State of Oregon: Department of Environmental Quality

This report shows data entered as of March 31, 2023 at 2:56:41 PM

This report contains site details, organized into the following sections: 1) Site Photos (appears only if the site has photos); 2) General Site Information; 3) Site Characteristics; 4) Substance Contamination Information; 5) Investigative, Remedial and Administrative Actions; and 6) Site Environmental Controls (i.e., institutional or engineering controls; appears only if DEQ has applied one or more such controls to the site). A key to certain acronyms and terms used in the report appears at the bottom of the page.

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Environmental Cleanup Site Information (ECSI) Database Site Summary Report - Details for Site ID 1703, Burns Air Force Station

Site Photos
Click to View Photo	Picture Date	Caption	Size
View Photo	05/20/1998	View of former base from radar platform. 1703 5-20-1998	17 Kb
View Photo	05/20/1998	View of former base. 1703 5-20-1998	18 Kb
View Photo	08/28/2003	View South along main entrance road. 1703 8-28-2003	41 Kb
View Photo	08/28/2003	Asbestos covered boiler. 1703 8-28-2003	75 Kb
View Photo	08/28/2003	Asbestos covered piping. 1703 8-28-2003	44 Kb
View Photo	08/28/2003	Fire damaged quonset hut with asbestos. 1703 8-28-2003	53 Kb
View Photo	08/28/2003	Asbestos floor tiles. 1703 8-28-2003	53 Kb

General Site Information

Site ID: 1703

Site Name: Burns Air Force Station

CERCLIS No: 0001096957

Address:

23S/30E/S20 Burns 97720

County: Harney

Region: Eastern

Other location information:

Investigation Status:

Suspect site requiring further investigation

Brownfield Site: No

NPL Site: No

Orphan Site: Yes

Study Area: No

Property:

Twnshp/Range/Sect: 23S , 30E , 20

Tax Lots:

Latitude: 43.5627 deg.

Longitude: -119.1515 deg.

Site Size: 40.32 acres

Other Site Names:


