Fort Richardson is a 56,000-acre U.S. Army installation in Anchorage, Alaska. It has been on the National Priorities List (NPL) since May 1994. The site is now administratively part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), formed when Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson merged in 2010. Cleanup is divided into 18 operable units, each targeting a specific geographic area or contamination problem.
Decades of improper waste management left the site with widespread contamination. Past operations poured used oils, solvents, and fuel into floor drains that reached subsurface soils. Spent solvents were mixed with waste oil and burned at fire training pits. Munitions and hazardous chemicals were buried, and waste oil was stored in underground storage tanks. Contaminants of concern include chlorinated solvents such as 1,1,2-trichloroethane and tetrachloroethene, heavy metals including lead, cadmium, and arsenic, pesticides such as dieldrin and p,p'-DDT, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and white phosphorus (P4) in sediment at Eagle River Flats. These contaminants affect soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment.
The Army, EPA, and the State of Alaska signed a Federal Facilities Agreement in 1994. Remedy construction began in 1999. Early actions removed chemical agent storage containers, excavated contaminated soil, dredged white phosphorus from channels, drained ponds, and placed bentonite barriers. The long-term strategy includes high-vacuum soil extraction, groundwater extraction and treatment, natural attenuation outside hot spot areas, sediment treatment, caps in ponded areas, and land use controls. Overall construction was completed in September 2006, though several operable units remain in active investigation or design phases. A separate investigation into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination began in May 2021 and is expected to continue through early 2028. The most recent five-year review, completed in February 2023, found that response actions remain protective of human health and the environment in the short term, though further evaluation is needed for some operable units. Human exposure status and groundwater migration status are both listed as insufficient data at this time.
Community members can stay involved in several ways. To receive periodic updates, contact Community Engagement at 673d Air Base Wing Public Affairs, 10480 Sijan Ave, Suite 123, JBER, AK 99506, or email jber.pa@us.af.mil and ask to be added to the environmental distribution list. The Community Involvement Plan and related documents are available at the Alaska Resources Library and Information Services, University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium Library, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, reachable at 907-272-7547. The JBER Environmental Restoration website also provides information on joining the Community Environmental Board and accessing past meeting minutes and presentations.
