows
through a broad, flat valley for a distance of about 5 miles and dis-
charges into tidewater near the Juneau Airport. The river is very
turbid during summer glacial melt period. The river is an important
migration route for sockeye salmon seeking clearwater tributaries
entering Mendenhall Lake. Montana Creek enters Mendenhall River from
the northwest and supports a good run of chum salmon and Dolly Varden
char, Auke Lake and Creek contains a sizeable run of sockeye salmon.
Pink salmon use the lower reaches of Auke Creek for spawning. The
sportfish in this system include Dolly Varden char and Cutthroat trout.
6. Vegetation
The vegetation surrounding Juneau is comprised of hemlock
and Sitka spruce in the lowlands and hillsides up to 2,000 feet. Sparce
cedar stands are found in lowlands. Alder predominates near stream
banks and hillsides devoid of conifers. Grass and sedge occupy lowlands
and saltwater marsh areas. Owing to the high annual rainfall, vegetation
3.10
-------
grows to form dense rainforest cover, ouite similar to those found
along the northern coast of Washington and Vancouver Island.
B. Present Water Quality Problems
The cities of Juneau and Douglas discharge untreated domestic
sewage directly to Gastineau Channel. Evidence of bacteriological
contamination v?as presented in the Streeter Report (see following
pages). The discharge of untreated wastes to the waters of Gastineau
Channel also leads to objectionable odors and to the presence of
floating solids along the shoreline. Moreover, the raw sewage discharge
is not consistant vi th either the Alaska Water Pollution Control A-.t
or the State Administrative Code. At least primary treatment is
required by the State Department of Health.
Outside the municipal sewer systems, sewage is either dumped
directly into watercourses, or piped to septi: tanks or cesspools.
Pollution from Mendenhall Valley homes has been detected in semi-public
water supplies by the Borough Sanitarian During February 1?C7, 17
percent of the samples taken were positive. It is expected that the
frequency v?ill increase as the area is further developed, Some atten-
tion has been given to pollution abatement through the installation of
three small package treatment plants.
All seafood processing for the Juneau area is handled by one
company. Waste products are discharged directly to Gastineau Channel
and constitute a source of added organic load during the summer months
Decomposition of organics cause objectionable odors and depressed
oxygen conditions, unfavorable to fishlife. Lack of industrialization
and forecasts for increased government activities limit the main
pollution problems to treatment of domestic sewage.
3,11
-------
JUNEAU-DOUGLAS
BRIDGE
FIGURE 1-4. Raw sewage outfall locations; information provided by State of Alaska,
Department of Health and Welfare,
-------
J ILJ fol IE A 111
JUNEAU--
DOUGLAS I. BRIDGE
FIGURE 1-3. Bacteriological sampling locations - August 23, 1965.
-------
BACTERIOLOGICAL RESULTS
August 23, 1965
Sampling
Station
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
MPN's
per 100 ml
240
240
240
240+
240
240+
380
240+
2,400+
2,400
2,400+
2,400+
150
88
2,400
2,400
15
2
240+
38
2,400+
2,400
960
240+
150
3.14
-------
Auke Lake provides the xrater supply for the U S Fish and
Wildlife Services, Biological Laboratory. Uncontaminated fresh water
is a requirement for their aquatic experiments Wells supplying fresh
water for domestic use have become saltv;ater contaminated and the
Laboratory plans to convert to Auke Lake T?ater for primary supply.
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Oceanographic and Related Water Quality S-udies in Southeastern
Alaska, August 1965, by the FWPCA.
2. Sanitary Facilities for the Greater Juneau Borough, 1?64,
State of Alaska Department of Health and Welfare.
3. Engineering Report, Proposed Street, Drainage, Water and
Sewer Improvements for the City of Douglas, Alaska, 1962, by Wyller,
Van Doren and Hazard.
4. Engineering Report, Proposed Street and Sewer Improvements
for the City of Juneau, Alaska, 1961, by Wyller, Van Doren and Hazard.
5. The Population and Economy of the Greater Juneau Borough,
1S66, by Development Research Associates.
6. Comprehensive Plan for Juneau, Alaska, 1965, Alaska State
Housing Authority.
3 15
-------
KENAI-SOLDOTNA AREA
4.1
-------
ALASKA
ALASKA, MAP C
IICAL SURVEY. FEDEBAL CENTEfi. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
-------
10 5 0
CHT.H H M.H
20
Scale 1:1,000,000
30 40 50
60
70
~ I
-------
KENAI-SOLDOTNA AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to examine and evaluate the
sources and extent of pollution in the Kenai-Soldotna area and
to recommend actions designed to satisfy immediate needs.
Due to the recent discovery and commercial production of
oil and gas, there is a greatly increased potential for accelerated
economic development in the area, with associated industrial waste
and domestic sewage problems. An oil refinery was recently built,
and a urea plant is presently under construction. Advance planning
is also underway for a cryogenics plant to be built nearby.
The City of Kenai presently operates a small primary treatment
plant which serves portions of the City of Kenai.^ The balance of
the area discharges raw sewage directly into the Kenai River and
Cook Inlet or to septic tanks and cesspools connecting directly
to groundwater supplies.
These practices are in -violation of the Alaska Water Pollution
Control Act and the Administrative Code. The State Department of
Health and Welfare requires that a minimum of primary treatment
be given to sewage discharged to surface waters.
In addition to state requirements, the Presidential Executive
Order 11288 requires federal installations to provide secondary
treatment for all wastes except cooling waters and fish hatchery
wastes, or preferentially, to discharge wastes into municipal sewer
systems providing adequate treatment..
No detailed studies were made in the preparation of this summary.
A presumption, was made that a complete Engineering Design Analysis
will preclude physical implementation of these recommendations.
4.4
-------
s
Cape Kasilof
I ^ ;;'j)VLanair
T 3N-/ -L -£(- jj|' St^
The Sisters
- Hongkong Bend
T 2
KENA1, ALASKA
-------
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES.
Responsible Agency Immediate Treat- Estimated Cost Relative Vicinity
& Nature of Waste ment Needs to Correct Priority Map Index
Cities of Kenai, Connection to modi- $1,000,000 (A) 1,2
Soldotna & environs fied Kenai primary (+)
(Domestic Wastes) treatment plant or
construction of com-
munity collection
and treatment facilities.
Wildwood Air Force Secondary treat- 100,000 (A) 3
Station (Domestic ment (or connection (for secondary
Wastes) to Kenai city sewer) treatment)
Two privately owned Separation of * (A) 1
fish canneries solids and discharge
(Fish Wastes) of liquid wastes to
adequate dilution
water.
Privately owned Oil separators. No estimate (B) 4
oil refinery made
(Oil Wastes)
Proposed urea plant No immediate treat- No separable
and proposed ment needs as design cost (C) 4
cryogenic plant of plants should have
(Industrial Wastes) abatement provisions
built in.
(+) This is a rough estimate for the purposes of this report. A
feasibility study would be required to determine whether a
single system or separate systems are apropos.
* The estimated cost to correct would be included in the cost of
a municipal interceptor system.
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The Kenai-Soldotna area is one of the most rapidly developing
portions of the State due to the recent commercial production of
oil and gas nearby. The recent completion of an oil refinery, the
present construction of a urea plant, and the planned construction
of a cryogenics plant indicate a potential for a highly industrialized
development of the entire surrounding area.
Prior to the discovery and commercial production of oil and
gas, the main industry was the canning of salmon. Two canneries
4.6
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KW ANCHORAGE
S E W A R D
PIPELINE ROUTES
OILAND GAS YEARBOOK - I960 SCALE ,-, |& MlLES
-------
are presently situated on the Kenai River, and canning will probably
remain an important industry.
Kenai is also near the center of one of the largest migration
routes for anadromous fish in Alaska, and the continued discharge
of untreated pollutants into these waters can be expected to cause
the eventual depletion, both in quantity and quality of the valuable
resource. Nearby razor clam beds can also be expected to be adversely
affected. The discharge of this untreated sewage and fish waste
also leads to deterioration of the waters of the Kenai River and
shore areas immediately surrounding Kenai, creating potential health
hazards and leading to aesthetic, odor, and nuisance problems. The
probable continued viability of pathogens in the cold and rapidly
moving waters of Cook Inlet greatly increase the potential for the
widespread distribution of waterborne diseases.
The widespread use of septic tanks and cesspools has led to
an increasing frequency of bacterial pollution in groundwater
and has caused much concern since most potable water supplies in
the Kenai-Soldotna area originate in shallow wells. This practice
can only add to the existing hazard and increase as the area is
developed for residential use.
In order to abate the existing pollution problem in the Kenai-
Soldotna area, the following immediate steps are recommended, in
order of priority:
A. (Alternate 1)
Construct interceptor and trunk sewers to connect the
Kenai City treatment plant with the suburban areas.
(Alternate 2)
Construct separate collection and package-type treatment
4.8
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systems for individual population and commercial centers.
(A project to install an aerated lagoon at Wildwood Air
Force Station is presently contemplated. Estimated cost is about
$100,000.)
The choice between these two alternates would be contingent
on the results of a detailed engineering study comparing the relative
costs of each. Cost of such a study is estimated at about $10,000.
B. Terminate the present practice of disposing of cannery
wastes by direct discharge to the Kenai River. Disposal of solids
should be in accordance with acceptable solid waste disposal practices.
IV. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
The City of Kenai recently constructed a primary sewage treatment
plant and collection system which serves the core area of the city,
but does not serve outlying areas or the two canneries. The treat-
ment plant is an 18' "Spiragester", detailed in Lakeside Engineering
Corp. Bulletin No. 136.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Sanitarian is monitoring the
bacterial quality of potable groundwater supplies and Borough
records attest to the need for cessation of discharge of cesspool
and septic tank effluent to groundwater aquifers.
Wildwood Air Force Station is presently programming an aerated
lagoon for the treatment of sewage.
Aside from the foregoing there are no known definitive plans
for the abatement of pollution in the Kenai-Soldotna Area.
V. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Pertinent Basin Characteristics
1. Geography
The Kenai-Soldotna area is located in a generally
4.9
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flat section of the central-west coastal region of the Kenai Peninsula.
(See map.) The geographical area comprises approximately 150 square
miles and includes two principal population centers, Kenai and
Soldotna. These cities are served by the Sterling Highway, whereby
all weather road affords links to Homer, Seward, and Anchorage.
2. Topography and Geology
Kenai Peninsula is comprised of two geophysically and
geologically dissimilar districts. These are the Kenai Mountains
which make up the largest portions of the eastern and southern parts
and the Kenai Lowland which makes up the western part. The eastern
area is mountainous with peaks rising to 6,000 feet. The Lowlands
are from sea level to about 2,000 feet. The Kenai-Soldotna area
is located in the Lowlands.
3. Climate
The climate of the Kenai-Soldotna area is characterized by
cool summers and relatively mild winters, compared to interior Alaska.
The Kenai Mountains to the east rise abruptly to 5-6,000 feet and
prevent warm moist Pacific Ocean air from entering the area in any
direction except the southwest. Consequently, although Kenai is
located on an arm of the Pacific Ocean, its climate is more con-
tinental than marine.
The average annual rainfall, based on standard normals
for the period 1931-1960, is 19.03 inches. Precipitation is light
in the winter with increasing storm frequency during spring and
summer. Maximums are reached in September. Slightly more than
46 per cent of the mean annual precipitation falls during the 3-month
period, July through September.
Seasonal snowfall is about five feet. Mean annual
4.10
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temperature is 33.3° F., while the lowest ever recorded was -48° F.
during February 1947. The highest ever recorded was 89° F. in
September 1883. Temperatures above 80* F. are uncommon. A frost
free season of 90 days can be expected between May and the latter
part of August.
4. Population
The population of the Kenai-Soldotna area is about
5,000. This is a five-fold increase over the reported 1,000 in
1960. The large increase can be attributed to the development of
the oil industry. By 1980 nearly 15,000 people are anticipated to
be living in the Kenai-Soldotna area.
5. Industry
Fishing and oil, in that order, are the chief industries
of the area. Beginning in 1957 when oil was first discovered by
Richfield Oil Company in the Swanson River field north of Kenai,
exploration, development, production, refining and shipping have
proceeded at a steady pace. A natural gas pipeline, constructed
in 1961, connects wells located six miles south of Kenai with
Anchorage. Oil is refined by Standard Oil Company into jet fuel,
diesel, and stove oil a few miles northwest of Kenai at Nikiski.
New construction includes an ammonia - urea, fertilizer complex.
A gas liquification plant is contemplated in the near future.
All forecasts include Kenai-Soldotna to be the hub of oil activities
for the Kenai Peninsula and offshore Cook Inlet.
6, Streams and Rivers
Kenai River and tributaries are the only streams
of consequence to be considered in this report. The Kenai River
originates from Kenai Lake, flows through Skilak Lake, and then
4.11
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continues across the Lowland discharging into Cook Inlet at the
City of Kenai. The river drains 2,000 square miles and is the largest
and most important river on the Kenai Peninsula. A maximum discharge
of 16,000 cfs has been recorded during September at Soldotna. No
winter rainimums are listed in the flow data.
The Kenai River is turbid during ice free months owing to
glacial silt. The river clears in the winter when glacial melt is
reduced.
Chinook, coho, pink, and sockeye salmon ascend Kenai River
to spawning grounds. The river system is known to support the
largest salmon runs on the Kenai Peninsula, and except for the
Susitna River, may be the largest producer in Cook Inlet. Compared
to the total salmon caught by commercial fishermen in Cook Inlet
during 1966, more than half were from the vicinity of Kenai.
Although drift gillnets provide the largest effort, set gillnets
along beaches in the Kenai area contribute a substantial catch.
Besides being important to commercial fishermen, the Kenai
River supports an intensive sportsfishery. Dolly Varden char,
rainbow trout and whitefish are taken by anglers year round.
Boating is popular in the river section between Soldotna and
Kenai. Two small tributaries, Soldotna Creek and Beaver Creek,
contain Dolly Varden and rainbow trout. These streams are popular
xtfith young anglers and will continue receiving heavy use as access
is improved. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game places high
value on these streams for a coho salmon rearing area.
The Kenai River is under study by the State Department of
Health and Welfare in a program of describing streams and rivers
which are within the realm of becoming polluted. The Kenai River
4.12
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receives raw domestic sewage from permanent residences and businesses
at Soldotna and Kenai. Should the trend continue, the value of the
river for commercial and recreational use will be impared.
B. Present Water Quality Problems
1. Domestic Pollution Sources
At the present time domestic sex^age from the following
areas is being discharged directly into the Kenai River or Cook
Inlet through numerous small outfalls.
a. City of Kenai 30,000 gpd.
b. Kenai High School 3000 gpd.
c. Momsen Subdivision 1500 gpd.
d. Soldotna Dry Cleaning Plant unknown
e. River Terrace Trailer Court unknown
f, Concrete Block Plant unknown
g. An estimated 30 to 50 homes unknown
in the Soldotna Area discharge
raw sextfage directly to the Kenai River.
h. Wildwood Air Force Station 35,000 gpd.
The balance of the area discharges sewage through
septic tanks or cesspools which drain into the groundwater supply.
Aside from bacteriological tests which indicated unsatisfactory
quality, an outbreak of infectious hepatitis, nearing epidemic
proportions, x-jas recorded in 1963.
2. Cannery Wastes
During the fishing season the canneries dispose of
fish waste by direct discharge into the lower Kenai River. About
1/3 of the total catch is estimated to be waste. In 1962 the amount
of this waste was about 54,000 pounds per day, equivalent to about
4.13
-------
21,000 Ibs. B.O.D. ( 5 day 20° C). Associated vessel operations
additionally discharge spoiled fish, untreated sewage, and bilgewater
near the canneries.
When added to the natural pollution load of spawned out
dead salmon, estimated to average about 21,000 Ibs. of B.O.D. per
day, the results are very noticeable! A count by an engineer revealed
salmon heads at about a 10 foot spacing and whole spawned out salmon
at a spacing of 50', along the beach at the north side of the
entrance to Kenai River. The odor is not as severe as would be
expected in a warmer climate however.
