The federal Environmental Protection Agency has concluded its investigation into an oil spill that occurred last fall near the Sitka Sound Science Center, without determining a source of the oil.
The spill was first reported on November 18, when oil was spotted seeping from a crack in the seawall near the science center’s hatchery pens. The US Coast Guard estimates the spill at around 10 gallons. In its initial report, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation identified a site on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, which is located on the former Sheldon Jackson College campus, as a possible source of the spill. But the EPA determined that wasn’t the case.
Sitka Fine Arts Camp Executive Director Roger Schmidt says the camp worked with EPA officials while they were in town in late November to conduct their investigation.
“They did some historical investigating and they did some excavating of stuff and they did some testing of oil. And they found no connection between our campus and the oil that was coming out into the Sound. They’re not able to locate its source but historically they believe it makes sense that it would have come from an old oil pipe that ran through that area.”
During their investigation, the EPA conducted interviews and reviewed historical records from the campus and the Science Center, and discovered that there were “numerous” underground tanks in the nearby area. The team dug three test pits near the Stratton Library and collected various samples, but never found a definitive source for the spill.
“We’re of course relieved. We didn’t want to be polluting anybody or anything,” said Schmidt.
The Sitka Fine Arts Camp was given ownership of the former Sheldon Jackson Campus in 2011, by the school’s board of trustees.
Sitka Sound Science Center Executive Director Lisa Busch says she’s grateful to the EPA, DEC, Coast Guard, and Fine Arts Camp for collaborating on the investigation.
“We wish we could solve the mystery of where this oil is coming from, but a lot of work went into locating the source and looking for it, and we’re really grateful for that effort,” Busch said. “It is disconcerting to not know the source, because we have salmon returning and growing and we have such a great water source and all of that. It’s hard not to know but sometimes that’s just the answer.”
Busch says they have since patched the hole where the oil was escaping, filling the area with concrete.
“So we feel really good about that,” said Busch. “That was the cost to us and that was no small cost, but that’s what we did to stop the oil and to protect the area in the future.”
Busch said she’s grateful that the investigation is concluded so they can move ahead on their construction project- to build a new spawning and incubation facility for hatchery salmon.
