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“Always on Guard Defending Freedom”

BRAC Site 114 of 5 Revised May 19, 2017

FACT SHEET

BRAC PARCEL 114

WORLD WAR II TENT AREA

FORT GREELY, ALASKA

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This fact sheet describes the site generally known as the World War II Tent Area, located at Fort

Greely, Alaska (FGA). The site was investigated under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

program as Parcel 114. The following database identifications apply to this site:

• Army Environmental Database – Restoration – FGLY-005-R-01 and FGLY-0060

This site consists of a former bivouac training area located within approximately 40 acres of the

South Undeveloped Area (identified as former BRAC Parcel 1). The site consists of six clearings in

the forested area that was historically used as a bivouac training area during World War II (WWII).

In 2000, a fire went through this area. In 2008, during clearing and grubbing operations, site

personnel discovered a 4.5-inch rocket, still in its shipping canister, with explosive filler, lying on the

ground surface. All site clearing activities were stopped so that a Fort Richardson, Alaska Explosive

Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team could remove the Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC)

item. Afterwards, FGA elected to conduct a full unexploded ordnance (UXO) sweep of the area, to

provide MEC clearance, prior to allowing further clearing and grubbing operations to proceed.

Since the 2008 sweep, multiple investigations and clearance activities have been conducted at the

site. These investigations are described in greater detail below. Currently, the entire site area is

cleared of brush/trees, as vegetation removal was required to safely conduct MEC clearance

activities.

2.0 SITE LOCATION

The site is located approximately as follows:

Coordinates (Universal Transverse Mercator, Zone 6

North, North American Datum 1983):

Northing: 7093973 meters

Easting: 561768 meters

Physical Address:

The site is located south of Big Delta Avenue, near

the main gate of Fort Greely. To access the site,

head east on Big Delta Avenue. Turn right onto

Robin Road and head south. Pass through the

security gate and head west on a dirt road. Access to this area is restricted and must be

coordinated with the Sergeant of the Guard.



3.0 DESCRIPTION AND FINDINGS OF SITE WORK

3.1 Listing of Documents with Site Information

The following documents contain information about this site:

• Final U.S. Army Base Realignment and Closure 95 Program, Environmental Baseline Survey

(EBS) Report, Fort Greely, Alaska. Woodward-Clyde Federal Services (WCFS), January

1997 (Table 5-1a). (WCFS, 1997).

• 1998 Remedial Investigation Report, Final, Fort Greely, Alaska. Jacobs Engineering Group,

Inc. (Jacobs), April 1999 (Table ES-1, page ES-7, Section 28.0, pages 28-1 and 28-2).

(Jacobs, 1999).

• Environmental Sites Decision Document, Final, Fort Greely, Alaska. Teledyne Solutions,

Inc. (TSI), June 2005. (TSI, 2005).

• Final Site Inspection Report for Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska. TLI Solutions, Inc.

February 2007. (TLI, 2007).

• 2008 UXO Sweep Letter Report, Fort Greely, Alaska. Environmental Compliance

Consultants (ECC), May 11, 2008. (ECC, 2008).

• Geophysical Survey to Identify Potential Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC), Fort

Greely Military Installation, Fort Greely, Alaska. ASTS, July 2010. (ASTS, 2010).

• Draft After Action Report for Munitions and Explosives of Concern Removal Action, WWII

Tent Area and Jarvis Creek MMRP Burial Site, Fort Greely, Alaska. (WHPacific, June

2014).

• Final Supplemental Site Inspection Report for Munitions and Explosives of Concern at WWII

Tent Area and Jarvis Creek MMRP Burial Site, Fort Greely, Alaska. Tetra Tech, January

2015. (Tetra Tech, 2015).

• Final Streamlined Remedial Investigation Report, WWII Tent Area, Fort Greely, Alaska.

Bering-Kaya Support Services (BKSS), April 2017. (BKSS, 2017a).

• After Action Report, Munitions and Explosives of Concern Remedial Action, WWII Tent Area

and Jarvis Creek MMRP Burial Site, Fort Greely, Alaska. BKSS, May 2017. (BKSS, 2017b).

3.2 Description of Site Characterization and Remedial Actions

In 1996, pursuant to FGA being selected for BRAC, an EBS was conducted to ascertain the

environmental condition of property for all surplus parcels on the installation. The EBS listed

Parcel 114 as a Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act Category 7 parcel, defined as

follows:

• Areas that are not evaluated or require additional evaluation.

The WWII bivouac area has not been used for more than 50 years. Based on EBS Table 2-1, Table 2-

5, and Table 5-1a, WCFS conducted interviews/visual inspections and reviewed aerial photographs.

According to EBS Table 2-5, a visual survey was conducted by automobile. The EBS indicated

practices may have involved hazardous substances, ammunition, or other unknown activities. The

EBS recommended additional evaluation, including soil sampling (WCFS, 1997).



In 1998, Parcel 114 was evaluated further during the remedial investigation performed under BRAC.

Additional aerial photograph reviews and interviews were conducted. These suggested that activities

in the subject area were limited to troop maneuvers and use of small arms munitions. The identified

clearings appeared to be former bivouac sites. The investigation did not reveal potential contaminant

sources at Parcel 114, and an intrusive field investigation was not conducted.

