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NRDA Summary (update)- 21 JAN 2010

Adak Petroleum Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Summary
January 21, 2010 update

On January 11, 2010, up to 142,000 gallons of #2 diesel fuel was released from a
4.8 million gallon underground tank at the Adak Petroleum Bulk Fuel facility on
Adak Island in the central Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Fuel was being
transferred from a tanker at the adjacent loading dock, when the tank was
overfilled.  The containment sump unit was overwhelmed and the fuel entered
Helmet Creek which flows into the small boat harbor in the Port of Adak.  Most
of the diesel was confined to the creek and possibly more than a thousand
gallons flowed out to Sweeper Cove.    

The creek serves as spawning habitat for resident Dolly Varden trout, and has
supported a robust population of pink (and possibly coho) salmon.  Sea otters
and a variety of birds use the harbor and adjacent area.   Response activities
included placing boom across the mouth of the stream and harbor, and collecting
diesel and emulsified fuel from the shoreline of the harbor and from the surface
waters of the creek and harbor.  Soil contamination at the release site and
along the creek banks has been evaluated, but a site characterization has not
been completed yet.  

NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program; Alaska
Departments of Fish and Game, Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation, and
Law; and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have initiated damage assessment
activities to evaluate harm to the creek and harbor habitat.   Dead fish have
been retrieved from the creek, and several oiled birds were observed in the
harbor.  Sampling in the creek and harbor is underway.

Trustee concerns for the creek include the likelihood of ongoing releases from
contaminated soil to the creek over the next few months, toxicity of diesel fuel
to fish embryos and fry present in the creek, degradation of creek habitat from
fuel contamination, and disturbance from response actions.  Trustee concerns for
the harbor include adverse effects of diesel exposure to otters and other marine
mammals, as well as fish and invertebrates, the health of migratory birds, and
degradation of nearshore habitat from fuel contamination.

NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program maintains a long-term monitoring station in
Sweeper Cove, which provides historical information to evaluate water quality in
the cove before the spill.  To address concerns about the adverse effects of
diesel exposure to animals in the cove, mussels are being re-sampled immediately
after the spill for comparison purposes.  This information will assist in
determining exposure, and will help us evaluate the nature and extent of ongoing
harm from the spill.