28 September 2014: Kodiak Resident Comments on Launch Pad 3 Draft Environmental Assessment

September 28^th, 2014

To: Ms. Stacey Zee – FAA, c/o ICF International, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22031

Dear Ms. Zee,

Comments on the Kodiak Launch Complex Launch Pad 3 Draft Environmental Assessment.

I am completely opposed to any further development of the Kodiak Launch Complex at Narrow Cape. Public access to public land, public safety, cumulative environmental impacts, the past negligence of due diligence by the AK Aerospace Corporation, natural resource degradation and contamination, unjustified cost to the state, lack of clear vision or business plan, questionable economic sustainability, and impacts on rare plant species in the area are among my many concerns.

Kodiak has been my home since 1980 and I have been actively interested in the details of this facility since the very beginning when there was a public advisory committee. That committee was disbanded very quickly after members of the public, including myself, raised concerns and questions that former CEO, Pat Ladner, did not want to answer. Rather than be transparent with the intended purpose of military launches, he fed the public with promises of commercial satellite launches and bringing our little fishing village into the 21^st Century with high tech jobs and reeducation for unemployed fisherman.

We were also told that public access would be guaranteed, and there would never be more volatile and toxic liquid rocket fuels or fissionable nuclear materials used.

From the start, the AAC (formerly the AADC) has lacked any real long- term business plan. All they have ever had for a business plan is, “Build it and they will come.” Even our state representative, Rep Alan Austerman, who was also an AAC board member, was quoted in the Kodiak Daily Mirror recently saying that the KLC has no business plan. There have only been 17 launches since 1998 and 15 of those successful. There has been so little business and generated revenue to sustain their operations, the state has had kick in millions of dollars annually to keep it open. Unlike General Motors, the KLC has never been a viable business to justify government subsidy. With a dwindling state budget, I just can’t see the justification for more corporate bail out for Space Pork Kodiak.

My husband and I live in Kodiak and also live part of the time at Pasagshak that is within the circles of impact in your EA document. We are very familiar with the area and natural resources surrounding the KLC as that has been our backyard playground and grocery store since the early 1980’s. We live a subsistence lifestyle and that is where we get our fish, deer and berries for the freezer. As most Pasagshak residents, we collect rainwater for drinking water off our rooftop as wells are brackish. We are concerned about perchlorate and other contamination of drinking water, berries, fish and the deer that graze on the grass on Narrow Cape.

The KLC was built on some of the only public land along our road system and perhaps the choicest piece. Most roadside property is privately owned by Native Corporations with limitations on public access. It was a very poor choice for the location of the KLC as it also happens to be one of the most beautiful and popular recreational destinations.  It was a very impractical choice as it is at the extreme opposite end of a narrow, winding road for safely, efficiently, and the all-season transporting of rockets and related materials. What were they thinking?

The well documented, geologic instability and activity of the area with major, shallow earthquake faults running through Narrow Cape should be enough to nullify the entire plan of increasing the infrastructure of the KLC and especially, introducing a liquid fueling facility. Had a proper EIS been done initially before the KLC was built, this data alone would have shown what an irresponsible location Narrow Cape is for such a facility!

Some of the recreational activities that have been and will be impacted include: hiking, fishing, birding, photography, whale watching, beach combing, surfing, botanizing, camping, ice skating in winter on backwater lagoons, wildlife watching, tide pooling, fossil collecting, and general nature appreciation.

Our late senator Ted Stevens managed to get the KLC built with federal money and without having to jump through the hoops of a thorough EIS that it deserved, thanks to a rider he secretly attached to a Sunset Transportation bill.  He and the military promoters knew that area had far too many environmental issues and would probably never have been built had it gone through the customary process. So, there is really very little reliable baseline data on that area and its resources since all of the studies were done quickly after the fact with money from the military by hand picked government contractors that just went through the motions.

