By Karen Robes Meeks
Alaska’s Lower Kuskokwim School District has until the end of the month to remove all fuel oils from its Napakiak School fuel storage facility, where approximately 36,000 gallons of home heating oil threaten the Kuskokwim River.
The Coast Guard on Friday issued an Administrative Order, following an Aug. 12 report that stated the storage facility was within 150 feet of the river and at risk of riverbank erosion.
“The Coast Guard is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and in this case that means we’re taking preventative steps to mitigate the potential for pollution,” said Lt. James Nunez, incident management division, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage.
Coast Guard Sector Anchorage used $10,000 from the Oil Spill Trust and Liability Fund and investigated the facility, where measurements taken by personnel showed that the fuel storage facility at its closest point was 76 feet away from the riverbank’s erosion point.