Due to cold water temperatures, the closeness of the
canneries to Knik Arm, (where a high dilution factor is available),
and the large size of fish particles, the full B.O.D. of this
waste would not be expected to be exerted on the Kenai River.
Consequently, dissolved oxygen levels may not have fallen to the
extent of affecting the salmon run, although this assumption should
be verified by field testing.
If, as at Kodiak, local ordinance required the grinding
of wastes before discharge, the consequent increase in the ratio
of surface area to mass would be expected to adversly affect dis-
solved oxygen concentration in the Kenai River.
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Engineer's Preliminary Report on a Sewage Collection and
Disposal System for Kenai, Alaska, prepared by Harold H. Galliett, Jr.,
1963.
2. Kenai River Stream Study for State of Alaska, Department of
Health and Welfare, by Tryck, Nyroan and Hayes (Presently in prepa-
ration) .
3. Comprehensive Plan, Kenai, Alaska, prepared by Alaska State
Housing Authority, 1962.
4.14
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4. U.S.G.S. Water Resources Data for Alaska, 1965.
5. U.S. Weather Bureau, Climatography of the United States,
No. 86-43.
6. State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Soldotna.
7. U.S.F.S., Unpublished Report, Reconnaissance of Water
Resources of Alaska, Kenai Peninsula Subregion.
4.15
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KETCHIKAN AREA
5.1
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KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
20 25 MILES
_ .
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IMMEDIATE POLLUTION CONTROL NEEDS
KETCHIKAN AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
This report will serve to delineate and evaluate the sources and
extent of pollution in the area within the bounds of the Gateway Borough
including the City of Ketchikan. Actions recommended here are proposed
to solve existing problems and those presently developing. The waterways
included in this area are Tongass Narrows and several small coves and
short creeks. Information presented here is based on data obtained from
the local government agencies, the State of Alaska Water Pollution Control
Activity of the Department of Health and Welfare, and reports of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration. Water quality information
is derived from previous investigations, and no field work was performed
for purposes of this report.
Recommendations of this report are based on the best information
available with regard to water quality conditions and immediate pollution
control needs. Consequently, only those more obvious problems have been
presented. Also, owing to the sinuous coast line and the typical archi-
peligo type of landforms and waterways, the area concerned is relatively
small and is considered to have little if any effect on waters in con-
tiguous areas.
Authority for this report is contained in Section (3) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act as amended, which covers initiating of compre-
hensive programs for abating pollution in interstate waters. The
Presidential Executive Order 11288 covering pollution by governmental
operations;and the Alaska Statute, Water Pollution Control Act; and con-
sequent regulations and proposed water quality standards promulgated there-
under were all considered in deliberation on the pollution needs given in
this report.
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II. SUMMARY OF POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Pollution of Tongass Narrows is technical in nature since degradation
of the waters is difficult to demonstrate due to significantly voluminous
tidal currents, with one exception; that is the industrial waste pollution
of Wards Cove by Ketchikan Pulp Company, and it is abundantly obvious.
Corrective proposals are tabulated below:
Responsibility
1. City of Ketchikan
2. U.S. Coast Guard
Need
Interceptors and adequate
treatment with post
chlorination
Secondary treatment with
post chlorination
3.
4.
Fisheries Products Solids removal and adequate
Processors dilution
Ketchikan Pulp Co. Improved solids handling.
Primary treatment of sulfite
waste liquor and extend
outfall to adequate dilution.
Individual pre-
mises outside
developed areas
Minimum of primary treat-
ment and chlorination.
Outfalls to deep water
City of Ketchikan Proper disposal of refuse,
and Gateway garbage and junk
Borough
7. Small privately
owned sawmills
8. Privately owned
sand and gravel
suppliers
9.
Local Government
and commercial
water freight
companies
Removal of solid wastes
from waterway
Sedimentation of wash water
prior to discharge
Collection of vessel
sewage and wastes and
discharge to municipal
system
10.
Small boat harbors Institutional needs are a com-
prehensive area wide sewerage
and industrial waste control
plan by the joint efforts of the
City of Ketchikan and Gateway
Borough. Informal visits
with officials of these
Relative Vicinity
Priority Map Index
(A) 1
(A) 2
(A) scattered
(A) 3
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(C)
scattered
area wide
scattered
scattered
scattered
area wide
5.5
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Responsibility Need Priority
Small boat harbors agencies indicate such
(Continued) studies are presently being
undertaken. Also underway
is the State of Alaska's
action to bring its water
quality standards into
harmony with the requirements
of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, Section (10) as
amended in 1965.
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
Several definite actions are indicated to abate existing pollution
of waters tributary to Tongass Narrows and to prevent future degradation
of these waters and enhance the many beneficial uses:
1. Waste Treatment
The City of Ketchikan and the Gateway Borough should construct
interceptor sewers and one or more treatment plants with appropriate out-
fall to meet the needs of the above mentioned water quality standards.
Design population for this project would be about 12,000 persons. This
is a high priority project. Individual premise, commercial, and residen-
tial requirements will not be itemized here.
Fish processing plants in the Ketchikan area should provide inplant
separation of solids and discharge of remaining liquid wastes to adequate
dilution water in Tongass Narrows. Some joint activity with the municipal
sewer system may be indicated. Solids should be processed for by-products
or disposed of so no nuisance pollution will result.
The U. S. Coast Guard is designing a collection system and secondary
treatment for all liquid wastes from its Ketchikan Base as well as those
from its assigned and itinerant vessels.
5.7
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The Ketchikan Pulp Company which operates a magnesium oxide process
mill at Ward Cove should: (1) further reduce solid wastes deposited in
the waterway, (2) provide a minimum flow in Ward Creek through its catch-
ment dam to protect spawning habitat for historic runs of anadromous
fish and to enhance the esthetic values of the U.S. Forest Service
Recreational Area which includes the creek bed below the dam, (3) collect
liquid wastes and provide adequate sedimentation and sludge disposal to
minimize the quantities of fine solids in the mill sewage, and (4) extend
the mill outfall to a location which would assure adequate dilution in
Tongass Narrows. These last two would entail a major effort and expendi-
ture of funds, and only additional treatment beyond primary would sub-
stitute for the need for an outfall extention.
2. Solid Wastes Disposal
The local governments should jointly provide for refuse,
garbage, and junk disposal in a manner which will keep all such matter
from entering the waterway or being deposited at the high tide line.
The sawmills in the area should discontinue depositing solid wastes in
the waterway.
3. Vessel Generated Sewage
The steamship companies and local governments should jointly
provide facilities to receive x;astes from docked vessels and require
that self-contained sewage handling equipment be used on all vessels
navigating inshore or mooring at local facilities.
Shoreside toilet facilities for permanent and itinerant vessel
crews should be provided at all small boat harbors. Any sewage dis-
charge into confined intertidal waters should be discontinued.
5.8
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4. Institutional Needs
The state and local public health and water pollution control
activities must be aided in establishing an effective surveillance and
enforcement program if any degree of pollution abatement and prevention
is to be attained. The cooperation and influence of the full scope of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration program is needed in
this effort.
5. Research
Needed investigations in handling of fish processing wastes
and pulp mill waste disposal ate covered tn other reports accompanying
this submittal.
IV. COSTS
Municipality Estimated Cost
City of Ketchikan and Gateway
Borough interceptors and treatment
works harbor collection facilities $2,100,000
Fisheries Processors
Collection and disposal facilities $1,500,000
Pulp Mill Wastes
Treatment plant mill outfall $2,250,000
IJ. S Coast Guard Base
Collection system treatment works $ 100,000
Individual Premises
Individual unit for estimate Number 500 $1,000,000
V. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
In recent years the City of Ketchikan has extended ecvcral outfalls
to deeper water and has eliminated others. While this does tiot result in
BOD removal, it does remove floating sewage solids from waterfront
beaches and floats.
5.9
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The Ketchikan Pulp Company has installed new wood room screening
devices to remove a greater percentage of bark and other solids from
wood room sewers. They have also installed a new chemical recovery
boiler to keep up with their increased production. Studies by FWPCA,
NW Regional Office, during 1965, established the efficiency of the mill
waste product procedures.
Under the program of the federal agencies to abate environmental
pollution as instructed in Executive Order 11288, the U. S. Coast Guard
has budgeted for and placed in design status a construction project to
provide interceptors, vessel wastes collection, and a secondary sewage
treatment plant. Their promptness and thoroughness in this program is
exemplary.
VI. BACKGROUND
A. Pertinent Basin Characteristics
The landforms of the Ketchikan area were created by pleistocene
glaciers resulting in mountains rising steeply from sea level. The
waterways are the typical fjords of glacial coastlines. The steep
slopes are heavily forested by predominantly spruce and hemlock timber,
with the exception of recently "clear-cut" logged areas. Muskeg meadows
cover any relatively level ground. The shorelines of the islands are
typically bare rock with a few gravel or shingle beaches situated in
coves exposed to wave action.
Tongass Narrows, a stretch of the "Inland Passage" to Alaska, is
about 16 miles long and lies in a SE-NW direction. Tidal currents vary
from .2 to 1.2 knots with mean tide fluctuations of about 13 feet. The
water has a salinity of about 30 parts per thousand with relatively fresh
surface layers of 6 to 10 feet depending on the recent precipitation.
5.10
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The climate is cold maritime and boasts the unusally high average
annual rainfall of 155 inches. The coniferous rain forest provides
only moderate regulation to the runoff of this great precipitation, owing
to the steep profile of all the watersheds. The accompanying vicinity
maps adequately show the several waterways of the area covered in this
report. The major streams in the area are used for power generation,
water supply, and have significant recreational use. In addition, the
marine waters are used extensively for commercial and sports fishing,
transportation, storage of logs, and for commercial transportation.
B. Water Quality Problems
Tongass Narrows, which approximates sea water in salinity,
receives all of the raw sewage from the municipal sewers of Ketchikan
and from a great many residential areas along beaches outside the city.
These waters are considered polluted since present state water quality
standards require a minimum of primary treatment with effective disin-
fection. Updated standards are presently being adopted and may require
a higher degree of treatment.
Waste products from seafood processors are discharged direct to the
channel beaches. This practice creates a nuisance, and in some cases
results in degradation of the waterway. A practical method of dealing
with fishery wastes should be developed and implemented.
Two minor pollution problems, which must nonetheless be kept in
mind, are accidental oily discharges from bulk petroleum products ter-
minals and deleterious effects of log storage due to blocking of daylight
and deposition of loose bark.
The two small boat harbors are polluted by sanitary sewage dis-
charged from vessels; some permanent, others itinerant. These harbors
are essentially closed bodies of brackish water with very little circulation.
5.11
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Ward Cove, a small narrow-necked body of seawater about 4 miles
north of Ketchikan and opening into Tongass Narrows, is the site of
the Ketchikan Pulp Company mill. This Company uses a magnesium oxide-
based pulping process of about 600 tons per day capacity and manufactures
dissolving grade pulp for export. Mill effluent consisting of wood fines
and spent sulfite liquor (SSL) is carried in 45 million gallons of
water a day. Loss of solids from the mill averages 320 tons a day. The
mill sewer discharges adjacent to the buildings in a small bight on the
north shore of the cove.
A survey of Ward Cove water quality was conducted by FWPCA in late
August 1965. Concentrations of sulfite waste liquor in the cove were
extremely high and above accepted toxicity levels known to be lethal to
small fishes and fish food organisms. Further evidence of pollution is
the depressed levels of dissolved oxygen and pH below the minimums set
down in the Alaska Water Quality criteria contained in their pollution
control regulations.
In order to abate the demonstrated pollution, primary treatment of
mill sewer effluent and extension of mill sewer outfall to a location
where adequate dilution is available will be necessary.
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Oceanographic and Related Water Quality Studies in South-
eastern Alaska, August 1965, FWPCA, NW Region.
2. Ward Cove Survey, Alaska Water Pollution Control Board Report No. 7.
3. Alaska Administrative Code, Title 7, Sub Chapter 4.
4. Various publications of data such as Tide Tables, Cllmatological
Summary, USGS Stream Flow Records, etc.
5.12
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KODIAK AREA
6.1
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AliASKA.MA'
°L°5ICAL SURVEY, FEDERAL CENT
Efl. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASHINGTON 25. 0. C.
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SCALE 1 250000
KODIAK, ALASKA
-------
KODIAK AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to examine and evaluate the sources
and extent of pollution in the Kodiak Area and to recommend actions
designed to satisfy immediate needs.
Except for occasional small septic tanks there are no sewage
treatment plants in either the City of Kodiak or the nearby U. S.
Naval Station. All sewage and septic tank effluent and seafood pro*
cessing wastes are discharged untreated into Kodiak Harbor, and Woraens
Bay.
These practices are inconsistant with the Alaska Water Pollution
Control Act and the State Administrative Code. The State Department
of Health requires that a minimum of primary treatment be given to
sewage discharged to surface waters.
In addition to State requirements, Presidential Executive Order
11288 requires Federal installations to provide secondary treatment
for all wastes.
The recommendations presented herein, differ from recommendations
contained in a report entitled "Feasibility Study for Treatment of
Sewage at U. S. Naval Station, Kodiak, Alaska" by Livingstone, Moore
and Wallace, Inc., Consulting Engineers. Since their recommendation
for only primary treatment is not consistent with Presidential Order
11288, a request for waiver of this requirement has been made by the
Navy.
No detailed studies were made in the preparation of this summary,
as implementation of these recommendations will require a more detailed
engineering design analysis.
6.4
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KODIAK ARE,.
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES.
Responsible Agency Immediate Treatment Estimated Cost Relative Vicinity
& Nature of Waste Needs to Correct Priority Map Index
Kodiak Naval Sta- Secondary treatment 2,500,000 (A) 1
tion (Domestic and disinfection
sewage)
Kodiak Naval Com- Secondary treatment 250,000 (A) 1
munication Station and disinfection
(Domestic sewage)
City of Kodiak and Secondary treatment 1,500,000 (A) 2
Suburban areas and disinfection
(Domestic sewage)
18 privately owned Separation of solids 100,000 (B) 2
seafood processing at cannery and dis-
plants (seafood posal of liquids to
wastes) adequate dilution
water. Solids to be
disposed of by owner of
cannery in accordance
with local solid waste
disposal practices.
(Also please refer to
section of this report
pertaining to fish
industry)
Boat Harbor Primary treatment 50,000 (B) 2
(Domestic Wastes) and disinfection
(connect to municipal
system)
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The Kodiak area economy is based essentially on fishing and fish
product manufacturing, with some income derived from agriculture,
tourism and military payrolls. The Kodiak area produces about 30%
of Alaska's canned crab production and about 50% of the frozen crab
production. The importance of this industry is apparent when one
considers that approximately 90% of the Pacific Coast crab production
comes from Alaska.
6.5
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KODIAK AREA
At the present time, all of Kodiak's sewers and waste fishery
products are discharged directly into tidewater along the cities
waterfront.
The continued discharge of untreated pollutants into the waters
of Kodiak Harbor has led to a depletion in water quality. This dis-
charge also leads to deterioration of the waters and shore areas
surrounding the City of Kodiak and the Naval Station, creating
potential health hazards and leading to aesthetic and nuisance
problems.
Residential areas outside the municipal water and sewer system
use shallow wells (actually sumps), and septic tanks. Groundwater
pollution from septic tank drainfields has been detected in most of
the domestic water wells tested.
In order to abate the existing pollution problem in the Kodiak
area, the following Immediate steps are recommended, in order of priority.
A. Construct interceptor sewers and treatment plants to treat
all domestic wastes originating at U.S. Naval facilities at Kodiak.
B. Extend the existing sewer system in the City of Kodiak to
areas not nov; served by sewers. Construct a primary treatment plant
and intercept existing outfalls.
C. Dispose of liquid fish processing waste to adequate dilution
water. Separate solids at cannery and dispose of them by suitable
solid waste disposal practices.
6.7
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KODIAK AREA
IV. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
The disposal of seafood processing solid wastes presents a fairly
sizable problem at Kodiak. The City of Kodiak is presently attempting
to reach a solution, by requesting seafood processors to participate
in the funding of a marine protein concentrate pilot plant.