Since the rocket accident on August 25^th, the area has been completely cut off to the public and we have been told next to nothing about the impacts, contamination issues, clean up efforts or when it will reopen. Solid rocket fuel contains perchlorates, normally discharged in rocket exhaust, but since the fuel blew up, it was scattered all over the area. Perchlorate contamination in the environment has been extensively studied as it has effects on human health. Among the health impacts, perchlorate has been linked to its negative influence on the thyroid and can block hormone production in people and wildlife.  Exposure to perchlorates has also been linked to various cancers. And this, among other contaminants, is what has been and will be added to the environment of this public recreational area in the future.

How can you even begin to evaluate the cumulative impacts of a third launch pad and the accuracy of your environmental data before knowing the compounded levels of contamination that resulted from previous launches, the August 25^th accident and without reliable baseline data?

The location of proposed Launch Pad 3 is located on a ridge on the south side of the public road leading down to Fossil Beach. Presently, all of the KLC structures are on the north side. If built, this would extend the footprint and area of impact as well as straddle the public road.  That would give the KLC and AAC even more reason to block it off and maintain complete control over the area. This is unacceptable!

If there is to be more construction, it should be confined to the north side of the road so that public access is guaranteed to Fossil Beach and Narrow Cape. Why spread out the impacts more than necessary?  I have read the geologic justification for the preferred location but do not think others on the north side were adequately evaluated or considered, especially in respect to the public access issue.

At present, we can’t even access the beautiful long beaches to the north of the KLC.

And what about the damaged facility? Who will pay for the repairs and mitigation?

As a real, viable alternative for the EIS, why not consider dismantling the entire KLC?

How can the construction costs of yet another launch pad be justified with so few launches in the past, no contracts on the horizon, and in the aftermath of the accident, the rising cleanup costs? And, at the expense of such valuable public land!

In closing, the best option for the KLC is to dismantle it, not to expand it.

25 Aug 2014: Rocket Explodes at Kodiak Launch Complex - Launch Fails

Jay Barrett/KMXT
The Narrow Cape area beyond the Kodiak Launch Complex will remain closed to the public until further notice after this morning’s rocket explosion, according to an announcement from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation.
Pentagon spokeswoman Maureen Schumann said the U.S. Army rocket self-destructed just four seconds into its flight, at about 12:25 this (Monday) morning.
“Shortly after 4 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, as part of the Defense Department’s Conventional Prompt Global Strike technology development program, conducted a flight test of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska,” she said. “Due to an anomaly, the test was terminated near the launch pad shortly after lift-off to ensure public safety. There were no injuries to any personnel. Program officials are conducting an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the flight anomaly.”
It was the first launch at the KLC in three years.  No future launches have been announced at this time.
Alaska Aerospace CEO Craig Campbell said he couldn’t verify where debris from the rocket came down, but Schumann said it was her understanding that the debris is limited to KLC property and did not fall into the water. The three-stage solid-fuel rocket is based on refurbished Polaris intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Campbell said it did not appear, from a preliminary estimate, that there was any extensive damage to the Kodiak Launch Complex, but said AAC and Department of Defense personnel will be doing damage assessments all day.
Kodiak resident Stacy Studebaker, who owns a home in nearby Pasagshak, has long been a critic of the Kodiak Launch Complex. She said in an e-mail to KMXT that she wanted to know what kind of hazards any un-burnt rocket fuel posed and who will be conducting the clean up. Two popular recreation areas are adjacent to the KLC, Fossil Beach, which remains off-limits, and Surfer Beach.
In the nosecone of the rocket was the Army’s Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, which is a rocket-launched glider capable of flying at over 3,500 mph, or Mach 5. According to the Army’s description, the small craft is designed to be lofted nearly into space before separation and then glide through the atmosphere to its target at hypersonic speeds. If developed, it is expected to be able to hit any target on earth within an hour or less with conventional, non-nuclear explosives.
This was to be the second test of the glider. Its target was the Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. The first was successfully launched from Hawaii.
Scott Wight, a Kodiak photographer, was watching the launch from Cape Greville in Chiniak, about a dozen miles from the launch site. He said even at that distance the explosion was very loud. Another photographer at Cape Greville said the launch looked out of control and that she wasn’t surprised to find out it self-destructed. She said the resulting fire burned brightly for a short while.
The Kodiak Launch Complex is about 25-miles from the city of Kodiak.

