Test results from the Henderson field where community gardeners and the farm Foundroot grow vegetables have come back showing a low level of diesel, a finding Takshanuk Watershed Council’s Derek Poinsette says is still preliminary.
Poinsette said the presence of diesel is low and it’s unclear if it existed in the soil prior to the December storms. “The samples that we took were of the soil below the stuff that came down with the flood,” Poinsette said. “It’s possible that what we detected was already there and was not necessarily related to those December floods.”
The floods brought debris and heavy rainfall cut ruts in the field. The land is below a fuel pipeline that has suffered leaks in other areas, though none have been found in the soil around that location.
Poinsette also said the presence of diesel was much lower than what would be found if there was a spill.
The American Bald Eagle Foundation board suspended growing operations on the land that was traditionally used by community gardeners and the vegetable farm Foundroot. Board members said they would await test results before deciding on how the land could be used.
Pointsette said they collected samples from a dozen different locations and diesel organics were present in each sample, 10 of which were soil samples that were mixed together.
Poinsette will draft a report which will be reviewed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, which will offer further analysis, Poinsette said.