Title : Installation of runway-Pegasus Type : Antarctic EAM NSF Org: OD / OPP Date : October 03, 1990 File : opp93009 DIVISION OF POLAR PROGRAMS OFFICE OF SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH 202/357-7766 MEMORANDUM Date: October 3, 1990 From: Environmental Officer, DPP Subject: Environmental Action Memorandum (Installation of an Experimental Runway at the Pegasus Site) To: Associate Manager (DOD), DPP Files (S.7 Environment) Annual conduct of the activities of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) depends, in great measure, on safe, reliable operation of aircraft. In an effort to the enhance the capabilities of these air operations at USAP's logistic hub (McMurdo Station) during the austral summer research season, and in light of evolving considerations about the feasibility of establishing year round activities for the USAP, plans have been made to install an experimental runway during the 1990-1991 season. A 300' x 13,000' experimental "blue ice" runway will be installed and maintained on permanent glacier ice at the Pegasus Site near McMurdo Station. Should the runway perform to expected specifications, four C-141 turnaround flights will land at and depart from the site during February 1991. Discussions among Division staff and USAP's civilian and military support contractors concerning planning for the installation, operation and maintenance of the experimental runway took place during USAP's 1989-1990 Post Season Conference, the 1990-1991 Pre-Season Conference and at the Pegasus Site Working Group Meeting held on May 5, 1990. These interactions led to the development of a Plan of Action and Milestones for operation of the experimental runway. Considerations about potential environmental impacts of the proposed installation were part of the deliberations and planning. Members of the Pegasus Site Working Group were asked the following questions to inform decisionmaking on the potential for, and significance of, environmental impacts possibly associated with this activity. The Working Group's response follows each question. Should there be any constraints placed on development at the Pegasus Site in order to minimize environmental impacts regarding: þ Fuel handling and storage (i.e., fuel spills, berms and tanks)? Response: No storage of fuels at the site is planned for the 1990-1991 season. Refueling of aircraft, and other equipment will be performed from a tanker sled. þ Housing (type and size)? Response: No personnel will be housed at the site. Temporary shelters will be emplaced to support maintenance crews and to accommodate transiting aircraft passengers. þ Galley size? Response: There will be no galley. þ Waste management (such as human waste and solid waste handling facilities)? Response: Solid wastes shall be transported back to McMurdo Station. Human wastes shall be held temporarily in a portable toilet. Other liquid wastes will be placed in drums and removed to McMurdo Station. þ Use, storage and maintenance of land vehicles? Response: Construction and maintenance equipment will include two LGP D-8s, one grader, and one Delta. Transport equipment will include pickup trucks to carry maintenance personnel and Deltas to transport passengers. There will be no storage or routine maintenance of vehicles at the site. þ Maintenance of aircraft? Response: No aircraft maintenance is planned. Emergency repairs could be required and will utilize personnel and equipment from Williams Field. þ Maintenance of access roads? Response: There will be plowing of snow to keep the access roads to and within the site from being drifted over. þ Movement of snow? Response: The installation will require no net transport of snow. Snow over the experimental runway will be mixed, spread, compacted and graded. þ Energy source (role of solar or wind vs. diesel fuel)? Response: No power generation at the site is planned. A possible exception would be portable generators to power tools. þ Aesthetic aspects of the site? Response: From the air, the site appears featureless. The prepared runway will be visible only in bright, low-angle sunlight. The only alteration expected to be significant will be runway markers. After evacuation, the site is expected to fully regain its natural, featureless aspect in one to two years. How would the U.S. Antarctic Program mitigate unavoidable impacts elicited by the abovementioned factors? Response: All waste and surplus materials shall be removed from the site at the end of the 1990-1991 season. As the ice at the site is impermeable, any fuel spills would be fully recoverable. All facilities employed at the site will be portable and will be removed from the site at the end of the season. What are the alternatives to the selection of the Pegasus Site as a "blue ice" runway. Are there other areas for considera- tion? Response: Marble Point could be developed and used as the site of a permanent, conventional runway. However, only the Pegasus Site provides a hard-surface runway site in reasonable proximity to McMurdo Station. What type of infrastructure (e.g. buildings, fuel berms and tanks, human waste and solid waste handling facilities, emergency, communications and navigation aids) will need to be located at a "blue ice" runway at the Pegasus Site? Response: None is planned for the 1990-1991 season. How many, and what type of, civilian support personnel do you envision will be needed to support the facility? Response: None would live at the site. Approximately four people would work on-site during construction and maintenance operations. How many, and what type of, military support personnel do you envision will be needed to support the facility? Response: None would live at the site. Numbers as required for cargo handling, fueling and emergency aircraft maintenance during aircraft turnaround. How many, and what type of, administrative personnel do you envision will be needed to support the facility? Response: None. Which human factors needs must be satisfied at such a facility; and, at what level? Response: An emergency shelter, a heatable rest facility and portable toilet facility for work crews. What efforts have been made by the USAP to assure that personnel are aware of their antarctic environmental protection responsibilities? Response: USAP has produced, and will disseminate to all personnel working at the site, a flyer on "Do's and Don'ts for Inland Blue-Ice Airfields" (attached). Finding: This experimental activity has been given a substantial amount of advance planning within which environmental concerns have been addressed from the outset. Special efforts for environmental awareness education will enhance prevention of potential environmental impacts at the site. The responses of the Working Group indicate that there should be no significant environmental impact associated with the effort if stated plans are followed. Sidney Draggan cc: Safety, Environment and Health Officer, DPP Acting Manager, Polar Operations Section, DPP Head, Safety, Environment and Health Implementation Team, DPP Environmental Engineer, DPP Facilities Engineering Projects Manager, DPP Aviation Projects Manager, DPP