Site 2: Navy Life Boat Station

Site History and Background

1972 Aerial View

The area of the Navy Life Boat Station was set aside and taken out of the Makah Indian Reservation by administrative order in 1923 for purposes of the USCG. A later 1925 Executive Order placed a portion of the area (the Navy section) under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. The 3.1-acre site improvements, including 24 buildings, were built by the Navy. The improvements were transferred to the USCG in 1946. The site was leased to Crown Zellerbach Corporation by the USCG in 1948. The site was designated as surplus in 1956 (USCG, 1956) and transferred to the Makah Indian Reservation in 1958.

Navy Life Boat Station Plot Plan (National Archives Record, 1955)

The site consisted of a 3.1-acre abandoned compound east of Neah Bay, next to the Coast Guard Station. Several damaged buildings, concrete foundations, construction debris, aboveground storage tanks, and underground storage tanks were present at the site.

Activities to Date

Site Map (Ridolfi, 2006c)

The Makah Environmental Restoration Team performed site inspections in October 2000 and April 2004; a limited remedial investigation was conducted in December 2002 and January 2003; and an asbestos and lead-based paint investigation of the barracks, garage, and gymnasium additions took place in October 2004. Abandoned buildings, underground storage tanks, and petroleum-contaminated soil were removed from May 2005 through March 2006.

2002-2003 Limited Remedial Investigation

During a limited remedial investigation completed in 2002 and early 2003, seven samples of potential asbestos-containing materials and five samples of potential lead-based paint were collected.

Asbestos

Navy Life Boat Station (Ridolfi, 2001)

According to regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor, asbestos-containing material is defined as any material containing more than 1 percent asbestos [29 CFR §1926.1101(b) and 29 CFR §1910.1001(b)]. Asbestos was detected above the 1 percent standard in two samples: a sample collected from the gray exterior baseboard on Building 7 contained 22 percent chrysotile asbestos, a material observed on the majority of the buildings at the Navy Life Boat Station; and a sample collected from the 12-inch white floor tile in Building 3 contained 3 percent chrysotile asbestos, which was observed only in the southern portion of Building 3 (Ridolfi, 2003d).

Lead

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's National Center for Healthy Housing, lead-based paint is paint that contains lead equal to or exceeding 0.5 percent by weight (24 CFR §35.86 and 40 CFR §745.103). Lead was detected above that standard in one sample of the gray-green exterior paint taken from Building 4 at a concentration of 5.7 percent. This lead-based paint was observed on the exterior of the majority of the buildings at the Navy Life Boat Station (Ridolfi, 2003d).

2004 Asbestos and Lead-Based Paint Investigation

The barracks, garage, and gymnasium additions were scheduled for removal in April or May 2005. In preparation for building deconstruction and removal, additional inspection and sampling of asbestos and lead-based paint were conducted at the site in October 2004 (Ridolfi, 2005b). The objective of the sampling was to develop an inventory of asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint at the site, including identifying functional spaces, material characteristics, condition, degree of damage, quantity, accessibility, and potential for disturbance. Twenty-seven samples of potential asbestos-containing materials and five paint samples were collected and analyzed.

Asbestos

ACM and LBP inspection (Ridolfi, 2003d)

Areas not accessed during the 2002-2003 limited remedial investigation were inspected and sampled for asbestos-containing materials as needed. These areas included crawl spaces, attics, wall cavities, and roofs. Additional drywall samples were collected from all functional spaces. Piles of debris in and near the buildings were also inspected for potential asbestos. No additional asbestos-containing materials were identified.

Lead

No additional lead-based paints were identified. The lead-based exterior gray-green paint identified in the limited remedial investigation is significantly damaged, with blistering, cracking, and flaking over more than 25 percent of the surface area. Approximately 8,000 square feet of building exteriors are painted with the gray-green lead-based paint.

2005 Building Demolition

The barracks complex, storage building, and gymnasium were demolished and removed from the site in August 2005. During the process, materials suitable for reuse were salvaged from the disposable debris and placed in storage at the Makah Tribal Center. Disposable debris was transported to the City of Port Angeles Municipal Landfill. Prior to the deconstruction and removal activities, asbestos-containing materials and potentially hazardous debris were removed from the buildings and transported off-site for proper disposal.

ACM removal (Ridolfi, 2005b)	Demolition (Ridolfi, 2005b)	Salvage (Ridolfi, 2005b)

Fuel tanks removed from the site included four underground storage tanks and two aboveground storage tanks that formerly contained heating oil. The tanks were emptied and cleaned and then transported off-site for recycling. Confirmation soil samples were collected from the underground storage tank excavations to verify that petroleum-contaminated soil is no longer present at the tank sites (Ridolfi, 2006a).

Petroleum-contaminated soil was removed from beneath the former aboveground storage tank near the southeast corner of the storage building. Approximately 5 cubic yards of soil were removed, and transported off-site for proper disposal. Confirmation sampling indicated that additional petroleum-contaminated soil remained at this location. Petroleum-contaminated soil was also found near the former underground storage tanks associated with the barracks (Ridolfi, 2006a).

Planned Activities

The Tribe considers this site a high priority (Priority A). The following activity is planned for 2006 to 2007:

Remove petroleum-contaminated soil associated with former underground storage tanks.

Contaminated Soil Removal: Petroleum-contaminated soil will be excavated, removed, and transported off site for proper disposal. Sampling will be conducted during the excavation to determine the nature and extent of the contamination. The cleanup efforts will continue until the site meets the required cleanup standards. Voids left by excavation will be backfilled with clean materials and compacted to the desired density to match the surrounding surface.

Additional Information:

Fact Sheet – Site 2: Navy Life Boat Station
Shoreline Aerial Photos on Washington Department of Ecology site
A history of the Coast Guard in the Pacific Northwest of the United States – U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office.