	FUDS #F10OR0163
	Burns AFB

Site Characteristics
General Site Description:
Site History:	Between 1954 and 1958, a total of 40.32 acres were acquired by the Air Force Aerospace for a Defense Command site on Burns Butte (a hill south of Burns). Improvements constructed by DOD included several large antennas, power-generation facilities, and numerous support facilities for the site. In 1958, additional lands were acquired near the City of Burns for a housing annex. In 1970, the site was determined excess and was slated for sale. The majority of the site is in disrepair, and as of May 2002 was under private ownership.
Contamination Information:	(5/12/2002 BPM/FUDS) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) conducted a site visit in August 1987, and identified three potential projects, including: 1) An area with 24 USTs and associated equipment, an hydraulic cylinder with oil storage, two overhead fuel storage tanks with piping equipment, and nine transformers remaining on-site that have not been used since DOD occupancy. 2) two abandoned disposal sites that may contain toxic materials. Both sites are approximately 5,000 square feet in size. One site contains four visible 55-gallon drums. An investigation was recommended. 3) Numerous buildings on-site that are structural hazards. The buildings are in various states of disrepair, due to vandalism. The site also contains several open sewer manholes and open pits, which are falling and drowning hazards. The manholes and pits are over 6 feet in depth and contain several feet of water. These hazards are located on lands under private ownership.
Manner and Time of Release:
Hazardous Substances/Waste Types:	petroleum, PCBs, asbestos insulation, lead-based paints
Pathways:
Environmental/Health Threats:
Status of Investigative or Remedial Action:	(5/12/2002 BPM/SAS) Memos dated January 1992 and February through May 1995 cite vandalism at the site and serve as Corps justification for not conducting further site work (much of the site and improvements were being "beneficially used" by private owners). In 1995, the Corps eliminated the site from further remedial work, having conducted several removals, as described below. DEQ's Site Assessment file includes a 1996 preliminary assessment (PA) conducted by EPA, which states �according to the Corps, all tanks and pesticide-containing transformers have been removed from the site.� Two other removal actions involved removal of 5 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soil. The PA also states that the Corps had planned to end its cleanup work after a 40 cubic yard removal near the radome building. The PA found the only documentation for the above actions was invoices, and concluded that the site was not a high enough priority for Superfund site consideration, but would be added to DEQ�s ECSI database. DEQ's underground storage tank (UST) file for the site contains a contaminated soil report dated April 7, 1997, which was not in the Corps� FUDS file, but was alluded to in the various documents (removal work). The UST report documents the removal of the following: 1) three steel USTs, two ASTs, and piping; 2) 625 gallons of heating oil; 3) one 55-gallon drum of sludge; 4) one 55-gallon drum of lead- and PCB-containing floor-drain material; 5) one 55-gallon drum of PCB- and pesticide-contaminated transformer oil; 6) six transformer carcasses; and 7) approximately 85 tons of PCB-contaminated soil and debris. It is not clear what happened to the original 22 tanks mentioned in the Corps' 1987 visit. It appears that no actions have been performed on the disposal sites. More recently, DEQ�s Air Quality (AQ) Program has documented friable asbestos at the site. Further investigation is needed at this site. DEQ declared the site an Orphan project in June 2003. (11/14/05 D. Anderson/FUDS) In 2004, DEQ referred the site to EPA�s Removal Program for evaluation and subsequent removal activities. EPA completed a removal action at the site that included: � Removal and disposal of 80 cubic yards of friable asbestos insulation from inside buildings and around steam pipes and boilers; � Hauling 383 tons of asbestos-laden debris to approved off-site disposal locations from demolished buildings; � Excavation, removal, and disposal of 200 tons of surface soil contaminated with PCBs; and � Coordination of the recycling of 60 - 70 tons of scrap steel associated with the demolition. Despite this work, some hazardous-substance contamination and asbestos may remain at this site, which needs further investigation.
Data Sources:

Substance Contamination Information
Substance	Media Contaminated	Concentration Level	Date Recorded
No information is available

Investigative, Remedial and Administrative Actions
Action	Start Date	Compl. Date	Resp. Staff	Lead Pgm
Site Confirmatory Sampling recommended (Primary Action)	11/14/2005	11/14/2005	David Anderson	FUD
View Full Report Showing Action History

Key to Certain Acronyms and Terms in this Report:

CERCLIS No.: The U.S. EPA's Hazardous Waste Site identification number, shown only if EPA has been involved at the site.
Region: DEQ divides the state into three regions, Eastern, Northwest, and Western; the regional office shown is responsible for site investigation/cleanup.
NPL Site: Is this site on EPA's National Priority List (i.e., a federal Superfund site)? (Y/N).
Orphan Site: Has DEQ's Orphan Program been active at this site? (Y/N). The Orphan Program uses state funds to clean up high-priority sites where owners and operators responsible for the contamination are absent, or are unable or unwilling to use their own resources for cleanup.
Study Area: Is this site a Study Area? (Y/N). Study Areas are groupings of individual ECSI sites that may be contributing to a larger, area-wide problem. ECSI assigns unique Site ID numbers to both individual sites and to Study Areas.
Pathways: A description of human or environmental resources that site contamination could affect.
Lead Pgm: This column refers to the Cleanup Program affiliation of the DEQ employee responsible for the action shown. SAS or SAP = Site Assessment; VCS or VCP = Voluntary Cleanup; ICP = Independent Cleanup; SRS or SRP = Site Response (enforcement cleanup); ORP = Orphan Program.

You may be able to obtain more information about this site by contacting David Anderson at the Eastern regional office or via email at david.anderson@deq.oregon.gov. If this does not work, you may contact Ximena Cruz Cuevas (503) 229-6811, or via email at ximena.cruzcuevas@deq.state.or.us or contact the Eastern regional office.