Dames & Moore, 1999 - USDA Forest Service

The road from the village to Lucerne was constructed in the late 1930s and is maintained by the USFS. The
road is utilized several times daily by buses operated by the village during the summer months. During the
winter months, snow removal is performed by Holden Village until impractical; snow cats are then utilized
until snow melt occurs.
4.1.2.6 Winston Home Sites
.. .
Summary of Historical Information
Referring to Figures 4.1-3 and 4.1-3a, the Winston home sites area reportedly included 103 single-family
residences which were constructed to house families of the mining employees (Adams, 1981). The houses
were wood-frame construction with concrete andlor stone foundations. The houses are assumed to have
been heated with fuel oil. The fbel was evidently stored in a combination of aboveground storage tanks
(ASTs) and underground storage tanks (USTs). The houses were demolished by the USFS but the tanks
were not removed.
Records regarding the status of the tanks at the time that the mine closed were not found in the files
reviewed. A qualitative assessment of the amount of fuel remaining in the tanks at the time of mine closure
was, therefore, completed. Based on the review of historical records, the mine closed in July 1957. The
tanks were most likely not filled in spring 1957 leading up to the mine closure, and were more likely
partially emply if not nearly so at the time that the homes were vacated. .
An interview with a volunteer at Holden Village, who had been volunteering at the village since the 1960s,
disclosed that he had been personally involved in the pumping of at least some of the tanks in Winston in
the 1960s to provide fuel oil for the village (personal communication with Mark Bjorkie, 1997). The
interviewee noted that it made logical sense that the tanks would have been pumped considering the
logistical challenges of h-ansporting fuel to the village by barge and truck. He also reported that all of the
tanks had been located adjacent to the streets on which the houses were situated, and were relatively easily
accessible to the fuel trucks for both filling and pumping.
Inventory of Tanks
An inventory of the tanks in the Winston area was completed as part of the RI. The inventory was
completed on October 4, 1997, and consisted of a visual reconnaissance of the area during which the
locations of apparent tanks, vent pipes, and fill pipes were documented on an AutoCAD map of the Site,
which included the Winston area. The map included the surveyed locations of walls and some of the
foundation elements which were visible at the time of the civil survey completed by the USFS in 1989.
The results of the reconnaissance disclosed that the Winston area is currently covered with grasses and a
combination of deciduous and coniferous trees. The remnants of some of the foundation elements can still
be observed. Refemng to Figure 4.1-5% a number of metal pipes were observed protruding From the ground
surface. Upon closer examination, the pipes were found to be associated with USTs.
The pipes were of two primary types: one which had a u-shaped, open end, which was interpreted to be a
vent pipe; and a second type which normally was a larger-diameter and had a screw cap, which was
interpreted to be a fill pipe. The pipes were all located near the remnants of the Winston pre-existing street
G:\WPDATA\OOSWPORTSWOLDEN-ZW\4-O.DOC
17693-00J-019Wuly 19, 1999;4:5l PM;DRAm FINAL RI REPORT