NPS - National Park Service

03/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/27/2024 16:51

The National Park Service Park Seeks Public Comment into the GLASS-HEIFNER MINE CLEAN-UP

Date:
March 27, 2024
Contact: Patrick Lewis

SEWARD, Alaska - The National Park Service (NPS) wishes to inform and encourage thepublic to review action and information documents related to the Glass-Heifner Mine Clean-up project in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Documents are in the Administrative Record File at the repositories listed below and on NPS Planning, Environment & Public Comment website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Glass-HeifnerTCRA. Although public comments are welcome at any time, a formal public comment period will occur March 25, 2024, to April 30, 2024. 

The Glass-Heifner Mine Site is located in the Nuka Bay Historic Mining District within Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ), approximately 60 miles southwest of the town of Seward. The site is a former gold mine that was intermittently active starting in the mid-1920s, with periods of commercial mining between 1965 and the mid-1970s. From 1994-1995 NPS sampled soil and water from areas around the site and determined that the toxic metal arsenic was found in the tailings in amounts that exceeded acceptable levels. Arsenic leaching out of the site can have detrimental effects on surrounding plants and animals.

In 1998, NPS consolidated material from the tailings into a cement-capped impoundment on site. NPS discovered that recent erosion at the site was threatening the integrity of the impoundment and initiated a CERCLA Time-Critical Removal Action, in 2023. Next steps include resuming cleanup work next summer when conditions allow access. After Summer 2024, future steps may include additional environmental investigations. For more information on this process read Community Update.  

How to Participate:
March 25, 2024, to April 30, 2024. The public is invited to review documents and comment online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Glass-HeifnerTCRA, the documents are also available for public review year-round at two locations as follows:

KEFJ Park Headquarters 411 Washington St Seward, AK 99664 Contact: Patrick Lewis Phone: (907) 422-0543

NPS Alaska Regional Office 240 W 5th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501 Contact: Sarah Venator Phone: (907) 644-3573

All comments on the Administrative Record File should be submitted on the plan's website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Glass-HeifnerTCRA

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.