Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Oil Contaminants were found Oct. 1, 2018 at Leloaloa, during trenching activity for the sewer main line.

According to information from an official at the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), upon discovery of the oil contaminants, immediate corrective action is to put a floating absorbent skimmer at the suction and discharge pipe — and all excavated soil is transported to the treatment cell at Onesosopo.

As permanent controls, installation of an oil-water separator tank is expected.

According to ASPA, immediate corrective action is sufficient and "we are good to continue."

Assistance is being sought from the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (AS-EPA) to monitor the discharged water quality.

In addition to the Leloaloa site, oil was also found in the soil in Aua village last week. The area in question is located dead smack in the middle of three homes — one of the houses is actually believed to be sitting on part of the old fuel tank that is the suspected source of the leakage.

When Samoa News arrived at the site last Thursday, officials from the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO), ASPA, and the AS-EPA were already there.

"Regarding the historic property in Aua: If it is contaminated, it needs to be removed and disposed of appropriately. The lives of our people are more important than a Historic Naval Fuel Tank Farm.” This is the official statement from ASHPO, in response to Samoa News inquiries on what they plan to do.

AS-EPA acting director Faamao Asalele was at the site and departed the territory later that evening. It is assumed that we took with him, a report to Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga - who is in the Aloha State - requesting a rapid response contract from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Samoa News was able to speak with David Cavagnol, the Hawaii-based regional manager for EERG, a company that specializes in environmental engineering and restoration work. They are also assisting Fletcher with the ongoing sewer line project on the east side.

Cavagnol was at the site in an 'unofficial role', gathering information to take back to his company about what's going on in Aua. According to him, the oil is coming from the location of an underground fuel tank that existed during World War II, one of twelve fuel tanks scattered throughout Aua village.

He said the location is not shown on the map (presumed to be 70 years old) and it was the crew from Fletcher Construction — the company currently on contract to install the sewer line in the area — who ran into "a surface steel structure".

Cavagnol explained that his point in being at the site was to "validate" the information that was passed on to him, trying to "define" it to the best of his abilities so they can have an idea of what it's going to take to remove it.

Along with that, he continued, there was a need to look at the soil contamination resulting from the leaking petroleum the structure contained at one point. "That would be part of the project, to excavate it down to a certain depth to try and get the nasty stuff out."

He explained, "We can either treat it, or ship it off; however, that is not my decision to make."

There is a home that is situated in the area where the oil was found — the trench — and it is believed that the front porch, or even half of the living area, is sitting directly on top of the fuel tank.

"Intrusive work is needed to confirm this," Cavagnol said.

It was understood by all — ASPA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Fletcher — that because Aua was once a large tank farm, the potential of contamination is likely. "Again, I am working from the environmental side, not infrastructure," Cavagnol clarified.

For now, Samoa News understands that the intent is to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to get a rapid response contract going, to address the situation immediately. When asked if there is concern about ground water contamination, Cavagnol explained that there is no drinking water lens under the entire village.

"But there's oil in the ground," he said. "Oil generally seeps vertically over time, and water carries it with rain and run-off and causes it to spread so there should be some concern about ground water contamination, whether it is brackish like from the ocean — there's a tendency that it is transferred back and forth from the ocean."

When asked about what actions are necessary, Cavagnol said remedial action is to "uncover it, take the tank out piece by piece, clean the tank, clean the steel, deliver it to the steel recycler, find the grossest contamination in terms of petroleum, remove the material and treat it, return the material here or bring back clean fill and return the site to its existing condition."

"It is treatable," he said, adding that unless he is wrong, the work — getting the tank and soil out — can be done within a month.

"As for treating it, that's different," he continued. "That could take a year."

The likely course of action is to remove the material, bring some fill, compact it, and restore the surface. "In the end, the period of inconvenience to the residents will be about 30-45 days."

Fletcher is currently installing sewer lines (laterals) that connect to all homes in Aua village.

Cavagnol said all the information he has will be presented to EERG and if the US Army Corps of Engineers is prepared to step in, that's when the company will make recommendations — to some extent — and a general notion of the cost will be known.

For the time being, Samoa News is unable to confirm how long the oil has been leaking into the soil in Aua, and there is no data available on whether or not any deaths — over the years — can be attributed to it.

HISTORY

According to information from the AS-EPA, in 1938 and 1939, the United States Navy constructed twelve (12) 10,000-barrel above ground steel fuel storage tanks and a 12-inch pipeline delivery system throughout the village. 

The above ground tanks and pipeline were used to store and supply diesel fuel for United States naval warships during World War II. The Aua Fuel Farm was dismantled after the war and since that time, residents had reported the presence of subsurface petroleum contamination in the village. In 1989, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initiated a preliminary assessment of the Aua Fuel Farm and confirmed petroleum hydrocarbons were present in several areas of the village.

Despite remediation actions by the USACE in 1990, excavations in the area continue to reveal heavy subsurface petroleum contamination.

In 2011, the USACE initiated site investigation activities in the location of the old transmission pipe along the coastline from Aua (Site Work Plan, Aua Fuel Farm, Engineering Remediation Resources Group, March 2011).