|
St. Paul Island: Non-TPA Site 48 Windmill Wells
At the request of the Navy, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries agreed to assist the Navy in the installation of a system of windmill-powered wells (windmill wells) in 1927. Ultimately, three windmill wells were constructed along the east side of Polovina Turnpike just north of the current St. Paul post office. Currently, the northern most well is filled in with soil. The south and central wells are large vaulted spaces and each is capped with a large concrete box sealed with a plywood top. NOAA tasked its contractor with investigating the windmill wells as part of a larger site characterization effort before the history of the wells was clear. The investigation found that water samples from the wells did not exceed ADEC Table C cleanup levels. Various types of debris were observed in two well vaults. Per Title 18 of the Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) 75.346(j), the wells require decommissioning in accordance with ADEC Recommended Practices for Monitoring Well Design, Installation, and Decommissioning. Given that NOAA is unaware of any potential sources for petroleum constituents in the windmill wells and NOAA now considers these wells part of the Naval radio station complex FUDS, for which P.L. 106-562 expressly prohibits NOAA from expending cleanup funds, no additional investigative activities or formal well closure are planned by NOAA.
 |
|
Windmill well, August 1930.
|
Downloads
Click on the following links to view a copy of the site report. The Windmill wells site is addressed in the Non-TPA Site 56 Conditional Closure document. |
|
|
|
|
|