The Governor of Alaska has endorsed the establishment of a
Fisheries Research Center for the state. There are indications that
the institution might be located in Kodiak. The National Council
on Marine Resources and Engineering Developments is also expected to
provide some insight into the possible uses of seafood wastes, and
provide leadership in the development of useful products. By dis-
covering a by-product use for seafood wastes the existing problems
of waste disposal will be greatly simplified.
The Navy Department engaged the consulting firm of Livingstone,
Moore, and Wallace, Inc. to make a feasibility study of the sewage
disposal system at the U.S. Naval Station and Communication Station
at Kodiak. This report was completed in 1965, and the Navy has sub-
mitted programming documents (DD form 1391) for the correction of
deficiencies noted in this report.
An urban renewal project (R-19, Stage II) is presently under
construction and includes modifications to the Kodiak City Sewer
System; however, no treatment plant is envisioned.
V. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Pertinent Characteristics
1. Geography
6.8
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KODIAK AREA
Kodiak Island, the largest island among the Kodiak group,
is located about 35 miles east of the Alaskan Peninsula and 250 miles
southwest of Anchorage.
The Kodiak Area, discussed on this summary, is situated
on the northeastern corner of Kodiak Island, This area is delineated
by the corporate limits of the City of Kodiak, and the principal
population center of the U.S. Naval Station. The total geographic
area to be considered comprises approximately 2,000 acres.
2. Topography and Geology
Kodiak Island is a rugged mountainous region with peak
elevations exceeding 4,000 feet. The shoreline is indented with
numerous bay and long narrow fjords. The intricate shorelines were
eroded by Ice Age Glaciation.
The geology of the island is a southern extension of
formations on the Kenai Peninsula and exhibits rocks of Mesozoic
and earlier ages.
The City of Kodiak is nestled at the foot of 1,500 foot
Pillar Mountain, on a bench which more or less parallels St. Paul
Harbor. Elevations range from 20 feet near the coast line to several
hundred feet southwest; where the bench narrows, and northeast where
the bench blends into rolling hills dotted with small lakes and swamps.
Slopes ranging between 7 and 807, grade,are a factor which has definitely
restricted development in the Kodiak metropolitan area. The trend of
growth is east, where slopes are more gentle.
6.9
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KODIAK AREA
The U.S. Naval Station is located approximately 7 miles
southwest of Kodiak on gently rolling terrain between the outlet of
Buskin River and Womens Bay. Topographic features are similar to
Kodiak.
3. Climate
The City of Kodiak has a maritime climate, tempered by
the Japanese Current which sweeps northeastward along the coast of
the Alaska Peninsula. Kodiak exhibits fairly stable daily tempera-
tures and maximums seldom reach 70 degrees. The highest temperature
ever recorded was 86° in June 1963, while the lowest was -9°F in
January, 1917.
The mean temperature is a mild 40.69F. The average
length of the frost-free season is 171 days and generally extends
from about the first of May to the middle of October.
Precipitation is abundant all year, and no month averages
less that 3 1/2 inches of rain. The least rain occurs in March,
July and August. October is the wettest month and receives an average
of more than 7 inches. During the winter remaining snow on the ground
seldom exceeds 10 inches.
Strong winds are common in the winter and maximum velocities
of 92 knots have been recorded.
4. Population
In 1960 the population of the City of Kodiak was 3,000.
Following the 1964 earthquake and subsequent implementation of the
urban renewal project plus rapid expansion of the King Crab industry
6.10
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KODIAK AREA
the population swelled to the present estimate of 7,500. Two thousand
persons are estimated to reside in areas outside of the city confines.
5, Industry
The basic industry of Kodiak is seafood processing.
Tourism and guide service for hunting the famous Kodiak Bear are of
importance. Kodiak also serves as the trade and service center for
a large part of the Aleutian Islands.
For 20 years prior to 1951 the economy of the community
depended about half and half on the Naval Station and the fishing
industry. However, since 1951 the local fishing industry has been
expanded to include King Crab and shrimp. During 1966 over 90
million pounds of King Crab were caught and processed in the Kodiak
area.
The demand for fish products especially King Crab,
shrimp, and halibut has changed Kodiak from a relatively small sporadic
and seasonal salmon canning economy into one with large investments
and year-round payrolls.
Fourteen fish product companies line the waterfront
where just four years ago only three operated.
Before 1966, boat landings of King Crab exceeded the
capacity of available processors and thus delayed boats from unloading.
In addition, crab canneries ran short of fresh water and unvoluntarily
ceased operation several times during the summer. Consequently,
fishermen were forced to hold crabs until the processor was in a
position to receive them. Long delays occurred, crabs were lost
owing to suffocation In live tanks, and fishermen lost both time
6.11
and revenue.
-------
KODIAK AREA
Part of the mortality was attributed to inadequate
circulating pumps and tanks loaded beyond crab tolerance for con-
finement. Another factor was the circulation of sea water which
had been organically polluted from crab wastes discharged from the
canneries during processing. Oxygen depletion of receiving waters,
largely from the discharge of crab wastes, suffocated live crabs
before they could be processed. The Alaska Department of Fish and
Game monitored dissolved oxygen in waters at and adjacent to the
canneries. During the period 3/24/66 through 1/30/67 they recorded
oxygen levels showing a high degree of depression from normal expected
ranges. For instance, on August 23, 1966, only 2.3 ppm oxygen was
noted in the small boat harbor.
6. Streams and Rivers
Only one watercourse of consequence is located within
the Kodiak Area. Buskin River flows about 6 miles from Buskin Lake
to tidewater. The system is entirely within the U.S. Naval Reser-
vation. The lake serves the Navy base as a source of primary water
supply.
The river and lake supports a large run of pink, coho
and chum salmon. Dolly Varden char are present also. The Buskin
River system, owing to its accessibility and good fish populations,
receives heavy use from anglers, especially military personnel.
7. Vegetation
Kodiaks1 rather mild maritime climate and heavy rainfall
account for the lush vegetation found on bottom lands and hillsides.
6.12
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KODIAK AREA
Only the highest mountain slopes are barren. The hillsides support
stands of Sitka spruce, grasses, forbes and shrubs. In the bottom
land, tall grasses and sedges are intersperced with cottonwood and
willow.
B. Present Water Quality Problems
At the present time, the City of Kodiak has an estimated
population of 7500 persons, with an additional suburban population
of 2000. Most of the domestic sewage is discharged untreated into
Kodiak Harbor through five outfalls. One hundred-forty permanent
and one hundred-fifty transient persons reside on boats in the boat
harbor. All sewage from vessels is discharged into the harbor with-
out treatment.
During 1965, approximately 50 million pounds of fish wastes
were discharged into Kodiak Harbor. The largest single contribution
is the King Crab industry, which operates on a year-round basis.
By local ordinance, fish waste is ground up before discharge.
This method abates the odor problem somewhat, but increases the area
to volume ratio and consequently accelerates biochemical degradation.
The large swarms of seagulls feeding on cannery wastes create a
nuisance problem.
The effect of this unregulated discharge on the quality of
the waters in Kodiak Harbor is obvious. Floating solids impair the
appearance of the shoreline and malodorous refuse offends the nose.
There has been a significant reduction in dissolved oxygen in. the
waters fronting Kodiak.
6.13
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KODIAK AREA
The small boat harbor depends upon tidal action for flushing
waste materials into the receiving waters of Kodiak Harbor. Tidal
currents average .6 knots and do not afford efficient circulation or
adequate dilution.
The Naval Station and Naval Communication Station discharge
domestic sewage directly or indirectly into Woraens Bay and St. Paul
Harbor. A small amount of this sewage passes through septic tanks.
Numerous outfalls dot the shoreline and these areas are accessible
to children playing in the area, thereby presenting an immediate
health hazard.
Aside from the obvious effects on the community from floating
solids and odor nuisances, and the potential threat to health, the
effects of this unregulated discharge on the economy and growth
potential of the seafood industry should also be considered*
Although the area has produced significant amounts of salmon,
halibut, crab, shrimp and others, major seafood production of indus-
trial importance has only commenced during recent years. Marine
biologists agree that the waters are virtually untapped when con-
sidering the estimate that one to three billion pounds of seafood
could be produced annually from the North Pacific without fear of
depletion.
Potential expansion of the seafood industry from these
large fishing stocks can multiply the pollution problem unless
immediate steps are taken to solve the waste disposal problemi
6.14
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KODIAK AREA
VI. KODIAK BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Report of Essential Economic and Fiscal Facts Concerning
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, 1966.
2. Comprehensive Plan, Kodiak, Alaska Prepared by Alaska State
Housing Authority, 1962.
3. Feasibility Study for Treatment of Sewage at U.S. Naval
Station, Kodiak, Alaska, by Livingstone, Moore and Wallace, Inc.
4. U.S. Weather Bureau, Climatic Summary of the United States,
Number 86-43.
5. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Dissolved Oxygen and
Salinity, Selected Stations, Kodiak Harbor, unpublished data.
6.15
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SITKA BOROUGH AREA
7.1
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ALASKA
ALASKA, HAP C
SURVEY. FEDERAL CENTER. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASHINGTON 25. D. C
-------
SITKA BOROUGH AREA
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to list and evaluate sources and
extent of pollution in the metropolitan area of Sitka, Alaska, and to
recommend actions to solve immediate problems.
Present polluted conditions are in violation of the Alaska Water
Pollution Control Act and the Administrative Code. The Alaska State
Department of Health and Welfare requires that at least primary treat-
ment be given to sewage from the City of Sitka and Federal Installa-
tions at Mt. Edgecombe.
Authority for this report is the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act as amended (33 USC 466). In addition to the State water quality
requirements, Presidential Executive Order 11288 requires Federal
Installations to provide secondary treatment for all liquid wastes.
Inasmuch as recommendations presented in the references comply
with these requirements, implementation of these recommendations is
justified. The Alaska Water Laboratory, however, feels that addi-
tional study of present water quality is required to assess the impor-
tance of chemical pollution by industry in the Sitka area.
7.3
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PAGE NOT
AVAILABLE
DIGITALLY
-------
II. SUMMARY OF POLLUTION PROBLEMS AND RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES
Party or Agency
Remedy
Cost Millions Relative Vicinity
of Dollars Priority Map Index
Greater Sitka Borough Sewers and primary
or City of Sitka treatment
Federal Installations Sewers and primary
on Japonski Island treatment
(Mt. Edgecombe)
2.0
0.5
Fish processors
Garages, service
stations, boats
and airplanes
Pulp Mill
Sitka Borough
Separation of solids,
disposal of water
into sewers.
Grease traps and dis-
posal of oil outside
sewers.
Removal of additional
wood fiber and dis-
solved solids from
red liquor. Reduction
of foaming detergent
use and installation of
primary outfall facility.
Providing for disposal
of solid waste, car
bodies, rubbish tin
cans and garbage in a
way that does not damage
the environment and water
quality.
1.6
0.2
(A)
(A)
(B)
scattered
(B) scattered
(B)
(B) area wide
* Not estimated
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The most critical need in Sitka, including the Federal Installations
at Mt. Edgecombe, is to provide a primary treatment facility for domestic
sewage. The accompanying map shows that only a small area of the borough
of Sitka has public .sewer service. This area contains approximately 757,
of the contiguous population.
7.5
-------
Facilities have been planned (1) that would provide a jointly
operated facility for the City of Sitka and Mt. Edgecombe. An
increase in size of this design would provide for interception of
sewage from all of the presently populated areas along the beaches.
This would remove the health hazard and unsightliness of outfalls
presently along the beaches, many of which are above the water line.
Alleged chemical pollution of the waters of Silver Bay near
Sitka by a pulp mill requires further study. Such a study should
determine the long range effects of continued pollution at the pre-
sent level and make recommendations for further treatment if required.
As a minimum, additional screening to recover wood solids and addi-
tional dissolved solids recovery should be accomplished. In addition,
control of effluent concentration by provision of a holding lagoon
should be provided. Such a lagoon would assure that accidental loss
of chemicals within the pulping operation does not cause the effluent
to reach concentrations beyond that recommended by the Alaska Water
Pollution Board (2) as a result of their survey prior to plant con-
struction. Recommendations of AWFCB regarding outfall design and
location should also be complied with as soon as possible.
IV. COSTS
The cost of providing a sewage system including additional lines,
pumping stations, and a primary treatment plant would be $2.5 million.
This estimate is based on an existing plan (1) which embraces all of
the Japonski Island*- installations and the present central city in one
system. Cost of such a system was estimated by the same report to be
^Japonski Island is the locale of many Federal Installations including
FAA, Coast Guard, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Mt. Edgecombe USPHS
Hospital. The complex is sometimes called "Mt. Edgecombe".
7.6
-------
$0.87 million. Extrapolation of this design to include a larger area
brings the total to $2.5 million. It should be pointed out that 75%
of the population of Sitka, including the Federal Installation, would
be served by the $0.87 million system. The remaining population,
which is strung out along the two roads, would be served at an addi-
tional cost of over $1.5 million.
Cost of Sewage Pollution Abatement
City of Sitka and Japonski Island $0.87 million
(Japonski Island alone 0.5 million)
Remaining contiguous Borough (excepting city) 1.5 million
Integrated System Total $2.5 million
The cost of additional treatment of wastewaters discharged by
the pulp mill is believed to be near $1.6 millions. Of this amount,
approximately $0.75 million is required to increase the capacity to
recover dissolved solids. Additional treatment of the effluents
discharged into the receiving waters would be primarily to recover
added chemicals and wood fiber. The resultant saving is not included
in the cost estimates.
Additional screening and centrifuging waste waters to increase
recovery would cost an estimated $0.38 million. An additional out-
fall facility, designed to comply with earlier recommendations by
the Alaska Water Pollution Control Board (2), is estimated to cost
approximately $500,000.
Therefore, total cost of immediate needs is approximately $1.6
million. This would essentially bring waste control and treatment
into compliance with existing recommendations of the Alaska Water
Pollution Control Board.
7.7
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V. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
The pulp mill operated by Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company has
continued a program of water quality study in Silver Bay and is pro-
ceeding with plans for new controls on waste recovery processes.
Their attention is directed toward increasing recovery of processing
chemicals and wood fibers, which would result in lower operating
costs. They have already achieved significant improvement in waste
recovery from the barker and wood room operations and are planning
the addition of more screens to recover pulp from wash waters in
parts of the pulping process. However, they do not have any plans
for additional attention to the dispersion of effluents in the
receiving waters nor for a storage lagoon.
The City of Sitka has recently extended several outfalls into
the channel below low water. This, in addition to the building of
new sewers (presently under construction) T/ithin the city, has mater-
ially improved sewage disposal within the city. An immediate result
of the construction of new lines has been the removal of three of
the four sewers that formerly discharged into a recreational lake
within town. This lake can be used for boating and fishing when the
remaining sewer has been extended past the lake.
VI. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. The Borough
Sitka and its environs contain much of the historical
interest of southeastern Alaska (3). The city is prized as an
attractive place in which to live, with a flourishing educational
system, cultural attractions, beautiful scenery, and numerous parks
and waterfront recreation areas nearby. The surrounding area within
7.8
-------
a few miles consists of a region of beaches and forest under the
management of Tongass National Forest.
Principal sources of income are the fishing industry, pulp
mill, institutional and military establishment, and tourist industry.
A major tourist attraction is fishing for salmon in local waters,
digging of shellfish, and picnicking on the beaches.
B. Population
Population in 1965 is given at 4950 including medium and low
density areas connected by road to Sitka proper. Annual growth rate
for the next decade is projected to be between 3.5 percent and 4.0
percent. There are an additional 1500 persons on Japonski Island
which consists entirely of Federal Installations, principally Mt.
Edgecombe, the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital.
C. Environment
The climate of Sitka is sub-polar maritime, with narrow
temperature ranges, generally between 32° and 55° F. Precipitation
occurs on 200 days of the year, mostly as light rain.
Geologically, Sitka is on a low shelf between a submerged
glaciated valley and precipitous glaciated peaks. Permeable soil
covering the rocky basement is shallow and contributes to diffi-
culties in sewer system construction and operation, as well as to
problems in building and road construction.