Kodiak Launch Complex expansion faces delay

JAMES BROOKS, Kodiak Daily Mirror

KODIAK (AP) — Alaska Aerospace Corporation's plans for a new launch pad have been delayed, not canceled.
In a four-hour board meeting Thursday at the Kodiak Launch Complex, CEO Craig Campbell confirmed that Lockheed-Martin's delays in finding customers for a new, larger Kodiak-launched rocket means at least a one-year delay in construction of Launch Pad 3.
"Now we're projecting into the 2015 period for the launch of the Athena III," Campbell said.
That timeline means construction will not begin until next summer at the earliest.
Work isn't standing still on the project that has been hailed as the future of the Narrow Cape complex. Campbell told board members he's keeping the ball moving on the environmental assessment that must take place before the launch pad can be built. "We expect that to roll forward in the next couple months, then go out to a public comment period," he said.
During the last session of the Alaska Legislature, Gov. Sean Parnell pledged $25 million in state support for the $125 million estimated cost of the launch pad. Financial "gates" are built in to that amount, ensuring Alaska Aerospace cannot move forward with construction and design until a contract is in hand and private financing in place.
Campbell said he has added restrictions of his own and will spend no more than $1 million until Lockheed commits to a launch date and signs a contract.
That amount takes the project to about 65 percent of design, but not engineering work, Campbell said.
The corporation stopped deliberately short of detailed engineering in an attempt to accommodate Orbital Sciences, another space company that has expressed an interest in launching from Kodiak.
Orbital's Antares rocket is designed differently than Lockheed's Athena III, and the new launch pad would need extra equipment to serve both rockets. Orbital is considering both Kodiak and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as its West Coast launch site for the Antares, but it is not expected to decide between the two until early next year, after it launches its first Antares from a spaceport in Virginia.
"I don't want to get into an engineering and design concept for a solid-based rocket only to find out Orbital is coming here with a liquid-based rocket," Campbell said.
While the delay may pay off for Kodiak if another customer is willing to spend millions for permission to launch rockets from Alaska, the slow pace of development could continue if Congress drags its feet on the federal budget.
The vast majority of America's space projects are at least partially funded by the federal government, and Congress' inability to pass a new defense budget means multibillion-dollar contractors like Lockheed and Orbital don't know how much they can sell. That, in turn, means those companies don't know how many rockets they need to launch from places like Kodiak.
In addition, said Alaska Aerospace chief operating officer Mark Greby, companies like Orbital and Lockheed are awaiting the results of November's presidential election. President Barack Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney have similar space policies, but a few percent difference in funding represents hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, Greby said. "In all honesty, they're all stalling to see which way the climate is going."
Until that weather forecast changes, Launch Pad 3 looks to be stuck in the cold.
___
Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com

This article appears in the October Issue 1 2012 issue of Alaska Journal of Commerce

Read more: http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/October-Issue-1-2012/Kodiak-Launch-Complex-expansion-faces-delay/#ixzz2C8OCyBkr

The Little Launch Complex That Couldn't: Kodiak Launch Complex and Alaska Aerospace

 

            Imagine a school district asking the state for money to build a new high school when they cannot prove any students will attend.  “Build it and they will come!” the district claims. The state says no, but a powerful U.S. Senator funnels construction funds to the project through a federal government agency.  The school is built and fully staffed from administrators to teachers to custodians.  Unfortunately, only a few students ever show up and then, only occasionally.

            So, the district, using state and federal handouts, decides to add a gym and a pool and more lockers to attract students. They still show up infrequently; sometimes the school is empty for over a year.  The feds pay the cost for a few years, but finally pull out.  The district appeals to the state for money to keep the school open just in case some students decide to show up.  Who would support funding for such a school?

