An Anchorage Assembly decision on a contentious Chugiak construction debris dump is on hold for six months after Eklutna Inc. detected potential contamination from a property next door -- the municipality's old Peters Creek Landfill.
The landfill closed in 1987 and now sits beneath Roberta French Horse Park, near ball fields and between the Glenn and Old Glenn highways off South Birchwood Road.
Anchorage-based Central Environmental Services Inc. wants permission to dump shredded construction and demolition waste at a 17-acre parcel owned by Eklutna next to the old dump. The monofill property is part of a larger 85-acre parcel the Alaska Native corporation hopes to develop.
The monofill drew opposition from the Chugiak Community Council and others over concerns about contaminated groundwater. Regulators in other states have detected polluted water and toxic gases at some monofill sites.
This week's delay, however, came not because of problems with the as-yet unbuilt monofill but because of potential contamination from the city's old landfill, Eklutna and municipal officials say.
Eklutna CEO Curtis McQueen advised Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan of the contamination concerns in a Sept. 19 letter.
A Central Environmental Services consultant first detected contaminants on the northern edge of the Eklutna property, McQueen said in an interview Thursday.
The company was developing baseline levels to show water quality before the monofill goes in. The consultant discovered total dissolved solids and manganese "in excess of safe drinking water levels" near the well, McQueen wrote in the letter.
Then the consultant pulled annual municipal tests for the same area that showed similarly elevated levels of manganese and other contaminants, McQueen said.
Manganese is naturally occurring -- though it can give water a color, odor or taste -- but at high levels can cause nervous system damage and produce a syndrome that resembles Parkinson's.
"We instantly said we cannot nor will we move forward until we get these identified, as far as the source and what it means," McQueen said. "We all thought the source, more than likely, is the old landfill above us."
The monofill is part of a master plan the Assembly is weighing to determine allowable uses for the 85-acre parcel that could include housing.
The subject was due to come before the Assembly at its next meeting.
Instead, Assembly member Bill Starr, who represents Eagle River, where the Alaska Native corporation is headquartered, on Tuesday proposed a postponement on behalf of Eklutna.
The Assembly voted 9-2 to postpone a hearing and decision until March 24 despite a bid for a much shorter delay by Amy Demboski, who represents Chugiak and Eagle River.
Demboski said her request for a 30-day postponement stemmed from the delicate nature of the monofill and the fact that community members had "a very specific timeline they were expecting this would happen under."
Demboski's motion to postpone the hearing until Oct. 21 with an option to revisit the issue and postpone later was defeated in a 5-6 vote.
The two Eagle River representatives sparred briefly.
Starr said it's possible there is no problem, but if there is contamination the municipality needs to sort out its liability as well as the future master plan for the Eklutna parcel.
"I know there's a lot of emotion as relates to the monofill but I'm more interested in what are we going to do with 85 acres that abuts perhaps a hazardous waste facility, and that's going to take some time," he said.
Demboski noted that the contamination issue, if valid, does need to be dealt with but said she had "serious concerns about how we got here today."
She didn't elaborate on what she meant and didn't return a request for comment later.
Starr bristled at the implication that data was manipulated or "there wasn't something quite kosher" in the way the Eklutna's concerns are being handled.
"There's nothing wrong with how we got here," he said. "I think it's where do we go from here."
Demboski's concerns echo those of Chugiak Community Council president Maria Rentz.
"(S)uch a lengthy postponement is not fair to the Chugiak community, as we have already endured two years of the monofill process," Rentz wrote in an email sent to council members on Wednesday.
She also expressed concerns that the postponement request came too quickly for the council to have time to respond.
Next, Eklutna wants the municipality to install groundwater monitoring wells to map migration of the pollutants, according to McQueen's letter. The Native corporation also wants any statute of limitations claims waived to avoid future legal action "for remediation and redress for this contamination."
Eklutna hasn't had a chance to meet with the Anchorage mayor, who was traveling when last week's letter came in, McQueen said, but a meeting is in the works.
Central Environmental has also proposed a monofill near Palmer that drew criticism from neighbors wary of debris dumping in a shallow-groundwater area and prompted the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly to tighten its junk and trash regulations.
The Palmer monofill is scheduled for a public hearing at the borough planning commission Dec. 1.