A fuel spill that affected national park lands and Indian River shortly before Christmas has been contained, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Sarah Moore is an environmental program manager with the DEC. In an interview with KCAW, she said that a contractor dug up around 20 cubic yards of contaminated soil in the area where an old, leaking fuel tank was reported on December 20. That soil is stockpiled, and will be shipped out for proper disposal later this month.
Moore said no sheening has been reported in the River since the spill was first detected. On that day, the US Coast Guard, city and staff from the Sitka National Historical Park aided in the response. Park staff quickly set out boom and sorbent pads in the river to contain the spill. Moore said as of December 29, those materials were still in the river as a precaution, and would remain through several rain cycles.
Moore said the DEC’s response team will be in Sitka in February, and will survey the site then to determine if any additional actions are necessary.