            The State of Alaska would not loan money to build the Kodiak Launch Complex in the mid-1990s because AAC could not produce confirmed launch business. Senator Ted Stevens, however, directed construction money through the Department of Defense to build it. AAC expanded KLC infrastructure with state and federal handouts based on a business plan of “Build it and they will come”.  The Missile Defense Agency propped it up for a few years while Senator Stevens was in office, then finally abandoned use of the facility.

            Since launch revenues have never covered the cost of keeping the KLC open, Alaska Aerospace has continually asked for state and federal bailouts from its inception in 1998.  Despite no launches in 2009 and only one in 2010, AAC expects Alaska to fork out a ten million dollar handout this year.  Corporate welfare is counter to the fiscal responsibility we, the voters, demand from our elected representatives. 

            The KLC is like an old truck I owned that started falling apart.  With each repair, I figured that now the truck would run fine and I was done.  Yet, it continually broke down and I kept pouring money into it, thinking that each repair would be the last.  I loved that old pickup and didn’t want to let it go.  But I finally realized that I was throwing my money away on a truck that hardly ever ran and got rid of it.

            It is time to stop throwing money away on “Space Pork Kodiak.” It has sat at Narrow Cape for thirteen years, never breaking even, costing the state more and more money while providing minimal returns and economic benefits to our community and our state.  It is time to invest state funds in businesses and ventures that will produce solid returns for the state.

            Let’s return Narrow Cape entirely to the uses for which it is best suited: hunting, hiking, camping, fishing, birding, subsistence activities such as berry picking, and whale-watching.

UPDATE: Kodiak Launch Complex Pork Requests

KRLIG received the following clarification related to our KLC for Sale? post  from a Kodiak resident who spoke with Tom Walters who sits on the Alaska Aerospace Board of Directors.
AAC is indeed requesting ten million dollars per year for the foreseeable future from the State of Alaska.
The 80 million dollar request is to construct an air strip at Narrow Cape, a second rocket storage facility, and a second launch pad.
Mr. Walters was noncommittal on the question of whether the KLC would be offered up for sale if AAC did not receive the requested corporate welfare.
AAC has publicly admitted that launch revenues have NEVER covered the costs of operating and maintaining the KLC.
The audacity of this plea for government handouts is astounding!  No launches since December 2008 and, according to the AAC Timeline, of the fourteen launches that have occurred thus far, almost all were Missile Defense Agency (MDA) launches. The MDA has terminated its contract with the KLC for launches and providing funds to keep the facility open.
So, more rocket storage capacity and another launch pad although few, if any, launches will occur at the KLC?   Why should the state and federal government continue to pour dollars into a bottomless black hole of waste?
Narrow Cape is an important recreation, subsistence, hunting, and fishing area - further development of KLC infrastructure will contribute to substantial degradation of these uses.
The Nov 2 elections results seem to indicate that people want less government spending - zero bailouts for the KLC is an excellent step in the "right" direction. It's time to put this rusting white elephant to rest, once and for all.

Kodiak Launch Complex For Sale??

[We are currently trying to obtain independent verification of the following information]
KRLIG learned recently from a very reputable source that the Alaska Aerospace Corp. is requesting 10 million (more) dollars a year from the state for the next 4 years.  This handout is on top of the millions of dollars in corporate welfare they have already received from the state in recent years to keep them going between the few launches that have occurred since the facility was first built.  AAC has admitted publicly that launch revenues have NEVER covered the cost of operating the complex.

In addition to this plea, they are also requesting from the state an additional 80 million dollars to build another complex at Narrow Cape!  Apparently, the current infrastructure is corroding in the severe marine environment of Narrow Cape and is fast becoming obsolete. And remember the launch tower (aka Faulty Tower) is built on a major earthquake fault.

Reportedly, if they can't get the money they are requesting from the state, they might try to sell the KLC.  Our question is, "Who could they legally sell it to?" A foreign country? If sold to someone from out of state, Kodiak and Alaska would have even less control of it than we do now.