Vegetation is dense and luxuriant. Predominant species
are conifers which provide a mainstay of the area's industry.
Undergrowth consists of thick layers of sphagnum moss and low shrubs
from xtfhich is derived the muskeg nature of the soil.
Nearby waters are oceanic and have a salinity between 30
and 33 parts per thousand at depth; however, salinity of surface
7.9
-------
may decrease to as low as 10 parts during seasons of high runoff.
Currents in the boat harbors and along nearby beaches are of consider-
able strength owing to the 7 foot tidal ranges, and are to be considered
in sewage-outfall design. Local winds vary from generally offshore
in winter to onshore during spring and summer. As a result, periods
exist when surface currents tend to cause accumulations from sewage
outfalls \7herever such outfalls lie to the southwest and are close
to shore.
VII. PRESENT WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS
Present pollution problems are demonstrated by the appearance
of floating sewage in the boat harbor, numerous sewer outfalls along
the beaches, and the appearance of raw sewage above ground levels
in some areas of town. Some of the many sewer outfalls in nearby
waters are such that onshore currents deposit sewage solids on
beaches.
A bond issue was recently rejected that would have provided for
sewers in a part of town which is plagued by inadequate drainage for
septic tank systems. At present there is no plan to provide primary
treatment facilities for the municipal sewer system. Lack of ade-
quate sewers and no treatment plant cause pollution of nearby beaches.
These beaches could provide recreation for the local population and
be used by summer visitors from other states as well were it not for
the presence of obnoxious debris and water.
Pollution of nearby waters by the pulp mill requires that addi-
tional study be carried out and that recommendations made by Alaska
Water Pollution Control Board be implemented. Allegations are that
the biological community of the marine environment has been altered
7.10
-------
by chemical pollution due to sulfite waste liquor. It is apparent
that the use of hard detergents in one of the mill processes causes
a persistent foam to appear on the water and beaches at times,
depending on weather conditions.
A recent (1965) report by the FWPCA (4) shows that chemical
alteration of the water has occurred. This report also shows that
under certain climatic conditions, such as with westerly winds which
occur during summer months, waste liquor concentrations may achieve
levels that are toxic to many species in the marine food chain. Con-
centrations of waste sulfite liquor may also be high because of
unusual operating conditions in the mill or maintenance problems
with recovery equipment. Long periods of time are required by the
biological community to recover from short periods of exposure to
lethal levels of toxic wastes in the waters.
Recent data collected by Alaska Water Laboratory presents evi-
dence of changes in the biota of beaches near the pulp mill (5).
Local residents frequently mention other biological changes, alleg-
edly caused by pollution. Foremost among these are complete dis-
appearance of spawning herring runs in Silver Bay and reduction in
numbers of certain molluscs. A decrease in the growth rate of
edible clams is also indicated.
Recommendations by the Alaska Water Pollution Control Board (2),
subsequent to a site survey in 1957 before the pulp mill went into
operation, were not followed with regard to outfall location and
design, nor was a storage lagoon provided. Evidence suggests that,
bad treatment facilities and waste disposal recommendations been
followed, pollution would now be under better control.
7.11
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Organic Sedimentation
Road building and land clearing around Sitka has resulted in
deposition of muskeg silt in the bottom of some waterways. This
results in a biological oxygen demand but the total extent of damage
is not known. Deposition of the material, like a fine, flocculent
peat moss, on beaches has been noted.
VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. An Engineering Study of Sewage Disposal Needs for Federal
Installations at Mt. Edgecombe, Alaska, 1965, by Phillio Engineering
Service and Cornell, Rowland, Hayes, and Merryfield, Engineers and
Planners.
2. Edward F. Eldridge and Robert 0. Sylvester, "Silver Bay
Water Pollution Control Studies Near Sitka, Alaska", Alaska Water
Pollution Control Board, Seattle, Washington, June 17, 1957.
3. Greater Sitka Borough Comprehensive Development Plan, 1966,
Prepared by the Alaska State Housing Authority, E. N. Courtney, Acting
Executive Director.
4. Northwest Region, FWPCA, "Oceanographic and Related Water
Quality Studies in Southeastern Alaska", August, 1963, Portland,
Oregon, July, 1966.
5. Unpublished Reports by Alaska Water Laboratory.
7.12
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ALASKA-WIDE SEAFOOD PROCESSING WASTES
8.1
-------
"V.
LOCATIONS OF SEAFOOD PROCESSORS \N ALASKA
WESTERN
No. of Operators 44
Approx. Ibs. of Waste 76,000,000
CENTRAL
No. of Operators 104
Approx. ibs. of Waste 100,000,000
SOUTHEASTERN
No. of Operators 87
Approx. Ibs. of Waste55,000,000
-------
ALASKA-WIDE SEAFOOD PROCESSING V7ASTES
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to draw attention to the vast
amount of seafood wastes entering Alaskan waters, (see figure 1),
point out present and developing pollution problems and make recom-
mendations for action to abate these problems. The data used in
this report are taken from Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Statistical Leaflets Number 10 and 11. Further information on
seafood waste utilization was obtained from other publications,
(see bibliography). No detailed surveys or engineering studies
were carried out for the preparation of this report.
The authority for this study is the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, as ammended (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.).
Nearly all of Alaska's coastal waters still retain the pristine
characteristics which are so desireable for the uses they support.
In some isolated cases water quality has deteriorated due to poor
management. Other areas are developing potential problems. It is
toward the elimination of these present and potential problems that
this study is directed.
II. SUMMARY OF IMMEDIATE POLLUTION CONTROL NEEDS
(Priority indicated by number in parenthesis).
Waste Treatment Relative
jArea Responsibility Need Priority
Statewide Seafood Processors Primary treatment of (A)
sanitary sewage and
chlorination of
effluent.
Statewide Seafood Processors Collection and adequate (B)
treatment of seafood
processing waste.
8.3
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Institutional Practices Required;
1. The State of Alaska is proceeding to adopt standards as
required by the Federal TJater Pollution Control Act for Alaskan
waters. These standards should clearly recognize Alaska's position
as a major producer of commercial seafoods, and an area with great
recreational potential.
2. The State of Alaska ought to consider legislation to provide
for State participation in grants for the construction of sewage
treatment works,, where necessary.
3. Provisions should be made to expand the staff of the
Alaska State Department of Health and Welfare to facilitate sur-
veillance of the seafood processing industry.
Research;
1. Research by the seafood processing industry and the Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries and the FT'JPCA to provide effective and eco-
nomical ways of removing processing wastes and, if possible, means
for their efficient utilization in the form of some fishery by-
products of economic value.
III. PROBLEM AREAS AND IMMEDIATE NEEDS
During the last year for which statistics are available (1965),
a total of 235 seafood processors were operating in Alaskan x^aters.
The Southeastern region (see figure 1) contained 87 operators and
produced approximately 55 million pounds of seafood waste. One
hundred-four operators were active in the central region where
approximately 100 million pounds of seafood waste were produced.
Forty-four operators were active in the western region where 76
million pounds of waste were produced.
The total seafood waste from Alaskan waters was approximately
281 million pounds (140,500 tons). About 50% of this waste was
8.4
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produced during the peak of the salmon canning season (mid - June
to mid - September). Shrimp and crab waste is generally produced
throughout the year.
Figure 1 shows the distributions of the various seafood pro-
cessors. It is apparent that there is a wide diversity in the lo-
cations of many of the operators, but also there are several sites
where a number of operators are located (Kodiak,(22), Wrangell .(16)
and Ketchikan (4). These areas constitute the major actual and
emminent problem areas within the state. Kodiak harbor has already
experienced a severe degradation of water quality within the harbor
due to waste discharge from the seafood industries.
Extremely high water quality is required by the uses that
characterize the waters of Alaska. Production of anadromous fish,
shellfish propagation, and recreational and aesthetic opportunities
are curtailed, made more costly or eliminated by the existance
of pollution by the seafood processing industry. In addition,
present waste disposal practices create unfavorable conditions
for the industry itself and could disrupt normal operations, particu-
larly where several processors utilize the same receiving waters
for waste discharge. The following actions are necessary in order
to protect the use and quality of Alaskan Coastal waters.
1. Sanitary Waste Disposal Systems
Almost without exception, seafood processing facilities
operating in Alaska lack adequate sanitary sewage facilities.
Due to the variations in processing sites and numbers of employees
(6-150), the impact of each processor on the receiving waters should
be determined. State and Federal water quality standards should
determine the degree of treatment required.
8.5
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2. Solid Waste Disposal from Seafood Processors
Because of the number of sites used in seafood processing
spread over a variety of geographic and climatic regions, there is,
at present, no single method which could effectively be used for the
recovery and disposal of seafood wastes. Each processing site should
be examined to determine the degree of treatment necessary, the
need for solids removal, and the possibilities for utilizing the
waste materials.
IV. COST OF IMMEDIATE POLLUTION ABATEMENT
At the present time, raw domestic sewage is being discharged
directly into the receiving waters from virtually all of the seafood
processors. In order to meet the minimum requirements of the water
quality standards of the State of Alaska, some form of treatment will
be necessary. Since the number of employees at the various processors
ranges from 6-150, it seems that the most practical method for treat-
ment of domestic wastes would be a small package treatment plant.
These package plants would vary in size to accomodate the number of
employees at each of the processing plants. If approximately 857,
of the processors needed such facilities and an average $25,000 was
expended per package plant, about $5,000,000 would need to be invested
in treatment facilities for domestic wastes.
In addition to domestic sewage, it will also be necessary to
remove processing wastes in some problem areas. Although there
have been numerous attempts to develop methods of utilizing fish
wastes in Alaska, none have proven successful to date. At the
present, there is a Norwegian package plant available which has
a production capacity of 50 tons per day. Considering that it
takes about five parts of wet waste to produce one part of the
finished product, such a plant could utilize all of the waste from
8.6
-------
a problem area. There are three large problem areas where such
a package plant could be utilized. The package costs approximately
$1,000,000. Besides the three major areas of concentration there
are several smaller areas that would also need attention.
Since there are no methods suitable for these smaller areas
they will need to develop a means of transporting their wastes into
an area that can assimilate the wastes without a degradation in
water quality.
Considering the three large package plants plus a means for
transporting the wastes from the smaller processors, it is estimated
that an expenditure of $5,000,000 will be necessary to properly
handle the fish processing wastes.
V. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
Preliminary results of research in progress at the Ketchikan
Technological Laboratory of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries,
indicate the technical feasibility of utilizing wastes from both
fish and shellfish to produce a fish protein concentrate suitable
for use in animal feeding.
Data has been accumulated regarding process efficiencies,
construction and operation costs, feeding experiments and market
potential. Work is also progressing in the development of package
plants suitable for the seasonal operations which are characteristic
of much of the industry in Alaskan waters.
VI. BACKGROUND
A. Pertinent Coastal Characteristics
The Alaska Coast line associated with this study drains
an area of approximately 500,000 square miles. So irregular is its
boundary that if superimposed upon the lower 48 it would stretch
from the Florida coast to California and from Michigan to Mexico.
8.7
-------
Its nearly 32,000 miles of coast line exceeds the world's circum-
ference.
The Pacific Mountain System defines the southern border of
Alaska rising from the Gulf of Alaska and the Northern Pacific
Ocean. The system continues in an arc across the top of the Gulf
of Alaska sending off two spurs as its axis rotates west and south-
ward. The coastal spur contains the St. Elias Range and the Chugach
and Kenai Mountains where it dips into the sea to reappear as Kodiak
Island at its southwestern tip. The main spur forms the cresent of
the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands chain. Between these
spurs lie the inland waterways of Southeast Alaska, the Wrangell
Mountains, the Copper River Plateau, the Talkeetna Mountains, the
Susitna Lowlands and Cook Inlet. Beyond the mountains lies a broad
expanse of lowlands, plains and rolling highlands. Its drainage
system - the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Porcupine, Tanana and Koyukuk Rivers -
empties into the Bering Sea. Jutting out from the northwest corner
of this region is the Seward Peninsula which reaches out toward
Siberia. To the north lies the Brooks Range.
The climate of Alaska is a product of several physiographic
features. The first of these is the general east-west main mountain
system rising abruptly from the sea to heights of 19,000 feet.
Secondly, Alaska is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the
Bering Sea to the west and the gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific
Ocean on the south. Its southeastern and southern coasts are
bathed by the Japanese Current. Finally, Alaska's high northerly
latitude is a basic factor in the determination of its climate.
As a result of these features, precipitation ranges from more than
150 inches per year in the southeast to 5-20 inches in the interior.
8.8
-------
Temperature gradients are likewise strongly differentiated. The
southern coastal strip is characterized by cool summers and mild
winters while the interior is subject to great extremes (-60° F.
to +90° P.).
Four major zones of vegetation can be defined. The seaward
slopes of the southeast produce dense forests restricted to a narrow
belt reaching to 2500 feet altitude. Within this belt there are
approximately 16 million acres of forest predominantly hemlock and
sitka spruce. The interior forest zone contains an estimated 125
million acres limited to the better drained valley floors. The
predominant species are black and white spruce, birch, aspen and
poplar. The grassland zone, approximately 100 million acres, covers
the lower Alaska Peninsula and the Aleution Islands. Finally,
100 million acres of treeless Arctic slope and coastal lands con-
stitute the tundra zone. In each of these zones there is an un-
measured amount of barren surface, muskeg and ice.
The total population of Alaska is approximately 265,000.
Seventy percent of this population live in the coastal area.
Population centers include Anchorage (102,000), Fairbanks (45,000),
Juneau (12,400), Ketchikan (11,500), Wrangle-Petersburg (5000),
Sitka (8225), Kodiak (9000), Bethel (7240), Nome (6613) and
Kotzebue (4000). Of these only Fairbanks lies in the interior.
To further delineate, approximately 132,000 people live along the
central (see figure 1) coast, 39,000 along the southeastern coast
and 17,000 along the western coast. It is rather unique that these
population centers are not a product of Alaska's present economy
but rather a result of her past economy.
8.9
-------
The present economy of the coast is dependent upon commercial
fishing, petroleum, timber and tourism. Unfortunately these in-
dustries do not always find complete compatability. Domestic sewage,
wastes from wood products manufacturing and spillage from petroleum
operations tend to reduce the water quality. It is rather paradoxi-
cal that fishing, the leading industry, cannot tolerate such a
reduction in water quality nor can tourism tolerate a reduction
in the esthetic quality of the area.
B. Present Water Quality Problems
1. Domestic Pollution
At the present time domestic sewage from the seafood
processing plants is being discharged directly into the coastal
waters. The number of employees at the various plants range from
6 to 150. Although the dilution available is practically infinite,
Alaska's water quality standards do not allow the discharge of solids
into receiving streams.
2. Wastes From Seafood Processing Plants
Heads, shells, vicera etc. from processing plants are
discharged directly into the receiving waters. In most instances
these wastes are dispersed by tides and wind and removed by scavengers
or decomposed without causing a pollutional problem. However, in
some congested areas in restricted bays this refuse has become a
problem. At present such areas are solving their problems by barging
the waste into the open sea or by grinding the wastes before discharg-
ing them into the receiving waters.
3. Low Dissolved Oxygen
Kodiak: In the past dissolved oxygen concentrations
within the vicinity of the 22 processing plants near Kodiak has
8.10
-------
been reduced to the extent that the water could not be used in
crab holding tanks. This condition did not exist during the 1966
season probably due to a poor crabbing season. However, it is
a problem that will reappear when fishing returns to normal.
Approved practices which will either remove the wastes
from the water completely or deliver them to areas in the sea that
can assimilate them adequately will need to be initiated before
the full potential of the coastal area can be realized.
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Alaska Catch and Production, Commercial Fisheries Statistics,
1964. Stata of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Statistics
leaflet No. 10.
2. Alaska Catch and Production, Commercial Fisheries Statistics,
1965. State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Statistics
leaflet No, 11.
3. Utilization of Alaska Salmon Cannery Waste as a Source of
Feed for Hatchery Fish, Landgraf, R.G., D.T. Miyauchi, and M.E.
