MEDIA RELEASE: AF awards contract to accelerate cleanup at Galena FOL

  • Published
  • By Rachel Zaney
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center has awarded a $42.6 million contract to accelerate environmental cleanup while saving millions of taxpayer dollars at the former Galena Forward Operating Location in Galena, Alaska.

The performance-based remediation contract went to Parsons, who teamed with CH2M HILL and Ahtna. The Parsons Team is expected to have all cleanup remedies in place at the remaining 31 sites at Galena by the end of 2019 and will close eight of the 31 sites before the end of the contract in 2020, years ahead of the Air Force's projected schedule.

PBR contracts are the preferred way of cleaning up environmental contamination for bases closed under the Base Realignment and Closure act. Although contractors execute daily operations, AFCEC is ultimately responsible for cleanup at all 40 bases closed under BRAC, including Galena.

PBR contracts are attractive because they allow the Air Force to partner with companies like Parsons to clean up land faster using private industry's innovative solutions and technologies, said AFCEC's BRAC Program Management Division Chief Stephen TerMaath.

"The Air Force relies on PBR contractors for their creative thinking and problem solving skills in addition to their technical know-how," said TerMaath. "Rather than tell the contractor how to clean up contaminated sites, we provide flexibility in how they choose to complete cleanup provided they are meeting important milestones we establish. We don't detail every step in the process because we are most focused on the end result."

Under PBR contracts, sites are often cleaned to "unrestricted use" which means there will be no restrictions against developing the land for any particular purpose, including residential. At Galena, eight of 31 sites will be closed to unrestricted use under the PBR.

Galena is the 24th and final BRAC base to be included in a PBR contract. In all, PBR contracts are valued at nearly $360 million and encompass 626 sites across 29 former bases. With the award at Galena, AFCEC is meeting its goal to have 95 percent of all BRAC sites under a PBR contract by the end of 2014.

AFCEC's Installations Directorate conducts the strategic acquisition, management and disposal of Air Force real property. The BRAC program management division manages the remediation and transfer of more than 88,000 acres of property at 40 former installations to local communities for economic development.

For more information on the Air Force's BRAC environmental cleanup program, call 866-725-7617 or email afcec.pa@us.af.mil.