All of this is obviously disturbing on many levels. While Kodiak is working so very hard to improve the local quality of life by becoming more energy independent and adopting more sustainable living practices, AND struggling to finance the new high school, this proposal is ludicrous and if financed, would be like pouring more of our state revenue into a black hole that hasn't produced a dime of profit for the state. Don't forget that the federal government has also poured tens of millions of dollars into the KLC for construction and maintenance.

The AAC website doesn't even list the names of their board members to facilitate public contact.

UPDATE: Rocketeer Follies

Secret Sandia settlement taps taxpayers

Larry Barker Investigates

• Reporter: Larry Barker
• Web Producer: Bill Diven

KODIAK, Alaska (KRQE) - Just before dawn more than three years ago the military launched a rocket with a secret payload off the coast of Alaska, a success touted by the Pentagon that left a trail of injury and secret payouts for Sandia National Laboratories.
It was February 2006, a dark and bitter night in the rugged Alaskan back country. What followed the launch was an incident so foolhardy and so reckless that it literally ruined lives.
It is also something the government kept quiet for three years.
"We had a very tragic and unfortunate incident that happened in Alaska," Dr. Al Romig, Sandia chief operating officer, told KRQE News 13.
Kodiak Island is a remote sportsman's paradise, and it was there that Sandia engineers from New Mexico tested a secret missile radar system. But it wasn't rocket science that got Sandians in trouble.
The successful liftoff wrapped up weeks of research. Sandia's engineers worked hard, and then they played hard.
They celebrated with a big party back at the Narrow Cape Lodge that went on much of the day. There were speeches, champagne toasts, chips and salsa and booze, lots of it.
One top Sandia engineer was described as being tipsy, swaying and slurring his speech.
Post-launch bashes are a Sandia tradition. On Kodiak they partied with beer, champagne, whiskey, vodka, rum and wine.
What happened next is documented by an internal investigation obtained by News 13 investigative reporter Larry Barker. The report so sensitive, the lab won't make it public.
Late in the afternoon, the Sandians moved their celebration to the beach. Josh Lucas, 29, and two others hopped into a government Jeep for a little joy ride
Lucas later said he drove onto the sand looking for firewood and to go four wheeling. But their fun was cut short when the Jeep got stuck in the seaside muck.
"Diana Helgeson and myself are avid four wheelers and thought we had the situation under control," Lucas told Alaska State Troopers in a recorded statement. "I ended up getting stuck in the sand. I was screwing around. So we walked back to the lodge."
Lucas, Helgeson and Dave Stokebrand returned to retrieve the abandoned vehicle with Lucas again driving. He was tired, had been drinking, and he was driving too fast in the dark.
Lucas hit a ravine, launched through the air and slammed into the pit.
In the pitch black Helgeson and Stokebrand were unconscious. Lucas, his broken arm, ran the half mile back to the lodge for help.
Witnesses described Lucas as hysterical and the scene at the lodge chaotic.
"Along comes Josh. and he's yelling and screaming from hundreds of yards away," Eric Schindwolf said in statement to Alaska troopers. "He's yelling, 'We need help out here; we need emergency medical.'
"He was just trying to get somebody to pay attention."
Helgeson and Stokebrand suffered critical injuries and were airlifted to a hospital by Coast Guard helicopter. Alaskan police launched an investigation.
"When the troopers arrived we pretty much had chaos trying to figure who were the injured, who were involved, who were people that were there to help," Sgt. Maurice "Mo" Hughes of the Alaska State Troopers post on Kodiak Island said in an interview with News 13. "Alcohol had a component in this incident. People that were unfamiliar with the location, the time of day--it was dark--factor of alcohol and potentially being tired.
"All those can build up very quickly to disaster. In this case it did."
Lucas was charged with two counts first-degree assault and driving while intoxicated. The criminal case was turned over to the Kodiak district attorney.
Either the crime was reckless or negligent, but either way conviction could result in a prison sentence, according to District Attorney Mike Gray.
Helgeson suffered multiple injuries including severe head trauma that left her permanently disabled. Her 20-year career at Sandia is over.
The crash cut short Stokebrand's 17 years as a Sandia engineer. He has significant brain damage and today requires around-the-clock care.
Sandia attorneys concluded if there were a lawsuit a jury could find labs liable for substantial damages, as much as $2 million to Helgeson and as much as $10 million to Stokebrand.
Last year Sandia quietly reached a settlement with the injured employees and then stuck the taxpayers with the bill. The Department of Energy confirmed government funds were used to pay for what happened in Alaska.
Taxpayers are on the hook for what is likely to be millions of dollars although exactly how much is not known. The lab said it's a secret and won't discuss either the decision to settle or the terms of the settlement.
"We don't discuss legal matters involving the laboratory," Romig said. "Those (terms) are protected by confidentiality agreements."
So what went wrong in Alaska? Sandia said its chief operating officer would answer News 13's questions.
Romig, however, declined to characterize Lucas's actions that night.
"I wasn't there to observe what Josh Lucas did or didn't do," he said. "I wasn't at the party. I didn't see Josh Lucas. I wasn't on scene to observe it."
But Romig does know what happened and conceded he read Sandia's detailed report on the incident. Still he ducked a question on whether he believed the investigation showed Lucas acted recklessly when he got behind the wheel of a government Jeep after drinking to go four wheeling on the beach.
"Sandia doesn't discuss the contents of its internal investigations," he said.
Nor would Romig comment on whether Sandia employees acted in a responsible manner.
"It's difficult to say that based on reading the report; I wasn't there," Romig continued. "There was an accident that was unfortunate.
"Sandia has taken corrective actions to try and prevent those things from happening again in the future."
Lucas still works at Sandia labs and wasn't prosecuted in Alaska where the Kodiak District Attorney changed his mind after consulting with victims.
News 13 approached Lucas at his home about getting his side of the story but was rebuffed.
"You can stop right there," he said. "Get off my property."
Trooper Hughes offered one summation for the combination of four-wheeling on an unknown beach in the dark while fatigued and after drinking. "Made for a very bad night," he said.