Stansby. Commercial Fisheries Rev. Volume 13 No. lla, Nov. 1951,
pp 26-33.
4. New Foods from Salmon Cannery Wastes., Anderson, L. and
F. Piskur, Pacific Fisherman, April 1944, 2 pp.
5. Salmon Cannery Waste for Mink Feed, Leekley, JR etal,
Fishery Leaflets 405, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nov. 1952,
31 pp.
6. Utilization of Alaskan Salmon Cannery Waste, Parts 1 and
2, Stansby, M.E. et. al. Special Scientific Reports, Fisheries
109. Sept. 1953, 107 pp.
7. Alaska, Review of Business and Economic Conditions University
of Alaska, Institute of Business, Economic and Government Research,
January 1966, 8 pp.
8.11
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STATEWIDE FOREST AND MINING INDUSTRIES
9.1
-------
STATEWIDE FOREST AND MINING INDUSTRIES
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to describe and evaluate water
pollution caused by mining and timber harvesting in the State of Alaska.
Of necessity, the description will be in broad terms, and generalities
will be resorted to in evaluating the seriousness of the pollution
problem and courses of action to prevent or reduce pollution.
Recommendations presented here are based on studies done in Alaska
(McNeil and Ahnell, 1964; Bishop, 1967) and in other parts of the
United States (Dunford and Weitzman, 1955; Irvin, 1967; Eschner and
Larmoyeux, 1963; Calhoun and Seeley, 1963; and Albert and Spector,1955).
All the cited works dealt with the effects of logging, chiefly silta-
tion, on aquatic life. However, similar results arise during placer
mining and also have an adverse effect on aquatic life.
Although pollution caused by mining and timber operations in
Alaska now is minor, planned future expansion of these industries will
pose serious problems unless methods of prevention are developed and
enforced in anticipation of actual pollution. Public Law 84-660
entitled Federal Water Pollution Control Act clearly stipulates that
any activity that is deleterious to stream use shall constitute pollu-
tion. Moreover, proposed standards for Water Pollution Control in the
State of Alaska state that sediment that adversely affects fish life
or interferes with water treatment is considered pollution. A state-
ment in Alaska's Statutes, Section 46.05.230, presently excludes sil-
tation caused by placer mining and gravel washing as pollution. This
statement must be removed if Alaska's Water Quality Standards are to
comply with the Water Quality Act of 1965. Background of this state-
ment is that many Alaskan streams are naturally silt laden. How-
ever, the natural silt apparently does not preclude anodromous and
9.2
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OWNER
Bureau of Land
Management
State of Alaska and
State Selected
U.S. Forest Service
ugac
tional Forest
Figure 1 - Commercial forests in Alaska (Haring and Massie, 1966).
-------
other fish use of these streams, whereas man-made silt apparently
does so. Further studies in this problem area, including possible
synergistic effects, are desirable.
Since recommendations presented in the references cited earlier
meet these requirements, executing these recommendations is justified.
However, the Alaska Water Laboratory feels that research must be
continued, or initiated where needed, to provide answers to problems
of pollution associated with the mining and timber industry through-
out the State of Alaska.
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES
At present, pollution arising from mining and logging is minimal
simply because both these industries are operating far below their
ultimate capability based on the extent of the total resource. Logging
of any magnitude is carried on only in Southeastern Alaska and is
supplying logs for pulp mills at Ketchikan and Sitka; the only other
activities are small assorted sawmills scattered throughout the State
(Rogers, 1932, p. 145). The chief polluting agent associated with
logging is siltation which damages spawning and nursery gravels.
Active mining consists of one underground mine and several minor
strip or placer operations (Rogers, 1962, p. 145) although the
Division of Mines and Minerals lists 182 active (including prospec-
ting) mines and four coal stripping operations. Siltation is the
principal polluting agent associated with mining, especially placers.
Another possible source of pollution from mines is chemical reagents
introduced by ore treatment of lode mining operations.
Figure 1 gives the general location of forests in Alaska where
commercial timber operations are possible based on the existing
9.4
-------
resource. Nearly all timber resources are owned by government agencies,
either State or Federal. Although logging in Southeastern Alaska is
progressing, the total cut is far below the allowable cut on a sustained
yield basis (Haring and Massie, 1966). Table 1 gives the programmed
requirements for timber in Southeastern Alaska and illustrates that
pulp mills are the principal consumers of timber.
Timber in interior Alaska is scarcely being logged at this time
although several million acres of commercial timber are available.
Table 2 shows the total interior timber resource.
Pollution control associated with logging consists chiefly in
adhering to good logging methods and proper siting of logging and
skid roads. Dunford and Weitzman (1955) conclude that total road
mileage can be substantially reduced by careful planning. Eschner
and Larmoyeux (1963) conclude that careful logging methods greatly
reduced the sediment load of streams draining the logged watershed.
In a survey of logging damage to California streams, Calhoun and
Seeley (1963) concluded that careful logging could prevent siltation
and that the main incentive was a willingness on the part of operators
to be careful. It apparently costs no more to log by acceptable
methods and prevent damage than to cause wholesale, irreparable damage
to streams and watersheds.
Pollution caused by mining is now negligible although it could
be a serious problem in the future because Alaska has extensive
deposits of many minerals. The extent and location of 21 metallic
and 9 nonmetaliic minerals are discussed in the Rampart Dam Report
(1965). Some of these are extensive and many need only a favorable
economic climate to be developed with attendant pollution hazards.
9.5
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TABLE 1
PROGRAMMED ANNUAL TIMBER REQUIREMENTS OF MANUFACTURERS
IN THE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST AREA, AS OF 1966-1967,
(From Haring and Massie, 1966)
Company Annual Requirement
(million bd. ft.)
Ketchikan Pulp Company 220
Alaska Lumber and Pulp Company 140
*Pacific Northern Timber Company 70
Ketchikan Spruce Mills 25
Wrangell Lumber Company 20
Metlakatla Mill 20
Columbia Lumber Company 10
Sitka Sawmill 10
*0ther 15
530
* Planned Operations.
SOURCE: U.S. Forest Service, Juneau
9.6
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TABLE 2
SUMMARY OF FOREST RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS IN INTERIOR
ALASKA AS OF 1965
(From Haring and Massie, 1966)
Resource
Characteristic
Ownership of
Forest Land
Commercial
Forest Land
Species
Composition
Commercial
Timber Volume
(bil. bd. ft.)
Estimated
Allowable annual
Cut (mil. b. ft.)
Copper River
Valley
Mainly Federal
B.L.M. , some
State and
private
Approximately
1 mil. acres
Mainly White
Spruce
1
15
Tanana River
Valley
Primarily state
easily accessible
private; Federal -
BLM in non-accessible
places
Valley - 2 mil. acres
Readily accessible -
1 mil. acres
White
Spruce 60%
Hardwood 40%
Valley 7
Readily
accessible 4
Valley 90
Readily
accessible 45
Yukon River
Valley
Federal -
B.L.M.
Unknown, esti-
mated at 10,000
sq. mi. forest
area.
Mainly White
Spruce
Unknown
(estimated
potentialtlO)
Unknown
Kuskokwim
River Valley
Federal -
B.L.M.
100,000 acres
plus adjacent to
river approx.
68,000 acres.
Primarily White
Spruce; some
Birch, Aspen and
Cottonwood
Valley .780
Adjacent
to river . 365
Valley 6%
Adjacent
to river 4
Total
Interior
Alaska*
Unknown, but
estimated at
over 3 . 1 mil
acres.
Unknown, but
estimated in
excess of
18.78
Unknown, but
estimated in
excess of
111.5
* Based on major river valleys only
SOURCES: U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Alaska State Division of Lands.
-------
TABLE 3
PRODUCTION OF MAJOR COMMODITIES
ANNUAL REPORT, DIVISION OF MINES AND MINERALS, 1965
DOLLAR VALUES (THOUSANDS)
Year
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
Gold
$10,125
8,387
8,420
8,882
8,699
8,725
7,325
7,541
6,525
6,262
5,887
3,998
5,784
3,485
2,045
1,505
Mercury
$
6
8
277
12
853
1,349
774
851
940
816
712
76
95
104
Coal
$3,033
3,767
5,779
8,452
6,442
5,759
6,374
7,296
6,931
6,869
6,318
5,868
6,409
5,910
5,008
5,878
9.8
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Figure 2 (A), (B), and (C) shows the location of major deposits of
14 metallic and industrial minerals (Cobb, 1960, 1962, and 1964).
Most damage to streams and associated biota, caused by mining
operations, has already occurred as a result of extensive mining
during the early part of this century. At present, only a few small
mines are operating; hence, pollution is minimal and confined to small
local areas. Gravel and coal washing are the largest contributors to
pollution at present and this damage could be prevented by using
settling basins to trap silt before the wash water is discharged to
a stream. Although Alaska has extensive coal deposits in several
parts of the state, only two fields are presently being mined, the
Nenana and Matanuska fields.
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
Although Alaska has extensive timber and mineral reserves,
neither industry is being operated at potential capacity, chiefly
because of economics associated with each resource. The principle
timber reserves are the spruce and hemlock forests of southeastern
and central coasts of the state. Virtually all of this timber is
controlled by the U.S. Forest Service and logging of this timber will
be under their supervision. With the present area of logging, pollu-
tion is not serious although local siltation of streams does occur.
However, observations by Forest Service biologists (Sheriden and
McNeil, 1967) suggest siltation of spawning beds caused by logging
operations is temporary because this silt is flushed out during flood
stages of each stream. These conditions may not always hold and
permanent silting causes destruction of spawning beds as described
by Irwin (1967) and McNeil and Ahnell (1964). In any event, it is
9.9
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.d». * «?* . . \
*' « .. \
0 Gold (placer)
x Gold (lode)
500 miles
Figure 2 (A) - Known mineral deposits in Alaska (Cobb, I960, 1962, 1964)
-------
« Copper, Lead, Zinc
x Molybdenum, Tin, Tungsten
500 miles
Figure 2 (B)
-------
Iron
Industrial minerals
Chromium, Cobalt, Nickel, Platinum
Antimony, Bismuth, Mercury
500 miles
Figure 2 (C)
-------
desirable to reduce silting to a minimum to preserve original spawning
bed conditions. Properly laid out logging roads and logging by
approved methods can prevent damage to streams by controlling erosion
associated with timber removal. Approved logging methods are avail-
able; it is only a matter of getting loggers to use these methods
under supervision of the Forest Service.
A definite figure for the forest resource of interior forests
is nonexistent because these forests have never been inventoried.
Baring and Massie (1966) present estimates that out of 130 million
acres classified as forests in the state, 45 million can be designated
as being commercial forests. Subtracting a total of 5.7 million acres
of coastal forest from the total leaves 38.8 million acres of commer-
cial forests in interior Alaska, a huge area by any reckoning. These
forests, consisting chiefly of white spruce, aspen, and birch as
marketable species, are generally confined to lowlands and adjacent
slopes of the Yukon, Xanana, Copper, Kuskokwira, and Susitna valleys.
Present logging of these vast forests is practically zero except for
local use for rough lumber and house logs. The future of these forests
will depend on developing markets for the "Jood product that can be
furnished, mostly pulp (Haring and Massie, 1966).
Pollution caused by timber harvesting of interior forests can
be placed at nearly zero because of the nonexistence of large scale
operations. If large scale logging becomes established, pollution
could still be minimal if proper logging methods are used. Nearly
all interior forests are controlled by the State or the Bureau of
Land Management; hence, these agencies can exercise close supervision
of any logging operation. Another factor that would tend to mitigate
9.13
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siltation Is flat terrain on which most of the commercial forests
grow. Such Ioi7 relief would prevent erosion because of extremely
low stream gradients. The absence of intense rainfall and total low
annual precipitation would also reduce siltation from logging opera-
tions. A possible complicating element might be permafrost. However,
commercial timber does not grow where the soil is frozen; therefore,
such effects could be neglected except where access roads might cross
permafrost areas. Proper planning of road systems would prevent
pollution similarly to that described for coastal forests.
Control needs associated with timber harvesting can be summarized
by stating that pollution now is insignificant, and where it occurs it
can be controlled by using approved logging methods supervised by
whomever controls the forest. Expanding present operations to include
interior Alaskan forests is dependent on developing markets and economic
conditions. Research on effects of logging should be continued in
coastal forests and initiated for interior forests to collect data
with which to establish guidelines to permit economical harvesting of
timber resources without damage to the resource base.
Although insecticides such as DDT have been shown to be dele-
terious to aquatic life (Reed, 1965), future pollution from this
agent will be minimal. All governmental agencies have been instructed
not to use chlorinated hydrocarbons as insecticides on government
21
lands. Since nearly all forest lands are in Federal agencies, this
prevents widespread use of persistent insecticides. Where local con-
trol is required, melathion, a nonpersistent agent, is being substitu-
ted for chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Mining is considered by many to be an important industry in Alaska.
This may have been true in the past and will probably be true in the
9.14
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future; however, at present, mining is a very minor economic enterprise
(except for oil). Table 3 shows how two commodities have declined in
importance during a 15 year period. Coal production is stable. In the
past, copper mining in Copper River area was important where $200
million dollars worth of copper was taken out in about 20 years (Rogers,
1962, p. 258).
Pollution controls to prevent damage from mining operations are
not now urgent because of the low level of raining activity. Neverthe-
less, serious thought must be given to methods of control to prevent
future damage should mining experience a revival to its former impor-
tance. Probably the greatest potential source of damage is siltation
from placer, stripping, and gravel washing. Damage is chiefly to
stream biota as sediment covers gravel beds, choices some streams and
generally interferes with stream ecology. Settling basins will pre-
vent siltation if such basins can be proven to be economical. Mining
engineers are of the opinion that sediment controls are unnecessary
and would be uneconomical. Biologists, on the other hand, have ample
evidence that placer mining is detrimental to stream life. Prolonged
high turbidity tends to cause fatigue of gill tissues of adult fish
and excludes light from bottom dwelling organisms (Stroud, 1967).
Settling basins appear to offer the cheapest preventive measure
for controlling siltation. Two one-acre basins-in-series can be con-
structed for a cost of $1400, assuming no land clearing. Maintaining
these basins would average at least one bulldozer hour per day @
$40/hr. to give $4,800 for a 120 day season. Assuming that 50,000
yd3 of gravels were sluiced, this would cost about $0.12/yd3 of
washed gravel. Such costs can be mpared to typical costs of placer
9.15
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gold mining which ranges from $0.13 to $2.54/yd , depending on the
size of the operations (Thomas, et al., 1959). Assuming $0.12/yd^
for pollution prevention, in 1965 it would have cost $114,200 to
prevent siltation for an industry whose annual value was $1,354,000.^2
Using similar reasoning, it would now cost about $2 million to prevent
siltation caused by gravel washing operations.
It must be made feasible that miners and pollution control agencies
can work together for the mutual welfare. Research and engineering
studies are needed, both from an economic and conservation point of
view, whereby unemotional solutions to such problems can be obtained.
Cooley (1966) cites studies done by private research institutes who
conclude that recreation and tourism are one of Alaska's most potential
industries. Filling small streams - that now run clear and provide
recreation - with mining debris will not attract visitors to Alaska.
Chemical contamination from milling operations associated with
lode mining may increase if mining becomes more important. For example,
a revaluation of the price of gold as a subsidy paid to U.S. gold mines
would result in a dramatic increase in this source of pollution. Gen-
erally such activities try to recover any chemical that is used if it
is worthwhile; however, any such milling operation must be monitored
to prevent damage to the streams through accident, negligence, or
irresponsibility. Milling operations usually produce considerable
silt which must be disposed of in settling basins similar to those
discussed for placer mining.
IV. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Geography
9.16
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Physical characteristics of Alaska - location, physiography,
climate and plant growth - have played a major role in her history and
economic development. These characteristics will continue to influence
development and challenge ingenuity. Principal physical features will
be sketched briefly to show their effect on natural resources and
future potentials.
