Tongass pollution triggers investigation

Several state and federal agencies said they have begun an investigation to figure out how to eliminate the source of the pollution: naturally contaminated shale that was used last year to build a road and stream culverts on Prince of Wales Island.

Recent test results show an absence of fish and dead aquatic bugs in the lower reaches of six unnamed streams that empty into two fish streams on the northeast side of the island. These water bodies -- Sweetwater Lake and Hatchery Creek -- are important local sources of coho and sockeye salmon, said Jason Anderson, the Tongass National Forest's district ranger based on the island, which is located on the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle.

Because the pollution has already caused damage, "this is way beyond a normal permit violation," said Jennifer Roberts, the federal facilities program manager in the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's contaminated sites program. The DEC is one of the agencies involved in the investigation.

Sweetwater Lake is about 15 miles from Coffman Cove, a small community on the northeast side of Prince of Wales Island. The road is an economic development project to connect Coffman Cove to the southern part of the island, Anderson said.

Sweetwater Lake is also popular with visitors. The Forest Service operates a cabin at the lake. On DEC's recommendation, the lake will soon be posted with signs warning people not to drink the water there, Anderson said.

Federal contractors quarried the "bad rock" from a right-of-way along the road route and used it to build culverts over the streams. So far, the contamination has been found in streams along a three-and-a-half mile stretch of the road. That segment is closed to traffic and was scheduled to get paved this year. Now, that work is on hold, Anderson said.

He said he didn't know whether the Federal Highway Administration, which was in charge of the road project, tested the rock for toxic materials.

The first sign of trouble showed up last fall, when work crews noticed that temporary metal culverts built into the streams had become severely corroded, he said.

Additional testing this spring showed that the water contained dangerous pH levels -- too much acidity -- and heavy metals including copper and iron. The acid causes copper and iron from the rock to dissolve into the water.

People in Coffman Cove are concerned about the status of the road project and at this point, don't have a sense of how bad the problem is, environmentally speaking, said Elaine Price, a project manager for the city.

"It's a freak thing," she said.

"We didn't want to get caught up in this either."

Federal officials said they plan to pave the Coffman Cove Road this year, but not the contaminated three-and-half-mile segment, which may need to be excavated.

The Forest Service said it will also host public meetings about the pollution.