FUDS

The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped up to take the lead in coordinating the cleanup of contaminated lands that were conveyed to Alaska Native communities, according to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

A week after traveling to Unalaska in an effort to spur the government into action, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is still waiting for a commitment from the Department of the Interior to coordinate cleanup efforts on contaminated lands conveyed to Alaska Natives.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visited Unalaska in late June to teach Unalaskans about unexploded ordnance—that is, undetonated explosives. The U.S. military left lots of unexploded ordnance when they were stationed in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. And grenades, chemical weapons and other munitions have been turning up on the island’s hiking trails and beaches for decades.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they plan to remediate a half-dozen contaminated World War II sites in the Unalaska Valley this fall. They have been making slow but steady progress to remediate formerly used defense sites — or FUDS — across the island for decades.

The Army Corps of Engineers is moving closer to dealing with a contaminated World War II-era military site long abandoned in the Aleutian Islands. At a meeting Wednesday night in Unalaska, representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers said they would send a contractor to Chernofski Harbor in May. They aim to remove around 800 tons of soil and debris that was contaminated by diesel oil tanks during World War II. The cleanup site covers more than 1,200 acres in Chernofski Harbor, on the southwestern edge of Unalaska Island. Chernofski village was inhabited for thousands of years, but people stopped living there in the early 20th century, and the navy operated a port there from 1942 to 1945.

The state of Alaska is preparing to file lawsuits against the federal government over hundreds of contaminated sites that the feds conveyed to Alaska Native corporations. Much of the contamination is on former military installations and dates back to the Cold War or World War II. Sites include a chemical weapons dump in Adak as well as old tank farms all over Alaska and abandoned buildings that contain lead and asbestos. Much of the contamination is on former military installations and dates back to the Cold War or World War II. Sites include a chemical weapons dump in Adak as well as old tank farms all over Alaska and abandoned buildings that contain lead and asbestos. There are 548 sites, and the state filed 548 notices of intent to sue in mid-December.

Unalaska may be one step closer to cleaning up some of the contaminated military sites left over from World War II.Formerly Used Defense Sites — or FUDS — are properties the military used for things like defense or weapons testing. And as anyone who has spent any time in Unalaska surely knows, there are World War II sites all over the island.Rena Flint is the project coordinator for the Amaknak FUDS, which covers 190 thousand acres across Unalaska and Amaknak Islands. And while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken strides to clean up some of those places, it’s been a long road, with lots of red tape.

An Unalaska local will soon be heading up local operations for the island’s Native corporation. The Ounalashka Corp. announced last month that its CEO, Chris Salts, will be leaving the island and Denise Rankin will take on a local leadership role.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its work on Unalaska's Formerly Used Defense Sites. Rena Flint is the project manager for the Amaknak FUDS,…