The total area of Alaska is 586,400 square miles, one-fifth
the size of the Continental United States and is larger than the com-
bined area of the three next largest states - Texas, California, and
Montana. The boundary of Alaska is such that, if superimposed on the
48 continental states, it would stretch from the Florida coast to
California's and from Minnesota's northern border to Mexico's. Its
nearly 34,000 miles of coast line exceeds the world's circumference
at the equator and includes more than half of all U.S. continental
shelf.
The northernmost point of Alaska, like Norway's, is 1,250
miles from the North Pole. The southernmost point of Alaska's main-
land is the same latitude as northern Ireland. On the west in the
Bering Strait, Siberia is 56 miles away. On the east the State borders
Canada for nearly 1,000 miles.
Five regions are geographically defined as follows (Fig. 3):
1. Southeast
This region consists of the islands and enclosed waters
of the Alexander Archipelago and the adjacent Alaska mainland south
and east of the Malaspina Glacier and the St. Elias Mountains. It is
mountainous and much of the land area is covered by dense forest.
9.17
-------
Pt. Borrow
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ALASKA PHYSICAL FEATURES
AND
REGIONS
^5 I-
S1BERIA-
---' t t ~%-
KSp
P/%^P^:^^\^%^ &V>^
^M:^^^^^i^^^^^ ^^ Vi'A
Jv<5-/ .» ^J-L/o/l °'C/a^. h5-7/A. \ K. S\\->. V^ --^' DDnriOLI^oVI ' r
OUTHCENTRAL
s.
BERING SEA
^
*".
Dutch Horbot
Figure 3
-------
2. Southcentral
This region combines Copper River basin, Susitna River
basin, Cook Inlet drainage and its tributaries, the Alaska Peninsula
drainage into Shelikof Strait, and Kodiak Island and adjacent islands.
3. Southwest
This region embraces the remainder of the Alaska Penin-
sula, Bristol Bay drainage, Kuskokwim River Basin, lower Yukon River
basin (south of latitude 64° North), Aleutian Islands and islands of
the Bering Sea south of latitude 62° North.
4. Interior
This region embraces the upper Yukon River basin north
of latitude 64° North, Tanana River basin, Koyukuk River basin and
that portion of the Arctic Slope east of Kupavak River basin. This
last item does not belong naturally or logically in a region labeled
as "Interior," but reflects boundaries drawn by the State Constitution
for purposes of political representation, used by the U.S. Bureau of
Census, and most executive agencies of the State government.
5. Northwest
This region embraces Seward Peninsula, Kotzebue Sound
drainage, Arctic Slope west of and including Kupavak River basin, and
islands of the Bering Sea north of latitude 62° North and Bering Strait.
B. Physiography
Alaska's topography is marked by two great mountain systems,
as shown on Figure 3. The Brooks Range runs east and west above the
Arctic Circle, and the Pacific Mountain System sweeps in a great arc
through the southern part.
9.19
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The Pacific Mountain System defines the southern border of
Alaska, rising from the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific Ocean.
It is a continuation of the continental system which swings northward
through coastal British Columbia into Alaska as the Alexander Archi-
pelago and Coast Range of southeastern Alaska. The system continues
in an arc across the top of the Gulf of Alaska, sending off two spurs
as its axis rotates west and southward. The coastal spur contains the
St. Elias Range and Chugach and Kenai Mountains. It reappears from
the sea as Kodiak Island as its southwestern tip. The main spur moves
inland to form the crescent of the Alaska Range and the backbone of
the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands chain. Between these two
spurs lie the inland waterways of Southeast Alaska, Wrangell Mountains,
Copper River Plateau, Talkeetna Mountains, Susitna Lowlands, and Cook
Inlet.
Beyond these mountain barriers lies interior Alaska, a broad
expanse of lowlands, plains, and gently rolling highlands. It enters
Alaska from Yukon Territory and slopes in a southwesterly direction
with its drainage system - the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Porcupine, Tanana,
and Koyukuk Rivers - into the Bering Sea. Jutting out from the north-
west corner of this region, but not actually a part of it, is the
Seward Peninsula which reaches out toward Siberia. To the north of
this region lies Brooks Range, a series of rugged highlands forming
the northwestern extension of the Rocky Mountain system of the con-
tinent. Finally across the top of Alaska lie the foothills and coastal
plains of the Arctic Slope.
C. Climate
9.20
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Several dominant physiographic features influence the climate
of Alaska. First is the general east-west trend of the main mountain
systems (becoming southeast-northwest in the Panhandle region). The
coast range mountains rise abruptly from the sea to heights of 6,000
to 19,000 feet, and behind them is the second major arc of the Alaska
Range of similarly high peaks culminating in 20,300-foot Mt. McKinley.
The Brooks Range constitutes the northern border of the Interior region.
Secondly, Alaska is a large peninsula bounded by the Arctic Ocean on
the north, the Bering Sea on the west, and the Gulf of Alaska and North
Pacific Ocean on the south. Its southeastern and southern coasts are
bathed by the Japan (or Kamchatka) Current. Prevailing winds are south-
erly (southeasterly in the winter and southwesterly in the summer).
Finally, Alaska's high northerly latitude is a basic factor in the
determination of climate, three-fourths being in the North Temperate
Zone and the remainder in the Arctic.
Moisture-laden, southerly winds, warmed by the Japan Current,
strike the first barrier of the Pacific mountain system and deposit
moisture on seaward slopes. This wringing-out process is repeated as
the somewhat drier and cooler air crosses the Alaska Range, and again
when it reaches the Brooks Range. Therefore, moisture drawn from the
Pacific Ocean is distributed over the major regions of Alaska in sharply
contrasting amounts. The coastal area of the Pacific mountain system
is characterized by extremely heavy annual precipitation, ranging from
60 inches to 150 inches in the extreme southeast section and consider-
ably over 100 inches in the southcentral section. However, precipita-
tion decreases rapidly a short distance inland from the coast. The city
of Anchorage, just inside the Coast Range, has an average annual
9.21
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precipitation of 14 inches, while in the Interior region the range is
from about 5 to 20 inches and on the Arctic Slope generally less than
5 inches.
Temperature gradients are likewise strongly differentiated by
the interaction of sea influence and mountain barriers. The southern
coastal strip is characterized by comparatively cool summers (mean
average temperatures ranging in the mid-50"'s F.) and mild winters
(mean average temperatures in the 30°'s F.). Despite its extreme
northern situation, the Arctic Slope climate is moderated by the Arctic
Ocean, its average summer temperatures ranging from the mid-thirties
to the low fifties, and winter temperatures ranging from three to six-
teen degrees below zero. It is in the Interior region, particularly
in the upper Yukon basin, that the greatest extremes and most severe
winters occur. The greater part of the region is isolated from the
moderating influence of the ocean by the Brooks Range on the north and
the Alaska and Coast Ranges to the south. The mean temperatures in
winter generally hover from seventeen to forty degrees below zero and
in summer rise into the upper sixties. Extreme low temperatures of
78 degrees below zero and high temperatures in excess of 100 have been
recorded at Tanana and at Fort Yukon. Toward the Bering Sea, tempera-
tures moderate.
A comparison of the average number of days a year with minimum
temperatures of zero or lower indicates the relative severity of weather.
This ranges from 2 days at Ketchikan and Sitka in the Southeastern
region, to 132 days a year at Fort Yukon in the upper Yukon basin, and
170 days at Point Barrow in the Arctic Slope. The growing season ranges
from 165 days at Ketchikan to only 17 days at Point Barrow. The season
9.22
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over the largest land area (the Interior region) ranges from 54 to SO
days. The extreme northern latitudes of most of Alaska produce a
correspondingly marked difference between the length of summer and
winter days. At Fairbanks, north of the Alaska Range, the sun rises
at 9:58 A.M. and sets at 1:40 P.M. on December 21 and rises at 12:57
A.M. and sets at 11:48 P.M. on June 21. At Point Barrow the sun is
not seen at all from late November until late January and there is
continuous daylight from early May until early August.
D. Vegetation
Vegetative cover is a direct product of topography, climate,
growing season, and day length. Four major zones can be defined on
the basis of the predominant cover type. The seaward slopes of the
Coast and Chugach ranges, with a generally moderate temperature and
heavy rainfall, is covered by a dense forest restricted to a narrow
belt from one to five miles wide (except where penetration extends
inland along river drainages), and extends to about 2,500 feet above
sea level. Within this belt are approximately 16 million acres of
forest land, the northern and western extensions of the dense coastal
forests of the Pacific Northwest. Predominant species are western
hemlock and Sitka spruce. The Interior forest zone, containing an
estimated 125 million acres of forest, is limited to the better drained
valley floors, benches, rolling ground of the lowlands and the lower
slopes of the ranges enclosing this region. These are extensions of
the boreal forests which border the Arctic tundra. Predominant species
are black and white spruce, Alaskan white birch, tamarack, aspen, cotton-
wood and balsam poplar. Stands are broken and scattered and growth is
generally slow except «n favored -<3lte». The principal grassland zone,
9.23
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approximately 100 million acres, covers the lower Alaska Peninsula and
the Aleutian Islands; other important grasslands of more limited extent
also being found elsewhere. Finally, 100 million acres of the treeless
Arctic Slope and coastal lands of the Interior region constitute the
tundra zone, an area covered by sedges, mosses, lichens, small brush,
and willows a few inches high, most underlain by permafrost.
Each of these major vegetative zones contains an unmeasured
amount of barren surface, muskeg, and ice. Limited areas of land are
suitable for tilling and other agricultural pursuits, but generally
top soil is very shallow (averaging less than one inch over extensive
areas) and humus decomposition is slow. Permafrost occurs from six to
forty inches below the surface over much of the Interior.
E. Population
Alaska now has a total population of about 250,000 with two
centers of concentration, Anchorage with 110,000 and Fairbanks with
about 40,000 persons. A total of about 50,000 live in several smaller
cities in southeastern Alaska, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Haines,
Skagway, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Population forecasts for 1980,
based on several assumptions such as increased electric power avail-
ability and continued oil expansion, indicate a population of about
452,000 (Rampart Dam Report, 1965). The greatest growth is predicted
to be in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas, as a result of petroleum
activities in the former and mining and services in the latter.
F. Industry
Forest utilization will continue to be centered in coastal
regions where merchantable timber is accessable and abundant. Pulp
mills will consume most of the cut and the total annual cut will
9.24
-------
increase if a proposed pulp mill is built on Admiralty Island.
Timber industry of the interior is not expected to become
important vithin the next 15 years (Rogers, 1962, p. 234). Absence
of a suitable market for the products available is the chief deterent
to developing a forest products industry to harvest interior forests.
As long as similar wood products are available elsewhere at competi-
tive prices, the transportation problem will continue to forestall
development of a timber industry in interior Alaska within ten years.
Although mining as an industry is undergoing a depression in
Alaska, the future may see a revival of mining activity. Alaska has
many ore deposits and new.intensive exploration will probably identify
new mineralized areas and add to known ores. Of the known minerals,
the most favorable future is for copper, iron, and coal (Cooley, 1966,
p. 15). New technology, sources of power, and demand are all that are
needed to stimulate the extraction of these minerals. A serious block
to progress in mining in the state is the lack of sufficient knowledge
of the geology. Intensified geologic mapping is expected to contri-
bute many new ore deposits within a few years. Long term prospects
are favorable because the geology of Alaska is similar to that in
northern Canada where extensive producing mineral deposits occur
(Cooley, 1966, p. 15).
Gold mining in Alaska has traditionally been thought of as
an important industry, and many millions of dollars worth of gold have
been produced. However, under the present economic conditions, the
future of gold mining appears far from optimistic (Rogers, 1962, p.
227). Many known placer and lode deposits are unworked because the
price of gold is simply too low to pay for mining the metal.
9.25
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Reserves of other metallic minerals are largely unknown and
the easily found deposits of economic worth have been mined. An
exception is iron ore in southeastern Alaska; here reserves are
sufficient to warrent development if suitable markets were available.
Alaska has vast reserves of coal north of the Brooks range as
well as in other areas of the state. However, much of this fuel is
low rank, which combined with remoteness of the deposits, reduces the
demand. As other sources of energy become available in Alaska, the
present demand for coal will probably decline unless other uses for
coal are developed. It is unlikely that coal mining will expand in
the next 10 years even with a moderate increase in population.
G. Water Uses
Timber harvesting is not a large consumer of water, its only
use of water is for transporting sawlogs and storage prior to milling.
Contamination of water by logging is chiefly by siltation of streams
caused by careless logging methods.
Placer mining requires a dependable source of large volumes
of water although quality of water is not critical. Where dredging is
planned, Alaskan gravels and overburden must be thawed with circula-
ting water. After thawing, silts and sands are removed by hydraulic
methods that need large volumes of water and which produce large
volumes of sediment. It is during this phase of placer mining that
the most damage is done to streams and fisheries.
Milling of lode deposits does not require as much water as
placer mining nor are as large volumes of silt produced. Mining engi-
neers feel that silt derived from milling can be economically controlled
because of the smaller volume and better topographic relationship of
milling sites compared to placer operations.
9.26
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Coal and gravel washing require large volumes of water and
produces large volumes of silt. High quality is not required.
H. Pollution Control Measures
Pollution caused by logging and mining is primarily siltation
of streams which may or may not be permanent, depending on the indivi-
dual stream hydrology. A second source from mining might be chemicals
introduced or derived from milling of ores.
Control of siltation caused by legging can be obtained by using
approved logging methods that do not add to the overall cost of timber
removal. Only two requirements need be met, (1) the desire to prevent
damage and (2) properly supervised operations designed to get the job
done economically with minimum damage. When Alaska became a state its
constitution contained a natural resource article (Article VIII) that
states that policy would be to "encourage the settlement of its land
and development of its resources... for maximum use consistent with the
public interests. The utilization, development, and conservation of
all natural resources belonging to the State, including land and water,
(was to be) for the maximum benefit of its people.... Whenever occur-
ring in their natural state, fish, wildlife, and waters are reserved
to the people for common use...replenishable resources belonging to
the State shall be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained
yield principle, subject to preferences among beneficial uses."
(Rogers, 1962, p. 177-178). By this article Alaska retained its
right to control the utilization of its resources for maximum benefit
of its people. Such control can certainly be extended to aid in pre-
venting pollution of streams by logging operations.
Siltation that results from placer mining, coal and gravel
washing, and similar mining operations can be prevented by providing
9.27
-------
settling basins. Research or engineering studies might provide alter-
nate methods to prevent siltation. In the past, little attention was
given to the effects of mining on ecology and widespread damage was
done. Although miners are reluctant to accept controls over their
operations to prevent pollution, the article quoted earlier provides
the state with a tool for enforcement. The state retains permanent
mineral rights of all land that is sold and may retain permanent
ownership of mineral lands where removal of minerals would interfere
with surface rights (Cooley, 1966, p. 37). Moreover, the state can
reject or restrict a mineral lease to insure that the mining operation
does not interfere with the prime use of certain classified lands that
includes public recreation and watersheds.
Through the foregoing provisions of the State government,
the State has the power to control any mining operation that is
detrimental to the public interest. What is required is the willing-
ness on the part of all parties concerned to recognize that siltation
is detrimental to long range stream use and that it can be prevented
economically if operators are desirous of using preventative measures.
It is sheer shortsightedness to wreak permanent damage to stream
systems for a few thousand dollars worth of minerals. Moreover, it
becomes ridiculous to refuse preventive measures even if they do
reduce total profits. Outdoor recreation is becoming more profitable
and this use of marginal mineral lands may be a better use than min-
eral extraction.
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Albert, Frank A., and Spector, Albert H., 1955, "A New Song
on Muddy Chafct-ahooche", Water, Yearbook of Agriculture,. U.S. Department
of Agriculture, pp. 205-210*.
9.28
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2. Annual Report, 1965, State of Alaska, Department of Natural
Resources, Division of Mines and Minerals.
3. Anonymous, 1965, Rampart Dam Project, Alaska. Field Report,
U.S. Department of Interior, 998 pp.
4. Anonymous, 1966, Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Public
Law 84*660. Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, U.S.
Department of Interior.
5. Bishop, Daniel M., 1967, "Big Creek Administrative Study of
Cut and Leave Areas", Interim Report, 1966, U.S. Forest Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
6. Calhoun, Alex, and Seeley, Charles, 1963, "Logging Damage to
California Streams in 1962", Inland Fisheries Administration Report
#63-2, Resources Agency of California.
