Superfund Sites in Reuse in Alaska
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Arctic Surplus 
The 25-acre Arctic Surplus Salvage Yard Superfund site is located six miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) operated a landfill on part of the site from 1944 to 1956. In 1959, DoD sold the site property. It became a salvage yard for several activities, including battery cracking for lead recycling, transformer draining, and ordnance and explosive scrap collection. In 1988, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation detected high concentrations of metals in the soil and found large amounts of asbestos on site. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990, and immediately removed the asbestos, drums and contaminated soils. The DoD also began on-site soil treatment and isolated residual soil in a closed landfill covered with asphalt. DoD disposed of highly contaminated materials off site. Cleanup finished in 2005. EPA took the site off the NPL in 2006. Currently, the asphalt-covered cap is being used by a motorcycle club for training.
Last updated September 2019
As of December 2019, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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Ketchikan Pulp Company 
Ketchikan Pulp CompanyThe Ketchikan Pulp Company site is located in Ward Cove, near Ketchikan, Alaska. The site includes a former pulp mill and about 160 acres of coastal areas. The Ketchikan Pulp Company began operating on the site in 1954. The company released sulfite-contaminated pulp and wastewater into Ward Cove and surrounding tidelands. High quantities of organic materials and wood pulp entered Ward Cove. Over time, the organic materials created anaerobic conditions and began to affect local organisms. Fuels, paints and heavy metals from the facilities also contaminated upland areas. The company ended operations in 1997 and sold the property to Gateway Forest Products, which operated a lumber mill until 2001. EPA began investigating the site in the early 1990s. EPA required that the Ketchikan Pulp Company conduct the cleanup. Cleanup activities included dredging contaminated sediments for consolidation and capping, placing a cap of clean material over the dredged areas, and implementing long-term monitoring and institutional controls to protect the cleaned areas. Cleanup remediated on-site tidelands. Cleanup activities and construction ended in 2001. After Gateway Forest Products stopped operating in 2001, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough obtained the property and surrounding areas. In 2004, the Borough and EPA signed an environmental easement and declaration of covenants. This agreement allows continued access for cleanup-related work and the Borough agreed to follow institutional controls for the site. The Borough subdivided the property into many parcels. The Alaska Department of Transportation and the Alaska Marine Highway System use parts of the site for administrative and engineering buildings and use the harbor for marine vessels. Power Systems and Supplies, also operating as Ward Cove Industries, purchased the site and has leased existing warehouse and shop space to timber- and marine-related commercial and industrial businesses. The primary uses of Ward Cove have been for navigation and recreation, including fishing. In addition to serving as a homeport for commercial fishing vessels, Ward Cove Industries LLC is planning an industrial hub that will also serve the oil and gas, mining, transportation, tourism, and timber industries. Ward Cove Industries LLC is also partnering with Norwegian Cruise Lines and Godspeed, Inc. to build a two-berth cruise ship dock at the site. The new owners are aware of and complying with institutional controls at the site.
Last updated September 2019
As of December 2019, EPA had data on 5 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 45 people and generated an estimated $658,000 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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