The 2005 Environmental Sites Decision Document lists BRAC 114 as having low-level

contamination that does not require further cleanup. The site was conditionally closed as a No

Further Remedial Action Planned (NFRAP) site (TSI, 2005).

In 2008, during clearing and grubbing activities, a 4.5-inch rocket round (still in its shipping canister)

was discovered. Following the find, clearing and grubbing operations were put on hold and EOD was

summoned to remove the rocket round. In order to provide clearance for clearing and grubbing

operations to proceed, Environmental Compliance Consultants (ECC) performed a subsurface UXO

clearance/sweep of approximately 21 acres located in the southern portion of the WWII bivouac area

(BRAC Site 114). The clearance/sweep covered the majority of the southern portion of the site, plus

some adjacent areas outside the site boundary. The clearance was performed using Schonstedt

GA-52Cx® magnetometers. Each target anomaly detected was excavated using a hand shovel and

visually identified. Of the numerous items unearthed and examined during the clearance activity, two

MEC items were identified. These items consisted of two point-detonating (PD) rocket fuzes,

containing high explosives, which were removed by US Army EOD personnel. Other inert metal

items were also unearthed and removed. These included metal banding, stakes, shipping container

caps, and other miscellaneous metal debris (ECC, 2008).

In 2010, ASTS and Zapata Incorporated, Blackhawk Division (ZAPATA/Blackhawk) performed

digital geophysical mapping (DGM) to identify the potential presence of MEC within a 10-acre area

proposed for construction activities in the southern portion of the WWII bivouac area (BRAC Site

114). This 10-acre area was included in the 2008 clearance/sweep. The survey area was divided into

15 subareas and surveyed in one-meter sampling swaths using a single-coil Geonics EM61-MK2®

time domain electromagnetic metal detector. The results of this DGM survey identified 156 metallic

targets that required further investigation to determine if the targets were MEC/material potentially

presenting an explosive hazard (MPPEH) (ASTS, 2010).

In June 2014, the 156 identified targets were intrusively investigated. No MEC/MPPEH was

recovered during the intrusive investigation. All targets consisted of scrap metal (nails, tent stakes,

rebar, and construction debris). Although no MEC/MPPEH was recovered, two MEC items were

identified outside of the investigation area. The first item was a PD fuze, which was observed on the

ground surface by a UXO Technician. The item, specifically identified as a M48 PD fuze, was found

within the WWII Tent Area site extent, just north of the investigation area. Eielson Air Force Base

EOD was notified and, after further investigation by the responding EOD team, a second PD fuze

was found beneath the fuze previously identified by the UXO Technician. EOD then performed

blow-in-place operations to destroy both MEC items (Tetra Tech, 2015).

Between May-August 2016, additional activities were conducted to address potential MEC

contamination in the northern portion of the site that was not previously cleared. These activities

included a magnetometer-assisted surface sweep, vegetation removal, DGM survey, and intrusive

investigation of metallic anomalies identified during DGM survey. UXO Technicians performed a

surface sweep of the northernmost ~26 acres of the site to remove any surface MEC/MPPEH items

and larger metallic items that would interfere with DGM survey. Subsequently, vegetation removal

was conducted to ready the site for DGM survey. DGM survey was conducted in July 2016, using a

3-coil EM61-MK2 towed-array platform. Based on the DGM results, 1,359 metallic targets were



intrusively investigated, resulting in the discovery of three additional PD fuzes (one M51 fuze and

two M48 fuzes), which were destroyed by Eielson Air Force Base EOD.

A map showing the cumulative clearance efforts is included below.



3.3 Summary of Remaining Contamination

The studies conducted between 1998 and 2005 resulted in a 2005 Environmental Sites Decision

Document that lists BRAC 114 as having low-level chemical contamination that does not require

further cleanup.

The MEC investigation and clearance activities conducted between 2008 and 2017 resulted in the

complete removal of MEC and munitions debris. There is no remaining munitions contamination at

the site.

4.0 SITE STATUS

Between cumulative survey and clearance efforts conducted in 2008, 2010, and 2016, the WWII Tent

Area has been surveyed and cleared for MEC. There is a small portion (0.6 acre) of the site at the

extreme southern boundary that has not been actively cleared. Although not surveyed and cleared in

the same fashion as the other portions of the site, this 0.6-acre area has had all surface vegetation

removed and was previously re-graded as part of security perimeter measures for the missile field.

Based on the extreme shallow nature of all other MEC findings in the WWII Tent Area, any

abandoned MEC in this area would have been revealed during the re-grading/grubbing activities.

Prior to MEC clearance, the site was assigned Administrative Controls, which incorporated it into the

FGA Geographic Information System and dig permit process, to notify contractors, workers, and

base personnel of potential MEC hazards in this area during excavation activities.

The site is considered to be free of any residual MEC contamination caused by previous usage as a

bivouac training area and was recommended for closure to the Alaska Department of Environmental

Conservation in December 2016. ADEC granted site closure for the WWII Tent Area on

6 April 2017.