7. Cobb, E. H., 1960, "Chromite, Cobalt, Nickel, and Platinum
Occurrences in Alaska", Minerals Investigation Resource Map MR-8,
U.S. Geological Survey.
8. Cobb, E. H., 1960, "Copper, Lead, and Zinc Occurrences in
Alaska", Minerals Investigation Resource Map MR-9, U.S. Geological
Survey.
9. Cobb, E. H., 1960, "Molybdenum, Tin, and Tungsten Occurrences
in Alaska", Minerals Investigation Resource Map MR-10, U.S. Geological
Survey.
10. Cobb, E. H., 1960, "Antimony, Bismuth, and Mercury Occurrences
in Alaska", Minerals Investigation Resource Map MR-11, U.S. Geological
Survey.
11. Cobb, E. H., 1962, "Lode Gold and Silver Occurrences in Alaska",
Minerals Investigation Resource Map MR-32, U.S. Geological Survey.
12. Cobb, E. H., 1964, "Placer Gold Occurrences in Alaska", Minerals
Investigation Resource Map MR-38, U.S. Geological Survey.
13. Cobb, E. H., 1964, "Iron Occurrences in Alaska", Minerals
Investigation Resource Map MR-40, U.S. Geological Survey.
14. Cobb, E. H., 1964, "Industrial Minerals and Construction
Materials Occurrences in Alaska", Minerals Investigation Resource
Map MR-41, U.S. Geological Survey.
15. Cooley, Richard A., 1966, "Alaska - A Challenge in Conserva-
tion", University of Wisconsin Press, 170 pp.
16. Dunford, E. G., and Weitzman, Sidney, 1955, "Managing Forests
to Control Soil Erosion", Water, Yearbook of Agriculture, U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, pp. 235-242.
9.29
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17. Eschner, Arthur R., and Larmoyeux, Jack, 1963, "Logging and
Trout: Four Experimental Forest Practices and Their Effect on Water
Quality", The Progressive Fish-Culturist, 25:59-67,
18. Baring, Robert C., and Massie, Michael R. C., 1966, "A Survey
of the Alaska Forest Products Industry", Research Monograph No. 8,
Institute of Socialogy, Economics, and Government Research, University
of Alaska.
19. Irvin, William H., 1967, :Settleable Solids and Their Effects
on Aquatic Organisms", Federal Water Pollution Control Administration.
Presented at Annual Meeting, American Fisheries Society, Kansas City,
Missouri, September 12, 1966.
20. McNeil, William J., and Ahnell, W. H., 1964, "Success of Pink
Salmon Spawning Relative to Size of Spawning Bed Materials", Special
Scientific Report No. 469, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department
of Interior.
21. Oral communication with Leroy Beckwith, Research Entomologist,
U.S. Forest Service, University of Alaska.
22. Production figures from: Malone, K., Blasko, D. P., and
Holdworth, P. R., 1965. The Mineral Industry in Alaska, Bureau of
Mines Yearbook.
23. Reed, Roger J., 1966, "Some Effects of DDT on the Ecology of
Salmon Streams in Southeastern Alaska", Special Scientific Report -
Fisheries No. 542, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries, U.S. Department of Interior.
24. Rogers, George W., 1962, "The Future of Alaska", The John
Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 311 pp.
25. Sheridan, William L., and McNeil, William J., 1967, "Sedimen-
tation of Spawning Beds and Density of Pink Salmon in Two Southeastern
Alaska Streams Before and After Logging", Preprint of 7 years observa-
tions by the authors (1958-64) under the auspices of the U.S. Forest
Service, Juneau, Alaska.
26. Stroud, Richard H., 1967, "Water Quality Criteria to Protect
Aquatic Life: A Summary", Special Publication No. 4, American Fish-
eries Society, pp. 33-37.
27. Thomas, Bruce I., Cook, Donald J., Wolff, Ernest, and Kerns,
William H., 1959, "Placer Mining in Alaska", Information Circular
#7926, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Interior.
9.30
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OIL INDUSTRY
10.1
-------
OIL INDUSTRY
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to examine and evaluate the sources
and extent of pollution attributed to the developing industry in
Alaska and to recommend actions designed to satisfy immediate
control needs.
Oil has been known to exist in Alaska for over fifty years
but it wasn't until 1957, when Richfield Oil Company completed the
first commercially important oil well on the Kenai Peninsula, that
the present era of development began. Following this discovery,
oil and gas fields were discovered elsewhere and now, after 10
years a mature, integrated oil industry is firmly established
in Alaska.
Discovery of oil and gas offshore in the Cook Inlet Basin
prompted erection of permenent drilling and production platforms.
Presently, six of these huge structures oacupy sites between Kenai
an Tyonek. Two more will be constructed this summer and prospects
are for a total of 15 in the near future. Should oil be discovered
in Cook Inlet south of Kalgin Island, the activity could again
be doubled.
The attempt to develop a fail-safe offshore oil drilling program
in Cook Inlet has taxed the best minds in the oil industry. Con-
ditions, prevalent in the Inlet, are unlike any the industry has
encountered elsewhere. Tidal currents reaching 8 knots, are driven
by the second (up to 30 feet) highest tides in the world. During
winter ice floes over two feet thick form.
Establishing year-round operations under these conditions
has been especially challenging. Despite all precautions, accidental
10.2
-------
oil spills from broken pipe lines have released large quantities
of crude oil to the waters of Cook Inlet. Platform activity has
reached the point where waste discharges of oily mixtures, refuse,
and sewage have collectively become a pollution problem.
Accidental oil pipeline breaks, intentional oily discharges
from well testing and workover, refuse in the form of mud sacks,
plastic visqueen, pallet boards, and garbage have caused concern
to fishermen whose nets became fouled, reducing fishing time and
causing fishermen measurable economic loss. On occasion, plastic
film tarps wrapped around boat propellers and terminated what other-
wise might have been a successful fishing trip.
Wildlife personnel are concerned that offshore drilling operations
will generate oily wastes, sufficient in quantity to disable and
kill waterfowl and destroy productive clam beds. To date, no report
of loss has been made; however, the possibility can be readily
envisioned.
Oil company representatives are sensitive to oil spill complaints
which charge negligence but lack supporting proof. The industry is
aware that potential hazards exist and have openly discussed them
with government officials. Future drilling, production, and trans-
portation operations are certain to include techniques, presently
unknown, to prevent oil pollution.
The recommendations included in this summary have been prepared
without benefit of a detailed study. They are based on information
supplied by the conservation agencies of the State of Alaska, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and informal discussions with participating
oil companies.
10.3
-------
Possible Petroleum
Provinces
U. S. Dept. of Interior
F. W. C. P. A.
Alaska Water Laboratory
College, Alaska
March, 1967
-------
IMMEDIATE WATER POLLUTION
CONTROL NEEDS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY - ALASKA
MAP B COOK INLET
U.S. Dept. of Interior FWPCA
Alaska Water Lab Ccfuga
River
N.W. Region 1967 College, AK.
Tyonekfjf
"^
Granite
Moquawkis
Nicolai
Creek
\* - ") /\. * ^V
^ ^wtaT5*J/J / N \
V McArthur '&* \
Ground
Shoal
/
Nik ickka.
Oil fields
fields
Oil fields
Field
Number of Wells
Suanson River
Middle Ground Shoal
Granite Point
.Trading Bay
McArthur River
56
6
3
1
1
VICINITY MAP
-------
The observed pollution of Cook Inlet by oil, is in violation of
the Oil Pollution Act of 1924, as ammended by Public Law 89-551;
The Refuse Act of 1899, and the State Water Pollution Control
Act.
II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR POLLUTION PROBLEMS, COSTS OF ABATEMENT, AND
RESPONSIBLE AGENCIES.
Source of Waste
Drilling barges
Cook Inlet
Immediate Pollution
Needs Control
Collection and land
disposal of oil
contaminated leaks,
spills, dumps, and
slops.
Drilling Platforms Collection and land
Cook Inlet
Terrestrial
Drilling
Inlet pipeline
failures
Harbor transfer
spills
Tanker
deballasting
Nikishka Terminal
disposal of oil
contaminated leaks,
spills, dumps, and
slops.
Spent or contaminated
mud disposal.
Better equip, design,
leak collection system,
and use of pollution
prevention equipment.
Prevention by use of
better equipment and
by inspection.
Policing only.
Future Pollution
Needs Control
Slop handling capacity
for oil tankers.
Drift River Termi- Slop handling capacity
nal for oil tankers.
Various crude oil Oil well brine
handling facilities separation and
along Cook Inlet disposal.
shores
Estimated Cost
. to Correct
$4.5-5,000,000
$1.6-2,000,000
$50-100,000
$2-400, 000
Not separable
Not separable
Relative
Priority
$100,000
$200,000
$100,000/Facility
B
B
B
B
10.6
-------
Future Pollution Estimated Cost Relative
Source of Waste Needs Control to Correct Priority
Standard oil Design has abatement Not separable C
refinery provisions built-in.
Ammonia-Urea Design has abatement Not separable C
Plant provisions built-in.
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The following steps are recommended to eliminate the present
oil pollution problem in Alaska, in order of relative priority:
A. Offshore activities; gather oily and solid wastes and
place in a gondola or other type slop tank or barge. Haul to land
base - pump inside ring levee - burn inflammables and land fill.
B. Onshore activities; control earthwork to prevent excessive
erosion and stream siltation. Collect oily wastes to prevent ground
and surface water contamination - burn inflammables and land fill.
C. Oil pipelining, better site analysis, preparation, and
improved design using larger safety factors; use of pollution
prevention equipment.
D. Harbor transfer; better design and housekeeping; accident
prevention.
E. Tanker deballasting; adequate policing.
Accidents are difficult to prevent; but the use of adequate
equipment, regular inspection, proper procedure, and necessary
training would greatly reduce their numbers.
Many pollution instances are generally attributed to negligence,
although the facts sometimes suggest deliberate acts.
One of the best preventive measures in any phase of the oil
industry is regular surveillance by a state or federal enforcement
agency. Enforcement in other regions has already proven beneficial
10.7
-------
to both the industry and to the public for the reason that many
thousands of barrels of crude products have, as result of regular
inspection, been prevented from polluting the environment.
IV. BACKGROUND FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
Population
The present and immediate future population of Alaska will
have little effect on the oil industry since it will not constitute
a large enough market.
Industry
The oil industry in Alaska is very young. The first pool
in the Cook Inlet has been in production only since December 1965
and real pollution control needs for the oil industry lie in the
future. As can be seen on Map A the area of the potential petroleum
provinces is larger than that of Texas. Oil and gas has already
been discovered in northern Alaska. Within 10 to 15 years Alaska
could conceivably be passing Kansas and Oklahoma and heading for
a spot among the top three producing states.
A. Drilling and Production
This year the Cook Inlet will have about 8 permanent
platforms and 14-17 drilling barges. The Bristol Bay area will
probably have one drilling barge. Drilling activity in the Inlet
is responsible for most of the oil pollution problems. The entire
industry is not using all the pollution preventive devices available
and is not taking all possible preventive measures. Dumping waste,
drilling muds, products from drill stem testing, and well swabing
is a major source of oil pollution. Oilwell workover, when it becomes
necessary, will be a future possible pollution source.
10.8
-------
At present there are only about four operators drilling
on land. One British Petroleum official said, "There's going to
be a lot of oil to be found in Alaska and a lot of it will be found
on the North Slope."
On some of the remote land based drilling sites the spent
drilling mud and oil production, if any, is dumped with abandon and
drains into rivers and streams, ruining their pristine qualities.
Oil well brine disposal has, as yet, created no problem because
it is pumped back into the ground at a horizon where it will not
effect near surface aquifers.
One extreme hazard in drilling, testing, and production
is the ever present possibility of an oil well blowout. A blowout
occurs when a high pressure reservoir is punctured by a drilling
string which is not surrounded by sufficient drilling mud to hold
back the reservoir pressure. Once the high pressure fluid starts
flowing out of the hole, it is almost uncontrollable. A blowout
on an offshore drilling rig could conceivably cover the water surface
with several hundred thousand barrels of oil. Blowout preventers are
standard equipment and make the possibility of a blowout remote. No
one conscious of the risks would allow it. However, the industry
provides examples where blowouts have occurred even after thousands
of dollars of blowout prevention equipment were properly installed
and trained workers stood by the controls.
B. Exploration
Explosives used in seismic operations and exploration
operations themselves, are well regulated by the State. However,
in the past, dirt and other debris has been dozed into the State's
waters. This practice is prohibited.
10.9
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C. Pipelines
Keeping a crude oil pipeline intact within the Cook Inlet
is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. The reasons for this
are: (1) a boulder dotted bottom, (2) second highest tides in the
world, (3) extreme tidal currents and ice flow up to 8 knots, and
(4) depressions on the inlet floor. The risk of failure is so great
that some companies prefer to build new shipping facilities on the
west side of the Inlet rather than cross it and use existing terminals.
A leak has already occurred on the first pipeline in the
Inlet. This leak was not detected immediately because the pressure
loss x*as not sufficient to operate the automatic shutoff. Twenty-
five to thirty barrels of crude were lost before the leak was detected
and another 100 barrels were purposely lost (to the Inlet) in locating
the leak.
D. Harbor Transfer
Several times in the past, oil pollution of Alaska's harbors
has been caused by accidental spills during transfer between ship
and shore. Most of these spills were caused by negligence and
not by defective equipment. Several thousand gallons of oil pro-
ducts have been discharged into Alaska's harbor waters because of
failure to close a cleanout valve.
E. Tanker Deballasting
Information from the Kenai pipeline people indicated that
tanker deballasting was not a major source of pollution since only
cleaned tanks were used to hold ballast water. The cleaning water
(slops) is treated and discharged at the Nikishka terminal. The
recent development of special burners to use water contaminated
oil along with bunker C may eliminate the future need of slop treat-
ing facilities at crude oil terminals. 10.10
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V. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
Oil Companies
Most of the recent oil pollution has been caused by accidents
where gross amounts of oil have run onto surface waters. Resulting
pollution from this source far outweighs that from any other cause.
It is more difficult to control accidents than simple leaks or
spills.
As a result of the complaints from the Fisheries people,
most of the responsible oil companies are reportedly making every
reasonable effort to prevent pollution. When possible they are
barging all their wastes ashore for disposal.
Facilities are now set-up at the terminals of the Cook Inlet
pipelines to handle brines from the crude oil when it becomes
necessary.
State Agencies
Through conservation of natural resources, the Petroleum
Division of the Department of Natural Resources prohibits loss of
oil without notification. The Department of Health and Welfare
has direct responsibility for the enforcement of the State statutes
but it lacks funds for any effective surveillance-enforcement
program. The Fish and Game Department acts in an advisory capacity
only.
Federal Agencies
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is concerned with pollution
only to the extent that it affects navigation. The main associated
function here is to issue navigation permits. They also have the
responsibility of enforcing the Refuse Act. of 1899. The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service is allowed by law to comment on the
10.11
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navigation permits where Fish and Wildlife migh.t be adversely effected.
The U.S. Coast Guard has responsibility for enforcing the Oil Pollution
Act of 1961 which deals with international waters only. The Federal
Water Pollution Control Administration has direct responsibility
for enforcing the Oil Pollution Act of 1924 and will act under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1965.
VI. PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY'S WASTE WATERS
Waste water from the following sectors of the hydrocarbon
industry is being, or will be, discharged into the Cook Inlet, or
is being pumped back into the ground:
Plant Average Waste
Source Size Water Flow MGD
Collier Carbon NH3-Urea Plant (1968) 1,500T/D NH3 0.014
Standard Oil Refinery 20,000 BPD 0.21
Swanson R., well brines 30,000 BPD 0.19
Ballast tank cleaning H20 less than 1 tanker/day less than 0.01
Although Alaska has numerous streams that could be effected
by the oil industry, we will consider only the Cook Inlet because
this is where the immediate oil problem exists. Cook Inlet is the
largest inlet in Alaska and most of the trade in Alaska passes through
it. Its surface at its upper end is fresh water, fed from silt
laden glacial streams, which changes to salt water at its entrance
to the southwest. It probably carries more silt seaward than does
the Mississippi River.
