Overview of environmental and hydrogeologic conditions at Cold Bay, Alaska

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Cold Bay is near the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula and has a maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers that affect the hydrology of the area. The city of Cold Bay and the Federal Aviation Administration facility obtain their drinking water from unconfined ground-water sources. Ground-water contamination and possible flooding of local communities may affect the quality of drinking water. The Federal Aviation Administration owns or operates airway support facilities at Cold Bay. The Federal Aviation Administration needs information on environmental and hydrogeologic conditions when evaluating options for environmental compliance and possible remediation at these facilities. This report describes the climate, vegetation, geology, ground-water and surface-water hydrology, and flood potential of the Cold Bay area. INTRODUCTION The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owns and (or) operates airway support and navigational facilities throughout Alaska. At many of these facilities, fuels and potentially hazardous materials such as solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), and pesticides may have been used and (or) disposed of. To determine if environmentally hazardous materials have been spilled or disposed at the facilities, the FAA is conducting environmental studies mandated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. To complete these more comprehensive environmental studies, the FAA requires information on the hydrology and geology of areas surrounding the facilities. This report, the product of compilation, review, and summary of existing hydrologic and geologic data by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the FAA, describes general hydrogeologic and other environmental conditions near Cold Bay, Alaska.