Northeast Cape - White Alice Communications Systems Site Surveys St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

The U.S. Air Force acquired the Northeast Cape site in 1952 and operated it as a surveillance station as part of the North American Air Defense Command from 1952-1972. Beginning in 1982, the Navy used the area as a White Alice Communications Systems (WACS) site. The area encompasses approximately nine square miles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contractors have identified at least 23 contaminated sites that have required environmental investigation and cleanup.

For this project, our surveyors established three-dimensional primary control based on existing National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and USACE monuments that were recovered. Primary control was extended into each of six separate remediation sites spanning approximately 2,400 acres.

Secondary control was established at each site to aid engineering efforts during the demolition phase of the removal action.

All of our surveyors were required to have current HAZWOPER certifications due to the nature of the various agents encountered at each site. Standard first-aid and CPR training were also required for crews of less than three persons. Additional site specific training was provided by the contractor at Northeast Cape.

Post-demolition locative surveys were performed at each of the six sites. These surveys reflected the remaining infrastructure at each location after the removal action had been completed. Locative survey ties were also conducted of soil sampling locations, borehole locations, and other locations where hazardous and non-hazardous materials were stored, or excavated for reporting purposes. Our surveyors made two trips to St. Lawrence Island to complete the on-site survey tasks.

Final as-built drawings were provided to fulfill contract requirements. A Control Diagram/Site Map was included along with individual Site Maps to show post-demolition conditions at each site. Pre-demolition conditions were shown using scanned images of era drawings (1940-1970) that were corrected for scale and orientation.

Back to top