Some Alaskans think the Inlet has a low net flow and acts more
like a stagnant basin than a drainage area. Oceanographic data is
lacking and measures to get such information should be started
because of the potential seriousness of future contamination.
10.12
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The potential exists because there are at least three large natural
gas fields in the Cook Inlet Area plus the known oil pools which
underlie the area.
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, "Oil and Refuse Pollution,
Navigable Water of the U.S., Alaska", 1955.
2. State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division
of Uines and Minerals, Report for the Year, 1965.
3. The Oil and Gas Journal, "Alaska Oil", August 22, 1966.
4. Collier Carbon and Chemical Corp., Water and Disposal
Facilities; Effluent summary sheet No. 1549-50; October 28, 1956.
10.13
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REMOTE VILLAGES AND FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS
11.1
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REMOTE VILLAGES AND FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS
I. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this summary is to evaluate and focus attention
on the pollution problems at the native villages and federal in-
stallations located in remote areas of Alaska, and to recommend
actions to abate the pollution.
The present pollution conditions at some of these villages and
installations present serious health hazards to the population in
the area, and in most instances are in violation of the Alaska
Water Pollution Control Act and the Alaska Administrative Code.
In addition to the State requirements, the Presidential Executive
Order 11288 requires federal installations to provide adequate
treatment for all liquid wastes.
To exemplify the waste disposal problems in these remote areas,
the immediate vicinity area of Bethel on the lower Kuskokwim River
has been singled out for the purpose of the report to help illus-
trate the sources of pollution for a "typical remote area of Alaska."
The people living along the Lower Kuskokwim are greatly dependent
on the river for their livelihood. Fish taken from the river con-
stitute a large part of their diet and provide most of the food
for their dog teams. Many of the population obtain a portion of
their domestic water supply from the river, particularly in the form
of ice during the winter months. Continued pollution of the river
and poor sewage disposal practices could retard beneficial use of
the river in the future, and definitely will increase the health
hazard to the people living along its banks.
No field investigations or engineering studies were carried
U.2
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ALASKA.MAP C
11. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. FEDERAL CENTER. DENVER. COLORADO OR WASH.NGTON 25. D. C.
-------
D NATIVE VILLAGES
O FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS
REMOTE AREA INDICATED
BY SHADED PORTION
REMOTE VILLAGES AND FEDERAL INSTALLATIONS
-------
out for the preparation of this report. It was presumed that com-
plete engineering design analysis will preclude physical imple-
mentation of the recommendations herein.
II. SUMMARY OF IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
Responsibility
A. Isolated native
villages
Bureau of Indian
Affairs
C. Department of Defense
D. Federal Aviation and
other federal agencies
Federal Water Pollution
Control Administration
Need
Feasible and adequate
primary treatment
with chlorination
Remote village schools,
adequate secondary
treatment or, preferably,
utilize the village treat-
ment facility
Secondary treatment at
remote military sites, as
required under Executive
Order 11288
Secondary treatment at
remote federal installations,
as required under Executive
Order 11288
Development of feasible
methods of treating sewage
waste from remote villages
and installations
Relative
Priority
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
Bethel-Lower Kuskokwim River Area
1. Waste Treatment
Responsibility
a. Town of Bethel
Native Villages
(Akiak, Akiachak,
Kwethluk, Napaiskak,
Oscarville and Napakiak)
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Schools in above native
villages
Need
Collection system, primary
treatment and chlorination
Centrally located lavatory
facilities with discharge
to an adequate treatment
unit (sewage lagoon, package
treatment unit, etc.)
Connection to village sewage
treatment facility
Relative
Priority
(1)
(1)
(D
11.5
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Responsibility Need Priority
d. Existing package sewage Extension of effluent lines (2)
treatment units in to Bethel's collection system
Bethel or to Kuskokwim River (with
chlorination).
e. Salmon processing plants Solids separation and connec- (1)
tion to Bethel's collection
system.
2. Other Pollution Control Practices
a. Town of Bethel Garbage collection system (1)
with land fill or other
adequate solid waste
disposal
b. Native villages and Adequate solid waste (1)
BIA school disposal
c. Salmon processing plants Adequate solid waste disposal (1)
III. IMMEDIATE CONTROL NEEDS
The following actions are necessary to protect the use and
quality of the watersheds affected and to protect the general health
of the native and white population of the area.
1. Remote Native Villages
Because of the economic and climatic environmental
problems associated with these isolated villages, the usual water
carriage system serving individual houses for sewage waste disposal
is not feasible in most villages. Therefore it will be necessary
to develop adequate waste treatment facilities utilizing means that
are relatively simple and feasible to construct and maintain.
It will be the responsibility of the villages to provide operators
for these systems and it will be the responsibility of the state
and federal agencies concerned with waste disposal and water pol-
lution to provide the necessary training for these operators to
maintain the facilities.
11.6
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2. BIA Schools
Adequate sewage treatment facilities (such as lagoons,
package aeration units, etc.) should be constructed for each
school. Wherever possible and feasible, the BIS. school and the
village should construct and utilize the same sewage treatment
facilities. The maintenance and operation field crews of BIA
should be fully trained and oriented on all the sewage treatment
facilities located on their area. Frequent nspection trips should
be made to the schools to maintain the treatment facilities in
good operating condition.
3. Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Agency, and
Other Federal Inotallations
Secondary treatment units should be installed at these
remote sites to comply with the Presidential Executive Order 11288.
Where the effluent from these units discharge to the ground surface,
it should be adequately chlorinated.
Field crews especially oriented and trained in operating
and maintaining sewage treatment facilities from each agency should
make frequent inspections of all the agencies' facilities to keep
the units in good operating conditions.
4. Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
The Alaska Water Laboratory, through their research and
development sections, should develop feasible methods of adequately
treating the sewage waste from the isolated native villages and
remote federal installations in Alaska. Special emphasis should
be placed on the importance of developing treatment methods that
the native economy and environment can support and operate.
The Alaska Water Laboratory should work closely with the
federal agencies involved to make known their, progress in developing
11.7
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treatment methods and should continue to provide technical assist-
ance to the agencies on waste disposal problems.
5. Bethel - Lower Kuskokwim Area
a. Bethel
Direct water pollution to the river from domestic and
industrial wastes is relatively small at this time. Most of the
waste is currently discharged to the ground surface in the
immediate vicinity of Bethel. High priority should be given to
a water carriage collection system for Bethel, with a primary treat-
ment plant discharging chlorinated effluent to the river. To serve
those residences that would be unable to install adequate toilet
facilities in their homes, heated community type lavatory facilities
should be built along the collection system lines.
b. Native Villages
High priority should be given to construction of
adequate and feasible sewage disposal methods for these villages to
alleviate the health hazards associated with poor disposal practices.
One recommended method would be to construct centrally located
community lavatory facilities for each village with disposal to an
oxidation lagoon or package treatment plant. If feasible, the
lagoon or package plant should also be used by the BIA school
facility. As insufficient information is available on sewage
treatment facilities in these remote areas, research and develop-
mental data are needed to obtain design criteria.
IV; COST OF IMMEDIATE NEEDS
With over 100 villages and some 200 federal installations in
remote areas of Alaska requiring new or improved sewage treatment
11.8
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facilities it is only possible (without making a detailed study)
to generalize the cost of obtaining adequate treatment. Because
of the construction factors that must be considered when working
in these remote areas (lack of adequate transportation, lack of
trained local help, permafrost and tundra conditions, and severe
climatological condition), a cost factor of 3 to 4 must be used.
An estimated minimum of 11.5 million dollars would be required to
meet the immediate control needs, broken down as follows: Native
villages - 3 million; BIA Schools - 1.1 million (amount obtained
from BIA); Military - 4.5 million; other federal agencies - 2.5
million. Of this total, the estimated cost for the Bethel area's
pollution control needs is 2 million dollars.
V. RECENT PROGRESS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
Progress has been slow in abating pollution in the remote
native villages. The Public Health Service under its PL-121 pro-
gram has assisted the villages in constructing water supply wells,
sewage disposal pits, and privies.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has recently installed adequate
treatment units in a few of their schools. However, due to a lack
of trained operators and maintenance control the units do not always
operate satisfactorily. The Federal Aviation Agency and Department
of Defense are currently working on design criteria for sewage
oxidation lagoons as one method of adequate treatment for their
stations. A few extended aeration package units have recently
been installed and are being evaluated.
Through the efforts of personnel of the Alaska Water Labora-
tory, the federal agencies involved have become more pollution con-
trol oriented in their programs.
11.9
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VI. BACKGROUND
Adequate disposal of sewage wastes from remote and isolated
native villages and federal installations in arctic regions of
Alaska has long presented problems to the engineers and maintenance
personnel responsible for designing and operating these systems.
Severe winters with temperatures reaching the -40° to -60° F.
range will freeze sewage when sewer pipes are located close to the
surface. Burying the lines below the seasonal frost level offers
little protection against freezing, since the permafrost zone extends
upward and meets the seasonal frost depth in many arctic regions.
The soil temperatures in the upper layers of permafrost are generally
between 22° and 32° F.
1. Native Villages
The locations of most of the villages create major problems
in providing feasible and satisfactory methods of treating sewage
wastes. Of approximately 200 native villages in Alaska, over 100
are located in the flat marshy arctic and subarctic tundra country
of western and northern Alaska. Hundreds of small, shallow tundra
lakes perched on top of permafrost that may be hundreds of feet
thick cover the landscape. Although these tundra Eskimo villages
are generally situated along the banks of lakes or meandering
rivers wt'th water all around, most villages are without an ade-
quate potable water supply. Because of their isolated locations
in the tundra, no road systems, electrical transmission lines,
telephone lines, etc,, serve the villages. All materials for
constructing waste treatment facilities would have to be brought
in on the ocean-going cargo ships that land once or twice a- year
(summer only) at the area trade centers (Bethel, Nome, Barrow,
11.10
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etc.) and then flown by small bush planes to the individual villages.
The economic development of the native villages has been slow.
The 1960 information from nine election districts covering native
villages in these remote areas mentioned above showed: 83% of
the homes without a public water system or private well; and 86%
without toilet facilities. Most of the families still "live off
the land," relying on fishing, hunting and trapping to provide
most of their food and clothing.
Lack of electricity in the villages has restricted the type
of water and waste facilities constructed. The toilet facility
for the majority of the Eskimo population in the villages is the
o
household "honeybucket". The usual waste disposal practice in
these villages is to dump the "honeybuckets" into some type of
waste disposal pit. The accepted method of a few years ago -
dumping the "honeybucket" contents in the river or on the ground
around the house - is, fortunately, generally being discontinued.
2. BIA Schools
The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides elementary education
to the native children in these remote villages. The teachers,
generally a husband-wife team, have quarters in or adjacent to the
school building. These school facilities are located in the villages
and thus are subject to most of the water supply and waste disposal
problems of the natives. However, the schools do have their own
power supply and thus are better equipped to overcome some of these
problems. Most of the school facilities have been provided xvith
deep wells through the permafrost for a water supply. At some of
11.11
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the schools sewage treatment facilities have been installed to
replace the older honeybucket system. These consist of septic
tanks, small package plants, lagoons, etc. However, because of the
severe climatic and environmental factors in these areas, these
facilities need trained maintenance personnel to service the treatment
units. The teachers, generally, are not mechanically oriented enough
to keep the units in good serviceable condition.
3. Military Sites
The Department of Defense has installed a network of radar
and missile sites throughout the State of Alaska. Because of the
nature of these sites they were built at locations important for
military strategy, and little, if any, priority was given to the
availability of water and adaptability for sewage disposal. Con-
sequently, water must be piped or carried great distances to many of
these sites, often located on top of one of the highest hills in
the area. In the past, the problem of disposing sewage waste was
usually met by discharging the effluent from a septic tank over
the side of the hill. The personnel stationed at these remote
sites are generally on one or two year contracts and are not familiar
with the waste treatment facilities or the problems associated with
operating the units under the adverse conditions of arctic and
subarctic Alaska.
4. Other Federal Installations
There are many other federal agencies that have installations
in the remote areas of Alaska. The Federal Aviation Agency, Public
Health Service, Weather Bureau and Fish and Wildlife Service,
among others, are actively engaged in field activities in these
areas.
11.12
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In general, these agencies face most of the same problems
concerning sewage waste disposal that were mentioned earlier under
native villages, BIA and military installations.
5. Bethel - Lower Kuskokwim Area
Bethel, located approximately 100 miles from the mouth
of the Kuskokwim, is at the head of tidal fluctuations and is the
terminus for ocean-going vessel transportation. It is the "hub"
of western Alaska's trading activity and is the "modern city" of
the area, with dirt streets and cars. None of the other villages
have such modern conveniences; only an occasional wooden plank
sidewalk. River boat (summer) and dog team (winter) are the main
means of transportation for the natives, with the Kuskokx^im River
serving as a highway. For the purpose of this report, the Lower
Kuskokwim area encompasses the populated fifty mile stretch of river
from Akiak to Napakiak. (See figure 1 for vicinity map.) Half of
the 2500 (approximately) people in this area live in Bethel (popula-
tion of 1300) with some 200 in Akiak, 225 in Akiachak, 325 in
Kwethluk, 50 in Oscarville, 150 in Napaiskak, and 200 in Napakiak.3
The only white population in the six villages is generally the BIA
schoolteachers.
The community of Bethel is served by a partially subsidized
"honeybucket" collection service which made somexjhat regular house
collections and hauls to a designated disposal area adjacent to
Brown's Slough and within a mile of Bethel. It is probable that
some part of the sewage liquid drains and percolates into Brown's
Slough which flows through Bethel and empties into the Kuskokwim
Two commercial establishments in Bethel have river outfalls
from primary sedimentation units of questionable performance,
11.13
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/
-------
The effluent from three small package treatment units In Bethel,
State Arraory-gymnasium-school complex, Alaska Communication System
telephone building, and Nicholson's water treatment plant drain to
the surface muskeg in town. The Public Health Service Hospital,
located adjacent to Bethel, has a primary treatment plant which
also discharges to the ground surface. Fish viscera waste are
dumped directly into the river from two small seasonal salmon
processing plants.
The economic structure of the villages is low, with a
majority of the families "living off the land". A survey of 10
villages, selected at random in the greater Bethel area (100 mile
radius) showed only 2% of the population has permanent employment.
The climate of this area is considered severe with the
winters cold (down to -50° F.) and windy (mean hourly windspeed of
10.3 tn.p.h.). The lakes and rivers are frozen for more than half
the year. The summers are cool and rainy with the temperature
seldom reaching 70° F. Severe premafrost conditions exist at
Bethel and five of the native villages, (Kwethluk is located on
an old river channel of the Kuskokwim and no permafrost exists).
Permafrost depths up to 400 feet have been encountered in the
vicinity of Bethel, with depths of 50 to 100 feet common.
The Kuskokwim River drains the western side of the high
Alaska Range and thus is heavily laden with glacial silt. There
are no flood control dams on the river to slow the rampaging
Kuskokwim at spring break-up. Consequently, the villages along
its banks are flooded to some extent almost every year. Often an
c ,:.- re village will be flooded with several feet of muddy water.
While these floods "clean out" the garbage and sewage accumulations,
11.15
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they also deposit layers of mud and debris in the villages.
Based on the above elements of the area, design, construc-
tion and maintenance of public utilities in Bethel and adjacent
villages become major problems.
VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. U.S. Census of Housing, I960.
2. From PHS-2500 Forms "Dwelling and Environment-Sanitation
Inspection Report", Studies on Housing for Alaska Natives, U.S.
Department of Health, Education and Uelfare, 1965.
3. 1960 Census of the United States.
4. 1964 Alaska Commercial Fishery Operators, Alaska Department
of Fish and Game Statistical Leaflet No. 8.
5. Studies on Housing for Alaska Natives, U.S. Department of
Health, Education and Welfare, 1965. Original data from BIA, 1963.
6. U.S. Weather Bureau publications.
11.16
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