Recent Earthquake Activity Near Kodiak Island

Multiple earthquakes in the Kodiak vicinity raise concerns about conditions at the Narrow Cape fault which underlies the Kodiak Launch Complex. The potential for a large magnitude earthquake resulting in damage at the KLC is increasing at this time.
For more detailed information on the fault:
http://saltonstall.blogspot.com/2009/02/alaska-aerospace-kodiak-rocket-launch.html

12:47 PM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	3.47 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
12:03 PM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	3.05 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
11:59 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	3.78 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
11:23 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	4.51 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
10:41 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	3.86 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
10:38 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	3.62 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
10:24 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	4.65 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
10:15 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	2.74 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
09:53 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	2.93 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
09:38 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	4.25 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
03:26 AM AKDT Friday May 15th, 2009	2.44 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
03:57 PM AKDT Thursday May 14th, 2009	1.75 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
11:08 AM AKDT Thursday May 14th, 2009	1.26 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska
08:05 AM AKDT Thursday May 14th, 2009	1.29 ML	in the Kodiak Island region of Alaska

We Saw the Rocket! Security is Tight!

Last Friday after a hike around Narrow Cape, we saw the rocket out on the launch pad. According to the security guard, they were doing a "dry run" in preparation for the upcoming launch. Interestingly, the nose was covered with a shroud. Although we didn't take pictures, I don't think anyone would have stopped us.
The rocket is one of those solid fuel dinky little surplus Minuteman or Polaris bottle rocket missiles we have left over from the Cold War. You could actually see the fuse coming out of the rocket that the technician lights with a Bic lighter. I think it was mounted on a Budweiser bottle, but the label was turned away from us, so I can't be sure.
You'd think they'd at least use local beer bottles.