Alaska conservation officials join effort to move fuel tanks

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – Alaska’s conservation department has joined the U.S. Coast Guard in overseeing removal of diesel fuel tanks near a rapidly eroding riverbank.

KYUK-AM reported Tuesday that the Department of Environmental Conservation is monitoring the removal of threatened fuel tanks at a school in Napakiak.

The Coast Guard has ordered the Lower Kuskokwim School District to move the estimated 36,000 gallons of diesel away from the Kuskokwim River.

The Coast Guard’s administrative order issued Friday says the job must be completed by Aug. 30 to prevent environmental harm.

The conservation department will determine if more action is needed to treat the site in the community 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Bethel.

A department representative says the supervision is unusual but “this seems to be a special case.”
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Information from: KYUK-AM, http://www.kyuk.org